ohnoherewegoagain

i'll do this! 🤭💕 Type of Undergrad Institution: private liberal arts collegeMajor(s)/Minor(s): sociology & gender, women's, and sexuality studiesUndergrad GPA: 3.5 overall, a 3.87 in sociology (i believe)Type of Grad: one year at a large public university (more on this in the lessons learned)Grad GPA: 3.5 at the time of applyingGRE: N/AAny Special Courses: since i'm currently in graduate school, i've already taken two stats courses, soc theory, methods, and i have a couple of electives courses under my beltLetters of Recommendation: two from professors undergrad, one from current graduate program directorTeaching/Research Experience: i've TA'ed all this year (75-100 students per TA class), but that's really it!Other: i don't want to necessarily be a professor, and i stated that in my personal statement. i talked about how, rather than going into academia, i would rather go into think tank research/non-profit work/public affairs/public policy (lol very broad, but i'll also talk about this in lessons learned)RESULTS:Acceptances: university at albany, university of miami, syracuse university, university of nevada-las vegas, university of floridaRejections: case western reserve university (surprising), boston university, university of virginia, university of oregon, university of colorado-boulder, university of maryland, university of arizonaPending: N/AAttending: SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY! i couldn't be more excited.LESSONS LEARNED: i'm a relatively weird case, as i'm a first-year transfer applicant (aka, i've only completed one year at a program and therefore don't have a master's). the program i'm currently at is not a very good fit (research-wise and environmentally-wise), and my current program director could really see and understand that. i was really scared that my chances at any university would be abysmally low because i was in that weird phase where i wasn't coming straight from undergrad but also wasn't an MA transfer, but it honestly turned out to be fine. when you apply, make sure that you are applying to programs that 1.) really fit your interests and 2.) are in areas you would be perfectly fine relocating to (for example, UVA, UO, and UArizona aren't really strong in my interests, and i would not be okay relocating to a public university in florida given the current political climate [which is lowkey why i'm transferring out of my current university]). also, START EARLY! START EARLY! START E A R L Y! had i started earlier, i would have applied to some other universities (such as UCSF), but i didn't get the applications in on time. starting early is, absolutely, your best friend. don't be afraid to ask for fee waivers, either. i honestly knew i would end up at syracuse (had i been lucky enough to be accepted), and it's because my interests are so directly aligned with so many of the faculty members there, and the opportunities to conduct research based on what i want to study are extremely plentiful. it also helps that the sociology department there is located within the maxwell school, which is consistently rated as the #1 public affairs school in the country. my last piece of advice, which may seem controversial, is to not really pay attention to rankings, and if you do, pay attention to them when it comes to what you want to study. syracuse is technically "ranked" lower than the program i currently attend (and it's ranked lower than ualbany), but like i mentioned before, my current university doesn't really have faculty affiliated with what i want to study, and ualbany just isn't in a location i wanted to move to (and their funding package was actually lower). how a university's program compares to other universities that actually offer what you want to study matters much, much more in my opinion. good luck to future applicants! you've got this. 💕

congratulations on commitment day, everyone! i hope it went well for all of you 💕

i just formally declined my offer from UAlbany, so i'm wishing you all the luck!

i completely agree with the above. if your phd program is funded and there are faculty there who are interested in what you want to research (since i'm sure you applied for that reason), i would most definitely take that opportunity. if you decide to leave with the master's and not pursue the phd, you won't have incurred any debt like you would at columbia.

in my opinion, the best thing to do is if you have an offer from somewhere you genuinely would like to go, be prepared to accept that offer. around this time is when people start dwindling down their final decision to 1-2 places. many programs will not get back to most waitlisted candidates until after the april 15th commitment deadline, but some may begin using it earlier. it's just a (miserable) waiting game.

i’m also a med soc applicant and am sort of in the same boat, so if you want to talk just message me!

it very much depends on the university/department and the cost of living in the area. i have never lived in texas, but 32k from rice sounds very generous, especially since you would only need to ta for two semesters. what i have seen that is most common is someone either ta'ing for the entire 20 hours a week (aka, that being all they do) or ta'ing 15 hours a week + 5 hours allocated to departmental duties. besides ta'ing, being a research assistant is very popular as well (and those positions are usually for individuals who have already completed research with a professor or who have been in constant contact with one throughout their admissions process). i say it depends on university/department because it really does. it also depends on the applicant. for example, some outstanding people get summer fellowships in their packages which allow them to make money during the summer, thus increasing their stipend overall. it also depends on what things departments will waive or subsidize. it's a very complicated topic so i'm sorry if this didn't help, haha.

it's coming down to the wire a little bit, so if you were admitted to syracuse and are thinking of attending (or are going to be attending), message me and lmk because i think it would be great to connect with prospective cohort members! still making a decision, but want to connect with folks anyway : )

i'm waiting on cwru who hasn't sent out any decisions yet, then i'm waiting on maryland, virginia, and boston to send out my official rejections!

did anyone go to the UF prospective graduate student day yesterday? in the name of being radically honest, i was not impressed at all... it was run very poorly, and some of what the current graduate students were saying was very alarming... ended up pulling my application edit: also pulled it because the overseer of the event basically crapped on the field of sociology in something she said, which off put me a looot

hi you all, i received an acceptance today from syracuse, so emails/notifications should be coming out incredibly soon!

good luck this week you all! sending good vibes for the coming days ❤️

i'm an american student. i meant are you thinking of going to the visting day via zoom haha

hopefully it's indicative of an acceptance! i can't think of a reason why they would invite us to a visit day just to reject us. are you thinking of going?

hi you all! i just received an email from UF (university of florida) inviting me to a "prospective graduate student virtual visiting day." is this indicative of an acceptance or potential acceptance? i would love some insight if anyone knows!