jesiquita

wow.. a little dramatic. I've been to each of these profs houses, have shared a glass of wine with them, and yes, I gave them a gift because it was my preference. No weird looks or anything of the sort. there was no bribe involved, and they all thanked me for the gift. I have very personal relationships with these professors, and by gushy i meant that largely my decision to choose this career was based on their mentorship. I would never assume that coffee and a card would certainly amount to all of the exaggerations you described (that this somehow guarantees my acceptance ..blah blah blah). to clarify: what I mean by preference really meant -- it depends on the kind of relationship you have with your LOR writers. side note: is this website a locale for the self importance and righteous indignation for prospective/current grad students? People on this forum take themselves entirely too seriously. I think it is pathetic to use such a patronizing tone while skulking behind anonymity.

Does anyone know if we need to send a second transcript to include our fall grades if we are current students? I know this varries based on program, but I wanted to see if people were actually doing this. I'm about to drop a ton of $$ to rush them because some of the adcomm people emailed me and said "I could if I wanted to" but they have to get there by the 10th. These fall grades brought my GPA up from a 3.87 to a 3.89 and three of the classes were sociology. Worth it or no? (See my signature for the list of schools I applied to. If you're applying to them too and are a current student, let me know what you think).

I got them each a nice mug from costplus/world market and filled it chocolate and a bag of french roast (my rec writers are all foodies). I included a handwritten thank you note. my friend gave wine and a card. i think it really just goes to personal preference and what kind of relationship you have with the LOR writers. Dont write a gushy card if you had one class and they barely know you!

Really? I could have sworn I read somewhere about changes in your application. hmm.. maybe i'll call monday just to check. :?

the same thing happened to me on the 12-15 deadline. I called each school (5 total) and three give a two week grace period for recs to come in. One needed it to be uploaded the day i called by close of business, and one school req. a note from the professor stating the lateness was entirely her fault not mine. I suggest you call monday and see what they say. I freaked out because of this, but actually talking to someone at the program made it much easier. Plus, they all assured me this is really common. Just try to get them in as soon as possible.

With all due respect, this entire website is all conjecture. All I can say is, good luck to those who are so special the rules don't apply to them! I'm sure no one has thought of that before.

could you ellaborate? new question: what do we do about important changes to our application (change in GPA, publication etc)? Do I call/email?

I know it's far too late, but I thought I'd add my two cents for future applicants: It is a terrible idea to go against guidelines because you think you have a lot of important things to describe. There is always another applicant with more experience or research to discuss but manages to stay within the word limit. These admissions officers have been doing this work for years, and I'm sure that exceeding the guidelines by even one or two hundreds words appears only as hubris, not as some expression of avant garde character. For my Columbia application, I was around 520, and as another post commented, the essay basically said the exact same thing my 1000 and 2000 word SOPs said. This, like every other part of this process, is an exercise in following directions, and it is a relatively easy one to pass.

I just got notice that my manuscript is in press!!!!! do I contact the schools?

I'm a senior undergrad at a prestigous liberal arts college, and I applied to the NSF program this year, but I think I won't even be considered because of my GRE scores. Q720 V620 AW6.0 I have a publication in a peer reviewed social science journal as the sole author, a lot of research experience and a fellowship, and a high gpa (3.89). Do you think that I will even be considered with a 1340? I have test anxiety issues... bleh. Should I retake the gre for the next two tries? :|

wow! how exciting to meet someone similar to me. in fact, I don't know anyone at my school who is applying to soc PhD. so on the issue of funding, for me this is going to be my number one deciding factor (obviously). I applied for the NSF graduate research fellowship, which I probably won't win b/c of my gre score, but I'm very hopeful. I know Stanford and Michigan guarantee funding at least the first year, but I've been trying to stay optimistic about it. I think there really isn't much I can do if I don't get funded. I very much worry about coming straight out of undergrad, mostly because I visited Harvard's social policy program (which has amazing placement) and every single one of them had spent at least one if not several years working in related fields. I met and spoke with at length the director of the social policy program, and he assured me this would not be a disadvantage, because they look at applicants currently finishing their BA by measuring "potential" capabilities. Harvard does allow you to apply to more than one program, hence I listed both. This was actually at the suggestion of the social policy program, who informed me of the odds of being accepted, which as you noted are basically none. I think social policy has quite a bit to offer besides the proseminar. Mainly, you have your foot in the door to the Kennedy School, which has an amazing amount of resources for people like me, largely interested in interdisciplinary research. Which brings me to your question about my areas of specialization. Most of my research focuses on racial and ethnic conflict, preferred social distance and neighborhood segregation, with an emphaisis on quantitative research methods. I am also very interested in urban sociology, mass incarceration, and stratification. I have done research mainly in sociology, but also in political science, Asian studies, and critical theory. Anyone else have an opinion about straight-out-of-undergrad/wait? Anyone else apply to the NSF GRFP?

Hello-- I'm totally new to this forum, but the waiting period is killing me and this seems to provide others with some solace. Let me know what you think of my application stats and if you have any suggestions. In particular, I'm worried I'm not really realistic with my choices: Application Stats: Bachelor of Arts, in progress, prestigous U.S. liberal arts college Overall GPA: 3.89 (4 point scale); early election to PBK Sociology: 3.97 GRE: V620; Q720; AW6.0 Received an R&R from a peer-reviewed social science journal, waiting for final review decision Extensive research experience (fellowship, attended 4 conferences) Senior Editor of my school's undergraduate research journal LOR from dept. chair, a politics prof, and soc prof. All great recs (as far as i know!) Schools: Berkeley Columbia University of Chicago Harvard - Social Policy/Sociology Harvard - Sociology Michigan Northwestern UPenn Princeton Stanford Wisconsin-Madison As of now, my first choice would be Harvard Social Policy, but I'm worried my GRE score is too low. I took NYU off my list because I didn't really see myself there. I could still apply as a back up. Let me know what you think!