ZeeMore21

Switched from biology to English...but I always knew that I liked English. It was mostly my parents who put a bit of pressure on me to go into the sciences and become a doctor. I just will be a different type of doctor : )

Thanks for being on top of things! I am assuming notifications will be made this coming week?

"It's not you, it's me"....I think that would be make me feel better lol

Does anyone know what's going on with Yale?

Thanks for the input! I will start reading asap. Never thought to contact a grad student, sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for bringing the dress situation up too coffeem8. I am a female and am wondering what would be appropriate to wear. Given that I probably will be walking around a lot, I want to be comfortable too. Too much to think about!

Ah, never thought about rereading the statement of purpose! Great idea coffeem8! I also can get tongue-tied when I am nervous, and I am pretty scared about this. Glad that someone is nervous too btw lol.

I would add University of Pittsburgh to the list, I am a student here right now. There is a big emphasis on cultural studies, which makes doing interdisciplinary work a lot easier here.

Those attending open houses soon, how are you preparing yourself for the open house? Are you planning on reading the work of your potential advisors before meeting them? Are you going to peruse the schools' websites ad nauseum? Are you going to rehearse how to discuss your fields of interest? I guess I am getting kind of nervous about not being as "together" as I should be for an incoming PhD when open house comes around.

My apologies as well OnceASunDevil! I think you are right on track with weighing the schools. You didn't mention location, is that a factor at all in your decision? I know everyone is different, but I figure I'd offer a factor that may be important.

I wouldn't sweat it....I applied to English PhD programs and had a minor error in my personal statement but still got into schools! It is best just to let it go! Committees are looking more for substance rather than making sure all the commas are in the right places

Considering what your project may be, I think it is nice to know that School A took the effort to make you feel welcomed. I think that it is a sign that they are truly invested in your work and will be with every step of the way in providing the support you need to create a strong project/dissertation....which means that your odds of getting a job at the end of your academic career is great.

I am agreeing with Gunner here....I am not familiar with school rankings when it comes to Political Science, but I have never heard Michigan being a second or third tier school. I wonder what ranking report you are looking at, if any.

Like everyone is saying, I don't think it would be wise to wait another year. You can't always get what you want, but you have to be grateful with what you have....and in these times, you should be very grateful to have 2 schools on your plate, that is definitely an accomplishment. I would pick the best out of these schools and get ready for the fall. You can't be too sure you would be so lucky next year.

Will do Once More!

I am pretty sure I will visit, how about you? It seems that they will pay some part of transportation and boarding costs. Not sure though.

congrats Once More!

I wanted to know if anyone knew the standard of living in Medford, MA? I recently got into Tufts and was informed that i would receive a stipend of $18,000 a year. Does this sound right?

Preach. That's all I am trying to say.

Hopefully this is my last post for this thread. I am not asking you to prove your knowledge about anything. It is my personal opinion, like it or not, that it doesn't take that much work to caution your applicants that their undergraduate GPA may be a break or make factor. There is absolutely no mention of this at all on the department's website. And what I am STILL confused about is the committee's decision to accept the applicant, knowing the GPA may be a factor. But even after it became clear it was a factor, they didn't have the decency to try their best in supporting their initial decision. If you want someone bad enough, you at least make the effort to keep them...especially since you were already in the process of creating a financial aid package for them. That's flaky to me, and if I were Dean, I would be relieved not to have to put up with that for 5+ years. Consider it a blessing in disguise...as horrible as it feels right now : /

And like I said before, if the Sociology dept. knew that the Dean of graduate admissions is usually uptight with the undergraduate GPA, they should at least have a warning on their website to prevent those who don't want to blow $80-$100 bucks on the application from applying. That is being professional.

And so have I.

I say, if a graduate admissions office is so uptight about undergraduate GPAs--to the extent that you deny someone who was a couple points under the requirement yet had stellar grades from law school--put the requirement on your website and don't make applicants believe you support a "holistic" approach to viewing applications. It is a waste of your time and the applicant's. Especially the applicant's money.

And I don't think you do either.

Neither the main graduate admissions site says anything about GPA cutoffs, nor the website for Riverside Sociology. I do not think Dean is to blame.