bubawizwam

I applied to three schools this year and was rejected from all three. While I'm bummed that I will not be going for my PhD this fall, I'm not sure that I really applied to the right schools for my interests. I'm looking for some guidance as I create a plan B and/or C. I know I want to get my PhD in sociology and I know I can do well in a PhD program. I have a 3.89 GPA in a strong liberal arts program, where I double majored in Sociology and Chinese Studies. I have no published works, but I did write an undergraduate thesis that involved creating and conducting interviews and engaging in qualititative data analysis. (My thesis was on Chinese mythical beings and the terminology we use to discuss these creatures affects our understanding of them.) However, I do love me some quantitative research! I have strong recommendations and good writing samples in the field, but my GRE score just hits 1200 when I combine my best quantitative and verbals scores. Plan B is to apply to schools for spring admission, and plan C is to apply for fall 2012 admission. Plan B is certainly preferable, but I'll take what I can get! I'm interested in sociology of education and criminology and deviance, as well as the intersection of the two in U.S. elementary public schools. I guess I could be lumped under the topic of social stratification to some degree. I spent some time teaching elementary special education and noticed that there was no intervention for students engaging in deviant and unlawful behaviors until they became involved in the juvenille justive system. I'd like to study school intervention methods such as classroom discipline, school wide behavioral intervention systems, and nationwide suspension and expulsion regulations to examine the impact on elementary aged delinquency of minority students. I'm not sure how this idea fares as a research topic, and based on my rejections, I guess it didn't go over too well. Additionally, my current job is way outside of the field and I haven't had any luck in securing a better fitting position that could allow me greater involvement in sociological research. In other words, I have no new experience coming my way to help bolster future applications. I feel like I have to really work on fit and perfecting my personal statement/letter of intent. I can always take the GRE again, but I've taken it twice and I'm not anticipating any miracles. Can anyone suggest any graduate schools that may be a good match for my interests? I am also interested in any general feedback you may have concerning my situation. Thanks!

Rejected on Testudo. Well, I've now been rejected from everywhere I applied. Can anyone think of soc. PhD programs with spring admission?

Any word yet?

Wow, if you look at the results page, it's all rejections and waitlists! Is Maryland just slow getting out respsonses? I feel like the whole world has already heard from every other school!

I keep compulsively checking my phone and e-mail in the off chance that I get some sort of notification today. I'm ready to hear back!

It looks like Stanford has sent out a number of acceptances and rejections already. Has anyone else not heard a thing?

Well now I feel totally bummed out. I didn't realize they had accepted anyone. I sent in my application ages ago, late November I believe. Maybe December 1st. Now I feel like I probably got rejected...

Everyone always talks about checking the Testudo system for admission status. Does anyone know if people admitted in the past found out first on Testudo or by some other means?

I got my official rejection today. There was an e-mail telling me to log in for a status update.

Does applying before the priority deadline give you any boost in getting accepted, or it's just for funding?

The University of Maryland-College Park has a priority deadline of 12/1 and a final deadline of 2/15 (today). What exactly is the priority deadline? Is there a perk to meeting that date? Also, now that the final deadline has passed, when do acceptances go out? I could be patient and find out, but instead I'm going to give in to my anxiety and see what everyone else knows about this school and admission!

What's funny is that I still don't see a rejection online and I know I was rejected!

Hello, Applying to grad schools this year, I don't think I understood the importance of fit and finding a good POI. I definitely think that I could have but together much better applications to a better selection of schools were I do apply all over again. As for when UT will be sending out more responses, it sounded like this week, but I am not entirely clear on that front. In regards to my POI at MDC, Kris Marsh is probably closest to my interests. The thing is, I feel like my interests are somewhere between sociology of education and criminology and deviance. I'm interested in looking at crime and deviance of lower socioeconomic status blacks in underperforming public elementary schools. As a prior teacher, I could see when I child was heading down a dangerous path, but there was nothing in place in the schools to help the kids until they ended up in the juvenile justice system. However, I know that there is still so much material out there for me to study that my research interests could change drastically over time. How concrete are your research ideas? I feel like I'm still very flexible in my interests.

I just called Evelyn and found out that I was rejected. She was very nice though and we chatted for over 20 minutes. The next round of acceptances and rejections should be going out within the next week. However, she said they're going to have a very small cohort this year due to funding issues. She also gave me a bunch of feedback about my application and told me that I wasn't a solid fit based on my interests in sociology of education. Also, the sociology of ed. professors already have a lot of students, and the program is really using fit to eliminate applications. Even if you were a perfect fit but the professor who matched your interests already was overextended, you might not get in. Evelyn also seemed to emphasize publications. She suggested I get an MA and publish some work and go to lots of conferences. She was mighty chatty! Now I just have to wait for the University of Maryland - College Park to send out notifications. Any work on when that will happen?

It looks like UT-Austin has sent out a few acceptance and rejection letters. Does anyone know how they usually send out notifications? Are there several waves of acceptances and rejections? Or am I just waiting to see if I'm rejected/waitlisted? Thanks!