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gradgirrrl

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Posts posted by gradgirrrl

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    7 hours ago, syza said:

     

    Sure, in case it helps!

    By the end of February, I received all by rejections. I was devastated. I just could not process it or make any narrative sense of it. I was pretty confident that I will get in somewhere; my friends and recommendation letter writers were even more confident. It was suggested that I contact professors at schools I have applied to, asking what I could do to improve my applications next time. I just couldn't even muster the courage to do that. Really, it was a period of darkness until June. I won't torment you with my depressive state of being.

     Then in June, I took a 2 weeks vacation. It was a helpful change. After return back to work, I decided that I should reapply to grad schools again, after a lot of soul searching. My GRE were valid for one more year, and I was still passionate about doctoral studies, so decided to give it a shot. I read some of the statement of purpose of my friends that have gotten in. I realized they were more impersonal/citational/jargon-y in their statements, meanwhile I was more biographical and chronological. I also spotted that I had only applied to the top 10 schools (clearly overconfident, with a conflated sense of self). I decided to expand the range to top 40 instead. I decided not to apply to any below top 40, given that the job prospects are non-existent if you stray outside the hierarchy. I threw myself into the application process from July onward.

     Then came the process of selecting departments, working on writing samples, and writing the statement of purpose. I decided to apply to only those departments in the top 40 programs that had at least 6 professors that I would want to work with. Arbitrary number, but I needed some selection criteria. I found 18 programs that met this criteria. I then read at least 3 essay by these 6 professors in each program. After reading them, I read some more essays, especially those that were cited the most by the professors I had already read and those that stood out as particularly promising. After reading all of their essays, I ranked the professors from 1 to 5, based on my subjective interests in their work. This was really helpful in eliminating other schools. Being cost sensitive and focusing on quality over quantity, I decided to only apply to 10 programs. I ended up applying to the 10 programs that I gave the highest points, based on my essay readings.

    This informal literature review process was very helpful in writing my statement of purpose and tweaking my writing sample. I wrote highly individualized statements, based on what the professors had said in the essays I read, especially making use to use the keywords, highlighting key problems, and talking about how I personally would expand on this research question. My writing sample was similarly reworked to incorporate all the essays I had read, although this wasn't individualized to each program as that would be just practically impossible.

     I kept reworking on this till the application deadline, and then I checked out. The rest in history.

    I probably went overboard with this process. It was incredibly time consuming. But, I really enjoyed it. I am sure all those essays I have read will be very helpful for the actual graduate studies.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask me anything else.

    Hey! Super helpful! Thank you for taking the time to write out your process. 

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, syza said:

    Geez, this thread went from high anxiety generating to deeply toxic. Feels good that I avoided the forums this time around. My condolences to all the real humans that had to sit through the toxic troll fest.

    Good luck with the arduous path of an academic life for those who will be starting the PhD this year, and my best wishes to those who will try again with applications next year around. I applied to 12 programs last year, and got rejected from all. This time around I applied to 10, and got accepted to 2 programs ranked in the 10s and 2 programs ranked in the 30s. I am really excited about this, especially given that I got into one of my dream schools! Amazing things can happen...

     

    Would you mind sharing what changed in your application or tactic? I know a lot of people on here would be interested! 

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, ReallyCritical said:

    During the interview last week, I asked my POI and he said near the beginning of March. So maybe  they will let us know by the end of next week or early the week after.

    Even with that information, I have been religiously checking my inbox, this forum, and the results page hoping that they would send results out earlier.

    thank you for the info! this at least helps me relax ( a little ) until end of next week. and same here! solidarity ❤️ 

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted · Edited by gradgirrrl

    15 minutes ago, queersoc said:

    I've heard horror stories of Chicago only offering half stipends to multiple PhD students who are coming straight from undergrad. I can't speak to the veracity of the website but that at least checks out for Chicago...

    i know this happens in other disciplines at Berkeley. My partner is in the English PhD and they know some students who have half the amount of the stipend they were allocated. Seems to be common practice in some departments. 

