passere

It's happened too many times already and we're not even an hour in XD

I would be worried about the recession messing with admissions. I'm also really worried about cost of living, but there's no guarantee for repeat offers...

I can't give advice about Hyde Park, so feel free to disregard this first part. I stayed in places in Chicago where rent was $1000 per month during undergrad. My experience is in Bridgeport, and that was a very achievable price range for up to two bedrooms. If you have a car, though, even Bridgeport isn't far from UChicago. Unfortunately, my sense is that housing directly around the major universities (UChicago, UIC, Loyola) is more expensive in general, which is why UIC students end up in Bridgeport, for example. Something that will be applicable no matter where you rent in Chicago is that a lot of the rentals start at the beginning of the month, so trying to move in by the time the quarter starts could be a challenge if you arrive a month in advance. My partner and I have always used rental sites like apartments.com and Hotpads to find our places. I had my car all 4 years I went to school. That said, you certainly don't need one. The public transportation is awesome. If UChicago is like other Chicago universities, you'll get a UPass, which gives you "free" (it's in the fees) rides on CTA buses and trains while school is in session. If you do have a car, the best situation is if you could get a parking space with your apartment. Otherwise, you'll likely be stuck parking blocks away if you ever come home late. There's always parking though--you'll learn where to look, it's just not always convenient. My partner and I have one car between us, which is really an ideal situation.

You can download the awards from last year into Excel to run analyses on them, if you'd like. It's available if you search the past awards list. Going back to the programs question, I graduated undergrad last year and start grad school next year, so this is my first time applying (social science - sociology).

My plan was to do my research in healthcare settings, which could be... concerning. There’s really no way of knowing how this will play out. Moving work to online has been a bit of a mess but at least I think we’ve got it figured out now it’s hard getting high schoolers to do homework online when they don’t even have to go to school... Seconding politicalsociology, how are you doing?

I had mine last week and no one seemed overly concerned. Flights were rather empty; I had an open seat next to me for one. Has your department said anything about it? I know some have been canceled.

Here are some questions to think about that are specific to talking to advisors: https://blog.ml.cmu.edu/2020/03/02/questions-to-ask-a-prospective-ph-d-advisor-on-visit-day-with-thorough-and-forthright-explanations/

Thanks for the perspective! I really hope I'll be able to get accommodations for turning things in late sometimes. I never tried in undergrad (mistake) and I've heard stories of some people having trouble getting the accommodations they need. I'll also have to find new providers since I'll be going across the country. It'll be an adventure, for sure.

If you haven't heard anything, it certainly can't hurt. Or that's how I would view it. It doesn't seem like you're likely to get anywhere with this professor, so there's nothing to lose by asking someone else. Maybe others have other perspectives? I've had professors who just never respond to me, even ones I have really good relationships with. Professors just forget to respond... quite often. For it to happen with your interview is just the worst time it could happen ?

That's really awkward. Is there someone else you can contact, than the person you've tried corresponding with?

Congratulations! Yeah, I'm not looking forward to getting by in California on grad student stipends, but... public universities.

I received an email from UCLA targeted at current grad students asking me to send them info for my fellowship applications before I got the email telling me I was admitted. I was very confused and also didn't want to hope. They were sent about an hour apart, so maybe your admissions email is on the way? Congratulations on funding though! If they didn't admit you, does that mean you just get money? XD

Congrats to you as well we did it!

I've got two left: McGill and Princeton

I had a similar feeling when I was looking at UCLA faculty, and similarly, it’s the only place I’ve been admitted.

Yeah the super small programs worry me for that reason. I went to a relatively small undergrad program and it was not for me.

Many acceptances are already out, and visit days are coming up! I know I'm really nervous (but also excited!), and I don't want to sidetrack the main venting thread with this. What questions are you asking? What are you looking for? I definitely want to talk to current grad students about how they make it work on their stipends. I also need to ask some specific questions about time to graduate with the advisor I'm interested in. Overall, I really just want to get a feel for the department culture, because finding somewhere where I'll be happy is really important after undergrad turned out to be such a poor fit.

Now that's really odd. My rejection also said 6 spots.

I was just notified that I received this fellowship at UCLA! It's really exciting. When I tried to do more research, I came across this thread, which only leaves me with more questions. I really wish we had answers to some of the original questions in this thread...

I saw this on another social science forum here and thought it could be useful for all of us wondering what's going on from a professor's prospective during admissions. https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/ayzqqj/i_was_the_chair_of_the_admissions_committee_heres/

Speculation time: my rejection from Toronto said that they had a particularly strong pool of applicants this year. Could that be making things take longer at other places? Or... it could be something they just say. Who knows. I'm really trying to make these delays make sense XD

Did anyone else apply to Columbia's sociomedical sciences (sociology) program? I see a few acceptances and rejections on the board, but most people aren't specifying which concentration they applied to. And like everyone else is noting with other programs, it looks super delayed from last year.

I noticed that as well XD We're just all suffering alone and in silence I guess.

I heard back from UCLA. The deadline to RSVP for their visit day is 2/14, so unfortunately if you haven't heard back by then it seems likely it's a no. I'm also waiting on some of those others you listed... haven't heard anything

Not quite as bad, but I’ve heard from 1/7. I haven’t even seen the others pop up with other admits or anything.