ewurgler

I am in a similar spot. However, I know my rank on the waitlist (3rd), and that the entire waitlist was admitted the past two years. Therefore, I plan to check in with the adcom right before the 15th and if the prospects are grim, I plan to accept elsewhere. If they are great, I will ask for an extension from my other top choice and try to go visit. Maybe this is crazy and naive of me, but I think schools will give you an extra week, especially if you need to go visit another school. They want what is best for you and want you to be completely happy with whatever school you attend.

Hey, For those who were admitted to Penn, did you go to the visit weekend? I am on the waitlist, but if I get in I doubt I will have time to visit. Good impressions, bad impressions?

yeah, sorry I was thinking of the social sciences. Mesa is definitely closer for hard sciences and engineering.

sorry widefellow, Yes, I meant chicago is probably the best stepping stone for a PhD in soc.

My instinct is chicago. They have the best sociology program out of the schools you mention, therefore you would get to take classes in one of the best programs. Additionally, you can get letters of rec from chicago soc people. I know a tiny bit about MAPSS--you have one core course, and otherwise you get to take whatever classes you want in the social sciences. It will give you a chance to get a great writing sample and get some courses you need. Don't do northridge. Yes, its cheaper, but the other schools you are considering are much more respected and will give you a much great boost in the admission process for a PhD.

Coast is closer to campus, but hard to get. Grad housing is the best deal if you want to be near campus for cheap. You will have to drive 10+ minutes to school if you want to live off campus for a reasonable price. But, if you are willing to drive or take the shuttle to live in a more fun neighborhood, check out hillcrest, north park, or normal heights. Lots of graduate students live in these areas and there is a shuttle that runs every 15 mins from Hillcrest to campus. As for the blind roommate, it is often a good way to make friends outside of your department. But like any matching, you could end up with a weirdo.

I was in your position last year, and I am now super excited to be going back to school. My suggestion: finish your thesis, trying finding a job for the year off while researching schools and programs, and if in september you are not looking forward to going back, don't apply. For me, I was sick of my thesis and was ready to have a year off, but after spending 4+ months unemployed and another few months in at a soul-sucking job, I was dying to go back to school. If you want to do counseling and not research, get a masters in counseling or a psychD. Talk to your current advisors. They are smart and have most likely been there. Additionally, everyone in grad school has frequent doubts about whether it is worth it, if they can stay any longer, and feel like dropping out a few times. To think you will never have doubts is crazy. I got into some great programs and am excited about going, but every time I hear about some bullshit study that passes as "scholarship" or read some shitty paper that was published in a "top" journal, I cringe and wonder if I am going to hate it. Maybe that is just me.

I agree with what everyone has suggested--big cities in the northeast or california. I would say san francisco would be a good bet as well as LA. So check Berkeley, UCSF, Stanford. The tolerance of the bay area doesn't extend into central california as much, so don't assume a place like UC Davis will be as accepting as SF. I would also say a place like Seattle would be great (Dan Savage seems to like it, and he requires quite a bit of tolerance). I live in san diego, and though it isn't an 'alternative lifestyle' haven, there are neighborhoods and pockets where you would feel right at home. I would apply to big city schools, and once you are in at a few places, email lots of graduate students with this exact question. If you get a weird response from them...perhaps not the best place.

HKgal-- I am pretty sure UNC's deadline is April 15th just like everyone else. Good luck!

Good choice. I was at a visit weekend at UNC for sociology and spoke to someone who completed the MAPSS at chicago and was nearly promised a spot in chicago soc PhD with funding...and was waitlisted. There are no guarantees. maryland is great.

You can ask current graduate students about the "culture" of the department. You can "feel" if they will be supportive....like if they have a super intense timeline they want everyone to stick to, they may not be all that supportive. If one of their comments about the town the university is located in is "that it is a great place to raise kids," you sense they would be more supportive. Ask grad students, find out if anyone did have kids while in school, and then email them to ask about it. If it is a possibility for you, I do not think it is silly at all to take it into consideration.

Ok, this is clearly going nowhere. Yes, I do not anticipate a good advisor/advisee relationship with someone who is complete opposite to me politically. You can extrapolate all you want about how I "treat" people of opposing views. No, I would not mark students down, no I would not deride them. When I talk about not respecting some political positions is not that I think they are stupid, but because I think they are unethical. Example: I do not respect the Pope's recent statement saying that condoms will make the AIDS epidemic in africa worse because they will promote a culture of promiscuity. I don't respect that view. That does not mean I hate the pope and have no respect for him in other ways. I just have no respect for that belief. You assume that all of my academic ethics will be sacrificed for the promotion of my political views--give me some credit. This conversation was about graduate school and if departmental political culture matters. I said yes. I do not want to be a part of a department whose political beliefs are in opposition to mine/be trained in a tradition of conservatism. This in no way means I would insulate myself from other ideas. Why do people study inequality? Oftentimes to figure out ways to make to end it. Would this scholar function well in a department that adheres to trickle-down economic theories? Doubtful. Yes, my rhetorical "flourishes" were often jokes and exaggerations because this is a web forum, not a seminar. I stand by my opinion that for a lot of research, departmental political culture matters and determines how and in what ways your research will be supported.

