ThePastelCalico

Just got anxious and called Oregon. The person I spoke with said that the committee should be communicating their admissions decisions either early this week or early next week. Specifically, they mentioned that the committee has made their decisions, so be on the lookout for emails if you applied!
Updating to say that I just got an email informing me I’m waitlisted at Oregon, so if you got accepted and know that you won’t be accepting their offer, please let them know ASAP! They sent out about 12 offers, and have 9 on the waitlist, just as an FYI for everyone else! Good luck! 

Hey Pastel,
I'm a current SOC student at NCSU. I applied to some other programs after my advisor left, but after a rejection from UT I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking around to finish out the PHD. 
You are welcome to PM me i f you have any questions about the program, recent placements, or obtaining an advisor. NCSU is a solid program but if you're looking for an R1 job right after degree you're right to wonder if it might prove challenging / might be best to consider other options. There are certainly grads from this program who have accomplished R1 placement with the right project and the right advisor though. 
I do sometimes think that as academics we get caught up in institutional prestige (I'm not suggesting that that's what you're doing!) but in my experiences elsewhere, I think sometimes we collectively get lost in concern over school rank and what not. IMO fulfilling work can also be found outside those prestigous R1s. Just wanted to share some thoughts!
Best wishes!
 

Hey all! Lurker, but wanted to chime in. I was admitted to Penn State this morning and am over the moon excited! Still in disbelief. The reason I wanted to chime in is to give hope to those that may get rejected from all of the schools they applied to; a horrible, but possible reality. I applied to nine schools, mostly top 20 schools, last year and was rejected from all of them. It was devastating, to say the least, and left me feeling depressed and confused about my life direction. But I decided I wasn't giving up and reapplied this year, shortly after finishing my M.S. in Sociology. I was given advice from a dear professor that my fatal mistake was not reaching out to faculty members at the schools I had applied to and to try this tactic for round two. I emailed faculty members at multiple schools, receiving some positive and other neutral responses, but had really positive feedback from Penn State, including a phone convo with the director. So, to those that may not receive an offer this year, don't give up if it's what you really want. It's really tough to get rejected, I feel your pain, but tenacity can pay off. Good luck to all, and I am excited to meet my future colleagues of sociology throughout our careers! 

@ThePastelCalico This happened to me as well, in that my MA research gave me a very good sense of what I was interested in. There were points that I wanted to focus on repeatedly throughout my thesis, but they didn't fit into a political science thesis or my department's interests. Those remnants became important guides as to where I want to go in the future. If you're thinking of reapplying, I think presenting your research at the ASA Sociology of Development and the Law and Society conferences would be a great idea. (Does the ASA Environmental Sociology section have an annual conference?) I got very good feedback at these conferences, met tons of current students and interesting and interested faculty (one of whom wrote me an amazing LOR). Just looking at the conference presenters and the schools they were representing, especially the grad student presenters, also helped me narrow down what programs I should be looking at.

As someone who’s cried twice in two days about my UW-M decision, it’s important to remember we are worth so much more than our rejections. So, so much more. 

As someone who’s cried twice in two days about my UW-M decision, it’s important to remember we are worth so much more than our rejections. So, so much more. 

Just got off the phone with someone at UW-Madison and they said that decisions should be going out either today or tomorrow, and she specifically told me to check my application regarding the decision. Do with that info what you will. 

Man, I'm so happy for everyone! It's so hard to just lurk now that everyone is getting some form of good news! I've been holding back from commenting because I'm starting to feel jealous and all the positive, supportive side of me has gone bitter : (
I remember Doctor Who saving me from the first time I got rejected from all 8 programs I applied too. The doctors brought me to the far end of time and space!
Really happy for everyone, but I'm seriously like getting bummed out that I got rejected already and not look forward to hearing about rejections from the other 6 schools I applied. 
Allons-y!

I keep checking my email every 5 minutes even though I've told myself not to check it for the rest of the night because I've got lawsuits to continue going over for my thesis, but it's so hard to work thinking that I've been rejected from UW-Madison. Anyone got any advice on how to not focus on the fear of a rejection?

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

I got into Cornell Developmental Sociology!!! I can't believe this is real! I had to have my partner read the email to confirm, but it's true.

It's okay to be negative, theres no need to fake anything you dont feel. All I can say is you wont actually know until you see it in writing and its official, plus theres still months left before all decisions are made. 
Either way im starting to feel very discouraged too and it really, really sucks. I used to be so confident i could get in somewhere, now I feel so unsure.

I'm starting to get delusional and waking up the last few days with a false feeling of 'I'm gonna hear something today, I feel it'.
WHY MUST MY EMOTIONS LIE TO ME?

