Warelin

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I think you'll find that graduate admissions functions very differently from undergraduate admissions. I think that you'll also find that most people attempting to apply for a PHD program are fairly well-read within the specific areas they're interested in. I think most would also admit that they also wouldn't place themselves among the top ten percentile within that specific field. That is to say, that should you get accepted into a program, you'll likely find that most people have read dozens of books and articles within their field and it's likely that your coursework may see you reading a dozen books a semester and a couple of dozen articles per class. It sounds like you've started a good habit by reading now because grad school will expect no less. It's encouraging that your professors are encouraging you but it's also important to note that your potential graduate professors might be more strict because the objectives are different.
 
There isn't anyway that anybody would be able to answer this for you. It would depend on your writing sample, SOP, letters of recommendation, your academic fit within the university as well as who else applied that year.

No. There are a lot of factors which determine one's acceptance or rejection into a program. If it was based on just x grades, only the top 20 or so students from the top 10 schools would be considered for grad school.
A good working knowledge is good to have. However, I doubt very few full professors would go to say that have the "top 0.1% knowledge of specific debates" within their specific subfields.  The brightest professors I know are still reading and digesting new information on a daily basis. Stating that you're in the top 0.1 percent implies that you don't need a PHD. It sounds as if you believe you're more than ready to contribute scholarly articles right now and become a leading scholar.  A PHD is meant to help those who have a good fit with their program achieve this goal but it sounds to me that you wouldn't benefit from going through a PHD.

A copy of TheGradCafe's Edit/Delete policy can be found here:
If you report your post, another moderator will look at it. Reporting does not guarantee deletion.

I think you'll find that graduate admissions functions very differently from undergraduate admissions. I think that you'll also find that most people attempting to apply for a PHD program are fairly well-read within the specific areas they're interested in. I think most would also admit that they also wouldn't place themselves among the top ten percentile within that specific field. That is to say, that should you get accepted into a program, you'll likely find that most people have read dozens of books and articles within their field and it's likely that your coursework may see you reading a dozen books a semester and a couple of dozen articles per class. It sounds like you've started a good habit by reading now because grad school will expect no less. It's encouraging that your professors are encouraging you but it's also important to note that your potential graduate professors might be more strict because the objectives are different.
 
There isn't anyway that anybody would be able to answer this for you. It would depend on your writing sample, SOP, letters of recommendation, your academic fit within the university as well as who else applied that year.

No. There are a lot of factors which determine one's acceptance or rejection into a program. If it was based on just x grades, only the top 20 or so students from the top 10 schools would be considered for grad school.
A good working knowledge is good to have. However, I doubt very few full professors would go to say that have the "top 0.1% knowledge of specific debates" within their specific subfields.  The brightest professors I know are still reading and digesting new information on a daily basis. Stating that you're in the top 0.1 percent implies that you don't need a PHD. It sounds as if you believe you're more than ready to contribute scholarly articles right now and become a leading scholar.  A PHD is meant to help those who have a good fit with their program achieve this goal but it sounds to me that you wouldn't benefit from going through a PHD.

No. There are a lot of factors which determine one's acceptance or rejection into a program. If it was based on just x grades, only the top 20 or so students from the top 10 schools would be considered for grad school.
A good working knowledge is good to have. However, I doubt very few full professors would go to say that have the "top 0.1% knowledge of specific debates" within their specific subfields.  The brightest professors I know are still reading and digesting new information on a daily basis. Stating that you're in the top 0.1 percent implies that you don't need a PHD. It sounds as if you believe you're more than ready to contribute scholarly articles right now and become a leading scholar.  A PHD is meant to help those who have a good fit with their program achieve this goal but it sounds to me that you wouldn't benefit from going through a PHD.

I've moved this topic to the "Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition" subforum because I believe you'll get more answers here.

A lot of people apply during the fall semester of their second year in their Master's program. I think the biggest hurdle you might face with a one-year program is potentially not having strong recommendation letters. Since applications are due in Dec/Jan, it's likely that you'll have to ask for recommendations at a time where your first major paper hasn't been assigned yet. As a result, your instructors will have very little to work off of. (Edit: @illcounsel seems to have been thinking the same thoughts at the same time)
The second area of concern is that your interests might change within that time period. And while a program doesn't force you to stay within a specific time period, I think they can read into whether you seem passionate about something or whether you're writing about something because it feels safe.

