lexicana
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Posts posted by lexicana
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I applied for the Ford predoctoral fellowship and am expecting that results will come out this week. The thing is I am starting to think it really doesn't matter if I am awarded the fellowship.
I have been accepted to two insitutions and both of them have stated that if I got the fellowship the research assistantship would be given to another student. The problem with that, as I see it, is that research is a critical part of the PhD. Why would anyone want to pursue a research based PhD program and not want to be involved with research. So, if the assistanship is given to another student then I would either not be involved with reseach (just taking coursework) or be involved with research but not getting any funding (other than tuition) from the institution.
Also, the Ford fellowship is only a couple thousand more than the stipend I would receive from the assistantship. So, why would I want the fellowship. It makes more sense to be on fellowship later on in the process when working on one's own research and dissertation but why does it make sense to be on fellowship the first couple of years?
I get that there is a prestige factor but is that it? Am I missing something. Do any institutions let you keep the assistantship and the fellowship?
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Their website states notifications will be sent out the 1st week of April. Last year, I heard from them on April 6th. It was an honorable mention.
So, I wouldn't expect to hear from them for a couple more weeks. I guess it takes them some time to gather all the evaluations and make final determinations. I always wonder if they somehow check to see if those at the top got into the school they mentioned in their statement.
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I got my letter today and it was a waitlist. Now that I have all my results I will be accepting an offer that was at the top of my list anyway. The waiting is finally over!
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I'm so sorry guys. No letter for me yet but I did get a response to my email inquiry which stated that I should receive an update within the next couple of days. I'm trying not to speculate. At this point I think it could go either way. At least I will know soon.
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Ahhhhh, I just want to know already! Thanks for sharing the info. I will let you know if I get a response to my inquiry. Good luck to you!
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I sent an email inquiry out today because I couldn't wait any longer. I have not gotten a reply yet (it's been 1 hour). Why do you think that accepted individuals will get an email and why do you think you are out?
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No... It's driving me crazy!!
You and me both!
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Has anybody heard anything from Loyola?
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Hi tk20, I have always found the ford staff to be very nice and helpful. I think you have a legitimate question and should just call them and ask. Unlike email, when you call you don't have to tell them who you are. You can just say "I'm a predoctoral applicant and was wondering if I could update my CV due to a recent journal acceptance". They might say yes or not but either way it is unlikely that they will ask who you are. Call them!
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I applied there and also don't have a Masters in sociology but do have a Masters in another discipline. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.
From what I know about Loyola they accept a small number of students. I believe that last year they only accepted four students. So even though it is not a top ranked program it is competitive given the small number of spots available.
Also I noticed that they only send out rejections/acceptances via snail mail. It looks like results are trickling in for other disciplines. My assumption is that we will know this week...eeeek!
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I'm in the same situation. I was rejected for sociolgoy but offered MAPPS with half funding. I won't be taking it since I have a fully funded offer in another program at U of C. I have to say though I was glad to at least get into the MAPPS program this year. Last year I was rejected straight out.
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Dizzid, I am most interested in doing research related to social work (and teaching eventually) rather than working directly with clients or even running programs or an organization. If I had to choose one, however, it would be macro. If I could not find a teaching position I would look at more macro level types of jobs.
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Sbboe, as you stated I like sociology because it seems broader and as you put it more portable, however, my main interest is doing research that helps people. So, at this point I am leaning towards the social work PhD. Once I hear from Loyola I will be ready to make a final decision. If I don't get in then I will happily move forward with a Phd in social work. If I do get in I will need to do a little more thinking.
Good luck to you.
Kbirch, good luck to you also.
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Dizzid, I didn't take ranking into account either, but it seems, at least on this forum, so many people did or do once their acceptances come in. It all comes back to that hierarchy system of education. I personally feel the fit and location are the most important things. I couldn't see myself on the West coast, so I never even considered those top programs.
I personally am hoping to hear from George Mason and Loyola Chicago for sociology and GWU for a different reason.
Hey Sbboe, it looks like we have some things in common. I also applied to Loyola Chicago for sociology. I am hoping we hear from them this week. I visited LUC last fall and it looks like a great place to be.
I also applied and was accepted to a social work PhD program. I am curious as to what you actually prefer, sociology or social work PhD. This is a question I am struggling with. Any thoughts?
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Smile mysteriously and say "don't fret, you are my first choice" ? That's probably how I'd handle it haha
Thanks for the advice. It actually IS my first choice so I would certaintly not be stretching the truth.
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Splitends, what if you have applied to various programs and was only accepted to 1 program. I am visiting the program I was accepted into soon and feel that they will think they made a mistake because they are the only ones that accepted me. How should I respond to the question where else have you been accepted?
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Last year I was waitlisted about a week after the first acceptances went out. I thought for sure I had been rejected but kept wondering why my status wasn't being updated. I never made it off the waitlist so in the end it was the same as a rejection. This year I still haven't seen an update on my status making me wonder what is going on. It could be that it takes a while to update all the applicant's status or another possible waitlist. Either way, I take it a rejection.
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Santarlasci, congrats on the acceptance and thanks for sharing. Last year I was waitlisted and I was hoping for a different result this year. I guess that if I am rejected straight out it will be a different result...LOL. Good luck to you!
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I was offered $18,000 for five years. The first two years as a research assistant and the last three as a TA. My question is, how is the stipend paid. Is it paid monthly througout the year (12 months) or some other way. I am trying to figure out how I am going to live and I have no idea how it is actually paid.