I think everyone should keep in mind that a lot of the strongest candidates will be admitted to multiple programs, but they can only pick one! More spots will open up as those decisions are made. Additionally, many schools don't start sending acceptances until February. Don't reexamine your entire career trajectory until at least the third week of April.
Also, I suggest you ask yourself if you're getting anything useful from these forums and the results page. If it's truly helpful, great, but if it's sending you into a tailspin everytime you check it, consider blocking the site (I use an app called Self Control for this). The truth is, no one here can tell you if you'll be accepted or not, or what you can do to improve your application, because we just don't know. Looking at this site will not change your status, your application, or your chances, and it also can't give you any information about your standing. It can only bring you additional info with which to compare yourself to others. If you find that to be self-harming rather than motivating (does anyone actually find it motivating?), you may want to protect your sanity and emotional stability by staying away until you get some concrete responses.
Also, your acceptance and/or rejection is not a reflection of your intelligence or worthiness or future success in this field or in life in general. The admissions process is opaque and idiosyncratic, and it's nowhere near done. 

I've got a book chapter I'm working on with my advisor and another professor, so I've decided today I'll give myself 24 hours of not checking admissions portals. Just so I can make sure that I'm focusing 100% on fine-tuning the book chapter. 

Just got notified that I'm accepted and fully funded at North Carolina State! I'm so excited that I finally got in somewhere! 

Just got notified that I'm accepted and fully funded at North Carolina State! I'm so excited that I finally got in somewhere! 

Just got notified that I'm accepted and fully funded at North Carolina State! I'm so excited that I finally got in somewhere! 

I can claim one of the acceptances for NC State. I'm applying straight out of undergrad with (hopefully) a degree in Sociology and Psychology and a minor in Leadership. My undergrad GPA is only 3.10, but I have a junior/senior GPA of 3.73. GRE was 166V/157Q/4.5AW. I come from a small liberal arts college and have moderate research experience with no publications, 1 for sure and 1 possible conference presentation. I'd be happy to answer questions if anyone has any!

Just got notified that I'm accepted and fully funded at North Carolina State! I'm so excited that I finally got in somewhere! 

Just got notified that I'm accepted and fully funded at North Carolina State! I'm so excited that I finally got in somewhere! 

Just got notified that I'm accepted and fully funded at North Carolina State! I'm so excited that I finally got in somewhere! 

Congrats to the UNC - Chapel Hill admits! It's a great program in a great location.

So, from what I've learned from my advisor is that you have to understand it less as a rejection of you and more that they couldn't find room for you in their program. I know right now that these two things seem very very similar, but there is so much that is beyond your control. You may have applied during a particularly competitive year and you can't help that; maybe they wanted to accept you but couldn't just based on funding and the availability of funds within the department; maybe the people you want to work with aren't accepting new students right now (that's the exact reason I didn't apply to Colorado-Boulder); maybe it came down to you and another student and they just happened to like their personal statement more. People are very fickle things - this is particularly true for academics. It's very scary, as I'm terrified I'll hear bad news from all of the programs I applied to and I'll be thinking the exact same thing - "Why don't they want me? What did I do wrong?" But the fact of the matter is that no one is the perfect candidate, as much as we'd like to believe we are, and there are a number of factors beyond your control that could have lead to these rejections. 
 
Keep your head up and realize that it's tough now, and you have the right to be upset. But grow from this - if you choose to apply again, look at your personal statement and your writing sample and see if there are ways to make those stronger to compensate for a low GRE. At the end of the day, we are worth so much more than a rejection letter. I wish you nothing but the best moving forward. 

So, from what I've learned from my advisor is that you have to understand it less as a rejection of you and more that they couldn't find room for you in their program. I know right now that these two things seem very very similar, but there is so much that is beyond your control. You may have applied during a particularly competitive year and you can't help that; maybe they wanted to accept you but couldn't just based on funding and the availability of funds within the department; maybe the people you want to work with aren't accepting new students right now (that's the exact reason I didn't apply to Colorado-Boulder); maybe it came down to you and another student and they just happened to like their personal statement more. People are very fickle things - this is particularly true for academics. It's very scary, as I'm terrified I'll hear bad news from all of the programs I applied to and I'll be thinking the exact same thing - "Why don't they want me? What did I do wrong?" But the fact of the matter is that no one is the perfect candidate, as much as we'd like to believe we are, and there are a number of factors beyond your control that could have lead to these rejections. 
 
Keep your head up and realize that it's tough now, and you have the right to be upset. But grow from this - if you choose to apply again, look at your personal statement and your writing sample and see if there are ways to make those stronger to compensate for a low GRE. At the end of the day, we are worth so much more than a rejection letter. I wish you nothing but the best moving forward.