earlgrey99

@KevinJHa yeah I did. I just haven't said anything on here since everyone is concerned about the big name schools on here so I decided to keep the news to myself. I haven't heard about funding, but going to talk to the grad director tomorrow and I have a million questions to ask about the program! Lol.

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?

1) Overall Program Ranking
2) Subfield Ranking
3) Funding opportunities pre and post graduation
4) Flora/Fauna of local ecosystem
5) Relative, not absolute, age of faculty
6) ((Sum of Ranking of PhD Programs Attended by Faculty)/Total Number of Faculty)*2) + OR - number of delis (depending on the distribution)
7) Is there a Trader Joes? If yes, how big is the hot bar?
8) Will they pay me via Western Union? If not, will they deposit to my offshore bank account? (this money will be automatically re-routed to an on-shore bank account, so I'm not concerned about how this looks)
9) Summer funding? Competitive funding is preferred 
10) Teaching opportunities at local community college? Local preschools?
11) Is there a climate of success? Do they call themselves a family? Can I call my advisor dad?

I got in at Notre Dame!! Woohoo!!! International student from a developing country, applying out if my field. I can't believe it. I'm over the moon!

This post moved me, and I am frustrated by the obstacles that we, in a structural sense, allow parenthood to create. I also deeply admire your grit, courage, and perseverance. I am currently involved in motherhood penalty-related research, and WOW does your situation hit home, especially "I guess I thought from an ideological standpoint, the ONE place that would be supportive of a working mother would be a Sociology dept but alas, nope nope nope."
I obviously don't have influence in the outcomes of this app cycle for you, but I do have tremendous respect, admiration, and frustration for your situation.

This post moved me, and I am frustrated by the obstacles that we, in a structural sense, allow parenthood to create. I also deeply admire your grit, courage, and perseverance. I am currently involved in motherhood penalty-related research, and WOW does your situation hit home, especially "I guess I thought from an ideological standpoint, the ONE place that would be supportive of a working mother would be a Sociology dept but alas, nope nope nope."
I obviously don't have influence in the outcomes of this app cycle for you, but I do have tremendous respect, admiration, and frustration for your situation.

This post moved me, and I am frustrated by the obstacles that we, in a structural sense, allow parenthood to create. I also deeply admire your grit, courage, and perseverance. I am currently involved in motherhood penalty-related research, and WOW does your situation hit home, especially "I guess I thought from an ideological standpoint, the ONE place that would be supportive of a working mother would be a Sociology dept but alas, nope nope nope."
I obviously don't have influence in the outcomes of this app cycle for you, but I do have tremendous respect, admiration, and frustration for your situation.

This post moved me, and I am frustrated by the obstacles that we, in a structural sense, allow parenthood to create. I also deeply admire your grit, courage, and perseverance. I am currently involved in motherhood penalty-related research, and WOW does your situation hit home, especially "I guess I thought from an ideological standpoint, the ONE place that would be supportive of a working mother would be a Sociology dept but alas, nope nope nope."
I obviously don't have influence in the outcomes of this app cycle for you, but I do have tremendous respect, admiration, and frustration for your situation.

This post moved me, and I am frustrated by the obstacles that we, in a structural sense, allow parenthood to create. I also deeply admire your grit, courage, and perseverance. I am currently involved in motherhood penalty-related research, and WOW does your situation hit home, especially "I guess I thought from an ideological standpoint, the ONE place that would be supportive of a working mother would be a Sociology dept but alas, nope nope nope."
I obviously don't have influence in the outcomes of this app cycle for you, but I do have tremendous respect, admiration, and frustration for your situation.

