Dear @pinoysoc, as a lurker for the past 3 years and someone who shares your feelings in terms of being absolutely done with this nonsense process, I do want to offer a shoulder and this: while it may not any consolation at all, please have faith that this process is bs and a total gamble and not at all indicative of your potential or value as a researcher. That is not to knock those who do/did get in - we still very may - but to reassure you that even under the circumstances of a “positive” outcome, it would not be based on merit alone. There is no such thing. There are so many different factors that have to align for someone to be chosen - the admission rate statistics tell us this much. If this does not work out, I will trust that it’s simply not my time. Being a sociologist is not about a degree, it is about the way you look at the world and frame your questions.
After an email exchange with a poi at a top 5 program (a month or so after my rejection last year), the professor read my master’s thesis and met with me to discuss ideas for future research and gave me permission to audit their doctoral methods course. I spent a semester sitting alongside advanced doctoral sociology students at a top program and I am convinced this entire system boils down to money. The professor thought the program was crap (and came from the best of the best) and encouraged me to apply to even better ones after getting to know me and seeing the impact of my participation and contributions to my classmates throughout the seminar. I tell you this bc it just reinforced that there is nothing separating the accepted from the rejected save an institutional affiliation. My experience gave me the confidence to apply for a fellowship offered to advanced phd’s and faculty and I found out yesterday, I got it. Again - how does this make sense??? I’m not even in a PhD program. None of it makes sense. If you want to continue learning and pursuing research, do it. Please don’t give up hope and don’t let these institutions define you.