PhD2009orbust

I went to law school knowing that I would not practice law but was interested in academia, hence the reason why I am currently in a PhD program. Like you, my undergrad grades were good but my law school grades were not. I was accepted by a number of schools, so it does not seem to weaken one's application. However, your statement of purpose needs to be extremely strong because you need to prove that you are interested in scholarship/research and not someone who realized that the practice of law is not desirable. Furthermore, graduate school is "more costly" than a non-traditional legal career (more costly, meaning you either are unfunded or you are funded and receive a small stipend but forego gainful employment for a number of years).

MAPSS is the best choice. Not only do you take courses and write a paper (both of which can transfer easily into a PhD program), but also you are working with people who are well-known in the academy. Chicago has a great group of scholars who does gender.

I was in MAPSS and really enjoyed the program. I too was able to improve my chances and was admitted to top-10 programs with fellowship offers. I caution people who are interested in MAPSS as to a few things. 1) Most students do not finish on time and complete the program in August. This may not be a concern to you but unless one is prepared with a topic in the fall and finds a MA reader in late-Fall/early-Winter, you are probably graduating late. 2) The program does not encourage you to apply while you are in program. This means you will be out of school for one year before you begin a PhD program. I did not wait because I was able to secure 2 letters from Chicago profs. and use a prior recommender. 3) You must choose the right courses carefully. You should ideally find the person you want to work with on your MA paper in the Fall, meaning you should take a course with him/her. Many profs limit the number of people they will work with and if you do not develop a rapport early in the process, there is a good chance that you may not get to work with him/her. I knew a number of people who waited until mid-February to find a faculty reader and were turned away by several people and simply found someone to "sign off" on their MA paper. Again, my experience was great. I took the correct courses such that I was dropped into the 3rd year of the PhD program where I am enrolled and will probably be done in 3 years. Many people realize that graduate school is not for them and there are a lot of unhappy campers, particularly during thesis-time.

Not sure how you can be in "legal" trouble if you have not signed a letter or written an email to the school. Even assuming that the school thought you were attending, they would be annoyed but it is highly doubtful they would want to further action. It is customary for some programs to send subsequent literature on their school. I got into a program where I did not accept/reject the offer of admission but subsequently received a letter from the Dean of the school congratulating me and talking about classes, registration, etc.

I applied to the NYU Law & Society program and have not heard anything. I saw that someone was waitlisted. Have offers been sent out? I assume if a waiting list has been created that they have extended offers.

Do you know if all 20 offers have been extended? I assume if a waitlist has been created that the department has made its offers or at least made its decision for this admissions cycle. I hate overanalyzing when I do not hear anything but others have, so I assume if offers have been made, I am either denied or waitlisted.

I knew one or two people who enrolled in MAPSS. One was very unfocused and did not have a social sciences background. The other went to an unknown, small college in the South; I was amazed that he did not get into a graduate program but he used the MAPSS program to broker relationships with top faculty who ultimately wrote his recommendations. He got into top-10 programs. He indicated that many faculty view MAPSS students as second-class citizens and it is hard to find a thesis advisor. The reviews of MAPSS are mixed but it is not for someone who wants to begin a PhD program immediately following the program. The department discourages people from applying to grad programs until they are completely done with the MA. This means, at best, one would have a gap year between MAPSS and a PhD program. This is also assuming that one graduates on time: nearly 2/3-3/4 of people do not graduate on time.