NYCStudent

Hi all, Sorry to hear about all the tough news. I am also in this camp - 2 rejections, 1 TBD (but likely rejection, since the school is ranked higher than one of the other ones that rejected me). I'm definitely really bummed, but a part of me is actually...relieved? I'm slightly older than most of you (30...argh!), and I've been really stressed about making ends meet financially, if i were to go back to school. While I make a decent salary, the cost of living in SoCal is just SO expensive that I'm barely making ends meet as it is - and going back to school would mean over a 50% pay cut. That said, I am very curious about why I got rejected. I have a BA from a top research university, a MS in Education, published articles (not academic, but for major US publications), work experience in policy/journalism, and a great SOP/writing sample. The only thing I felt was subpar was my GRE quant score (145 or something like that), though my verbal and writing were both around 90th percentile. I know I should have studied for it, but honestly standardized tests are by no means a measure of intelligence, and I thought it was a waste of time (of course, I then read the AdComm chain here and realized how important it is). Regardless, I know I did my best in all of the other areas, so I guess it's just not meant to be. Truthfully, though, I think we should all look at this with the glass half full mentality. When I was originally debating going to PhD right after graduation, every other grad student I spoke to told me if there was ANYTHING else I'd rather do - even in the SLIGHTEST -- to do that instead of a PhD because of the lousy job market, poverty wages, and ivory tower/groupthink mentality (seriously, I have spoken to current grad students who literally have to grovel and worship their dissertation chair just to get a moment of their attention....no thanks). I have spent almost a decade in the workforce, and while I by no means LOVE my job everyday, I love being able to have the resources to live a healthy and fulfilling life. For those of you who really, truly can't see doing anything other than academia, take this year to strengthen your application for the next cycle. For others who, like me, are moving on to other areas: best of luck!

Nada for me either! One rejection, and waiting on two others but not super confident about my chances. Sigh.

Man, mine don’t even say that! They’re just “completed” or “submitted”.

I'm right with you. bud!! Crickets for me.

Hi everyone! So far...crickets on my end in terms of admissions decisions. I'm trying to stay hopeful, though! For those of you who've been put on a waiting list - either this admissions cycle or previous ones - are you usually notified of that, or does the absence of a rejection email mean you're still under consideration? Many of my schools have already sent out acceptances, so I'm wondering if I'm possibly on the "second tier" and may get offered a spot if folks reject their offers?

That is a fascinating research interest - and incredibly timely! USC would be a great place to pursue it. My interests are around the economic/political/social consequences of the recession - particularly how these three issues factor into people's identity around work. SOMEBODY TAKE ME!! ?

Congrats...?! Even though there was no 'next step', that's a good sign someone reached out to you! I also applied there...but crickets on my end! What are your research interests? This board is so interesting - most of the schools that have at least started contacting students are the only 3 I applied for (UCLA, Irvine, USC). The cali schools are on top of it this cycle! Now they just need to admit me haha

I'm in the same boat as you. Great GPA from a top undergrad flagship, 4.0 grad GPA, good writing sample/LORs....but the GRE is definitely my weakest part. If you go back and read the AdComms thread, it sounds like GRE is actually weighted pretty strong and is used as a way to narrow down candidates early on. That was not the news I wanted to hear, but it sounds like that's the reality.

If you are set on taking a course to prep and maybe get a LOR, I would suggest looking at community college or public college courses, just to get a foundation. That will be a LOT cheaper than GW tuition!

Music to my ears!! Thank you for sharing!

Phew, that is reassuring! I read the AdComm thread here and got really nervous. Shouting it from the rooftops: standardized tests are not a measure of intellectual ability or a predictor of success! Crossing my fingers for everyone to get some good news soon! ?

That is awesome!! I felt really good about my application, except for my GRE score. I had previously been thinking of applying for history PhDs, where GREs - particularity quant scores - aren’t much of a big deal for admissions. I scored fairly well on a test I took years ago, but that expired. I retook it without really studying (since I didn’t think it would matter that much) and didn’t do as well. I don’t remember my scores off the top of my head, but they were something like 145 quant, 159 verbal and 4.5 writing. From the research I’ve been doing for sociology programs it looks like that’s a fairly big admissions factor, and now I’m worried my scores may have tanked my application. Good to hear they’re admitting such a large cohort, though! Are there folks out there with similar not so great scores get admitted to either UC Irvine, UCLA, is USC?

Whoa, you got an interview?? Congrats!!! You will do great. I applied and still no word...still holding out hope! I am nervous because for all the schools I applied for, my application status just says “submitted”, not even anything like “under consideration”. Worried I totally missed something! Best of luck at your interview!!