I understand what you are trying to say, but you are making a lot of assumptions about how I view 'the new right' and how I would approach my research. I do not think they are devils or morons. Quite the opposite. I think they are well intentioned people who have been brought up in an epistemological tradition that has restricted political exploration. I say this with some authority because I grew up in this environment and am extremely familiar with it. What I want to do is not demean them or refuse to take them seriously, but begin to understand how and why these political beliefs are so staunchly adhered to and the boundaries of communities very much predicated on a foundation of social and economic conservatism. I do not intend to rip on their political beliefs, but figure out the ways in which they came into being with such strength and staying power. With regards to whether or not "those people" have a place in academia--of course they can do whatever they want. What I was meaning to say is that it would be nearly impossible to do my (critical) research on the religious right with faculty/advisors who are constantly at odds with the fact that I am critical about these groups. I would get nothing done. A question to you--because I disagree with a group's politics, am I not allowed to be critical and think and write critically about them? Are they above theoretical and critical reproach because they are "religious" and happen to be at odds with much academic literature? I think I am allowed to have no respect for their political views but still complete great field work and critical evaluation of them. I am not a tactless mongrel who is going to bust into churches telling everyone they are stupid and expect them to talk to me about why they think evolution is crap. I want to do serious fieldwork to understand a group that is constantly mocked and poked fun at. I do not think my disagreeing with their political stances will prevent that from happening.

I too thinks it is super interesting in general, but not a debate I want to encounter within my graduate department

How do people study the Nazis? Bad example, but still. Everyone comes into research with assumptions, and that is usually what makes them interested in the topic. I am planning to do qualitative research, so dispassionate model? To say that one can completely makes themselves objective--I don't buy it. I do not hate an entire group of people, in fact the reason I want to study this is because this is the world I grew up in. My wanting to be in a graduate program that fosters the kind of intellectual and political rigor that is in line with my own understandings is in no way laziness or a refusal to be challenged. I love being challenged to think in new ways, but "should we give condoms to kids" is not political issue that challenges my thinking. What I meant is that I want to have some foundation of political views that are in line with mine so that I can move beyond mundane and superficial political debates and get into intense and highly abstract and theoretical ones. To assume that two people who share most political views cannot have challenging theoretical conversations is ridiculous. The political issues I don't want to deal with in a graduate program are bullshit things like "should gays be allowed to marry?" "Should we teach intelligent design in schools?" and the like. Do you honestly think that disagreement on this is really going to challenge you intellectually? Not in my opinion. Lets move beyond these debates.

Definitely not Chapel Hill. Most likely Indiana, but I am going to wait on to see if I get off the Penn waitlist before april 15th. Have you decided?

You are braver than I, misterpat. My focus is also going to be the new right (in soc), and there is NO FUCKING WAY I could have a Regan lover in a ten mile radius of my dissertation. Well, I want to do ethnography so there will be some, but none advising me. Oh god. I am someone whose political beliefs ooze into everything that I talk about. I would die.

[quote name="Louiselab

Ok, so I was curious and looked through your posts and deduced what political issue you are referring to. Yes, it appears that this is incredibly contentious and I would therefore argue that it WILL matter. I can tell you now that this is a cause of departmental tension in a few programs at my undergrad. A tenured faculty is now looking to leave because of a reaction (or lack thereof) to a recent event. If you want your work to be supported, go somewhere people agree with are. Now I am just curious where you stand on this issue.

I have a strong opinion on this for a few reasons. I personally would never be able to go a place where people's political views differ from me drastically. I am in the social sciences, so many of the types of things researched are politically contentious. If what you want to research is going to reach into areas of political controversy (which all the good ones do, in my opinion), it will be good to have someone who is in line with you politically, but is also able to think about how you are framing, how it will be received, etc. Secondly, and I know this may be offensive to some, but it is really hard to believe that some of a certain political viewpoint would have the same academic and intellectual ethics I do. Ok, I am having a terrible time articulating what I mean without saying people who believe X can't possibly be good, thoughtful scholars. I guess what I mean is that political views and academic integrity overlap. I want to be somewhere I KNOW has the same/similar outlook on education/academia that I do. So yes, I think it matters. I would never date someone with opposing political views nor would I go to school with opposing views. Call me ridiculous, I don't care.

If it is not going to cost you a whole lot, it could be fun. I have enjoyed my visits so far. Additionally, it may be a good way to get info on other programs They usually ask you where else you are looking at, and then give their two cents about the various programs. If you like Kimmel, he may have very useful info about the other programs you are considering. Since they aren't paying your way, there would be no ethical issue here, in my opinion.

I am 90% sure I am headed to Indiana for sociology. Any other soc people out there?

Are they kicking in anything for the travel costs?

Obviously ask. But I can tell you my Indiana offer had some info on this: the offer of admission was valid for 2 years, but it explicitly said the funding offer was not. This did not mean that no funding was available should I defer, but the exact amounts and # of years was not guaranteed. I doubt any program would promise you the exact same funding offer if you defer. Hope this helps.

Hey, I've been on two visits (in soc departments) and can give you an idea of the types of conversations you will have. They are usually shortish (1/2 hour). They ask you "what do you need to know about the department," "what are your interests?" etc. Sometimes they are awkward, sometimes they are super fun and interesting. For me, I usually ask what their research is about (if I don't already know), if they department is cohesive (no major fractures), if qualitative and more interdisciplinary approaches are welcomed, how supportive the department is (assigned mentors during the first year), usual time to completion, the recent placement of graduates, if there is funding available after the guaranteed years, if there is much co-publishing with grad students. Then, if the person I'm speaking with seems cool and we are getting along, I speak about other places I am looking at, ask them if they know much about the program and if they can draw a comparison--what are major differences? I also ask about the town--if they like living here, if there is lots of do. A lot of times they have questions for you too. Don't worry. I have yet to have a really awkward conversation. They are friendly and ALL really seem to want to give the info you need to make a good decision for YOU!