Jump to content

ohhello

Members
  • Posts

    90
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by ohhello

  1. ohhello, have you considered the possibility that people weren't being that specific because it's a visit weekend and that's not what you're there for? I'm a fourth year PhD student and ABD so obviously my research is pretty specific. But, when people I ask, I tend to start with a general description and only get into more detail if the person really asks.

    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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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?

  4. Many of the current students applied for outside funding and they are waiting in the results of that to determine this year's situation. If you go to the open house, they should have some definite numbers for you there. He DID mention that everyone who is accepted should get a one yesr fellowship, but the amount of the stipend is not yet determined.

    Thanks for posting this.

  5. 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 :/

  6. @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.

  7. 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.

  8. I think that all departments probably try to benefit from this linguistic ambiguity.

    "...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.

  9. How do you know you're wait listed, just from the fact you haven't heard anything? Sorry, I know that it might sound like a really really stupid question, but..

    Received an email saying the same.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use