Klutch2381

So, when do students normally make their decisions by? Do they wait until the last minute (4/15), or should most roll in relatively soon? I would hope that if people know they are absolutely not going to attend an university — they decline the offer and soon. I did that last week for a school where the stipend was low, and I knew I was not going to attend because I was accepted elsewhere, and I valued the latter university much more.

That is indeed, “awesome.” You’re the person that was getting into all those great schools with the 2.9 on the results page. I’m proud of you! I’m glad you didn’t give up, and you’re a testament to what can happen when you don’t listen to people — even when they tell you no. Congrats on your acceptances again!

Cycle is definitely winding down. There’s only a few schools I haven’t heard from and they’re places I don’t expect to get in at (e.g., Cornell). I received HELLA rejections, a couple acceptances, and a waitlist. I’ve been fortunate overall. If you haven’t gotten in anywhere — don’t despair too heartily. There’s still a chance you get in somewhere this cycle. I was told by schools like Washington (Seattle) that they will most likely dip back in to their applicant pool, which is why they haven’t sent out rejections, yet. Even if you don’t get in this cycle… keep going. Do what you can that’s feasible to bolster your profile for next cycle. A lot of people are second or third time applicants. Hell, I’m a second time applicant. It’s a brutal process that has a way of making you feel utterly inadequate, but it is ultimately one that I will see you on the other side of.

I wonder what’s going on with Yale? I applied to the joint African-American studies/sociology PhD program, but I didn’t receive an interview. However, I didn’t receive a rejection (that appears as if they went out today) either. Maybe mines is just delayed a bit? Don’t give me hope, Yale.

Got these response from Colorado and Northwestern. Colorado: Thanks for reaching out! We are hoping to send out decision letters by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Take care- ——- Northwestern: Thanks for your email. We expect admissions decisions to be issued this week, so you should be hearing from us within the next few days. Best,

Yeah, looks like I will have to let the Michigan dream wither and die. I did my best, and I can live with that. Good night sweet, prince.

What do the recent placements look between the schools? Are they comparable? I’d start there. If so, is there one place you’d prefer to live over the other, or a specific POI you believe that would act as a good mentor?

There was three interviews posted last week from Yale. I didn’t hear anything, so I’m taking it as a L. Lol

That legit sounds awesome. Mine is a research proposal I wrote in grad school about what pandemic/Covid-19 would/will denote for underserved communities with regard to meaning, and juxtaposed it to the polio epidemic of the 50’s. I used data from the census demographic data from years of yore and modernity, the GSS, STATA, archived newspapers, Riesman’s, “The Lonely Crowd” since it’s almost solely devoted to the changing ethos of the 50’s, Reddit (Hermain Cain award), etc. I proposed a phenomenological study. I honestly tried to used every thing I know how to do in via a mixed methodologies approach. I hope they like it. Lol

Nice. What was your writing sample about?

Oh, the odds are not good, but may they be in our favor. *clinks glasses together*

Social inequality, race, and stratification. Yourself?

Got my first acceptance. It’s quite the relief. Now, I’m not feeling like I’m going into my interview with an all or nothing game seven energy lingering over me. With that being said, pleaseeeee Michigan. Pleassseeeee. I’ve been trying to go to UM for 11 years. Lol

I admire the dedication. That’s awesome!

Did you receive this email from CU today? Have you applied to CU Boulder and are wondering what happens next? Join our graduate admissions team tomorrow, Tuesday, February 8 at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Instagram for our Ask Me Anything (AMA). This is a great chance for you to ask your questions about the decision process and next steps. Submit your questions now by using the question sticker in the @futuregradbuffs Instagram story. At the time of the AMA, login to your Instagram account and watch the @futuregradbuffs story to hear your answer! This is not a live social media event, it will take place in the Instagram stories.

This is what they told me: Hi, ____\. We have sent out our initial set of invitations and, unfortunately, our admissions committee did not include you in that set. However, there is a chance that we'll dip back into the pool of candidates for another set of invites. Please feel free to reach out again as things progress. Best wishes.

I asked Yale too. I’ll report back!

Yep, I’ve just been asking. I’m about to ask Cal now. lol

Michigan told me this today: Thanks for reaching out! We plan to send out the first round of offers in mid-February and will send out denials within 2 weeks of those offers.

I understand your point. I disagree with it — specifically as it relates to sociology. However, I don’t want to derail this thread anymore. I wish you much success!

