dizzid

YOU SHOULDVE INVITED ME! Let's get coffee or tea and talk about it after your "game" on Saturday??!?!

avee I know this isn't advice but I think you'll do great

via email at 7:30am 7:30 - mother: good morning dear, i hope you had a nice evening after I spoke with you. I have a doctor's appointment at noon so you'll have to call my cell if you need me. By the way, you got a letter from George Mason yesterday. Have a good day. Love, mom. 7:31 - me: rejection?!?!?! 8:05 - mother: of course not honey 8:05 - me: so it's an ACCEPTANCE letter? 8:17 - mother: yes I've called you everday since Jan 15th to ask if Mason sent a letter and when I finally stopped asking because I've given up hope THIS is how you notify me?!?!? Via email at your LIESURE even though I know for a fact you're sitting at you desk at work, not working?!?!?!

This made me literally LOL. Thanks. I go on my first one next week, the schedule the coordinator sent me is pretty intense. This may seem trivial but Scienegirl what did you wear? Khakis? Dresses? Flats? Studs? Suit and Tie? Bodypaint? WHAT?!?!

I don't think there's any foolproof way to go about this application process. Many of us who were accepted to PhD programs for the Fall took different routes and still came out successful. I imagine that having a "high" GPA corresponds with a decent GRE score which will be supported by your writing sample and LORs and further evidenced in the SOP. While many of us complained about "weaknesses" in our applications, in hindsight I'm not sure we actually had any. When compared with our counterparts who did NOT apply for these programs, their stats do not compare to ours. I'm not saying we were all perfect but I am saying that by the time we got to this process, most of us were at least competitive and for those who did not get accepted ANYWHERE the problem probably wasn't their stats as much as their match and or ranking issues. My advice to you would be to start EARLY because you will run out of time in this process. I took the GRE on Dec 8 2011, approximately 4 days before Finals...my life was a nightmare and I had no chance to retake it which just added to the stress of trying to get a "good" score. My apps went in the day they were due because I was broke from not working due to GRE and Finals... I started my SOP in October and tweaked it until the day I submitted my apps. Editing and re-editing my writing sample pretty much induced paranoia until it was submitted. In hindsight, I should have moved my entire timeline up at least 2 months. That's my advice to you. Give yourself the time to allow everything to fall into place. And, what Karlito said

*chirp chirp* How are the visits going?

I'm pretty sure that most of us have "private" pages but now that we are about to begin our careers has anyone thought of making some additional changes or deletion altogether? A part of me is unrepentant and as I have no desire to run for public office, unashamed. I cleaned up my page a year or so ago (thanks Mom for socialnetworking) but still have a few items that might be questionable... I'm not sure new friends/colleagues need to see "SB2008PBC" or judge my friends who just can't stop themselves from doing inappropriate things when they see a camera. Am I the only one with this problem? Thoughts? Solutions?

Lexi - are you going micro or macro with Social Work? I work with ALL social workers, the ones that run the programs, write grants, organize agency meetings are macro. The ones that deal/interact with clients on a day to day basis \ are micro. They have two completly different approaches to dealing with the same problems.

It's for FSU's PhD program. They'd like me to apply for the Fellowship but the instructions are rather vague other than a loooong list of items I need before I start.

One I start it, I can't stop. Has anyone filled one of these out? Can someone give me some details on what sort of answers they're looking for?

FSU offers $20k/yr but we go year round. Congruently, the program lasts four years instead of the traditional six...

This is one of my favorite threads right now. Would those of you who have had your visits or as they occur post as well? I'd love a play by play of what happened on your visit if you're willing to share.

I'm going to go ahead and own the "praying mantis" personality for this thread. Socy-mang. DON'T DO IT! Be a selfish bastard and advance yourself. If NEW gf is up to snuff she can follow you later or in the words of Erykah Badu maybe it'll happen for you guys "next lifetime". Are you REALLY gonna be the guy who could've gone to School A but chose School Z because you were blinded by the ____?!?!?! Walking into happy hour last week with a friend regarding the possibility of meeting someone new, me (almost verbatim): I am so NSA as I will be outta here in 2.5 months. I want to know your first name and your major. Nothing else because you and I won't even be facebook friends this time next year. On the other hand, if you're in a long term, happy, committed, wonderful relationship, that's awesome

This is probably not indicative of most applicants but I did not take rank into consideration when I compiled my list of schools to attend but instead looked through the program websites, bulletins, faculty, and location. I also took the time to meet with a few coordinators/POIs and phone chat with all but 2 who were on my potential list. THAT part of the process actually helped me remove a few schools from my list... That being said, the first and ONLY school I've heard from so far is also the highest ranked program on my list at #39. I'm still technically waiting to hear back from Mason, Pitt and Temple. Originally I also applied to UF but realized about a week ago I screwed up my application and it won't actually be considered aka Rookie Mistake... I don't think I'm getting into Mason because I know the coordinator knows what my FSU offer is and they can't match that. Pitt - I'm super curious but not necessarily jonesing because FSU clearly wins the battle in terms of rank and location. Temple, oh how I've wanted to attend this school and live in Philly for over 10 years. This was originally my #1 pick because I've had a love affair with this university for what feels like forever. At this point, I sincerely hope I end up teaching there since I couldn't go for undergrad and probably won't be going for PhD. I'm cool with that

