sociologyplease

I have a couple of thoughts. First, you feeling inadequate, isolated, and disappointed is a fairly common response amongst first semester/first year graduate students. It's a hard transition, and it can feel isolating. Especially in professional programs like teaching, where you have a very certain idea about what the profession looks like, which is often almost completely wrong! Not to mention, professional programs require a lot of pretty boring, jump-through-the-hoops kind of classes. Ask some people in your program- I best they feel similar to you and are questioning if this whole teaching thing is really for them. However, that doesn't mean that's the only thing that is going on here, or that those feelings will decline with time. I've been through something similar- I'm in a Ph.D program. in sociology now, but started out in counseling (coming right out of undergrad) about three years ago. I thought I would love counseling and I was super excited about my program, but within the first few months I realized that counseling was not for me. I gave it some time at first, because I really loved the theory of counseling, I was doing well in the program overall, and there were a lot of great things about my program (I got to do the research I wanted to do, for example), but as soon as I would put into a clinical internship,I panicked and made the decision to switch to a non-clinical master's program that my grad school offered. This ended up being a lot better for me, and given everything I know now, I would have skipped the whole degree completely, or at least switched programs a lot sooner. So although I want to emphasize how normal your feelings are a month and a half into your program, I also don't want you to ignore your instincts. I did, and it cost me a fair bit of money and some time that I could of spent in the field that I actually like. Now some schools with a education program also offer a degree in guidance counseling- does your school? If so, you could go talk to their admissions committee and see if it sounds like something you are interested in. I would also try to stick the semester out, and take a leave of absence after that.

One suggestion would be trying to find programs with paid maternity/paternity leave for graduate students, which would indicate a very friendly structural arrangement for students (and allow you to not be in jeopardy of losing a stipend if you took time off and couldn't TA or RA or something).

Good, expensive coffee beans from my hometown, and good microbrews. Also a subscription to my favorite magazine- it's quarterly, but it gives me a break from reading grad school specific texts and is always a highlight when it arrives in the mail!

I just moved to Connecticut too and oh man, is it lonely out here! I've been watching Law and Order SVU on marathon to try to cope, but I'm not sure if it's the best pick-me-up.

I came from a non-sociology background. Although one of my undergrad majors was in the social sciences (the other in the humanities), I have never taken a sociology class (and will be T/Aing one in two weeks), so it's possible to still get into a Ph.D. I also did a M.A. in a related field in between undergrad and my sociology Ph.D., because I wasn't on the Ph.D. track at first. However, without funding, I wouldn't recommend that. What I would recommend is to link up with a professor and work on research, even after you graduate (even if it's a related field to sociology). That is what I did, and he helped me submit and present at the ASA which was super helpful. It sounds like you have some ethnographic experience, but are you co-authoring/presenting/publishing these research projects? I'd also recommend taking sociology classes at a local university. I didn't have time to do this because of my M.S. program, but I think it would have been a much better choice to take several sociology classes as a post-bacc, especially sociology classes in areas you were lacking in undergrad (theory, methods, stats), as well as the section you are interested in (gender, family, immigration, whatever). Make connections with these professors and try to get involved in research and/or get letters of recommendations. Volunteering, such as Americorps or Peace Corps, probably can't hurt you, but I don't think it will necessarily help you either and will take time away from being able to focus on additional classes and research.

Yep, Storrs, here I come. I'm moving from Oregon, so it's going to be quite a change! I'm going to CT in three weeks to look for a place- I'm a little worried that I'll be too late. When are other people finding apartments?

I indeed read the whole post before commenting the first time, but the reason it sounded like you were referring to Africa as a whole is that you quoted someone who said they wouldn't mind getting a job "in Africa" and responded with a vague "there," indicating that you were responding directly to that person's statement about the whole continent of Africa. Though it may have been an intentional "there," referring to the university that your friend works at, it didn't appear that way to me. If you are well-versed in anti-colonial works, which I'm sure you are, I trust you have had more than one encounter with the narrative of Africa as one big, savage land as opposed to a continent made up of very different countries, cultures, and experiences. Your original statement seemed to fit into that narrative, and once I found out that you didn't mean that, I apologized. I think your continued defensive tone, despite my apology and your original ambiguous statement, is unnecessary. I understand your statement was more specific than it appeared to me, and I thank you for clearing that up for me.

Sorry if it sounded hostile or condescending. Your statement did read to me as regarding Africa as a whole (with the "there" you referred to), but apologies as this wasn't your intent. Describing having to get a tenure track job in Africa as a terrible thing rubbed me the wrong way, but I don't want to create a hostile environment.

Africa is a pretty big place, fyi. There are a lot of different experiences and conditions in that huge continent. Many sociologists find lumping the whole continent of Africa together pretty offensive and inaccurate. Also, your comments make it sound like "Africa" is a savage and undeveloped place, which fits into the white, colonial and imperialistic narrative of Africa that has shown to be highly problematic.

I will be!

Trying to restart this thread- any future huskies out there trying to find housing for the fall? I've been worried that if I wait until July, I won't have any place to live. Anyone know when most of the housing gets taken? I am looking to live in Willimantic, in a studio/1 bedroom.

I took the Kaplan online math and verbal class- if you are going to go with a prep class, I highly recommend this one. It was great because I could take it online at my leisure, but they still really engage you. I scored a 98th percentile on verbal and finally broke the 70th percentile on quant (which I could never do on my own) after taking this class. Mostly, it's just nice because it gives you a strict study schedule, access to a ton of practice tests which you can target to your weaknesses as well, and information on strategies on taking the test. Anyway, highly recommend!

Officially accepted my offer to UConn last night!

Hey wmnshlthsoc, I'm bummed you didn't get in anywhere. I was rooting for you because our interests intersect a bit. Small word of advice to anyone who has a really set focus that is in gender/sexuality- apply widely. A lot of programs simply can't/won't support people with this focus. I have an incredibly niche focus inside of gender/sexuality which I have build an entire thesis around (previous m.s. in unrelated field) and that I will keep working on in doctoral studies. I am very sure that this kept me out of lots of programs where I had competitive stats/experience but my topic just didn't fit exactly. I would apply as widely as possible to any program that you think might be able to support your interests- so for you, gender/sexuality and medical soc programs.

Hey! I went to the visiting weekend a few days ago, and it looks like there are at least a few people who were leaning toward other offers- so I might see you in the fall. Let me know if you get off the waitlist- and if you have any questions about the program, PM me!