lovenhaight

Well, based on last year's rejection/wait listed posts on Results Search and the info that they are about two weeks ahead of schedule compared to last year, it would seem that it is highly likely that this is the week that we'll be put out of our misery. Good or bad, I'd just really like to hear something so that I can plan my next move accordingly.

I've had several people PM me asking advice regarding admissions based on their credentials, so I thought that I'd just start a thread in case others want to jump in on this as well. This may be unsolicited advice for some, but I wanted to put it out there as food for thought. Many people seem to be very concerned with applying to the "big name" schools but have entirely discounted the smaller programs, and also seem to be somewhat insulted at the suggestion that they should include lesser known terminal MA programs in their search. In my opinion, it all boils down to one simple question. Are you seeking admission to a graduate program because you want a degree with a certain name, or because you genuinely want to pursue graduate studies in Sociology? If the answer is that you want the name, that's fine. I wish you all the best in the application process. If the answer is that you just want to pursue graduate studies, I encourage you to at least add the smaller schools and the terminal MA programs to your list. Here's another way to look at it: How will you feel if all of your responses come back with a rejection? Would you regret not having applied to smaller programs that could give you the experience you need to apply successfully next time? Some of the best advice that I was given by a faculty member was this: If you're applying to PhD programs to satisfy your ego or to prove to someone else that you're better than they are, it would be a better use of your time and money to seek some therapy.

What is with people getting results and then waiting several days to post on the Results Search?! I wouldn't be able to wait an hour, much less days. I'm starting to go a bit batty...I really hope that this is the week I hear something.

I disagree. To assume that emotions are nothing more than social constructs that serve no purpose other than to "fulfill hegemonic consumer ideology" is extremely pessimistic, and in my opinion seems to be a shining example of why people are often turned off by academics. What purpose does it serve to try and rob people of feeling happy? There is a biological element to emotions. Perhaps emotions are often manipulated to promote consumerism, but that does not mean that emotions themselves are entirely socially constructed.

Well Sitara, you know that spicy food makes me happy. LOL, just kidding. Really though, being around the people that I care about makes me happier than pretty much anything else, and the struggles that many of those people have had inform my research. So many of the women I know have survived sexual assault; therefore, I try to understand how I can make an impact on the problem, and so on and so forth. This is also why I've only applied to two PhD programs. I know where I want to be and who I want to be with, and I'm not willing to sacrifice that for just any random program anywhere in the US. I love being a sociologist, but I also love being with people who make me happy, and I refuse to settle for one or the other. If I don't get in anywhere, I'm still a sociologist. I still have an MA. I can still teach and do research and write and affect positive social change...and I get to do those while being around my husband and some really great friends as we work together to navigate the road less traveled. Will I be disappointed if I'm not accepted to either program? Sure. Its always nice to feel wanted, and its always a bit hard to digest when someone says you're not wanted. Is it the end of the road for me? Not in the slightest. I've had to carve out my own path before, and I'm not afraid to do it again. I think that if sociology was all I had to make me happy, I'd have to start reevaluating the other things in my life.

Just ask very delicately...there is the potential that asking to come will be seen as pushy, or as an assumption that you'll make the jump to the accepted list.

Would you be willing to let us know how you have insider info? Really, really,appreciated insider info.

Someone in my MA cohort was just accepted to Penn State as well.

I spoke to Liz last week and it sounded like they were still firming up the accept/wait lists. I'd called to see when rejections were going out so that we maybe would have an idea as to when we'll be put out of our misery. She did say they are running about two weeks ahead of schedule compared to last year, so if we go by last year's rejections, we may know something next week if it is bad news. In 2010-2011 they made offers to 36 people, so I'm holding out hope that those four acceptances on the results search aren't some kind of death knell for the rest of us.

I sent you a PM.

Last week I really thought that this would be a windfall week in terms of results, but now it seems that I was incorrect...at least in regards to UW. I'm going to let myself believe that perhaps they are waiting until tomorrow so that they don't have to field a lot of "but WHY am I not in?" phone calls until people have had time to process it over the weekend. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but refreshing my email 9 million times a day doesn't leave much time for me to actually get things done.

