ewurgler

Submit no more than 3. The problem with submitting more than 3 is that they will usually only read 3. Therefore, you run the risk of them skipping the "best" one and reading a mediocre one from someone who doesn't really know you. Submit 3. It doesn't look any better if you submit 5.

From a professor at UPenn.

I'm at Indiana and Tom Gieryn is now a provost and will be doing little teaching/advising with sociology after this year.

Check out UCSD. They have a strong interdisciplinary science studies program and are very strong in culture.

Take them again. Try to get in the 90th percentile in verbal. This is often used as a cut off in top schools.

I took french courses at community college in the interim. I can't imagine they gave a shit.

Simple answer, yes. Go with academics. Every single professor I have ever talked to said that it is very difficult for employers to write a recommendation that would carry any weight with the committee. This is mostly because they don't know the skills grad school requires and cannot speak to them. Even if you have to go back years, get academic recommendations. It is like this advice board...how much weight would you give to advice given to you by someone who never went through this process?

Most (I think all) schools have online applications and ways for recommenders to submit online. You basically "register" them on your application, and it sends them an email (and reminders, if necessary) with instructions on how to submit a pdf or word document of the letter. When they submit it, you get an email confirmation as well. You can send them reminders from the school so it doesn't look like you personally are bugging them. It is simple and works well. 2 of my 3 did it this way. If they do snail mail, you send them addressed and stamped envelopes for all of the schools so they just have to put in their letter and send it off.

Don't email during summer. I would be annoyed. Wait til september or october. Do email. It will never hurt, and will help you figure out if these are people you want to spend 6 years working with. All of the people I emailed responded. Some much kinder than others.

Do not use the politicians. If the cultural anthropology person is the only other academic who knows you and your work, use her. Since you already have two big figures, try to find another professor who may not be a big shot but knows you and your work very well. Don't use anyone outside of academia when applying to PhD programs.

Start looking in july. I live in the area(s) you are looking at, and they rarely put up places more than a month in advance of the move-in date. I didn't attend sdsu, but I'm going to recommended you keep to the neighborhoods you listed (adding maybe northpark, southpark, and kensington), and not get too close to campus. Way too loud for a grad student. Browse craigslist and see when the move-in dates are for ones up now. Get an idea.

I did gender studies in undergrad (the type you want to do, relatively non traditional), and my best advice is to go with a person who does the type of stuff you want to do. Traditional quantitive sociology in family stuff is going to bore you and is not going to get you the type of job you want. Yeah, people warned me too about going places just because of a person, but realistically, your main advisors are really going to be the only people you care about in the department beyond your second or third year. Steve Epstein was at my undergrad and is now at Northwestern. He does the type of stuff you want to do and is cool, maybe check him out.

Most people use craigslist. There is also an off campus housing site hosted by ucsd: http://offcampushousing.ucsd.edu/ But craigslist is usually best. All landlords post there.

Exactly! I just want to be able to wear scarves!

I am very much looking forward to leaving San Diego, California for Bloomington, Indiana. Call me crazy, but I will be able to buy a 3 bedroom house in Bloomington and the mortgage will be 1/2 of rent on a tiny 2 bedroom house in a bad San Diego neighborhood. I can't wait!!!

Perhaps put this in the soc forum, where you can mention the names of the schools and people will be more familiar with the programs (or went there for undergrad), etc. I am curious to know what schools you are talking about. (I am also doing soc).

I will be attending Indiana University-Bloomington. Biggest factors: research fit, "culture" of the department, how welcoming and awesome all of the people were during my visit, and how supportive the program was designed to be.

If I were to get in, I would try to ask for a few days. It is better than rescinding a decision.

I haven't heard from Penn, the only waitlist I'm holding out for. It has prolonged my decision making quite a bit too. I would have said yes to Indiana a month ago if not for this waitlist.

I'm not allowed to visit until I am officially accepted.

My advice: Don't do the masters. You have been out of school for a bit and in a field like gender studies, it is imperative to be ultra hip and up on the absolute latest work. I'm sure you could do things that could strengthen your profile much more than another masters. Other things: Who wrote your letters? Since you have been out of school, it may be tough, but make sure ALL 3 are from university professors. No professional recs for a women studies program, even if they are related. Are you up on the literature and recent research? The direction of gender literature has shifted greatly in the last 5-10 years. Make sure your research interests are "hip", and that you are using language that really resonates with these types of programs. I did gender studies in undergrad and nearly applied to programs last year. If you are relatively unfamiliar with the field, there could be huge traps you fell into that could make your app be tossed off the pile right away. PM if you want.

For those holding on to one spot while waiting to get off the waitlist at another, do you guys think it would be OK to ask for a one week extension from the school you have an offer from in order to visit the other school, if you get off the waitlist in the next week but don't have time to visit? Has anyone inquired about this? Do you think it would be appropriate. I am anxious to get off the waitlist at Penn, but even if I did, I wouldn't accept without visiting first. PS: I declined the only other offer I had over a month ago.

Uhhhhh, maybe on fox news. NY Post may be shady, but not all reporters are "fear mongers and slanderers." Geez guys. Read better newspapers/magazines, etc. Turn off fox and cnn.

Yes, parking passes are EXTREMELY expensive, but if you want to live off campus (hillcrest, northpark), there is a free shuttle that goes from hillcrest (ucsd hospital) to ucsd every 15 mins. I know lots of people who bike or even drive to the shuttle to avoid paying for parking (me included). It is reliable and on time, and allows you to live in more vibrant places (not clubs really, but more eclectic coffee places, bars, bookstores, restaurants, etc).

I would add that you look at programs that are really strong in deomography (UNC and Penn both have big population centers). That is a stats-heavy subfield that may interest you. In addition to catching up on the literature, make sure you begin to explore the types of social issues/problems you want to research. Math skills are great, but they want to have someone who has ideas about application. Also, you have to be able to write, period. Even if you are quantitative, you need strong writing skills. Take a writing-intensive soc theory course, and then see if you still like it.