A lot of people apply during the fall semester of their second year in their Master's program. I think the biggest hurdle you might face with a one-year program is potentially not having strong recommendation letters. Since applications are due in Dec/Jan, it's likely that you'll have to ask for recommendations at a time where your first major paper hasn't been assigned yet. As a result, your instructors will have very little to work off of. (Edit: @illcounsel seems to have been thinking the same thoughts at the same time)
The second area of concern is that your interests might change within that time period. And while a program doesn't force you to stay within a specific time period, I think they can read into whether you seem passionate about something or whether you're writing about something because it feels safe.

A real thing to think about is letters of recommendation. If your MA institution is different than where you did your undergrad, you will only have a few short months to develop meaningful relationships with your professors. While it can be done, you will have to work hard to make sure you can get quality letters written. It might be worth waiting another cycle to have stronger letters and a (hopefully) high MA GPA.

Consider your wish granted.

Consider your wish granted.

Consider your wish granted.

Ironically I am in the US, but I'm in Pennsylvania, which has some of the strictest Alcohol laws I've seen on the East Coast. No alcohol (even cooking wines) in grocery stores. Beer cannot be sold in the same store as liquor and wine. So there's beer stores and then there's "wine and spirits." It's annoying.

FWIW: A number of universities accept twice as many applicants as they have spots for. Some universities also have waitlists that are determined by time periods. It's likely that 2 people in your time period will need to reject their offer before an offer from the waitlist could be made. It's also possible that the department could be buried under preparing for classes next semester. 

For Sociology, people generally refer to the USNew's rankings of Sociology programs. Per U.S. News methodology, Sociology's response rate was 33 percent. By contrast, the response rate for Criminal Justice programs was 90 percent. Rankings were based solely on the impressions of department heads and director of graduate studies that responded to the survey.

I think there are a few things to acknowledge here.

1) Admission rates are tricky. Unfunded/underfunded programs might have more spots available but often need to recruit a much larger class in order to fill these spots if they're not offering a full tuition stipend + stipend. There is no college (that I am aware of) that is successful in obtaining a 100 percent yield rate. As a result, colleges have different ways of deciding how many offers to admit at once based on previous trends. 
2) Consider the living expenses. Paris, NYC, and Chicago are world-class cities but they're also expensive to live in. Are you comfortable taking out tens of thousands of dollars in loans if you decide to not work/can't find work? Are you comfortable working long hours in addition to going to school full time?

3) One year programs can be tricky. In a lot of cases, you'll end up spending an additional year doing something else. It's unlikely that you'll be able to obtain strong letters of recommendations during the first cycle because that would involve asking for letters during the first 2 months of your new university. Often, this might mean asking for letters before a major assignment is due.
4) There are likely funded Master's program in Political Science. Find them; find which ones interest you. The nice thing about doing a Master's is that they don't often expect you to have your research interests down. They are a wonderful way to figure out which specific areas you're interested in. They also allow you the opportunity to figure out whether or not you want to pursue a PhD.

I just want to add a note here that it seems that UT-Austin wants outside employment to be reported to them prior to accepting the position. The documents can be found here. I'd double-check with individual departments to make sure everything is good to go because there are some contracts which prohibit outside work during the school year or require permission from the department. Best of luck to everyone.

Eleventh hour acceptance off the UPenn waitlist on Monday!! Grateful. 
When I got the news, I was stranded in O'Hare after having been bumped from four (!) consecutive flights standby following Sunday's surprise snowstorm. I can now cross spending the night in the terminal off my bucket list. Eeks. The moral of the story is that this amazing news almost, almost made O'Hare tolerable. 
I forgot my GC pword for a while, but I want to say congrats to everyone--no matter what acceptances/waitlists/rejections you're left holding at the end of the cycle--bc this process is brutal and can be so heartwrecking. Last year at this time, I was bracing for another tenuous year of adjunct teaching. Academia is something, but it is not everything. 
 

Accepted off the waitlist at UC Davis. First acceptance out of 5 applications. 

The journal that accepted my paper on white racial anxiety in Kate Chopin's short fiction went live this week! Yay for my first academic publication!

I've always been curious on how much impact one group could have if everyone collaborated with each other on various opportunities.

I've always been curious on how much impact one group could have if everyone collaborated with each other on various opportunities.

Literally sobbing. Just accepted a PhD offer from UConn! I've wanted this since I was a little girl, and I never thought it would happen. Thanks GC, for your support and help!