SleeplessInSomewhere

Check the student profiles of programs where you're looking to apply and see what backgrounds they're coming from. For example, where I applied, most were definitely coming in with work experience + a masters degree. I personally don't understand this advice of go straight from undergrad to PhD. You gain a lot from work experience and a masters degree can help you figure out what you want to research in the long run + gives you an edge when you apply for PhDs. Just my two cents. Also, have you read through the other posts? This cycle has been a nightmare, and the next one probably will be, too. People who had a solid chance in the past no longer do because competition is soaring even higher than usual now.

kdsjm

Soooo... I've come up with a list of programs and what their application deadlines were... No idea if there is a correlation between the application deadline and the time they usually reach out to the shortlist... My guess is that those whose deadlines were in January probably won't be getting back to us before mid-Feb, at least. But, please feel free to build on this list! December 1 deadline: University of Chicago - currently conducting interviews University of Illinois Urbana Champaign - finished interviews, extended offers Rutgers - finished interviews, offers to be extended first week of Feb UT Austin - no updates UCLA - acceptances sent out December 2 deadline: Stanford - no updates December 15 deadline: Harvard - no updates CUNY GC - interviews held this week Jan 2 deadline: Yale - no updates Jan 4 deadline: NYU - no updates New School for Social Research - no updates Jan 5 deadline: Arizona State University - acceptances and rejections sent out Please add to this list! I have also taken the liberty of emailing UT Austin asking for a tentative date of when we should expect to hear back, as well as whether the department intends to conduct interviews this year. Anyone want to take one for the team and do the same with Stanford/any of the remaining schools so we have an idea of what to expect? :)) please, pretty please?

I don't see why not, just phrase it politely

It seems that a lot of programs who didn't do interviews in the past are opting to do so this cycle. It is probably because of the high number of applicants and the need to find an additional way to filter down the candidates. I've had three interviews so far and supposed to have a fourth this week, so I'll mention some of the common questions that came up: 1) In a 20 minute interview with four faculty members, I was asked the following: - Why do you want to do a PhD in Sociology? - Why do you want to do a PhD in Sociology at this department? - What characteristics should a graduate student have? - There was also a fourth question but I can't remember it... I answered the above in 7-10 minutes so we had about ten minutes left for me to ask any questions. As I'm switching from another social science discipline, I had to also justify that switch and how my previous education would complement my upcoming training as a sociologist. I familiarized myself with the department faculty, the graduate student handbook, the facilities on campus and gave a specific answer about why I wanted that particular department. I do suggest having questions prepared from your side so it isn't an awkward ten minutes and so they don't end the conversation early because you don't have any questions. Do your homework, study their website, their graduate student handbook, their faculty profiles - come with specific questions so they know you're keen and committed. I asked about resources (facilities, workshops, centre affiliations etc), and the general stages of progression through the PhD. 2) In another interview that was more casual (lasted about 45 mins), the faculty member referred to my CV and SOP to ask for more details about my past research and work experience and how it can tie into my work as a doctoral student. We found that there was a lot of overlap in our interests so the conversation kind of carried itself. For this call I also came prepared with questions, so it was a back and forth type of conversation rather than a formal interview. 3) In a fifteen minute interview with four faculty members, the committee had emailed me the questions prior to the interview and asked me to come prepared and to be concise in my responses. - What is your anticipated dissertation project? - What is the importance of your project for the field? - Why would this university be a good fit for you? - Talk about something you are most proud of accomplishing, or an academic or personal challenge you faced, how you handled the situation, and what you learned from it. Key tips from my experience so far: Be confident and friendly. Smile, sound enthusiastic. They are judging your character as well as your intellect. If it's a video call, choose a place that is presentable, and look presentable. Your space should be tidy and you should dress formally (blazer, nice blouse, etc) Log in to the call at least one minute before. They are often doing back to back interviews so it's your time that is lost if you are late. Check your Internet connection and so on beforehand so you don't have any glitches. Know your proposed dissertation project well. Practice if you need to, so you know how to intend to speak about it briefly. What is it, what's its importance, what methodology do you have in mind, and whose expertise will you draw on to conduct it? If they share names of the committee members with you prior, get to know their profiles and their areas of research so you can find relevant topics of conversation and so you have an idea of what pikes their interest. If they ask you any questions similar to the one above about personal challenges, don't make them too personal. I still think this is kind of a trick question, so you have to find a balance between sharing a personal challenge that is 'admirable' and 'inspiring' but at the same time not something you should only be sharing with your therapist - respectfully. I think it's also useful to try and tie in whatever personal challenge you faced to your current desire to become a sociologist/study the area that you want to study, and how that challenge motivated you to pursue it. If anyone has any other advice to share/questions they were asked, please do post. Good luck to everyone!!