I'm in an MA program, so I'm trying to focus on my current research and plan for what happens if I'm not accepted anywhere. Basically my life is research, teaching, gradcafe/email/application status check, job search, repeat. I'm ready to eliminate either the anxiety or the job search piece. Today has been way too quiet...

Just wanted to see if the KU acceptance is lurking out there. That's my alma mater, so I would be happy to chat about the faculty, the university, and Lawrence itself.

I suppose I'll chime in on this thread. My perspective is going to be a bit different, simply because I'm married. My husband is also a graduate student, although he is in a different department. For me, it has been pretty great to have him around while I'm going through all the stresses of academia. He understands when I'm busy working on research/prepping to teach/freaking out over comps, and I understand when he is doing the same. He's in a highly specialized program that only exists in a few places within the US, so I don't really want to say what his field is, but he is gone doing fieldwork for weeks at a time a few times a year. While it sucks that he's away, it is also nice because I have the time to focus on my own stuff. What it boils down to for me is that having a relationship provides a really wonderful support structure, which truly is necessary in graduate school. I'm not sure where I'd stand if I'd only been dating for a few months, but you should have some kind of gut instinct on this. If its worth a try, its worth a try...and if it doesn't work out, the person not in grad school can always go do their own thing. Perhaps make sure that your significant other has opportunities in the area as well so that they aren't only moving for you.

It was quiet yesterday on the UW front...here's hoping for something today.

I didn't apply to UC-Boulder, but a friend in my MA cohort did. She hasn't heard anything thus far. She does post things in the Results Search, and has already gotten into what is probably her top choice, but as soon as she hears anything from Boulder I'll let you know.

A plane would be the most frustrating place to get such awesome news. I suppose they'd frown on jumping up and down and yelling on a flight these days. Congratulations to you!!!

Impressive! Well, congratulations, that's really awesome. I have different POIs, but if by some stroke of luck we end up at the same place, I'd be interested to hear your research on the politics of abortion. I study gender, sex, and sexuality as well as women's health.

I'm not the person who posted elsewhere, but I spoke to them Friday afternoon and was told the same thing. When rejections start rolling in, we might then have a better idea as to where we stand - assuming that we're not one of those rejections.

I've often heard that you in fact should begin with a bit of personal background/history if it gives you a "hook", assuming that you use that to segue into why/what/how you want to study.

Jen and Masha - Congratulations! Would you mind sharing your credentials with us, and perhaps who your POIs were?

Chuck - I've not attended UW, but I lived in Madison for several years and still have immediate family in the city. I can tell you the important things: First, you have to get yourself some Babcock Hall ice cream. Best stuff on the planet. Second, as much as you would like to, the zookeepers at the Henry Vilas Zoo will NOT let you pet Bucky the Badger. (This fact was a source of anger and frustration for me as a child. The one at the football games was nice, so why would the actual animal be any different?!) Third, Madison is a great town...as long as you don't mind hellish winters.

"If you end up on the west coast, I will assume that I'll never see you again because I refuse to travel to Seattle or Oregon. It RAINS there." (This from my 72 year old father who lives in a hurricane-prone area and has previously traveled extensively in Washington and Oregon)

Ugh. My father likes to send me little quips from "friends who have a PhD" about how useless it was, or how they hated their field after getting the PhD. Of course, he never seems to know what field these people came from or exactly why they hated it. I think he assumes that people just get a generic PhD and they are all essentially the same thing. It becomes all the more frustrating knowing that he has a Bachelor's, so he's not uneducated...oh, and then there's the fact that I'm nearly 30 and entirely capable of making my own decisions. Ah, parents.

I'm not sure if the process works differently in Canada, but programs in the US generally begin accepting people a few weeks into January and continue until their funded cohort slots are filled. There is a courtesy amongst universities that students commit no later than April (usually the 15th or so) so that any students on a wait list can be informed of their fate in time to make arrangements to attend if they are accepted. So essentially, yes there are "early admissions", but they aren't really "early". The process just happens to take longer if you happen to be on the wait-list bubble. The stronger you are as an applicant for a particular program, the earlier they let you know.