[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

4 hours ago, lkaitlyn said:

Irvine sent out acceptances in early February. (That’s probably why you don’t see the acceptances on the first few pages of results at this point.) Historically UCI waits to respond to others until they know they aren’t extending more offers, so it’s kind of like a waitlist of sorts? They’re fuzzy about it. Recruitment weekend is next week so people will start deciding whether to accept or not soon, which will hopefully help you get a decision faster. Hang in there!

UCI send acceptances at the end of January. I rejected their offer yesteday so hope the place opens up soon and they can notify those on the waitlist! And yes, hopefully after recruitment days (6th and  7th) next week admitted students with multiple offers will make their minds sooner rather than later. 

All the best!!

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

30 minutes ago, lkaitlyn said:

Who did you ask (e.g., professor in charge of grad admissions, program coordinator, POI)?

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!  

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

13 hours ago, lkaitlyn said:

I'd like to as well. I've heard of people doing it before. Can any former applicants who have successfully gotten feedback on rejected applications weigh in?

Hi! I've asked for feedback when I was rejected from a PhD program/research project at a European university  (IHEID) last year. I felt like there was nothing to lose, and I had been exchanging with the POI (in this case, the professor who was leading the project). His feedback was that the fit/experience from other applicants was stronger/more relevant than mine. 

I don't think it's silly to ask for feedback, even if you get a similar response (that does not directly speak of the quality of your application but rather focuses on those of the others) or no response at all. It may give you peace of mind, like it did to me.  

[2020 Visit Days Questions Thread]

Thank you for making this thread!! 

I will also be talking to grad students, esp those working with my potential supervisors to know who's their mentoring style, are they keen to collaborate, etc. Support for post-phd career, employment opportunities.

 I'm also planning to ask a lot of questions in this Twitter thread !

 

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

Good morning! I hope the waiting time is over or almost over for most of you!! We are almost there!

I was just wondering for those who applied to UChicago and have not heard back yet, does the admission portal now asks you to submit official transcripts? I do not see any decision letter or status change...so I find this a bit puzzling. 

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

1 hour ago, PoliticalSociology said:

UCI's Visit Days are March 6-7. I'm tempted to go, but it's not my top choice, and I don't want to commit if I might want to go to a different Visit Day at that time. Do people think schools that release decisions later will consistently have later Visit Days? Like, is it safe to assume schools that admit after today will have Visit Days after March 6?

I'm in a similar situation and hope that those releasing decisions next week/week after would organize Visit Days later in the month. This would give international students like me some time to get a visa and deal with all the paperwork that entails. Of course, that is only my hope. If there is anyone out there who may have some intel on likely Visit Days for unis releasing decisions next week (e.g. Stanford, Upenn, Harvard, etc.), plese do share! ?

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

1 hour ago, 0102030405 said:

Hi all! I was just wondering if anybody else comes from a non-Sociology background?

Yes! International development/environmental sustainability - but worked with anthropologists and sociologists during undergrad and grad school

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

On 1/20/2020 at 6:50 PM, MFSocio said:

I spoke with a POI from Irvine and it was a super friendly, calm conversation. We talked a lot about ourselves outside of academia, what I am specifically looking for in a program, what the culture is like and he gave me recommended reading for my current thesis. It felt like we were both interviewing each other through casual conversation. Major questions I was asked: what are you interested in studying/researching, why are you interested in that topic and why Irvine? At the end he said he would be recommending me for admission but I am not sure what that means in terms of getting accepted or not. Don't be nervous- be yourself! Good luck!!

Thank you for sharing this!! And also to all others who share about their interview experience. The phone call was very casual and friendly conversation that ultimately felt like I was interviewing him since he did not ask me anything. Thankfully I made of list of questions inspired by this guide http://mitch.web.unc.edu/files/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf Although it's for soc psyc, it was helpful to start thinking of questions when you don't really have time to prepare because of a full-time job/time difference. 

I am also an international student (yay!). I did not ask about how many international students had been offered admission and did not get the sense that they were done with scheduling interviews/phone calls. He did say that they were still contacting people this week. I was also told that even though I am offered admission, funding will become clear towards the end of February, and that I should let him know about other offers I get since that will help him make a case for me. Not sure if this is the case for or was told to the other international applicants, but thought I should share in case you feel like you need further clarity on this from your POI/professor who contacted you for the interview (they should be able to help).

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

1 hour ago, lkaitlyn said:

Congrats! Don't stress too much about it. I had one phone call for a different program (not sociology) with my POI, director of grad studies, and the program coordinator and it ended up being super chill, even though I felt like I made a total fool out of myself at times. They really were more interested in answering my questions than they were in asking me questions. The only questions they asked me were about things I liked in classes I'd taken, what I was interested in researching, etc. And if you look at past years, Irvine's interviews seem pretty low-key. You'll rock it! ?

This is very kind of you, thank you for sharing your experience! 

[2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD]

9 hours ago, lkaitlyn said:

Also, congrats to the person who just posted about getting an Irvine interview! If you're reading this and feel comfortable answering, was it from a POI or the department itself?

Hi, I wasn't the person you are referring to but I got an email from a POI at UCI yesterday (18/1) asking for a phone call. I am new to this process so and only know about work interviews and I'm feeling a bit anxious on how to prepare for this...but feeling hopeful and happy of course  hope we continue hearing back/getting results this week!