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Forgot to mention what reminded me to even post this question...I got an email this morning reminding me about financial aid deadlines. What? So confused.

Is there anyone else out there who has heard nothing from USC? I assumed 3-4 weeks ago that I was rejected, but I just find it bizarre that I still have heard nothing. Emails to the department have gone unanswered. Anyone else in this same boat?

Thanks so much for all of this great information, everyone. You've given me a lot to think about before decision deadline in 2 weeks!

Hi all. I have some questions for those who have Master's degrees and now applied to PhD programs. I never considered doing a Masters first and later applying to PhD programs, but with the results of my applications this round I am beginning to seriously consider my Masters option. My question is this: if you have a Masters already, what made you decide to take that route first? What kind of luck have you had in getting into PhD programs this cycle? At what kind of programs (ranking-wise) did you get your Masters? Despite my unfortunate luck this round, I am still committed to attending at least a top-30 PhD program. Right now I'm trying to gauge whether I should simply try again next year, or do a Masters and then try again. I know very little about the Masters route, so I'm trying to gather as much info as possible. (And don't worry, I don't plan to do a Masters without funding)! Thanks in advance for the insight.

Thanks, @Karlito. I received two more rejections today, one of which particularly hurt. I have one more school to hear from, but right now it looks like I'm faced with the "50ish school or bust" dilemma that I mentioned. My plan is to collect all the info I can about the program I have been admitted to, and if I'm not absolutely confident in it, then I am going to go back to my mentors and come up with a new plan for next year.

What are your interests and impressions of the program? I found it a little strange that they aren't having a visit day...I don't really know what to make of it.

I'm glad I finally mustered the courage to read this thread (for weeks I've been avoiding it, trying not to believe that I was likely going to be rejected from schools where I was sure I would get in). I'm glad I've read it now, because it's made me feel a lot better! I am 3 years out of UG and have had a rocky road employment-wise in that time. As an undergrad I knew I wanted to eventually be a sociologist, but I felt unready to enter a PhD program because I wasn't sure of my interests and felt it would be foolish to take the plunge immediately. I opted to work for a few years to gain some clarity (big mistake - this was 2009 - I really don't know what I was thinking when I decided, "oh, I'll just get a JOB!") Anyway, about a year ago, after being laid off, I realized that I was ready and it was time to focus on my applications. And because of high grades and GRE scores, experience as an RA and TA and excited support from former professors (and my UG institution is a top-20 soc program) I felt very confident. One of my LOR-writers, who is very distinguished, actually said to me, "I think you'll get in almost everywhere you're applying." Fast forward to now, after I applied to 9 carefully-selected schools (4 top-10, 3 ranked 10-20, 1 ranked in 30s and 1 "safety" ranked in the 50s), I have been accepted only to the "safety," which I applied to on a whim. I still have not heard from 5 schools, but I know all of them have accepted people and so I'm just waiting for the rejections (and hoping for a waitlist). Needless to say that last few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster, as I know many of you can understand! I'm curious what everyone's take is on admissions this year vs. potential future admissions cycles. Granted, this was my first try, but the pure numbers of people applying this year seem astronomical. Do you think this will continue, and graduate school will just get harder and harder to get into? (This is related to my inner question of: should I just take this acceptance and run with it, or try again next year because my supporters -- and I -- think I could do better?) This post turned out to be much longer than I expected...sorry about that! I'm not a big poster on this forum (or on the internet in general) but I felt such relief after reading through this thread that I felt inclined to respond!

Thought I'd start a thread for BU now that acceptances have started to come out. I was happy to get the acceptance email earlier today. What are everyone's interests? Any thoughts to share on BU?

Wait, did Yale do interviews over the phone? Or was this more of a casual phone call?

Any scoop here?

Thanks for the info! I had a similar experience (working in a field - journalism - for a bit and realizing I wanted to do something more beneficial to society). Similar numbers, no MA though. Hoping good news is still coming my way!

I got a rejection email about an hour ago. Blargh.

Would any UCLA admits like to share their stats/interests? I haven't heard anything from there yet and I thought I had a fairly good chance... : /

Does anyone have any updates on Berkeley that they can share? Have they indeed sent out all 22 acceptances? I haven't heard anything yet and am wondering what that might mean.