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Ask current grad students if their schools do this. Grad students at UCI gave me the heads up when we met up with them during admitted students days, and unlike at other programs, UCI itself was very open about this. Examples of things students at UCI have gotten from negotiations include fellowship quarters (do this! 6 years of teaching will exhaust you), years of summer funding, stipend top-ups, and rumor has it even non-monetary things like an office space with a view (can't confirm; didn't ask for or get that). Some other grad students said they had no competing offers when they negotiated; I had no competing sociology offers —  I just was really crystal clear that I wouldn't go if XYZ things I needed weren't met, whether that meant a gap year or not, and that worked. (I was serious.) I hope that helps!
Edit: If we hadn't had guaranteed housing already, I might have asked for that. Be creative! No harm as long as you're not mean or totally outrageous (e.g.  "I need $20,000 extra a year" or something crazy).

I think negotiating fellowship semesters/quarters is quite common. I’ve also heard of people being offered non-monetary incentives like office space which might be negotiable.

Same! I'll see you in the fall! Also sent you a DM. ?
BTW, for future applicants, I cannot emphasize this enough: negotiate your offers! I thought my school, especially during COVID, would never negotiate because they are a public school and likely strapped for money, and my other offers were in a different discipline — they did negotiate, both for fellowship quarters and additional money (e.g. summer funding). This is probably the only time you're in control instead of begging for things, so don't be afraid to leverage that. The worst that can happen is the school says no.

That’s great congratulations! I’m sure I’ll see you around whichever program I choose. 

I'm still deciding too, between Stanford GSE (sociology of ed) or WashU sociology

Committed to UCI sociology a few days ago. Good luck with your decision! 

Throughout my life I’ve ended up attending universities in the most expensive global cities...here’s to being poor for another 6 years aha! 
Congratulations and good luck with everything! 

Throughout my life I’ve ended up attending universities in the most expensive global cities...here’s to being poor for another 6 years aha! 
Congratulations and good luck with everything! 

I randomly got an acceptance letter today from UIC and I couldn't be more pleased! Considering they sent their first round of acceptances back in January, I assumed it was a lost cause. Plenty of people on here have said "don't give up hope" or "there's still hope" and, I must admit, I bitterly thought: "not for me." But here I am! Two acceptances so far to programs that feel so right. I am very happy! Here's to hoping for more good news. Congrats to those who have gotten in and good luck to those still waiting to hear.

Sending good vibes and crossing my fingers you hear back soon! It's so exhausting waiting when you want something so much! All the best

I actually think this thread represents my mood beautifully. 

The professor who was leading the project that was recruiting PhD students, he was part of the admission committee and also the POI in this particular case. I would think that the best bet is the professor in charge of grad admissions. Or you could also email the POI and ask if she/he could kindly redirect you to someone who could provide feedback (it's not always the case POIs are part of the admission committee, but if she/he is, then that makes things easier). Hope that makes sense!  

I'm all up for being more talkative! I just didn't want to be annoying and overload the thread aha 

I agree with what everybody’s mentioned they’re all on my list! I especially think making connections with other prospective students is really important and something related to this that I am definitely asking grad students there is what the social life is like. As in are cohorts/cross-cohorts usually quite close/sociable outside of academic hours etc? For me I’ll be moving a continent away and five years is a long time to be lonely if it turns out nobody wants to talk after class! 

I'm excited to see people from this forum at visit days! I know most probably don't want to share which ones due to anonymity, but it will be nice hanging out in person with others who shared this exciting yet anxious experience.

Yeah I wonder about this too! I've been living in the US for a time, but I'm not from here and certainly don't know anyone near the schools I'm thinking about. My guess is there will be some bonding between students coming from this kind of background, while other students with more established social networks will keep to themselves.

If you like reading theory for fun, then Bourdieu and Granovetter are quintessential. (I personally like Berger and Luckman.) Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone" is the classic community/social networking piece we read for this subject. 

Hi all! 
A non-admissions question but was wondering if anybody had any reading suggestions on social networks? I’ve got quite a lot of free time for the next few months and I’m starting to become more interested in this research area so wanted to do some reading to see if I want to take this area further.

Finally, after countless weeks of lurking on the forums and getting rejected by universities, I got an offer from Yale!
I was actually so devastated and frustrated by all the rejections that I just went on a two-day trip to countryside. Today was my second day and I just checked my e-mail at 8:00 PM EST (I live in a different part of the world) to receive an email from Yale GSAS to check the application status. I thought it would be another rejection so I logged on in the bathroom while brushing my teeth, and voila! A surprise! I am very relieved that I don't have to be so anxious anymore. I am also excited to work with the very professor who has been the inspiration for my Master's thesis and PhD topic..
Although I haven't posted much here, this thread has been one of the few things that helped keep my spirits up the past few weeks. All the encouraging words to not give up hope meant so much to me, although not directed at me. Thank you very much. I hope all of you get great offers in the few days and weeks to come. I'll keep my fingers crossed for all of you.

I always remember watching the threads in past years going "Jeez, how do people have so little patience?" I think how late everything is this year is karma for me wondering that. Arg. Sorry I cursed it.

Us and the schools not releasing admissions decisions just yet:

It was the former, sorry for not clarifying! Oo thank you for this. 
Thank you for this. Weirdly I actually own this book, I'd just never noticed. Will definitely start reading this!

It was the former, sorry for not clarifying! Oo thank you for this. 
Thank you for this. Weirdly I actually own this book, I'd just never noticed. Will definitely start reading this!

Do you mean social networks as in community and social capital or as in social networking (internet, social media)? If you mean communities and social capital I'm TAing a class right now that is reading Alienated America, which is a book by a conservative author on the issue of alienation in the US and it talks about creating social bonds between people and communities. It's pretty good, but some parts are very opinion-heavy as opposed to data-heavy. 

I'm taking a Social Networks class right now for fun and we are using the 4th addition of Social Network Analysis by John Scott as our textbook. It covers the history, main theories, and research techniques of SNA pretty well and serves as a good introduction to the field. I don't think it's a bad book at all, especially if you're into reading textbooks like me ? (plus it's a lot cheaper than some alternatives, although probably not quite as good as those)