ItsFreezingUpHere

Ok, I'm pretty sure this is a stupid question, but at what point is it ok to shift to a first name basis with professors? It's been my experience with some professors that it's pretty clear when you can and should start to address them by first name, especially when they're relatively younger or more laid back. However, with some of the older and more "traditional" professors (like beards and elbow patches on the sport coat), I can't help but feel as if it's more appropriate to address them as Professor So-and-So. I'm sure this urge comes from my childhood when my dad insisted that I address older people (like people older than him) by Mr. or Mrs., etc. Any thoughts?

I was watching Grey's Anatomy this week (an ex-s.o. got me addicted to this show - it's ridiculous), and it was eerily reminiscent of the decision process we all had to go through before the April 15th deadline. It's especially amusing how Webber talks Karev into playing one place against the other, and the misgivings he had about it. It was exactly how I was feeling when people were telling me to do the same thing. So anyways, I just thought that y'all might find it kind of interesting, too! http://www.hulu.com/watch/360298/greys-anatomy-migration

A good friend of mine who's in her fifth year told me that for most of our lives we've been used to be the smartest kid in the class. But when we get into grad school, we're in a room filled with the smartest kids in the class! By like @SocScholar said, compare yourself to yourself, because every person going into grad school has a unique background, unique experiences, and unique interests. So there's no telling where anyone will end up or how anyone's experience will turnout. And BTW, you'll kill it fo sho!

In all seriousness, I'm approaching this decision making process by looking at which program will provide the best training for the area in which I'm interested. The primary factors I'm focusing on are my potential advisor(s), the quality of the training generally, and the ability to build my own CV through publishing, conferences, etc. Other than that, the rest, like funding (unless it's ridiculous and impossible to live on), location, etc., are all secondary for me. This is a temporary stop toward a long term career, and I'm going to grad school to be trained by some great sociologists, regardless of whether or not I'll be eating ramen noodles or I can go to the beach year round. But then I'm from Minnesota, so the beach is never really a concern for us up here!

I'm actually basing my decision on a very simple proportion: The average number of steps I'd have to climb everyday up to the department vs the average number of judgmental looks I'd get for taking the elevator....

@Splitends... I'm in a very similar situation, and I feel the same way. I've been accepted to a few schools, but there are only two that I'm really considering hard. They aren't top 5 schools, but still good schools nonetheless. They're ranked about the same, they both have a good handful of people I'd like to work with, and I think I could do very well at both places. I'm basically choosing between my undergrad school where I know the people well (grads/faculty), I know the city (geographically and also how it works), and I have a great network in my areas of interest, both inside and outside of academia (in other words, I have great access for projects, etc). I have a few faculty members that I would definitely be able to work with who are really doing some great things, and I could easily hit the ground running by getting in with some of the great projects they're doing as early as this summer before school even starts. I mean, after all, it's these people and their work that inspired me to pursue soc. But if I go to the other school, I would basically double my network instantly, and I would get exposure to different perspectives that I wouldn't get at my original school, as @Sciencegirl pointed out. They're also doing some great things there and have some great projects and people with whom I could get involved. It's also a fresh beginning, and I wouldn't have to worry about that stigma that a few people had talked about. And this stigma thing, I think, is where our situations differ. You're at arguably the best program in the country right now, so who could blame you for staying put? I, on the other hand, am at a school that's strong in my area, but overall "good", not "great" (my other option, too, is good, not great.) So perhaps I might be more susceptible to being a victim of the "he must not have been able to get into any other programs" type of look when it comes to finding a job. Some times I wish that I was only accepted by one program... that'd make this a hell of a lot easier! HA!

No, I have a few friends and some family there, so I'm going to stay a little longer and will be in and out. I have a hotel room near the campus at the University Inn. I'm not too worried about the rain, though, because I live in Minnesota, and we just got a ton of snow and freezing rain. It'll be a good few days to get away! How is the transit system out there? I would prefer to not have to use my car a lot, but I've heard the train system is pretty weak.

Hey Masha.... are you planning on being there for the Soc recruitment this weekend? I've never been to Seattle, but I'm def looking forward to checking it out...

Irby - Looking forward to it! Are you at UW now? If so I'd be interested in hearing your opinion about the department and the area, etc. We also have a few interests in common, so we should def connect!

Karlito - When did you email the grad coordinator? I was just thinking about doing that today. I've been accepted to a couple schools, but hearing from UCLA would really change the equation, I think. Also, their site is down for maintenance right now.... do you happen to have the grad coord's email? Thanks!

I got my acceptance email on 1/29 as well. My background is in crim and deviance. The impression I got after speaking with a couple of people in the department was that they were doing acceptances in waves, as well. However, their recruitment weekend is March 2-3, so you'd think it would be soon.