@proctorvt thank you so much for your incredibly thoughtful and heartfelt message.
I’m in my early 30’s and already put aside a career in finance when I got pregnant with my first back in 2014 since I was working on my MA concurrently and saw it as a sign to pursue grad school full time. I was fortunate enough to get a fellowship that covered full scholarship and stipend (which went entirely to help with childcare - babysitters are $20/hr in nyc area and daycare is around $3500/mo.) but it was incredibly hard to do both full time at home with a newborn and grad school. I had my second last year and managed to juggle another newborn with a toddler, a doctoral course (while I deferred the MA offer on maternity leave ), PhD applications, and working remotely on a European study. I figured with all this wind behind the sails, I finally had a fighting chance. With another little one coming in July (we are done after this lol) I don’t have the fight left in me to torture myself and my partner and kids to keep clawing for a space somewhere I’m clearly not wanted.
Without institutional support to get IRB and funding, I have 0 chance of pursuing any more original research. I can try to boost my gre score (162 Q and 158 V) but as another year passes, my entire portfolio will age too while my peers continue to grow and plump up their credentials. Is it conceivable? Depends who you ask. Is it possible? Anything is. Is it probable? We all know there is overwhelming evidence pointing to no. Even going back to finance at this point is fruitless bc the few years out of the game have set me back professionally to a point where the comp won’t even cover the cost of childcare for the insane amount of hours I’d have to put in at the office (yay gender pay gap!). I’m out of ideas. I don’t know where to go from here. 
Btw I’m including personal details bc 1) it clearly doesn’t make a difference anymore and 2) I have not come across many students who are primary caretakers for anyone but themselves. So many have to or choose to put off/sacrifice the personal side of their lives, whether it’s their relationships or families, to pursue this field and others simply have the road “paved in gold,” as you said. I guess I thought from an ideological standpoint, the ONE place that would be supportive of a working mother would be a Sociology dept but alas, nope nope nope. 

I feel your pain.  I am also a primary caregiver of 3 young children.  I've also been accepted no where yet (2 rejections and 4 still pending).  I think most people that get accepted are young, and without children.  Probably you chose where you applied to with the expectation that you couldn't move, yes?  I can't move, so applied to literally every program in my geographic area.  Most young people that are unattached can apply to the program that is a perfect fit for them because they can relocate.
 
I think your GRE scores are fine, because I've seen a bunch of people get accepted to schools with much lower.  I really think it's about showing off to the committees with your LORs, writing sample, and statement of purpose.  Plus, in the end--if you get rejected--you will have no idea why.  It could be the phrasing of one sentence in your writing sample--who knows.
 
I can't just be GRE scores that are causing some people to get accepted to many schools at once.  My advice to you--because I'm going to do the same if I get accepted no where--is to flat out call or email one of the schools and ask them how you could have done better (i.e., how you could have gotten accepted).  You'd have nothing to lose.

@proctorvt I have felt like I've been in this with you-- still rooting for you. I just got in to NYU! Apparently they didn't send the emails all at once. The email said they "anticipate" the cohort will be 9 students, so I would imagine they have/will accept more than 9 if they expect that will be their yield. 

@proctorvt I have felt like I've been in this with you-- still rooting for you. I just got in to NYU! Apparently they didn't send the emails all at once. The email said they "anticipate" the cohort will be 9 students, so I would imagine they have/will accept more than 9 if they expect that will be their yield. 

@proctorvt I have felt like I've been in this with you-- still rooting for you. I just got in to NYU! Apparently they didn't send the emails all at once. The email said they "anticipate" the cohort will be 9 students, so I would imagine they have/will accept more than 9 if they expect that will be their yield. 

@proctorvt I have felt like I've been in this with you-- still rooting for you. I just got in to NYU! Apparently they didn't send the emails all at once. The email said they "anticipate" the cohort will be 9 students, so I would imagine they have/will accept more than 9 if they expect that will be their yield. 

After my dejected post about Davis, I just found out I got accepted!!! I was truly convinced I hadn't made it in...so to those still waiting, don't give up hope just yet! 

Also (im)patiently waiting on NYU-- radio silence here!

