Darth.Vegan

This is actually exactly how I see it. I have no real intention of "changing the world" as a sociologist. I do however want to change the way sociology views social movements and especially how sociology sees tactics. Edit: just to add, I feel that my experience in social movements gives me unique insights that many scholars simply can't get. In regards to the environmental and animal rights movement I also bring a level of access that is rare amongst academics. Those movements tend to be especially cautious and skeptical given the high level of law enforcement scrutiny they have dealt with over the last 15 years or so.

I take a multi-pronged approach personally. I don't value animal issues over environmental issues or vice versa. In my opinion they are very closely related to one another. I most definitely consider myself an ecocentrist. I don't necessarily want to change policy as I personally see it as ineffective. That kind of blends into my other research interest which is insider vs outsider strategies and has been a paramount discussion in the occupy movement.

Agreed. On a theoretical basis Bordieu seems popular and of course any other contemporary critical/feminist theory still seems to be quite relevant.

Well my research thus far has been on the strategies and tactics of the animal rights and environmental movement. My interests in environmental soc. cover biotechnology, neoliberal development, political economy of agro-food systems, and sustainable food systems. So yeah, they relate, haha. I have basically been doing all kinds of activism for roughly 15 years including but not limited to co-founding two non-profits that did outreach to the public about the realities of animal agriculture

Just as the title says, should I mention my experience as an advocate and activist in the animal rights, environmental and occupy movement in my SOP? I would have to say that the passion that I have developed for a number of these issues directly relates to my motivation to study particular research interests. I have been told that some programs (esp. enviro soc faculty at Wisconsin) will definitely appreciate this, while others may look down on it. How would you all deal with it?

I definitely disagree with your characterization of marxism and marxist political economy. I happen to know that a number of programs you didn't list are still engaged in "marxesque" critical analysis. A couple off the top of my head would be Michigan and Cornell.

Well let's see, I am vegan (obviously), there are a few options but it is certainly not the most vegetarian friendly place in the world. There isn't even an all vegetarian restaurant, with the exception of one raw place that is outside of OKC (in the other direction from Norman). Truly though, it has gotten considerably better and there are options like the Earth Cafe, Chipotle, a couple decent indian restaurants and a few other things. My mom has lived there for 10+ years now ( she moved from So Cal where I grew up). Every time I go to visit it seems a bit better. I also have a friend that is a grad student there, she works on LGBT issues, and is vegan as well. Again it is definitely do-able, and overall I would say Norman has the best vibe of anywhere in Oklahoma. That said it is still Oklahoma and it is a very, very conservative place. Norman is probably the most liberal/ left leaning area in the state and I believe the county it is in still goes red every election cycle. Rent is cheap and people are quite polite, and again it is probably the most left leaning area in the state, though that isn't saying much. In the short time I have spent on or near the University the vibe was quite good though. Any other specific questions?

That was the plan when I first got here. My how things have changed.

At this point I think you are needlessly worrying. Don't be too hard on yourself about it, this whole grad school thing has me worried sick!

I grew up in Orange County, if anyone has questions PM me. Garden Grove, Costa Mesa and Westminster have the cheapest rent in North County. If you want to be by the beach, Huntington Beach is generally cheaper than everywhere else, with the best rent found near Huntington Harbor or a little more inland towards Garden Grove. Expect to pay $900 minimum for a one bedroom, if you don't mind roommates you can share a two bedroom for $650-$1000 depending on how nice it is. Renting a room can range from $500-$1000. Irvine is kind of expensive, Costa Mesa is probably the best bet for somewhere close. Edit: If you prefer South County, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano will have the lowest rent near the ocean, you may be able to find cheaper/ nicer places for the $$$ inland a bit, but they tend to be newer luxury type apartments.

I think business casual is best, but what do I know.

My mom lives near Norman, I can try and answer some of your questions. What would you like to know?

