sociologicalpizza

if we get the email tomorrow there’s definitely going to be a small part of me wondering if it’s a prank

Anybody looking into school psychology PhD programs? Asking for a friend (literally)

I was once told that strong GRE, LoR, GPA, and Research Experience are the biggest factors (yes, of course writing sample and SoP are important, but I'm quoting here) and that you should have 3/4. So if one is weak, the other three need to be strong. As far as MA vs undergrad GPA, I don't think they care about your undergrad GPA once you have a Master's, and from what I've heard to get into a PhD program your MA GPA should be close to a 4.0. I don't know a lot about that though, just what I've heard bumping around here. I'm going straight from undergrad to PhD. I will say, though, you're going to see a lot of people on this website saying "i dont know if i can get in I only have a 3.8 GPA' and be like wtf am i doing here- don't. I JUST graduated with a 3.6- like I barely made it there- and I got into essentially my top choice program (I had a couple of top choices). I'd agree with @rising_star, very poor grades may keep you out but great grades will never get you in. There's so much more that they're looking for. I'm in the US btw.

I thought I'd bump this and also share the advice I've been given, which is different than what people have been saying so far. My mentor told me that I should start reading as much as possible and reading fiction. Basically that over the next 5-10 years we will have no time to read for fun, but we will have to read several books a week. So her advice was to get into the habit of reading that much every week, but read whatever I want basically. And read different things and challenging things because it will make me a better writer as well, which is also an important part of grad school. Good luck everybody!

Finally! Acceptances: University of Kentucky, University at Albany (SUNY), Indiana University Bloomington, freestanding MA at Columbia Research Area: Inequalities in Education, Gender, Secondary Education Final Choice: IUB Reason: overall fit, location, it was my top choice I finally got off the waitlist yesterday... I'm so excited!

I'm like an 8 but lying to myself and everybody else pretending I'm a 6

has anybody on the indiana bloomington waitlist heard anything from the department?

I'm still waiting to hear back from a waitlist- can't wait until I can post my final decision!

Did you guys prepare for your visit days at all? I'm nervous af

do we know when Indiana's visit day is? I didn't choose the waitlist life, the waitlist life chose me.

Anybody going to the Albany visit day?

@WorldPeaceMaker2010 @Schwein yeah Albany sent an email to those of us with funding who have yet to accept our offers yesterday that was like "no big deal take your time but also pls let us know if you're rejecting it" it's so hard, Albany is top of my list at the moment as far as acceptances but everything is so up in the air still. I have a feeling I'll be holding on to it into April just because of the possibility of getting off another waitlist. But also, there's a huge chance I'll end up accepting the offer, so I guess in that case it wouldn't matter how long I held onto it.

I did see on their website that somebody went on to a PhD program at Berkeley. Thanks for the info!

I cannot answer that question but I've been looking into it and it seems like it would be a cool program to be in. It's one year, emphasis on qualitative research slash mixed methods, working toward a MA thesis, emphasis on urban research. According to the website it would be approximately $77,315 for everything including housing and life. And they said 1/3 of the students who get their soc MA at Columbia move on to PhD programs within two years and I would like to know what percentage want to get their PhD after the MA because if its most of them then 1/3 is a terrible stat for that. I also might contact the master's program advisor because she said she'd be down to chat. I also can't really afford it regardless so I'm mostly just fantasizing.

Yeah, I didn't check that box that said I wanted to be considered for master's if I wasn't accepted for PhD. I guess you're right, there is no harm in having them consider me. The email they sent us said something like 'partial merit-based support for a few incoming MA students' which doesn't exactly sound promising. That is, however, to be expected.

I got that email too, I was going to post the same thing. I'm wondering if they send it to everybody who didn't already have a MA but got rejected from the PhD program, or if I should look into it. It's not like it would cost anything for them to consider me and if I got in I wouldn't have to accept it obviously, I just can't afford to pay for a master's degree while also having no income for a year... which is why I applied to PhD programs and not MA programs... silly Columbia.

Nope! I did my undergrad there though, so I really wasn't expecting to be accepted at all. I wish they would send out my rejection letter then, though. She's great, I'm sure it was a really tough decision for them to make.

I was just wondering who it was you wanted to work with there. Sorry to hear, btw. I haven't heard anything from them yet, but based on you saying this year's cohort is so small, I'm not expecting to be accepted.

I never asked, who was your interview with?

I'm not sure what either of your departments were like, but I had an adviser who essentially told me not to expect acceptance from them- that they didn't like taking students who did their undergrad with them. I haven't gotten my rejection letter yet, but I won't be offended. It isn't a perfect fit anyway, maybe then I would have been more disappointed.

I'm so confused about Columbia because it looks like they didn't send out very many acceptances? But by this time last year they had sent them all out, so did they just accept less? They did rejections Feb. 26th last year- so maybe early next week.

I just responded to my waitlist notification saying that I did have another offer but the school I was waitlisted at was my first choice, and if they need anything else from me over the next few weeks/months to let me know. They didn't respond [I'm on a computer but if I were on my phone this is where I would add the emoji that has the little yellow cone with the confetti coming out of it].

I would probably do like black pants and a nice top but I tend to be more comfortable when I'm more casual, you should wear something that you feel awesome in and if it's a skirt and a white blazer then that's the way you should go. I would take it as a great sign that he wants to meet at all. Knowing that professors oftentimes have weekly office hours that students rarely show up to, that might have just been a time he knew he would be around and free. Just dazzle him with your sociological knowledge. Good luck!

I have an interview tomorrow morning- for anybody who's had one- did they ask you about current trends in the field or your subfield? online it says that could be a question in grad interviews but idk if it would happen in a soc phd interview and tbh idk how i would really answer that question? I'm like, unreasonably nervous for this little skype interview.

I actually wasn't sure if transferring PhD programs was a thing or not. Would I be starting over at the school I transferred to, but my credits would just transfer in? Similar to a MA student beginning a PhD program? Is that normal.. I would just reapply as usual, explaining why I felt like the transfer institution was a better fit?