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    1 minute ago, NReken said:

    Mine was... eh. My POI told me that the committee will be meeting Thursday (tomorrow) to decide on the final group of applicants. He said he would email me either way. Fingers crossed! 

    oh lordddddd thanks for the update. mine was "eh" as well, less rigorous and specific than I had hoped and prepared for. fingers crossed for us both. 

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, SgtDonut said:

    So much exciting news the last couple of days. I know it's hard for those of us who haven't received any acceptances yet or have been rejected from some of our top choices. Not to be one of those "self-care!!!" types, but I wanted to ask if anyone had some positive tactics for dealing with the rejection and disappointment that comes with this whole process. I am a little worried about my fellow posters who may not be happy with their results so far.

     I feel joy for those who have been accepted to these top-five schools while simultaneously feeling bad that I wasn't chosen. It's not like I really expected to get into Michigan or Stanford, and I know that the process is essentially random depending on who's in the room when your application is read, etc. And I know that there are far too many qualified candidates who could thrive at those places. I guess I'm in good company. I'm very fortunate to have gotten into two places, so maybe I should just be grateful for that. But it's still hard to understand how somewhere like Stanford picks like 5-10 people out of hundreds to accept.

      

    This is a sweet and refreshing post. I've been going on walks and runs to clear my hear when feeling the weight of the disappointment. I think, realistically, it's very difficult for these programs to choose from among so many incredible applicants. There is no shame in re-applying with a broader net if you don't get into a suitable program as, in the US, we're lucky to have so many great options. I'm currently in a Masters program so I know if I re-apply next year I will have my dissertation for a writing sample and recs from my supervisor, which will hopefully change the game if I find myself needing to go through this process again.

    I think rejection is part of the life of an academic, and rolling with the punches is an important thing to do. For my fellow applicants who have been rejected so far, I've reminded myself that another year out means another year to improve your application and explore the field/your own interests. Sometimes things take patience, and a PhD/life in academia is a marathon, not a sprint. Lots of hugs, though. I know this is hard. 

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted · Edited by gradgirrrl

    19 hours ago, jriveracal said:

    I checked the graduate student profiles of my undergrad school. Most of them did not state where they went to undergrad...just listed basic interests. Of those that did list on their profile, 4/29 of them did go to my undergrad institution before joining the same school as a graduate student. Though only 2 of these people majored in sociology and then entered the same sociology program as a grad student. The other two majored in other things then joined the same school's sociology Ph.D program. Interesting.

    I was reallyyyyy hoping for a shot at getting into my undergrad school for graduate school, but apparently one of their current students literally went to the same undergrad as me, and even the same community college as me. She was just accepted last year. Fuck me, right? lol There goes that ship.

    I literally cannot imagine that would be considered as a factor if they wanted you... graduate programs are far more about fit and academic potential to contribute to the field meaningfully than they are about where you went to undergraduate, no?

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Lara5 said:

    has anyone applied to the mphil in sociology at Cambridge university? if so, have you received a response?

    Hey! I'm an MPhil there now and I applied. They have a "committee meeting" tomorrow which will likely be a time where they make a lot of application decisions. I would check tomorrow evening/friday to see if there is a change in your app via the portal. The app stages are submitted- under consideration by department- graduate committee- board of graduate studies. If you get to the graduate studies phase, you're as good as in if you didn't lie on your application (it is largely a ticking boxes step). In my experience, the sociology department usually doesn't indicate if you've been passed from the department to the graduate committee, so you would likely go straight from under consideration by the department to the board of graduate studies. 

    Who did you put as your supervisor/what are your research interests? 

     

    Interviews/Acceptances/Rejections Fall 2019

    in Sociology Forum

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I really delayed participating in this board because I was worried I would jinx myself (lol). I'm currently getting my MPhil at Cambridge in Sociology and am interested in reproduction & migration. Shaking in my boots over the UCLA admits going out and keeping my fingers crossed. My biggest app weakness is my GRE scores so I'm hoping I don't just get tossed out based on those alone. Love & solidarity during this particularly painful waiting time! 

     

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