misterpat

NW isn't really Suburbia... Evanston isn't exactly Chicago, but it's connected by the L so you'd have no problem getting around, or even living in a hip neighborhood and attending NW (no problem except paying the rent on a stipend, I suppose). Your money is going to go the farthest in Ann Arbor, so that's something to consider. Personally, I'd pick Mich or NW over NYU, but NYU is an attractive program too.

18? Shiiiiiiiiiiiit. Haven't heard, so I'm probably out. Mega-long-shot anyway.

While I was looking for books to read earlier this year, I stumbled upon Jane Dailey's (of UChicago) Orals Reading List for 20th Century America: http://history.uchicago.edu/graduate/orals/Dailey-US-20thCentury.pdf This should serve you well.

Congrats. SLU's campus is pretty. WashU is in the loop, my favorite area of STL, but SLU's area is cool as well. And it's a really cheap city to live in, so your stipend should go a long way.

Yeah, I'm still waiting on 4 schools, too. Three deadlines were Dec 15 or before (Dec 1 in one case). I don't think it's irregular to still be waiting. I'd wait until near the latter half of March to start bugging them.

Seems like the most common wait-list system is for there to be wait-lists for each sub-field, as opposed to one department-wide list. NOTE: My use of the term "most common" is entirely unscientific, and a generalization based off of my many hours logged on this forum, and possibly a few departments pages that list such info.

Ha, yeah I definitely laughed out loud a few times. HF really rained on this guy's parade, but part of me wonders whether it might be valuable advice. The picture he painted of it made me think of Universities I've visited like Western Illinois University, and (probably closer to it, academically) Illinois State. Fine places to drink for a weekend, I might add. But I wouldn't want to live there. I can't blame HF too much for this message's bluntness. I would probably post a comparably nasty message if someone was going to do their PhD at SIU-Carbondale.

I wish I could put my post count on my applications as a measure of my dedication.

Maybe if you were wait-listed somewhere other than Indiana. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit there, even if Bloomington is the least Indiana-like town in the state. This is partly because I am skeptical it will make a difference, but if someone has a story to prove otherwise, do tell.

You two should pick up a bottle of whiskey and go sledding. If the mail comes, it will be there when you get back.

What inconsiderate bastards civil servants are. Maybe the delay means I'm admitted. :roll:

I'm kind of surprised other people got their UChicago letters before me, given that I live 20 minutes away from there.

Congrats. I stumbled upon that department too late in my research. Looked like a cozy little place. They had unique topic specializations, if I remember correctly. And it seemed like they were quite generous with funding.

You'll still have all the socialists/queer-theorists/punk-rock-ethnographers/i'll-bet-i'm-more-of-an-anti-racist-than-you-are types that populate Sociology departments. You can all band together in opposition and have a social life.

Yeah, I didn't reall read the whole thread until I posted. I was going off of the results page and the bottom few posters. They remind me of Wisconsin-Madison, at least the Sociology department. A bunch of people on here were admitted to WM without funding for the first year, but were told they would probably be able to get it after the first year. I suppose it's a way of only getting die-hard people, but I personally wouldn't take the chance.

That's rough UCLA offered so many people admission without funding. It's almost like a tease.

Soooooooooo... Who was the UMich admit? Congrats.

I'll bet you play the "all of Clinton's successes are attributable to the policies of Reagan" card all the time, too.

Though none of my 5 have been in this manner, and I doubt it is common practice for any program, a personal letter, with a reason, would be my PREFERRED way of being rejected. E.g. Blah blah blah Your writing sample left something to be desired. or Your statement of purpose could have been more specific in area x. I realize this would make the already painful admissions process even longer for profs, so no one needs to point this out to me.

My friend went to some event for potential law students once, featuring an ad-com guy from Harvard Law, and he said you absolutely should point out a personal issue, like a family death, that explains an abberation in your academic record.

None of mine did.

I suppose the funding stats aren't as bad as I thought (in some fields, I think funding is even more scarce). Still kind of scary funding stats, though: http://graduate-school.phds.org/university/newschool/program/support/history/14157 Good luck, I hope they toss some money your way.

They're going to see your previous score when you re-apply anyway. So, unless the $50-$70 is going to break your bank account, you might as well give it a shot and apply this year. Try to write a killer Statement of Purpose. Your LORs are good and your grades are decent, so you have a few things going for you. I would avoid criticizing the GRE in your statement, though, since it will look like you're just making excuses for your low score. I've gotten 5 rejections out of the 9 schools I applied to so far. It's not the end of the world, certainly nothing to be afraid of. It's the nature of the graduate admissions game. And if you get rejected, prepare for a few months for the GRE. I would suggest using Princeton Review's Word Smart for the GRE for the Verbal Section. Do as many practice tests (on the computer) as possible. You should see a rise in your scores eventually. I don't know what Criminology applicants usually score on that test, but you have a lot of room for improvement, so I wouldn't be surprised if you could bring your score up to around 1200 with enough work.

Did anyone follow up on their application and ask why it was rejected? I don't mean this in an entitled-to-admission kind of way, but as a way to try and improve their application for the next cycle. It seems kind of awkward to contact the profs who denied you, but it seems like it could have some money next cycle. I suppose my fear is contacting them and getting the reply that I'm hopeless.