samuelmsafford

For those of you who have been accepted and committed to a program (or are pretty certain where they will) that are still looking at this thread, I have two questions: 1) Where are you going to attend? 2) Do you know how large your cohort will be?

If anyone else here has been accepted to Michigan State, let me know! I'd love to chat.

All my love and support to everyone else currently in limbo, waiting for decisions/on a waitlist/not sure about funding. Hoping for good news for us all soon!

Still waiting on two decisions, and on three waitlists 😪 but at least it won't be too much longer before decisions have to be made. Congratulations on your acceptance(s) and making your decision! I hope it's a great fit, and I know you've got an amazing future ahead of you ☺️

This is exactly where I stand right now. Besides one program I'm waitlisted at, I feel like I could get into a program with a bitter fit in a more normal cycle. So the question is, do I settle if I do get accepted? But we also have to consider that who knows what next cycle will be like... some programs might not have gotten over their funding issues, and might keep smaller cohorts in order to prioritize current students. The uncertainty about next year is honestly the thing that's hardest to overcome. But there's still a bit less than two months before final decisions have to be made, so

I can now officially say being waitlisted after interviewing feels worse than rejections or being waitlisted with no contact first. Rip.

I think the most frustrating part of this cycle has been getting stuck in a sort of "limbo" for some schools, where we've seen both rejections and acceptances go out, but heard nothing ourself. It leaves me with a sense of hope, even though I know it's likely that they just haven't gotten around to rejecting everyone. I appreciate the cold efficiency of UT and other schools who send everything out at once/within a few days of initial rejections/acceptances, leaving no ambiguity. Anyways, good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back from schools, or also stuck in limbo!

I'm both sorry to hear that and relieved. I hope your friend is having an otherwise good cycle. Send them my best wishes!

My worry seeing the rolling Cornell rejections is that they're going alphabetically lol. If anyone's already been rejected, is your last name early in the alphabet? 😅

In previous years they've called admitted students and sent out acceptances after their first round of rejections. Last year they also seemed to have done a week or two of rolling rejections, instead of sending them out at once. That said, if you look at the history of results for Cornell across the years, there doesn't seem to be a consistent order that they reject/admit/waitlist. Crossing my fingers to get a call from Ithaca, NY in the near future though!

I was e-mailed Monday morning by the Program Coordinator to set up interviews in the first week of March. There was no indication whether they were sending these out all at once or on a rolling basis, but they have begun to reach out to those they're considering to "take part in their next stage of admissions." Hope you also hear back from them!

That's hard to speculate on I think. It definitely says something about you if you get accepted with full funding during one of the worst cycles in a long time (I know it got spotty during the Great Recession too). If the market improves, there will be fewer people looking in 5-6 years, which might also play out in your favor if you're not coming from a top program. That having been said, I think that your match with a program, publishing as a graduate student, and impressing your advisors and people in your subfield(s) of interest can go a long way in "overcoming" the lower ranking of a

It's not uncommon, though take that with a grain of salt, as I can only say that from anecdotal knowledge. I've definitely seen a few people here and on Twitter who have had to apply multiple cycles. I feel like unless you have a very clear research agenda and know how to sell yourself well, it can be difficult to get through the applications and figure out how best to approach each school's SOP requirements, etc. That said, it is VERY likely that a large number of people applying to Soc programs this year will have to apply again next cycle. A lot of top programs have suspended admission

The Development Sociology program is a PhD in another department in another college, so I'm pretty sure they're on their own timeline!

Cornell doesn't typically request interviews, and consistently sends out their first round of decisions mid-February. So we can either expect to start hearing back next week or potentially even later, since they made the GRE optional. Edit: last year was a bit out of the norm with them sending rejections early, but previous years they sent out both in mid-February. They seem a bit inconsistent. Best to reach out if you're anxious!