HopefulSoc

Speaking as someone who has been rejected from all their apps except for ONE waitlist: TAKE YOUR TIME <3 it's kind of frustrating to see fellow waitlisted people tell all the acceptees to hurry up, despite the desperation and heartache. Even if I somehow get into this one school, I'm going to take my sweet ass time to accept because it's a huge decision. If I had more options, I'd take even longer. My cohortmate from my MA program just came home from two whirlwind weekends of school visits and she is so tired, I really hope she doesn't rush to make a decision as we're both scrambling to write our theses and finals which are upon us next week.
Just some cheerleading for y'all. I'm so proud of everyone's accomplishments!

I almost down voted this and stopped.  I agree with a lot of points until the end.  I think you are SO so wrong about what lets some people float to the top.  No one knows your personality unless you've met them (social capital which goes back to the first poster's point about people who have ins getting into programs and to be fair we've seen evidence of this how many times just on this board?).  Social capital is essential to being accepted.  It is why I am now going to all the soc conferences that I can afford this year (papers/posters...or just attending), it is why I am starting to try and send out a few e-mails now.  It isn't "looking good on paper", those of us who look good on paper are just a great and sometimes better than those admitted; we are successful people in what we study.  I now have 2 waitlists but after 2 weeks of applying 3 job interviews (I applied to 8 government and nonprofit jobs)...I can literally do the research that I am applying to a PHD to do/to refine.    
My point here is that the people in our field tend to ignore the various ways that their habitus has lended to their ability to be at the place they are in their lives.  I don't know your story- but I can say this.  Just like economic success, a certain level of luck plays into this process.  You'll have various forms of social, cultural and economic capital at your disposal in applying to programs.  Social will give you a little boost at certain departments (you have a friend there, your advisor went there, w/e), cultural will give you the know into what they are looking for (you went to a top 20 school and could ask, have parents who are PHDs, statistically you'll score higher on the GRE if your parents had degrees) where you did your BA or MA fits here too- that's a huge one, your economic will allow you to apply to multiple schools, to take (and retake) the GRE, to do GRE prep.  And these are just examples off the top of my head- this is all complicated when you add income/gender/ethnicity to the above.
Getting into a PHD is the same as the rest of life and it is entirely stacked against people who are minorities and from lower incomes- groups who are under represented....we can see this by the fact that minority groups are not represented equitably in higher ed.  I think it is sad that somone told another poster that she/he was only getting in because they are low income.  No, instead it is something we can see empiracally reflected in studies of PHD admissions and simply in the faces of teachers we've had.  I will defend my MA on Friday and I can say I have never had a female, hispanic professor.  Never, in my entire academic career has someone who looked like me taught a class I took.  
I just finished my MA research focusing on class and class creation in the United States and I feel like it is so applicable to everything (mostly American politics right now), but reading your post made me think about similar things we hear all the time from people who feel like they worked hard and earned it.  I know you worked hard and have earned all your accomplishments (don't get me wrong).  That isn't my point.  My point is that your hard work has been noticed either by luck or by your habitus (and it is a toss up for which is the case).  Either way, continue to kick butt and best of luck to you.  And for those of you who haven't gotten in this year, keep trying (I will) because to some extent it is just a toss up but the only way they win is if you give up.

Why not? 

Not sure if anyone is waiting on American, but I received an email to check the website and was admitted with funding ($20,000 stipend and $1,000 for research travel)
 
PS This is the only Criminology program I applied to, the rest of my apps went to Sociology programs with a criminology focus.