Holy hell. I don't drink or anything like that, so there are no pictures of me in problematic situations. But I am very outspoken, I would not want my facebook to be seen by just anyone. I would have to go on a deleting rampage if that happened to me. haha. Or maybe not, I am friends with a couple of my professors now, and no one seems shocked by my commentary. They pretty much all know that I have green-anarcho-feminist politics, so maybe it just doesn't matter. But I would certainly feel very exposed if I was asked to give my login info to a grad school.

Thanks for the advice Chuck, you always seem to have great insights. Even though I do not go to a "pedigree" school, I feel like at least some of my letter writers will carry weight in the departments that they earned their PhD's from. I intentionally made it a point to seek out advisers for my honor's thesis and take classes with professors I felt would be able to help me through the admissions process. Both in terms of the fact that they themselves went to top programs and because being relatively young, they still know people in the departments on a personal basis. I have 5 letter writers and the programs they went to include: Michigan-Ann Arbor Wisconsin Madison UT-Austin SUNY-Albany NYU I think it is important to do this. I don't think it matters that much if people are "famous" although I am sure that looks great on an application. Networking seems to be the most important. If people at top programs know the individuals writing the letters, I am sure it will be more meaningful. Now what I am trying to figure out is how to distribute my letter writers for the 15 programs I want to apply to. Also some programs have a strict 3 letter limit while others are ok with extra letters. The program administrator at Chicago specifically told me that prestige of your undergraduate institution does not matter. While that is probably true, I would imagine that the prestige of your letter writer does. That said, it's not that difficult to find faculty from top programs at any large research school, regardless of prestige.

This forum has absolutely helped me, no doubt about it. Before stumbling upon this forum I thought I could get into grad school with just good grades and a high GRE score. HA! Who was I kidding!? Anyway, I am currently waiting on 2 NSF summer internships that I think will help my applications immensely. The anticipation is killing me, it feels like a precursor to my grad school apps.

Hello! I have been lurking here for a year now. I am totally freaking out because it feels like my application cycle is rapidly approaching!!!!

you need a thesis statement first.

Yeah I saw that. But it seems all the submissions from the last issue were UNH students. It doesn't say anywhere I could find that it is open to external submissions!?

Hi all, I was just wondering if any of you knew of undergrad sociology journals that are open to external submissions? I am developing a paper for my social stats class and will be wanting to try and get it published at the end of the semester. As of now I know of Sociological Insight at UT-Austin. http://www.utexas.ed...ht/overview.php Does anyone know of any others? I found a couple others but they seem to only be for their own students. Thanks.

Does anyone know if you are automatically considered for Columbia's MA program when you apply to the PhD program?

I don't think federal graduate loans are ending anytime soon, just the subsidized ones where they pay your interest while you're in school. In fact the article I found says they are increasing the amount of unsubsidized loans to cover the difference. I do think private loans are a total trap though, those banks would literally suck the life out of you if they thought they could turn a profit.

Don't know but it really doesn't matter, I am sure they will just increase the amount of unsubsidized loans. With IBR once you hit a certain threshold your monthly payment no longer increases, and after 25 years it's forgiven. For some people it may be worth it anyway. Edit: Yes you are correct, what a damn shame http://www.dailycal.org/2011/08/03/federal-graduate-loan-subsidy-eliminated-in-debt-ceiling-deal/ Guess we really don't prioritize higher education anymore do we?

Hi all, I was just wondering if any of you knew of undergrad sociology journals that are open to external submissions? I am developing a paper for my social stats class and will be wanting to try and get it published at the end of the semester. As of now I know of Sociological Insight at UT-Austin. http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/sociology/sociological-insight/overview.php Does anyone know of any others? I found a couple others but they seem to only be for their own students. Thanks.

So jealous of you all that got in! If I am super lucky I may see some of you in 2013.

Here is what I meant about repayment programs by the way. IBR or income based repayment: http://studentaid.ed...ish/IBRPlan.jsp This for me relieves some of the worry. Just stay the hell away from private loans.