Howdy, y'all! I went to UT Austin for undergrad and absolutely loved it; Austin is an absolutely kickass city. This being said, prices are rising as Austin is very quickly growing (and gentrifying, which is going to be a hot topic btw, should you move there). You'll find that most students, undergrads included, do not live in university housing. Maybe freshmen, but from what I understand, even freshmen aren't guaranteed housing anymore. I personally never lived on-campus (I lived in West Campus for 3 years, then spent my senior year in Hyde Park). Here's my little breakdown on student living as I saw it. I'll outline the more common student neighborhoods, although there are definitely more!
POPULAR STUDENT NEIGHBORHOODS: 
West Campus : Right behind Guadalupe St., the large stretch that separates West Campus and Main Campus. Guadalupe St. is also lovingly referred to by Longhorns as "the drag." The Drag has a ton of businesses, cafés and small restaurants that, sadly, fluctuate in and out of business. Certain staples like Caffé Medici, however, are super popular meeting spots for all types of students (namely Liberal Arts). West campus tends to extend from MLK Jr. to roughly ~31st street, and between Guadalupe St. and  Lamar Boulevard. Super expensive because of its proximity to campus (2br/2ba will run anywhere from 850-1500 per room, price decreasing as you go towards Lamar). Apartments are tall, new, rather nice and furnished. You may be able to find more humble abodes sprinkled around, if you look hard enough. Also, beware -- this is the Fraternity and Sorority neighborhood, which may not be the most savory for graduate students (unless you're dying to hear the Kappa Delta chant every day in August!) Super popular for undergrads leaving campus housing and getting their first apartment with friends, as well as people in Greek Life. 
Far West: Essentially the area between MLK Jr. and 51st, but between Lamar Blvd and Mopac Expressway. Way quieter and relatively cheaper than West/NW Campus, but Mopac can be a nightmare, so beware! I don't personally know many people who lived here, but the expressway is a great way to traverse Austin if you're not stuck on it between 4 and 6 PM. This back area has a lot of little businesses and houses; I've seen some apartments, but small room-for-rent houses definitely seem to be more common. If you go west enough, you'll start to see rather large, family houses, some of which may also rent to students. The only people I knew here were two PhD Candidates who were near defense. Seems to be pretty popular with standard Austinites and young professors. 
North/North West Campus : The areas surrounding Guadalupe, extending to Lamar (west) and I-35 (east), around 31st to 38th streets. Much calmer than West Campus. Still a heavy student population density, and still rather expensive. Mostly small, multi-bedroom houses as well. There are apartments, but they're not nearly as swanky as West Campus (2br/2ba will probably be in the 650-950 range per room). Next to some cool pubs, brunch places and bars, but not as busy as the West/Main Campus area. Good parties here for upperclassmen and graduate students. If you go east of Guadalupe, towards I-35, you essentially run into the engineering department of UT and the beginnings of Hyde Park, which is a super cool area. 
Mueller : 38th to 51st but on the east side of I-35. I love Mueller and spent a lot of time here. The East Side of Austin is historically a very African-American/Hispanic/Latinx population, but as I previously mentioned, gentrification is challenging that. Mueller housing is mostly professors, TAs and young lecturers, and the student population starts to wane off a bit. However, you can find some awesome, authentic food in this area, and it's incredibly cheap. Also has very cool, hole-in-the-wall coffee shops. Mostly houses, as well, prices comparable to Hyde Park, possibly a bit cheaper.
Cherrywood: from 28th to Airport, on the east side of I-35 (Austin starts to get very loopy and curvy on this side of I-35 around Cherrywood/Mueller, so it's harder to differentiate the neighborhoods). Mostly houses as well, super similar to Mueller. Cherrywood Coffeehouse was one of my favorites during undergrad
Hyde Park : Where I lived during my senior year, a personal favorite neighborhood of mine! Very quaint, mostly house rentals. Lots of trees and cute houses. Little shacks that sell sandwiches and coffee/pastries are not rare. This area is east of Guadalupe, from around 38th to 51st street, between Guadalupe and I-35. I had an awesome studio for about $800 (still a lot, but it was very spacious and nice, I also had my dog). You may be able to find a studio starting around $700 or even $650. I had friends in a 6 bed, 3 bath home who paid around $450-$650 a person. Super popular for upperclassmen, graduate students and young professors/lecturers. Also, people/students with families. A lot of parks and many, many cafés, almost no parties. Suburban in the cozier sense. TONS of buses that run to UT. 
The Triangle: Between 38th and 45th on the west side of Guadalupe, you find a ton of shopping centers. Housing picks back up again after 45th up until about 51st in The Triangle. I know some underclassmen who lived here, and surprisingly, not a lot of graduate students. Rent isn't necessarily cheaper than say Northwest campus, though, because the residential area is really nice and in a pretty swanky shopping center. So it's nice, but further away. Thankfully, the 801/803/1/5 buses run really frequently to UT and it doesn't take too long to get from the Triangle to Main Campus (the bus typically stops along the Drag). If you have a car, it's even easier. Super close to grocery shopping, suburban in the fancier sense. 
Riverside : South of the lake, along Riverside Drive. Even more south than Downtown. Incredibly popular low-cost housing options for undergrads and graduate students alike. A 1br/1ba will run around $500-$700 for a pretty nice space in a newer apartment complex. Heavily suggest having a car, though, because I've heard buses are irregular from here -- had a ton of friends in undergrad who lived in this area who would run late for class. Students in Riverside tend to be cut off from the general UT population, which can stink. It's a rather suburban area near the river, and has great access to outdoorsy-Austin, SoCo and downtown. However, it does have some safety issues (such as theft. Rest assured, Austin is a generally safe city overall!) 
Downtown (super south) : From MLK to Cesar Chavez. A huge business district and high rises galore. Some coffee shops with almost no capacity, I don't even try going down there during finals. I don't know anybody who lived here, personally, but a cool place to take family that's visiting! Buses run from UT Campus to 6th street/Rainey/Red River very frequently, with nightbuses on weekends and Thursdays (pour one out for the dirty 6th!) In terms of nightlife, 6th street is very undergraduate-dense, Rainey tends to be more for graduate students and upperclassmen with IDs. The West End is Downtown around 6th Street and Lamar, and is very, very swanky, with the Whole Foods and lots of fancy Yoga places. South Congress is south of the river, and is mainly for new graduates and general Austinites. 
North of 51st (super north): Around Burnet and the North Loop, the student population tends to wane off as well. Not too sure about the graduate student density, but these areas have great, quieter, larger coffee shops and tend to cater to standard Austinites. 
OTHER HINTS: 
Should I bring a car? I did, and it really helped with stuff such as groceries. However, if you have a roommate, you may fare well with one car between you. The buses are pretty good, but not as frequent as much bigger cities. UT Austin students get free bus fare as well, so benefit from that, especially since downtown parking is impossible!
Is food cheap? Food is pretty standard; not as expensive as a big city such as NYC, but maybe more comparable to the quieter parts of Seattle/Portland. TONS of awesome takeout places and really diverse cuisine! South of the lake, you'll find really nice, little gourmet restaurants  Tons of HEBs, Wal-Marts and Targets, if you don't want to spend too much money on food. You WILL, however, have to partake in ATX craft beer culture from time to time  TONS and TONS of coffee shops. Coffee shop culture is gigantic in ATX, and all UT students have their favorites/opinions! 
How is the UT Campus? UT is absolutely stunning as a campus and I miss it dearly. It's a sprawling, shockingly green campus with tons of trees, fountains and beautiful places to study. You'll also find a ton of good food and coffee places on campus (F*** Starbucks and GO TO TEXAS COFFEE TRADERS!)  
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So yeah, that's my very rough beginner's guide to ATX! It was an awesome city with tons of diners, cafés and fun things to do. If anybody has any questions, don't be shy  I was in Liberal Arts, but know a little bit about every department!