I'm moving (probably) from East to South. Boy did I NEVER expect this to happen. I like looking through craigslist, rentjungle and rent.com to see what apartments are LIKE. I live in an old city that has historical markers every 10 feet so we all live in semi renovated early 20th century apartments that are crammed on top of each other. Every search I do for Florida includes words like "new" and "renovated". I HAVE noticed that the majority of complexes have pools I've made a list of apartments that I want to swing by when I do my campus visit next month. Because I'm a "doer", I started sending stuff home about 3 weeks ago. I plan to have as little as possible to deal with after graduation. I'm planning to let my furniture "convey" for a small fee (think $50). I moved three times last year...my own mother refused to help the last time so I'm trying to make this as easy as possible. I've already informed my landlord and my job that I will be leaving no later than May 15th to move back home for about 7 weeks before the BIG MOVE. I plan to be in my new apartment no later than July 8, one month before the program starts. I plan, I plan, I plan, I plan. In reality: my grand plans will probably all blow up in my face and I'll be living in the University Inn for a month.

Thanks Socing, I'm pretty sure this means my mother is withholding my mail or I've been rejected...in which case I'm pretty sure my mother is probably withholding my mail.

I have no idea. I think most schools are sending emails either with the information in it or telling people to check the portal.

You and me both. One person posted on the results survey they recieved a letter by postal mail. My mother SWEARS I haven't received anything as of yet. Has your portal page been updated at all?

I did a campus visit to Maryland back in October, the coordinator told me then that all of the accepted students are fully funded; they don't offer admission if they don't fund you.

Personally, I feel like this topic has spiraled into... Education is a key component in stratification. A few exceptions doesn't break the rule. Especially when those exceptions happen to be extreme. Sociology27, pending some absolute deal breakers on my visits, I will be attending the highest ranked program. My intentions are to complete that program and return back to the 2nd/3rd tier world from whence I came and hopefully influence some other students to look beyond their own horizons. I'm okay with this plan. And if by chance this means I'm only paid $80k instead of $120k, I will endeavor to get by.

I would also love to hear from grad students on where they chose to live in Tally (I smile saying that) as I am seriously considering FSU's offer. Price? Where to avoid 24/7 partying? How far from campus can I live and still be near by? Any input is helpful!

Our forum has a tendency to lean towards the highest ranked programs which are not necessarily representative of the entire playing field. I happened to notice in the Poli Sci forum they have a thread for people who did not apply to schools in the Top 15. It's getting quite a bit of traffic... Maybe we'd have more diversity in posting if we had a similar thread. Or maybe those who aren't applying to Top 15s will be shamed even furhter away? Maybe they already are? I've also been wondering about the people who report 150V, 160Q, 5.5AW....not sure if they're getting their V/Q score mixed up or if it's possible to have such a low verbal score and high AW....?

My only weakness on my app was my GRE. This was such a big weakness that I lowballed myself and didn't apply to higher ranked programs. I have a list of "would've, could've, should've" but at the end of the day, my quant score on the GRE was my ONLY weakness and it made me doubt myself. So yes, the GRE would be a non-factor for me. I would like to see writing sample and SOP. Those two things are going to tell me a great deal. The writing sample is going to tell me if you understand how to write analytically and the SOP is going to tell me where you came from and where you're going. Also, I'd like three LOR and 1 letter of charachter from the manager of the soup kitchen you volunteer at, your church where you've been active in mission, the elderly home you visit, the t-ball team you coach etc.

This is a hard question for me. At the most basic I would say my family and my inner circle of friends. By family, I really mean my mother. My father passed away 5 years ago and I'm not very close to my brothers so it's really just my mom and me. We talk/email several times a day and she makes me literally laugh out loud. Sometimes I call her for a quick 30 seconds just to say hello. My inner circle and I have been friends for 15-20 years. We've managed to maintain friendship from Brownies through highschool and our early 20s. It's about seven us and we still have sleepovers and scrapbook. Knowing that they are rooting for me through this entire process makes me happy. They're also at the same time GREAT reality checkers. "Dawn got into _____, well don't forget two months ago when she got lost on an island with only one way off...". Love them. On a more superficial level: I like to dance, in clubs, my bedroom, the grocery store, wherever. And I also like to sing, in my car, at karaoke, the bathroom, wherever. I also really like going on vacation, wherever.

This a pressing concern of mine as well. Presently I live in basement apartment, with only two ways out. The front door and up the stairs into the empty house above. A good part of mine feels like being in the basement of an empty house may be an advantage as long as we keep the windows and doors barricaded. Also, my apartment is on the corner of a VERY busy intersection at our college. I feel like the others would all be eaten and the place was be deserted by the time we'd have to venture from our apartment. I'm not sure we have enough food in the apartment right now but 7-11 is 30 second walk away. The ideal place for me to head would be my father's estate in South Carolina, very private, very self sustainable HOWEVER getting there requires major highways. I'm not sure I95 south for 7 hours will be a viable option. I need to think on this more. Sorry.