Sasha Genius

This thread is hysterical! I am being a complete nut about it too, it's nice to have company

Nothing yet--last year was the 22nd; in some years it was as late as the first week of April. Good luck everyone!

Now that I have heard back from most of the programs I applied to, it's time to start angsting about my fellowship applications. First time applicant, Sociology

Ugh, I have convinced myself that the early Harvard poster is either a troll or meant to report an acceptance to the JDP and entered "Sociology" by mistake. I am also hoping that the early Princeton poster falls under the "troll or mistake" category . . . . hope springs eternal.

One more piece of advice for those of us who are already looking toward the next cycle--consider finding someone to work for as an RA, part-time if you already have a job. Preferably someone you are already friendly with. That way, you will build another line on your CV re: research skills AND hopefully cultivate one more relationship that can lead to an excellent letter of recommendation. Of course, once you start as an RA, be the best RA that professor has ever seen. Totally over the top. No typos to be seen in any of your correspondence or work product. Hand everything in early. Before meeting with your professor, brainstorm questions related to the project to float with her so she gets a window into your own academic imagination. This angle requires more thought and effort than improving your GRE score, but the letters of recommendation is another portion of your application that you can finesse between now and next cycle. Goes without saying that SOP should be carefully edited and redrafted. Any friends in the admissions office of your prior programs/in your social network? Ask them to flip through your application in general, and SOP in particular, and they will be able to point to lots of points that you could improve as well. Work your network for a plum RA position too.

I used to teach at Kaplan and was shocked by how much my students' scores improved from their assessment to their final practice test. If grad school is your dream come true, and you end up not getting into any programs this cycle (keep hope alive), consider signing up for an in-person, classroom setting prep course. Your GRE scores are the easiest portion of your application to improve in the shortest amount of time. The courses are not cheap, but if money is tight, start setting aside $50/month now, and you'll have a little bit to put toward the course in the fall. I think options like Magoosh are strong, but in my option, nothing beats being in a course, live, with the ability to ask your instructor questions tailored to your mistakes/weaknesses. If you have a lot of money to throw at the GRE, consider adding additional individual tutoring to the class.

I have a professional degree & master's and have a different set of advice--if you have free time and want to spend that time getting ready for graduate school, and you are a quick learner/strong reader, and are going to a program that offers classical and contemporary sociology survey courses, consider spending your time working on skills rather than content/knowledge. For example, you could purchase a grammar workbook and brush up on your writing skills. Or learn to code in a data scientist-oriented language (e.g., R or Python). Or, if you are proficient in a foreign language that could be helpful to your studies, brush up on those skills. But if you are not the fastest study, it makes sense to do foundational reading. Stats is my weakest subject, so I plan to do some very basic review so I am ready to go in the fall.

All acceptances for the JDP program, right? I don't think anything has gone out for the Sociology PhD program yet. It is impossible to keep from checking my e-mail 10,000 times/day. Waiting for 3 schools, including Harvard--I only applied to a handful of programs and am basically on edge.

Well, here goes my first post on grad cafe--I've been reading it so much this application season, I figured I should start contributing. I acceptance to NYU, still waiting on 3 others, including my top choice.