Thanks for the response. I disagree with you, but I can do that respectfully. Essentially, for this process going forward — I’ve mentally compartmentalized it to something I’ll deal with as results reveal themselves. Unfortunately, I’ve had the hone that skill given the vicissitudes of life/time, so I move on from things quickly mentally and emotionally. I’m no longer visiting the results section, so I’m not living and dying with each update. That’s been beneficial for me. Now, to your point: there’s a great book I read over the summer called, “The Inequality Machine,” by Paul Tough. The gist of the book is that our most hallowed institutions fail to be the truly transformative entities they could be, and actually causally reproduce and further propagate inequality. How so? Well, generally when these “top” schools select applicants, they accept students from a certain background (i.e., affluent, well to-do). Even when they accept minority students, they are generally from an affluent background either domestically or internationally. Moreover, what they are actually accepting when they opt to take on students is typically students with the means to best “game” the system. People with the resources that can hire a private tutor for 6 months to study for the GRE, spend 2K on Kaplan self-study materials, take a job for two years as a research assistant making next to nothing because they can afford to do so, and so on. I read a post on Reddit before where an international application in India said that the GRE fee cost was half of his monthly salary. Think of the sheer absurdity in this statement. What does his ability/inability to know that proper fractions get smaller when multiplied by a whole number have to do with a flourishing sociological imagination? I posit nothing. I’d like to think I’m a pretty informed applicant now, and I didn’t even know people actually email and contact professors they’re interested in to foster a relationship before they even apply until this cycle. That actually blew my mind, because here I was thinking this was some wholly impartial process in terms of decisions being meted out. Silly me. It’s a game — within a game. Additionally, so much of sociology is devoted to inequality, injustice, etc. If there is ONE academic arena where one’s historical positioning should be accounted for, I contend it’s sociology. For example, Cal Berkeley is oft seen as this paragon of inclusivity, progressive ideologies, etc. Such that, there are specific pejoratives that parties will bandy about for people that attend institutions such as Cal. Yet, even Cal Berkeley struggles to adhere to these ideals with regard to its meager black populous — and many have accounted that their time at Cal has been racially and socially charged. Now, this is occurring at Cal Berkeley! What does that denote about the rest of the world outside of Cal? When I go to these university websites, and I look at the professors, and I peruse their CV’s, I see an overwhelmingly white demographic. Now, inequality, injustice, and so forth manifests itself in various ways throughout a functioning globalized society. Whether, you’re black in Compton, white in Appalachia, or Latino in Peru. However, I know how it has directly impacted my life. Do I think most of the people I see on these websites can turn the electricity back on in their house when it’s cutoff by power company with just a clothes hanger? No. I can, though. My mother taught me that when I was 6. We all learn about Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu, Max Weber, Mills, DuBois, et al. We all write papers on the juxtaposition of anomie to Marx’s alienation. We all have things we’re interested in and theories we’ve cultivated. We all have things we think should be researched or we intend to research, and we hope adcoms assent. Undoubtedly, I don’t think any of that is unique in some collective application sense. Sociology can be more than that. In fact, it should be. The greatest sociologists of the ages were radical in thought. I’d argue with one of my professors, how is sociology supposed to make the world a better place if we all have to write papers on the same stuff and in the same style? What is unique about people is normally their life course, and the road they’ve traveled to get to a particular point. Marx saw the world the way he did because the shit he’d been through. If sociology is ultimately really in interested in the bettering of the world vis-a-vis inequality those differences have to be taken into account. Otherwise, we’ll keep reproducing the same kind of people from the same backgrounds, and nothing will change. The best schools will continue to be a forlorn hope for certain demographics racially and socioeconomically, and the accepted will continue to be those most adept at playing the “game.” Anyways, I definitely recommend that book I mentioned.

I try to be appreciative because I know there’s someone somewhere that did not have the means to apply to a number of schools; yet, they have a great sociological imagination — and won’t get in anywhere this year. At least, I currently have a “couple” chances. With that being said there’s something about this process that offends my most fundamental sensibilities. Lol. From the GRE to other aspects of the process. Like, how can I bring you the entirety of my life and circumstance, and you’re like, “Naw bruh, but here’s a system generated rejection for your toil that says we hope you can continue your studies elsewhere,”? Moreover, literally everyone I let read my personal statement(s) shed tears. Even one of my professors told me I’m going to be famous after she read it. Maybe, I’ll get into one of these “top” schools or whatever, but there’s definitely an element of this process that is rubbish, and I’ll always feel that way.

24. Waitlisted by Notre Dame, and interview at Rice so far.

https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?program=Sociology

Results board.