socstudentzzz

One of my cohort members was accepted to UC Santa Cruz earlier this month. I don't think they're done sending out acceptances, but they're having their visit day the first week of March.

Echoing what others have said, I'll definitely be going to all visit/recruitment days that I can. The POIs I mentioned in my applications are scholars who I really admire and I would love the opportunity to meet them, regardless of where I end up. Plus, even though I know what program I will most likely attend, maybe another school might change my mind? You never know.

Pretty sure I was rejected from Cornell. But that's okay! Fortunately, I still have some tough decisions to make.

I'm still waiting to hear from Cornell as well. Based on previous cycles, we should most likely hear something this week. I'm definitely not freaking out or anything

Fortunately, all the open houses/recruitment weekends I've been invited to are with programs I've already been accepted to, so my visits won't have my possible acceptance looming over them. That being said, I think my approach will be oriented around getting a feel for the culture of the department, university, and city I'll be visiting. I already did extensive research when I applied, so I have familiarity on the academic orientation of the program and key faculty members, anymore would probably just psych me out and distract from other important considerations for me. I personally won't be spending too much time reading every faculty members' work, but I do think it's important that I have a thorough understanding of how my interests relate to those faculty (and grad students) that I will be "interviewing" with. I want these interactions with faculty and grad students to be more conversational and relaxed, that way I can get a better feeling for the ways our personalities interact. The last thing I want is to work with a group of people I fundamentally don't mesh with. I also think I'll find the perspectives and opinions of current grad students (especially those on the job market) to be incredibly useful in making my decisions as they've been through the program and I think they would be a little more honest and reflexive than faculty or newer students. Something that I plan on doing, if time allows, is just walking around the campus and the surrounding area by myself to see what kind of vibe I get. Idk why, I just feel it would help me visualize the possibility of me living in that area for the next 4-6 years. In addition, I will be spending a lot of time talking to grad students about the resources available to student on and off campus. My current university provides a variety of different resources that have made my master's program incredibly enjoyable. Things like a writing center, workshop series on professional development, a grad student union, etc. While student placement and rank will play a role in my decision, I want my time working toward that degree to be somewhat enjoyable...or at least not overtly terrible. Something I didn't really think about at first is figure out what things make me unique or interesting outside of school. You can only spend so much time talking about academia and research, so I want to make sure I have a few backup topics I can discuss. Ultimately, I view these visits as opportunities for each department to sell themselves to me. They're the ones recruiting me, and they have to convince me to spend the next few years of my life with them. Just my two-cents (:

That's their loss ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm not sure what this means, but for the recruitment weekend they sent offers to ~30 people.

I've been okay, I can tell I'm getting distracted from my thesis though. I just want to know all of my application decisions so I can plan this next stage. Even though I know it won't make the decisions come faster, I have been checking my email religiously haha

Hi @wildflower21! I also applied to Cornell's joint PhD program in sociology and PAM. For good measure, I also applied to a handful of pure Sociology PhD programs that are know for being public policy oriented and have three acceptances so far (UC Irvine, South Carolina, Iowa). With UC Irvine, I applied with the hopes of getting their Master's in Demographics and Social Analysis on the way to the doctorate. I also have an interest in educational policy, particularly secondary and higher education. I'm hoping you get some good news with your remaining programs . As I've said before, you have a really impressive profile and I could easily see you being successful at any of the programs you've mentioned.

Welp, got my first rejection and it was on a Saturday. Kinda surprised, I thought I was a pretty great fit for Nebraska-Lincoln. How's everyone else's weekend going?

It seems there has already been an acceptance so I really don't see the harm in asking for an update to your application status.

I'm so happy to see all the good news Congrats!

Thanks! That's comforting to know, I think haha. Just means more waiting.

OMG!!! Congrats, that's incredible! Does anyone know if decisions for the sociology PhD program at Cornell are released at the same time as the developmental?

Hopefully you get good news and an invite! Sending positive vibes your way

Congrats potential cohort mate! I know how you feel, already getting acceptances from half of the schools I applied to is so surreal. I honestly feel a little guilty, I'm hoping others get good news in the near future. Don't be discouraged, you have an amazing profile (especially someone coming out of undergrad)! I'm heavily considering the offer at Iowa and will most likely attend the recruitment day they have planned. That being said, Irvine is the dream school for me, so I expect you may get off the wait-list.