Madelene

I'm not super familiar with those programs, but if it comes down to location, Austin is incredible. Cost of living will be higher, but there's definitely still cheap places to live if you're okay having roommates. Lots of incredible music, food, festivals, and opportunity.

Which two are you deciding between? Congrats!

Hi friends! This may be the wrong thread, but I just deposited at UNC! I am now looking for roommate(s) and would be thrilled to live with some Sociologists! Anyone planning on UNC?

They did this to me, too! What a weird system, updating the portal so long before rejections get send. And then to send two!

I think if my career aspirations were different--this would be true. However, the financial part was her way to get me to just take some time--rather than go get another degree and build debt--while I figured out what I wanted.

I deliberated for a while about whether to pursue a Masters first, too. I didn't have any publications--just an undergraduate thesis at a liberal arts college--and that scared me, so I thought I could buy some time with a Masters. The best piece of advice I got was from a professor of mine who said, "Look, you can go get a Masters, go into thousands more dollars of debt, or you can go get a Ph.D. Because I know you, and if you go get a Masters, you're gonna start working as an associate researcher somewhere, realize you want theoretical and thematic independence, and realize you need a Ph.D. for that." She was definitely right, although I know it's not the right choice for many people. If your goal is to become a professor (and you realize how difficult that is), then definitely get a Ph.D., because you can't really teach sociology without it. And if you get a Masters and then choose to go for your Ph.D., you will probably have to redo some coursework (unless you stay at the same institution) and will be in significant debt. Plus, you have a great GPA and GRE scores! If you can put together a good writing sample and statement, I'm sure any program will realize they'd be lucky to have you.

Thank you so much for this! Any advice for how to look for housing remotely? Craigslist seems filled with lots of major apartment complexes and I'm not sure where to find more independent landlords or houses for rent.

Hi @Ana333, I think you might be in the wrong thread! This is a sociology acceptances/interviews/rejections thread. Are you looking for psychology? You can find that here! https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/8-psychology/

If anyone would like some comic relief, this is a great Tumblr page called Lego Grad Student. https://legogradstudent.tumblr.com/

Okay but for real— what is your Venmo?? PM me.

I want to buy you a drink. I'm serious. Do you have Venmo? You deserve a drink.

Y'all are gonna kill it! If anyone wants to have a group Skype and vent or just chat about non-Soc things, let me know! I want to know all of you!

Same here. Oh well! Onward ho! You've got so many left to hear from!

Thank you for this information! I'm so scared!!!

I don't have multiple acceptances, but I think it's going to come down to how supportive the department feels. You're going to be with them for a while and I'd much rather take a lower ranked program or a program that doesn't fit up *exactly* with my research interests if it feels like they'll see me through the degree and support me.