Ahh thank you!! Just followed her podcast on Google podcasts ???

Anyone claiming the U Chicago interview result / did anyone else get an interview notification?

They accepted one international student last year, and hes a friend of mine

Thank you! I got into the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

Sharing this as I thought it seemed pretty helpful:

This is incredibly helpful, thank you SO much, and I hope you're happy with your graduate program so far!

Finished my interview with Rutgers. They said they'll be meeting at the end of the month and probably sending out offers sometime in Feb. Anyone heard a different timeline estimate from their interviewers?

Georgetown alum here. SFS is an amazing place to be, and so is DC in general. I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to stay in the US after graduation. The Careers office helps in preparing you to enter the job market as an international student. They'll host free workshops on campus on how to apply for your OPT (Optional Practical Training) early enough before your graduation so that you're ready to start a job right after, and you can start applying for jobs in your last semester. The OPT is valid for one year. After that, it's up to your employer (whether the same from that year or another one that you seek out) whether they're willing to sponsor you for a work visa. With this current pandemic, unfortunately I would imagine you'd probably miss out on many of the joys of DC. Networking events, talks at think tanks, meeting politicians, writers, activists, scholars. It is a place that offers you a wide array of opportunities. People are very friendly and willing to give you advice. Georgetown has an excellent reputation, and most departments make an effort to tap into their alumni networks to help their current students. Your interests may change during graduate school, and this is fine. Most SFS programs allow you to take electives in other departments, or even in other schools in DC. What kind of job you end up getting depends on what courses you take, what skills you learn, and how you market/pitch yourself at interviews in the future. I have plenty of former classmates who used DC as a launching point for their careers that became international; ending up in places like London, Seoul, Berlin, Paris, Dubai, or staying in the US but moving to New York, etc. I don't think you should undermine the weight of opportunity that DC can offer you. Last point re funding. This is a legitimate concern, and I would try and negotiate it. Ask for more funding. Say you won't be able to attend with the current package they're offering you. I was pretty hell bent on Georgetown, so they gave me the option of deferring for a year and getting a full scholarship the following year, which is what I did. However, in your case they might already have the funds, so there's no harm in asking.

Hello everyone. I received an acceptance letter into a Sociology PhD program, hopefully the first of more than one. I've heard of people saying that those who secure more than one offer can leverage that to negotiate more funding. I'd really appreciate any insight anyone has to share on that. How do we negotiate? What is considered a reasonable stipend, and what's the average for Sociology doctoral students? How much of an increase is reasonable to ask for? Do we mention how much money other schools are offering us to incentivise them? I know that graduate students are far from wealthy, but it would still be good to try and maximize our chances of having liveable wages. That, and also what about summer months funding? Is it generally the norm that most programs don't fund you for the summer? When you're not funded for the summer (at least in the initial offer) what are the options usually available? Is it generally preferable for us to try and seek a fellowship as opposed to an assistantship? I'd especially love to hear from current PhD students in Sociology programs who have negotiated/attempted to negotiate their offers when they were first admitted. Thanks!

My understanding is that it's one faculty member interviewing each candidate, so just the faculty member who emailed me, it wont be a full committee

You posted this under Sociology.

I got an email from one of the faculty members a couple of days ago letting me know they'd like to interview me. They're doing interviews starting Thursday the 14th

Hi! Anyone know if these schools traditionally conduct interviews before extending offers of admission? * NYU * U Chicago * Harvard * Stanford * Yale * UT Austin

Anyone else see that post on the results board showing an acceptance from Yale? I also applied to Yale and have yet to hear back. It seems a little early and I'm rather suspicious of whether that post is real. Anyone else applied to Yale and already heard back?

Don't you wish that they'd all surprise us with early acceptance decisions like, tonight, given that this year was so shitty and we could all desperately use a win?

Hello! Has anyone had any experience doing interviews after applying to a program and before being offered admission, specifically for sociology (PhD)? If so, can you please tell us about your experience and share any advice on how we can prepare also, thanks for creating this thread!

Hello! Has anyone had any experience doing interviews after applying to a program and before being offered admission, specifically for sociology (PhD)? If so, can you please tell us about your experience and share any advice on how we can prepare :)