Valerian

@faculty Thank you for starting this thread. I also have a question: Is there any situation in which prestige supersedes supposed fit? For instance, I'm being told that my research interests will likely change. Therefore, is it better to simply go to the best program that I've been admitted to even if the department's strengths don't necessarily encompass my primary interests? Continuing with your Stanford example, let's say that I was accepted at both Stanford and Harvard, and I love social psychology (among other things). Stanford is the highest ranked department for social psychology, but Harvard is the most highly ranked sociology department period. Would I be better off going with Harvard even if I'm not super thrilled by, say, the sociology of race or urban sociology because my interests will likely change anyway?

I'll be visiting every program I was/will be accepted to. This is on the advice of several of my professors at a Top-5 institution. I was told that regardless of whether you enroll, you'll meet more of your sociological contemporaries (people that will be graduating, going on the job market, and contributing to the field around the same time as you). Also, not only will it send the signal that you gave each school a full and fair consideration (which you should, regardless of where you -think- you want to be now), the schools you don't attend may be schools to which you'll be applying for positions in a few years -- apparently memories in academia are quite long. So, if you think you can spare the time, and they are offering to cover your expenses, I think it's worth it to visit each of the schools at which you've been offered a place.

Just heard from Northwestern, so if anyone else applied, I encourage you to check your portal. I didn't get an e-mail.