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There is an acceptance on the results board for UIC. It looks like the acceptance was received on 2/01. I also applied there and haven't heard anything.
Anyone want to claim it? Did they mention funding, visiting days, etc.
Has anyone else heard anything from UIC?
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I'm 35 turning 36 in one month. So far I have been acepted into 1 program (applied to 5). I am anxious to attend visiting day and see who else got into the program. I am really hoping for a little diversity in age. I would hate to be the only one over 30 among a bunch of 20 year olds.
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I can relate to all the emotions others have already mentioned. This is my second round so besides feeling a HUGE sense of relief, I also feel greatly blessed which then makes me feel a sense of responsibility to make the best of this opportunity.
Mostly though I feel totally silly and giddy. It's like having a crush on somebody for years. Constantly obsessing whether they will ever pay any attention to you and dreaming of the day they might pursue you. Then one day your crush pronounces their love for you. Not only do they love you but they are ready to commit to you. I keep replaying in the my head the words of my POI "when I heard you were accepted it made my day". It feels like my crush is finally paying attention to me and it feels GREAT.
I am not allowing too much anxiety to enter in yet. I am determined to enjoy at least a few days of bliss that my loved one loves me back!
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Spends lots of time with my family to make up for the next five years.
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Great advice here. My experience with sociology programs has been that most seem to operate on the "cohort model." That is, the committee will admit the target number of applicants based on qualifications with an eye towards an even distribution in general subfield of interest, but without much consideration for the specific advisor an applicant says they want to work with. So, unless it's clear that your interests are so narrow that there is only one faculty member who would be a suitable advisor and he/she is not available, your application is viewed in the same pool as all the rest. I have heard of some cases where a student has established a genuine connection with a faculty member (usually through previous collaboration or other substantive knowledge of the applicant beyond a simple e-mail exchange), which is likely the only real exception to the cohort model of admissions.
This is in contrast to many other fields, which admit on the "lab/advisor model." As someone whose research straddles several disciplines, I've been having a da&% frustrating time trying to suss out the admissions paradigms of each department I applied to. They can be radically different. Wisconsin's sociology department discourages faculty contact until after admission to their program. Nevertheless, I sent repeated e-mails to several faculty in their program. I never received a response. I found this a bit unprofessional, as I had genuine questions about my research fit with their program, and wasn't just trying to fluff up my name for the committee. Now I've been admitted, and my questions still remain. Here's to hoping they will be answered at the visit day in March? Or maybe if I e-mail faculty now, I'll actually receive a response? I'm not that bitter...really
At another department (in a different social science discipline), I made the effort to visit the school in mid-October. I was told that if I didn't get the attention of one particular faculty member, my application would be summarily denied. I set up meetings with several faculty (at this school, they actually did respond to my e-mails! joy!). I sit down to a meeting with "professor x" and the first thing he tells me is that he's "already identified" the two students he's admitting for the fall. This is a full two months before the application deadline!!! He hasn't even gotten to see the whole pool of applicants! Professor X goes on to tell me that most successful applicants (this is a top department in the discipline) are already "volunteering" in their prospective PhD labs. Nevermind the formal admissions process. Talk about quid pro quo! Inappropriate.
The good thing for most of you all is that sociology departments don't appear to operate this way. Though I would hazard a guess that, especially in the most competitive programs, there is always going to be a little nepotism around the edges. The #1 concern of schools is to admit "the best" candidates, and you can bet that (especially when they have to sift through 400 applications) they are going to use whatever inside tracks they can to identify "the best." I've heard some unsavory things about a particular Ivy's sociology department. Not that it is impossible that one will be admitted without connections, but that a large proportion of their cohort includes people who have augmented their formal admissions application in substantive ways. Connections, connections, connections.
I'm happy to report that I don't believe this to be the case at Wisconsin.
BTW-
I've noticed in recent days that several people on this forum have said things like "Just rejected from Program X! Oh well, I can't blame them as there is nobody there doing the kind of work I'm interested in." This is baffling to me. Why expend the time, money, and effort to apply to a program you already know isn't a good fit? This is a 5-8 year PhD we're talking about, fit is pretty much everything. Are people just rationalizing a la sour grapes?
I'm not sure about others but I can tell you why I applied to a program that isn't necessarily the best research fit. Basically, I cannot relocate so I had to apply to all the programs in my area. Still, of those programs there was only one program that really didn't seem to fit. Two of them are great fits and the other is a pretty good fit. If you don't have the luxury of a nationwide search then you have to make the best of the programs available. I don't suspect I will get into the program that is not a good fit but I felt like I had to throw my hat in the ring anyways. One never knows.
Thoughts on getting a PhD in a program that isn't strictly sociology?
in Sociology Forum
Posted
I'm a little bit of a similar situation. I was accepted into a sociology program and into a social work PhD program. Everything about the social work PhD program is better (funding, potential research advisors, rank) but I struggled in making a decision because for years I had only considered sociology. The social work program is very interdisciplinary so I am able to take many sociolgy courses but I still wondered about my future career track. Like you I would like to teach but am mostly interested in research. If the teaching thing does not work out I can see myself doing many other things. I have officially chosen the social work program and feel pretty good about it although I still have some moments of doubt. Still, when I made a pro & con list the only pro for the sociology program was that it was sociology. The social work program far outweighted the soc program in every other category.
I'm not sure how that helps you but I thought I would share my own experience.