notthatgood

Congrats. I just got word that the acceptance isn't coming through from Hopkins. They've filled all the PGSC slots. I was next in line, but in this case -- as they say -- second place is first loser.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't exceptionally bummed about it. Mostly because I've had a two year string of admissions heart breaks. This guy can't seem to catch a break.
In any case, I'll get over it. My second choice was George Mason Univ Cultural Studies PhD. They've thrown a bunch of money at me (with no work requirements) and given me total freedom in terms of research agenda. I'm actually very fortunate, but I had my heart se on Hopkins.
Now the real work begins. Good luck to all of you. Winter is coming...

Hi (Name),
I have solidified my plans for Fall 2016 and will not be accepting this offer. Thank you for being communicative throughout this process. It is an honor to have been considered for a position at (Name of School). I wish you the best of luck in securing a solid cohort for the upcoming year.
Sincerely,
Name

I understood your position. To me, I have done extensive research in my fields of research and I am so reluctant to change.
I understand many people change their research interests, partly because they tailored them for their graduate program. I just want to say, I won't. I do sociology research because I **love** my fields. That's my passion. If there is any single higher-ranked program that combine family, social demography, urban and China that well, I would be happy to know.

Realistic and experienced are key. Tbh I feel the same toward goofy's comments, it's none of my business though and I think it's not our place to be influencing the decisions of each other. We all need to be talking to our current advisers and POIs or DGSs at the places we might go. None of us have the right answer for each other

I think the reason behind so much focus on rankings here (and elsewhere) is that rankings matter tremendously in hiring (see the study reported here, for example). There are a few Sociology programs that are known to have excellent placements -- the placement records of most other programs, including some in the top 20, are quite dismal. If you look at Sociology faculty pages, you'll be hard-pressed to find hires even from Cornell or Yale, not to mention graduates from lower-ranked departments. Even most lower-ranked programs rarely hire graduates from lower-ranked programs so chances of landing a tenure-track position if you're not graduating from a top-10 program are slim. And so if one's goal it is to find a tenure-track position at a research university later on, prestige/rankings/placement records matter. I agree with you that the order of priority you mentioned -- "#1 your publication #2 who is your adviser, #3 your recommendation letter, and maybe well then your program" -- would be a more reasonable basis for hiring. Unfortunately, research indicates that this just isn't the case. 
Having said that, I applied to a lower-ranked program and would be thrilled to attend it if accepted because the faculty's research matches my interests very closely. I'd attend knowing, however, that my chances of later on getting a position at one of the top20, or even top50 schools would statistically speaking be none. 

I kindly suggest again to the folks here to not being too obsessed about ranking, talk about your interests. I see so many folks here talking about "aha! top 10", "well, top 20/25". It is meaningless unless you have no idea about your research interests. When you are about to graduate, TT positions/job talks will perhaps look at (in order of priority) #1 your publication #2 who is your adviser, #3 your recommendation letter, and maybe well then your program. 
I received two top-10 offers this year but declined them right away to choose Brown. With my interests in family, social demography, urban soc, China and life course/aging, No place will beat Brown, despite its ranking is a 25. Look, I am not even talking about money.

Hi everyone! I am a long time lurker. Just wanted to say thanks to all contributors. Knowing that there are people out there going through the same process helped me feel less isolated in the past few weeks.
In the last 4-5 hours I have gone through the entire five stages of grief after seeing that NYU admissions went out. It was my last chance to get into Top-20, after four rejections last week. I thought I was a good fit, and made sure the adcom could realize that I was a good fit, plus established a contact with a POI, who was really really encouraging. It didn't happen but I am lucky that I already have an offer with decent funding from a Top-25-ish department. 
For those who are empty-handed, I am almost certain you will do much better next cycle (unless you decide to do something else with your life) thanks to this year's experience. This forum has helped me a lot figure out how I could have improved my applications, I am sure you all feel the same. I know if I was to have another shot at this I would do much much better. 
And congratulations to all those who are accepted. Especially those of you who got multiple Top-10 offers in addition to multiple Top-20's. Impressive.