ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid

It's not a "draw back" on an application to have letters from people that aren't "well-known" in the field. It is just an extra "one up" so to say to have letters from someone who is known. By all means, it doesn't hurt anyone for having letters from people adcomm's dont know....it just helps if you do.It's sort of like having someone you know and trust vouch for someone else.

Welcome to the club

Ya, good thing their are people like you on hear. Your such a helpful poster. I hurd google is better then yahoo, is this true?

I listed social movements as an interest as wel. Some of the programs I put political sociology if they had strong political sociology departments and others I left it off (although I am interested in political sociology just as much I just didn't want to be rejected for listening something unrepresented in the department). NYU, PSU, Notre Dame, Purdue, UW-Seattle, UCI, UCSD, Yale

I never looked into Emory while I was surveying grad schools though I wish I had. I think part of it had to do with not being particularly drawn to the South. UT is my only southern school and that got dismissed today so looks like no matter where I end up it won't be in the South now. Where are you from? I know ND and Purdue are great schools for religion and I would look forward to attending them if I got accepted....my only caveat would be going from living in a west coast city / fast paced lifestyle to rural ND/Purdue type environment. Not sure how I'll handle that transition.

Anyone apply with religion as an interest? If so, where did you apply? Any Notre Dames or Purdue's out there?

Not religion!

I got the same email. Generic copy and paste.

Someone shared a few days ago that they heard the department is phasing out religion students. Religion was one of my main focuses, along with social movements and theory, so I kind of saw this one coming. Still a bummer nonetheless! Just preparing me for a ton of more denials that I know are surely to follow.

Denied at UT-Austin

To debunk the GRE score myth I received this as part of an e-mail conversation I had with the graduate coordinator of a top 20 university "The committee looks at GRE scores, undergrad GPA (especially junior and senior year), social science coursework, relevant research experiences, methods background, writing ability, fit with our program's strengths, and other aspects of an applicant's profile. Put differently, we don't put too much weigh on the GREs or any single factor when making admission decisions. " Sure, tippy tippy top programs (top 10s) are going to probably make cuts of 1300, 1400, but this program's site says students often have 1200+ and some have 1300+ (similar to UT's stats).

What do your stats look like? Even the best of students get rejected from top 10 schools for some reason or another.

SDSU would be a cool one.

Quite a few I'm sure; their deadlines are usually later than PhD programs. There is only one specific program I am looking into for a MA and that deadline is March 1st - that may or may not be the same date as other programs.

Save up money over the next year and cast a wider net. Or, actually, apply really early and try and use the waiver's for some programs. Apply to around 15 programs with a good amount of one's that are 30-60 rank that you know you'll be competitive in. You have a strong application so don't lose confidence. One of my advisers told me the rule of thumb is for every 5 programs you apply to you might get into 1. Sure, some people on here have all-star applications and get accepted at all places but their experiences aren't the same as what a lot of grad students applying go through. If you don't want to wait a year then look into R1 Masters programs. My backup, if I don't get into any PhD programs, is to go to a masters program that is a R1; it provides funding opportunities as a GA for graduate students.

I just woke up from a nap where I got a PSU acceptance and was at visitation weekend. Cruel cruel dream

I've heard from some people that what they'll do is go through the few hundred applications and every so often they set aside 1-3 that are "for sure admits". I'm sure those people that are the definite's they are just contacting now. It doesn't mean though that there might be a pile that they're going to look at to pick more people out of. It could also be that some people applied way before the deadline and just got their applications reviewed first. The one thing my mentor told me is that graduate admissions are very mercurial. It's hard to compare or even guess what any department wants in any specific year and/or how they go about their routine.

search the forum for a few and the results page. There have probably been people who have received phone calls before and from their experience you can judge whether it is an acceptance type call or an interview. Both are probably equally plausible.

I see a bunch of new accounts that are registered and are viewing this forum. Don't be shy people! Post where you applied and what your interests are.

It's likely it's a good phone call. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get a call on here to tell them they were rejected haha

Unless someone else wants to spice things up a bit and open Schrödinger's box too by e-mailing some grad departments.

I wish I applied to more "average" ranked schools (30-60).

I did! I actually had a really strong fit with one of the professors there as well (though I didn't contact him). I'm crossing my fingers for UW. I'd love to go there.

I did but my chances of getting in are very slim. I have a super strong fit and a good relationship with one of the professors there. The interests we share aren't really represented in the department but he has expressed a desire for me to work with him too. In fact, I didn't really find anyone else that would be a good second adviser which felt inherently prioblematic. Nonetheless, I still applied because working with him would do me well. Plus, he's a cool dude and it's a cool, though yuppified, city.

I think this depends. One of my POI's told me it helps to have at least one letter written by someone that the graduate departments would recognize (someone well known in the field or someone known by that departments faculty). I've also heard that, as long as they aren't bad, they're ancillary to the rest of the application.