ringo2009

Its always useful to get feedback if you plan on reaplying. I think that getting feedback works best when you have tried to establish a relationship with the DGS prior to the application process i.e. informational interview over the phone or face to face meeting. This has worked for me in the past and I got really candid feedback which was useful to me.

Hmm, its always risky to go to a school for one POI. The issue of his availability to you may be far less of a concern than the possibility that he could just pick up and go to antoher school. If that happened would you have a back up plan? Would this delay you graduating? Its always best to have a couple of people you could potentially work with when going to a PhD program. Placing all your eggs in one basket or on one professor sounds risky to me.

I just got an email for an honorable mention, so I think they may be starting with flat out rejections, then moving to HM and then on to winners in that order maybe? Crazy. I also just got my reviews from the NSF GRFP which I didnt get. Got HM last year. This process has left me even more confused on the ins and outs of this grant process! However, I will subject myself to more torture next year...hope to meet others who didnt get it on this string next year too!

same here...

the list is up

Thank you. Yes this was very helpful. I appreciate your thoroughness.

Glad it worked out for you Roll Right!

Yes, we have have not only reached 100 but exceeded it. It is 1:28 EST and there are now 108 people reading this thread!

gradschool, you are extra wrong, because you even responded to an inquiry from me about how you found out. you see, that is why our parents tell us not to tell a lie, because one lie leads to another . well the joke was on me and all the other gullable grad forum followers. good one. relieved though that there is still a chance. i started thinking to myself dang ford is shisty they cant even let us know if we didnt get it. good luck to everyone!

Congratulations! How were you notified? By email, phone?

what are the nordic fellowships? are you saying you have to receive a NSF GRFP to get the nordic fellowships? can you post the site you referenced to get this information?

Hmmm, the saga continues. I am excited to see the outcome. Thanks for calling and checking on announcement dates. I have mostly just been trying to move along with life and not think too much about it, but its nice to have a heads up.

star fish

I thought it was that you could not receive concurrent federal funding. However if you received non-federal sources of funding you could keep it concurrently. For example you can keep a Javits and a NSF. That was my understanding?

Barilicious answered the acronym question for you. Sorry, when I stumbled on this forum it was so acronym heavy, I just assumed it was common "grad-speak" :-). You are right, you dont want to go down the chronological list of your CV and spew it back to them verbatum. Your aim is to make the sociological and academic connections between what is on your CV ( and more importantly what is not) on your CV for your reader. How has experience xyz impacted your interests (which is the line of thought you were already on with your teaching experience). Or. how did another experience or opportunity open up another line of inquiry. What does experience XYZ say about your capacities as a student? These are the things that are not usually on the typical CV. I havent heard of the books being referred to, but its always good to get inspiration from others. It sounds like you have great substance to write about.

HI Buba - Sorry it didnt work out for you with your applications this year. I remember you from late Jan early Feb when we were both checking the UMD CP sight regularly. I agree with most of what was said previously. There is A LOT that can happen in the year. You should focus on revaluating the schools you applied to, making personal connections with the DGS and POI's and being able to present a new and refined application for next year. Concerning your SOP, let me preface this by saying I did a quick skim, I think you do a great job in substantiating your interests and with the exception of the opening this may make a good NSF GRFP or other similarly project oriented essay. However the pupose/objective of the SOP is much different. You have a very limited amount of space (ranging from 1-2 pages) to essentially sell yourself to the university and clearly articulate why you are a good match for the school. Therefore the bulk of your essay should be about you. What you have done, wha lead you to sociology, how well do you learn, academic merits and research interests. Also, dont be afraid to leave your research interests a bit general . Speaking to a DGS at one of the schools I applied to, a lot of grad schools actually prefer that students not come into the program with a very fixed research project in mind. They want students who have a clear research agenda, but who are open to being trained and refining those interests while in school. Your intro is important. Its the hook. Its what lures them into yet another long and potentially boring SOP, keep in mind committee members read hundreds of these things. However the intro should essentially lay the groundwork for who you are: a characteristic, life experience, etc that essentially spells out who you are as a person. I would avoid dialogue, unless it is really critical and somehow greatly improves the message you are tryiing to present. Moving on to your body you can speak about things such as: 1. Notable life experiences that have prepared you for doctoral studies and why 2. Academic achievements which provide examples of your capacity to learn, research, etc. 3. Work/life experiences which shows your committment to the field of sociology 4. Why have you chosen school X to apply to 5. Briefly touch on your research interests 6. Mention a few (probably no more than 3) POIs you may like to work with These are just some ideas. Then you want to bring it home with a banging conclusion which removes any doubt that they may have up until that point that you are a good fit and a good investment for the program. I hope this helps. Wishing you the best of luck next year. A year goes by fast!

Someone recommended the below article in another thread. You may find that it provides you with some things to ponder concerning rank and post-degree opportunities. http://pages.uoregon.edu/vburris/ptr09/asr_2004.pdf

Are you saying that if you received external funding for $10k and an external fellowship for 30k, they would give you $13k or would they give you, $43k?

Weird though as some people have already heard back?? Maybe that was just an initial round?

You should also look at the following: 1. Ford Diversity pre-doctoral Fellowship (if you are a minority) 2.Rotary Fellowship (for international travel when you are ready to do your dissertation research) 3. Fulbright (also international travel) sbt

Well I would ask him for clarification if he had any insight on your final admissions decision, as you had not yet received anything official from the department. If he says your in, then I hope you were not going to this program just to work for him and that you have others whose research interest are in line with yours? If so, perhaps this is something you could discuss with the other potential POIs during the admit weekend, assuming it hasnt already passed.

You are right, I just called too and it did infact say late March, but last week I think it was early March...

First, I wont to start off by saying, your life is definitely not over. While it may sting like crazy now and the ugency of going after what you want may seem pressing, trust me your life will go on. There are tons of people who have not gotten all the responses that they want this round (check the results page). That being said 28 is not old at all. No you are not a fresh out of undergrad student, but that can be appealing to some adcomms and programs. You probably have a lot of other personal life experience that you could spin in your favor that a lot of younger applicants may not have. Who knows, you still get into some of these other schools, so just wait it out. And if in the event it doesnt give you the outcome you want, then devise a plan to make it happen next year. After the application fever dies down, most Grad Directors are usually willing to give you some direct feedback about your application. Particularly if you have been in contact with them via phone or email or in person prior to the application season. Also, I would recommend that you always just send in your CV with your grad applications, especially if you are a little older and want to use your life/professional experience as a boosting point. I hope this helps and I wish you the best. Whatever the outcome.

I say the sooner the better. Remember, at this point "they want you" so they shoud be as accomodating as possible to provide you with all the information you need to make the best decision. I would ask the question about when I can expect to hear something definitive about funding first and then hear what they say. I doubt they will say, "well I have no idea about your funding options", which in that case you could offer to call the grant coordinator. So wait to hear what they say first. Also, let them know straight up that funding is a big factor in your decision (I am typing this assuming you havent already accepted yet). Good luck!

That sounds more reasonable. I was highly surprised by the 80k number. If its based on last years numbers they give like 2000 awards and about 1500 HM. Sbt