Albanski

I applied for a fulbright to Albania and was notified that I am a finalist, but am anxiously awaiting word that I have won. They say that once you are selected as finalist, a person has a 50% chance. What many finalists don't know is that when the applications are recommended is that the applications are numbered from highest recomendation to lowest. Some countries make their own decision, but then I could see some countries just confirming what the U.S wants. I called the people who work at fulbright, and yes you can contact them. They are really nice and helpful, and they will let you know if the countries have made their decisions yet. I know that my advisor did not want me to contact them, but i did anyway, and learned alot from asking questions. I think they might even let you know if you got it over the phone if you let them know that you have other decisions pending due to the decision from Fulbright. Finally, i think the fulbright process is too long and the wait has given me much angina. I wish everyone the best and I think this forum shoudl be stronger so we could give each other emotional support, because we call need it!

What's so sad is that the GRE does not measure success or how well you will do in the program, yet these departments which are loaded with social scientists who understand what statistical significance means still use them. It boggles my mind! You guys are right I have nothing to lose, only $60. But it pains me that I worked hard in undergrad to achieve nothing, but horrible GRE scores and rejections. I wish the demographics person luck, because he certainly deserves a seat in the incoming class and has proven himself in the last four years. It is not fair that he has not been accepted because of GRE scores.

I send the professor and email and the he replied saying that my chances were slim, but it was up to me to apply. I guess thats a bad sign and that I should retake them. I am so furstrated that I worked so hard in undergrad, only to do horrible on the GRE..any suggestions?? anyone???

I took your advice and emailed him. I am waiting to see what he says. But If it doesn't work out, I have the Fulbright to look forward to. In a way, I guess the fulbright will look good on future application since I am not only doing research but also teaching two classes while I am abroad at the main university of that country. But what bothers me the most is that some schools care about GRE so much. I mean its a test that doesnt measure knowledge but how well you adapt to standardize tests. Graduate school is about hard work and perseverence. Someone who has consistently done well and worked on research projects as an undergraduate should be a good indicator. Lastly, no one applies for a PhD because they don't want to evade finding a job, or because its financially lucrative. No, we are applying because we love research and will dedicate the next 6 years of our life to further that, and how a GRE could measure that I really don't know. I highly doubt that I will get in, but it doesn't hurt to try. Plus, the university could use my $60 anyways, they need to buy bigger trashcans for the reject pile..haha

Could anyone tell me what GRE score would make a candidate competitive at UMD, SUNYALBANY, Rutgers and Irvine?

Hey, I am in a dilemma. I recently took the GRE and didn't do so well (460V 440M, 900 combined).Other than that I have a 3.6 GPA at a good school. I have presented at a major conference and am in the process of being published as a coauthor. I want to apply to Rutgers Criminology program (deadline march 1st). But do not know how competitive I am. My LOR are great and one of my professors knows a professor there who I have sought out and asked to be my mentor and we have kept contact (that professor is a top professor). I am so devestated that my GRE score is so low that I am hesitant to apply because 1) I may be rejected 2) they will remeber next time I apply. Aside frrom this I am also waiting on being accepted as a Fulbright scholar. So, IF i get the fulbright scholar I would defer anyway. In the meantime, I am studying harder than before for the GRE and plan on taking it August. Does anyone have any suggestions for this dilema? Should I apply anyways? Thanks for the advice in advance.

i think that posting stats are very important because some schools obviously have cutoffs in regards to GRE/GPA. While this combination is not as rigoruously looked as most law schools, these numbers are also important so that these schools will look at your application. I agree that the cuookie cutter does not apply to a PhD in sociology, but it does when it comes to funding and when the schools take the time to actually look at your application. While this site is good at offering support or help, it would even be more effective if the users post some stats about themselves, including gre, gpa, lor, papers published, research experience and etc.

Migrationdude, Thanks for sharing your results with us. There are some people that are hesitant to share, but they fail to realize that by posting such stats they are helping the next wave of prospective applicants. Your stats are truly amazing and I could see why all these schools would love to have you. I am sure that all of those stats were achieved by determination as well as intelligence. Keep up the good work! Well Deserved! You are my new role model!!!! On a different note: I believe that someone with web development skills should make a website similar to lawschoolnumbers.com where people can post their stats and what school they have been admitted to, as this would greatly reduce or amplify people's anxiety about graduate school applications. This website should not only be for sociology but for the other social sciences.

Migrationdude, congrads of getting very good acceptances. All the hard work paid off! I have been looking at these top schools but often they do not post stats of the average student that gets accepted to the program. I was hoping if you wouldn't mind posting your stats, just so I can get a glimpse on the type of scores these schools are looking for. Thank you and congrads again!

Hey, I have been doing some research and there is not a lot of data that gives you the scores of people who have been admitted into certain programs such as lawschoolnumbers.com (law school data) I know that admissions is not clear cut but there have to be an exemplary candidate that has applied or the type of numbers/research background they are looking for. Therefore I have 2 Questions 1: What are scores/extracirriculars one would need to get into top programs 2: What would one generally need in order to obtain admission at like top 20 schools.

Hey everybody! (response: Hi Dr. Nick..hahah) I have been really stressed out lately because I just graduated (early) and have no job and do not intend on finding a job because I want to be in academia and be a student all of my life. Most of the deadlines for the criminology/criminal juustice phd programs have passed, but one. I have been intending on applying to Rutgers because it is close to NYC and it has a faculty interested in organized crime. here are my qualifiactions graduated 3.6 (cumulative) from top 60 private university sociology 3.9 (major gpa) Presented at 2 conferences and 1 conference at my school in the phase of publishing a co-authored paper GRE v 510 q490 AWA 5 what do you think my chances are to most phd programs in criminology and/or sociology. I am also applying for a fulbright scholarship which I am 90% sure I will get. Do you think my chances would be higher after recieving the fulbright, especially since my research in the country will pertain to social science research and teaching a course at the university.? Do PhD programs look at Fulbrighters differently? WHat can I do to improve my chances?