ohhello

Like splitends explained, the cohort "quality" is what I was attempting to refer to. This is something that I've been going to visiting days to figure out. I don't want to go to a program where I'm not excited about the work of my cohortmates, where I can't gain or give any intellectual stimulation from or to my peers. I realize that that academia has been characterized as a "lonely" pursuit and that most of our tenure during graduate school will be spent alone. However, I think it's foolish to go to a program solely based on the research interests of your advisor(s). One of my letter writers regretted doing this-- the only saving grace of her program was that she could bounce off and share ideas with her cohortmates. I want to be able to work with or co-author papers with the people in my cohort not because networking and publishing are important aspects of a Professional Development Plan, but because I think ideas are incredibly powerful when shared and reinterpreted and reconstituted. Warning signs show up for me when students say they never co-author papers with their peers, or when graduate students don't talk about their work "outside" of work. I know people are stressed and mentally drained and vulnerable from experiencing impostor syndrome during these visitation days. But if I can't figure out a baseline of why you're interested in graduate school after much conversational probing, I start to question the motives of the admission committee. Did they look for people with shiny GREs/GPAs/accolades? Do they think the SOP matters? Are they only looking for people who have the skill sets and backgrounds to win them funding or space in AJS/ASR/mainstream sociology? To completely ignore or gloss over the other stressed individuals sitting beside you at these visitation events would result in a thin interpretation of a program.

What about the quality of your cohort? I was recently visited a T30 and would say a good chunk of the accepted (perhaps half) could only narrow down their interests in sociology down to an area of sociology ("sociology of education," "economic sociology," etc.) While it would be absurd to expect all of the members of my cohort to have a specific, niche area in mind for dissertation research, I think I would like to work wih people who have already figured out they are passionate about something they could investigate. We would be able to talk about so much more! It was kind of awkward taking up more time during group discussions to talk about my own research interests. It'll be interesting to see if there are any differences in the cohorts of higher-ranked programs. Also, it already appears that I will face difficulties in finding racially diverse cohorts no matter where I go in academia. The problem now lies in whether I will be able to find solidarity among the graduate students in the program or support from members of the faculty. I just don't want to become a box a faculty member can check when applying for research grants.

Diversity is actually an issue I'm staring to think about... As superficial as it may be interpreted, I'm not sure I would feel comfortable being the only minority in my cohort.

I'm probably going to move to the midwest, and as a native Californian I think 40 degree weather is too cold. Anyone have any tips on surviving the wintery weather? What exactly do people mean when they suggest buying "good" hats, jackets, and boots? I like to run outside as well - is this at all possible?

There were 2 results posted in February... and then silence. What is going on?

If it somehow - in the remotest sense - relates to what you imagine you'll study, definitely mention how the skills or insights you've gained as an engineering student will benefit your graduate studies (perhaps in a concluding paragraph).

an anonymous poll that was posted earlier.

It might be helpful to get a sense of when is the best time to start looking for apartments/housing from the graduate students in the program. In the long run, it might be better to pay for a few months more of housing if you can find something that fits your needs and falls within your budget.

I'm more interested in the "Party at Colin Jerolmack's House". What does a party full of academic sociologists look like?

Thanks for posting this.

The Graduate Program Assistant has already sent out an Open House email. She didn't bcc the email, so I can see that she emailed 26 individuals. No news at this point would either mean a wait list or a rejection :/

I've never been far away from my family, and the thought of spending 7-9 years away on a different coast is keeping me awake at night and starting to make me rethink my options.

Anyone else waiting on UIUC?

@splitends Sorry to sound creepy, but I think I know who you are? We talked at the last AKD presentation where you advertised for the conference? Guess I'll be seeing you and someone else from our department at the NYU open house. Guess I know why I was wait listed for NYU, hahaha. Hope everything is well.

Beach House - Better Times

@felicidad I think we're talking about the same school. The "supremely competent" travel agent just happened to overlook the cheaper fare. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me angry.

Ugh, I just need to vent, but if you have to use a university's travel agency in order to book your flight, make sure you research the prices of the tickets beforehand. I just paid for a fare where I could've saved $110 for a cheaper flight. I'm sure the travel agent oversaw the cheaper flight and instead focused on his commission. It doesnt help that he was a complete jerk on the phone once I called to ask if I could get a refund. Now I have to pay for part of the trip out of pocket, which is really ridiculous considering the school and the fact that I am the one being courted here. I really don't see the point of having a travel agent. I know some schools use them probably to make sure excessively expensive flights aren't booked, but they are totally worthless if you have to plan out the flights yourself.

Here's a link to the dataset Chuck mentioned.

This is beautiful, thank you.

"...since the size of our new student cohort is extremely limited - we were able to accept only 8 of the more than 410 applications that we received..." You're right- now I'm not quite sure what to make of this sentence. It could be the case where only 8 people were admitted, but multiple people are going to be drawn from the wait list as the number of people who accept the offer dwindles. At any rate, I guess this means more waiting.

Received an email saying the same.

Northwestern: March 28th and 29th NYU: March 21st and 22nd

They only accepted 8, according to the chair of admissions. There were more than 410 applications.

Aghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! Wait listed for NYU. I was really hoping for NYU.

^ In other words, at least it's not an outright rejection.