socspice

I think you've got a good start here. A couple of things that I think could make your statement stronger: I would not include this informtion in your statement: "Looking forward to my career goals, I hope to work for a time as a community college instructor, thus allowing my husband to finish his education..." This is not an activity that faculty at many PhD programs are very supportive of. You also don't want to be seen as someone who is just biding their time waiting for their husband. Don't mention husband at all. Or community college. Instead, focus on wanting to be a university professor, with an emphasis on the research over the teaching aspect. I also think you should elaborate on: "and am enthusiastic about conducting research in those fields...". Be more specific here. What kind of research do you want to do? What kinds of questions do you think are interesting and would you like to explore? Also, HOW did the work you did with undergrad prof "greatly prepared me for the rigors of graduate school"? Try to be more detailed if you can. Did doing work with that person make you want to undertake research on your own and work independently? Again, good start, and it's great that you've got something to work with so early. Good luck!

It's not at all uncommon for non-sociology BAs to obtain sociology PhDs. I wouldn't worry too much about that. Read through Annual Review of Sociology. It's a yearly collection of lit reviews written by top scholars in their fields.

I agree with DustSNK. It'd be better to tell the admissions committee about your experiences in a compelling, sociological way than to set it up in this format.

See these two posts on Orgtheory that discuss best programs for organizational studies: http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2006/12/12/best-phd-programs-for-org-theory/ http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/soc-phd-programs-3-organization-studies/ Be sure to read through the comments as well.

I would read this as too much about social work, and not enough about sociology. It might help to cut or reword the portions that sound like you want to "change the world," and make it more about wanting to "understand the world." My $.02.

The problem is that many professors get many, many emails from prospective students, not to mention accepted students, current students, undergraduates enrolled in their courses, etc. It just seems pointless to me to be bothering faculty this early on. I find it hard to believe that they'll become an advocate for you in the admissions process -- there's just too much other stuff going on, and most of the faculty that aren't on the graduate admissions committee don't even see the applications. They're much more likely to invest in admitted students who haven't yet decided where to go, or their current students. And really, you should be applying to a department based on the entire program, not just 1-2 professors. You've got to go into thinking that the one person you really want to work with is going to leave. Will you still like the department after that? Plus, you may discover new interests while in grad school, or you may discover that the person you thought you wanted to work with is really a jerk, or that you really jive with someone else. YMMV, of course. And I'm sure it feels important to try to do everything you can to get into the schools you want to go to, so no amount of advice to the contrary will probably persuade you from doing what you want to do anyway. But contacting faculty isn't going to make up for a weak or lackluster application. So email if you want to, but don't be disappointed if you get no response, or something short and curt. My $.02.

I think it'd be best to wait until you've been accepted by a program to start contacting people. Then you have something to actually talk about, and it can help inform your decision (plus, the prof has a reason to talk to you at that point, rather than just ignore or be rude to you, which is really common before you've even applied).

I seriously doubt you'll find any programs that are still offering funding. Most funding deadlines are in January. However, some programs are still accepting applications for unfunded slots. But the only 1-year MA program I know of is Syracuse.

University of Toronto is definitely the top Canadian sociology program. On par with many top R1s in the US.

I think it'd be good to read some books by the faculty of the graduate program you are entering.

The visits really will help make things clear. It's amazing what you can learn in a day! But it also probably depends on what your secondary interests are. Delaware's got a great program, and Ben Fleury-Steiner should be a big draw for you. But it looks to me like all three programs have really interesting faculty.

Make sure you call her Laura Beth and not Laura!

Well, off the top of my head I know that Georgia State has an April 15 deadline. They're a great program for sexuality research, and they also have very good teacher training. Akron has a March 1 deadline, and they have strengths in social psych and criminology. I'm sure there are others if you dig around a little. But I know the most about my own program, of course. SUNY-Buffalo doesn't have a deadline (but the funding deadline has passed). We've got faculty from Northwestern, Chicago, Arizona, Cornell, Wisconsin, and other great programs. We have strengths in urban, family, and in soc of law, but have recently been doing really well in culture, gender, work & orgs, inequality, and medical soc. Check us out! We'd love to get more applications from smart, motivated students such as all of you who are posting on this board! Suerte: I am open to the suggestion that I am deluded about this, though. You're not deluded. Not every faculty member is a great advisor -- it's always a good idea to ask around with the other students who is more hands on, who's helpful and who's not, etc. Starting one program and transferring out is not for everyone, of course, but for many it can be a very good experience.

If you're anxious to be enrolled in a PhD program come fall, but your top choices have fallen through, why not give a lower-ranked program a shot? Many of them (including my own) have rolling deadlines and are still admitting students (although funding decision deadlines may have already passed). You always have the option to continue applying for other programs once you are there, or after the MA. Lower-ranked programs have a number of great things going for them. 1) Many are populated by faculty who got their PhDs from all the great programs you are looking at. Dying to work with Gary Alan Fine at Northwestern, but you didn't get in? Why not work with one of his students instead? 2) It's really easy to stand out as a star student at a lower-ranked program and a lot of opportunities (money, research, etc.) will come your way. It seems like most of the conversation on this board focuses on the most elite programs, but there are amazing programs and stellar faculty all over the place!