Wow, thanks for this! Very helpful and thoughtful, and will certainly become a part of my calculations if I can manage to get ahold of some folks.
Right now I'm deciding between two programs, and while it initially felt very overwhelming, I've gotten a lot of information in the past couple of days that has helped make me feel much more certain about which way I'm leaning. I'm currently working in a research position, and I'm really keen on continuing to research. TAing isn't something that sounds thrilling to me (and I don't really have aspirations of staying at a university to teach, so I'm not overly concerned with gaining experience teaching-- I'm sure at some point in the 5-7 years I'll give it a go, but not my top priority).
Both schools have offered me roughly the same amount of funding, but one has offered me a research assistant position out of the gate. I've been in touch with a grad student at the second institution, and they've indicated that it's a huge rarity at that institution to get a full RA position. Even before the RA position was offered, the 1st school was offering me the same amount of money for less work--summers funded with 0 strings. What all this adds up to me is opportunities to hone my research skills, work with data, and potentially publish, which are all only going to help me in the long run to get more funding (through school grants, as well as outside grants like maybe the NSF GRFP?) and land a job on the other side of this whole thing.
My point in all of this is, if this is a consideration that makes sense for you (obviously there are lots of things to weigh!), think hard about what you're being asked to do to earn the funding you're offered. I imagine that we're going to have a lot of demands on our time, so if there are options that seem neck and neck, but one is offering you the same money for less work (or more appealing work), that's something to think on, as it might allow you to build up your CV in ways that will have short term and long term payoffs.

Wow, thanks for this! Very helpful and thoughtful, and will certainly become a part of my calculations if I can manage to get ahold of some folks.
Right now I'm deciding between two programs, and while it initially felt very overwhelming, I've gotten a lot of information in the past couple of days that has helped make me feel much more certain about which way I'm leaning. I'm currently working in a research position, and I'm really keen on continuing to research. TAing isn't something that sounds thrilling to me (and I don't really have aspirations of staying at a university to teach, so I'm not overly concerned with gaining experience teaching-- I'm sure at some point in the 5-7 years I'll give it a go, but not my top priority).
Both schools have offered me roughly the same amount of funding, but one has offered me a research assistant position out of the gate. I've been in touch with a grad student at the second institution, and they've indicated that it's a huge rarity at that institution to get a full RA position. Even before the RA position was offered, the 1st school was offering me the same amount of money for less work--summers funded with 0 strings. What all this adds up to me is opportunities to hone my research skills, work with data, and potentially publish, which are all only going to help me in the long run to get more funding (through school grants, as well as outside grants like maybe the NSF GRFP?) and land a job on the other side of this whole thing.
My point in all of this is, if this is a consideration that makes sense for you (obviously there are lots of things to weigh!), think hard about what you're being asked to do to earn the funding you're offered. I imagine that we're going to have a lot of demands on our time, so if there are options that seem neck and neck, but one is offering you the same money for less work (or more appealing work), that's something to think on, as it might allow you to build up your CV in ways that will have short term and long term payoffs.

I just got an email from UW Madison. The program has recommended me for admission, graduate school is just waiting on my official transcript. No acceptance letter yet, but O M F G 
 
I'm on top of the world. 5 more schools to hear from, but they can all be rejections for all I care. 

Just got invited to Northeastern open house next week via email! Northeastern was my last choice but I'm just happy I got something!!!!!!!

I had some good news this morning! I got my dream job working as a researcher for a huge social research company. At least if I don’t get any offers I have a damned good back up plan

Second this for folks who are feeling anxious about schools that they've applied to contacting people, but not them. I had totally written off UNC, assuming they'd have sent everything out by the end of the week last week, and was stunned to get an acceptance via email yesterday. It's not over until it's over! Hang in there, friends.

Second this for folks who are feeling anxious about schools that they've applied to contacting people, but not them. I had totally written off UNC, assuming they'd have sent everything out by the end of the week last week, and was stunned to get an acceptance via email yesterday. It's not over until it's over! Hang in there, friends.