Hey there! I'm a fellow applicant for Fall 2019 programs. I only applied to 3 schools, so I'm definitely feeling the pressure as well. I had underestimated just how intense PhD applications would be, so unfortunately I got pretty down to the wire with my applications (submitted them the day before deadline). I work FT, so it's been tough to dedicate the time I need to do thorough applications - not to mention also try to set up meetings/phone calls with faculty. I really am ready for this next chapter...and I don't really have a Plan B if I get rejected to all 3 of them. It's out of our hands now, though, so I think trying to keep busy and just relax is the best strategy to get through the waiting game. Sending you positive vibes!

Howdy, everyone. Came across this article today. I'm applying for PhD programs for Fall 2019, and not going to lie, this is a little scary. I've talked to a bunch of PhD students and honestly...none of them seem happy or healthy. This was a big reason why I took a lot of time off before making this decision. Anyway....just wanted to ask folks who are in the midst of everything or done: is it really THAT hard? For context, I'm 30, so I've had a lot of life, which has included working full-time while finishing my master's program and going through treatment for cancer (I'm fine now, whoo hoo!). In a nutshell: I've navigated a crazy schedule for 2 years AND a life-threatening illness. I can't help but think that a PhD will be -- dare I say -- easier than what I've been doing the last decade, because I'll be focusing on something I'm passionate about and won't be as tied to the 9-5 life, which i find SUPER draining. Maybe I'm coming at it from a different position than many who go straight through or only take a few years off beforehand? Am I being super naive? I'm certainly worried about the financial burden, but the other stuff doesn't seem to faze me....It just doesn't' seem that grad school can be any worse than working a time-consuming and less than satisfying full-time job. Oh, geez, I totally sound like an oldster right now! #kidsthesedays https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/graduate-school-terrible-peoples-mental-health/576769/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_term=2018-11-27T18%3A57%3A43&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&fbclid=IwAR0fEgHvO8069dvGBqMSW8FjF3DSHzlOcHITmWllOU9HhRZmGzUFuNpv3TI&fbclid=IwAR1XcyhZLTR1Wi_QesJSR9R5jTe83HvJGQH4R6rLTczOfFJVLA1V4vlL6lE&fbclid=IwAR2L1grq3Sip8hHW9Bbl6LLkptZ_6GFecSz9z3DLwbjRGVq1WcmaB87umQg

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. This is very reassuring! Best of luck to this season's applicants!

Hi everyone - I'm applying for PhD programs in sociology for this fall, and just had a pretty discouraging meeting with a faculty member I thought I would potentially want to work with. My path to the PhD has been pretty windy - I initially wanted to do a PhD in History after graduating in 2010, but got freaked out about the bad job market and general bad economy (stupid recession!). Instead, I worked in communications for a few years before working in student affairs (and also getting my MS in higher ed). My grad program was really my introduction to sociology, and I would love to continue a lot of the research I did about higher education's role in shaping political/social attitudes at the PhD level. So, this brings me to my conversation today. Essentially, the faculty member said my age (just turned 30) and my experiences working in other industries might actually hurt my application. The reasoning was that a PhD is hard work, and a person who's applying just out of undergraduate doesn't know what else is out there, so is more likely to finish it because he/she doesn't have other options. But someone who's older and who has had a more circuitous journey might be more likely to drop out when things get hard, because they know there are other things out there they could do that would be easier than writing a dissertation. I think the fact that I also said my end goal was ideally to work as a faculty member, but that I would be open to working outside of academia (because, you know, it's not the best job market and sometimes you gotta be practical!) might have also led her to dismiss me in this way. I spent a lot of grad school researching the current generation of PhD students and their economic outcomes trying to make it on the academic job market. This should come as a shock to no one on this forum that it's not rosey! And for departments to basically ignore this reality and fault someone for trying to figure out how to pursue research AND have economic stability just really rubs me the wrong way. I was actually planning on using my non-traditional as an asset, not a liability in my SOI. Thoughts? Am I just being a sensitive Millennial snowflake, or am I right to feel insulted by this conversation?

Hi everyone, I'm curious if anyone around here was successfully able to transfer graduate credits towards a PhD degree in a different subject. I'm in the process of applying for both History and Sociology PhD programs for Fall 2019, and I'd like to focus on U.S. education policy - particularly higher education - and its role in shaping the political/economic/social landscape in post WWII America. My BA is in History, and I have my Master's degree in Higher Education Administration. My graduate work was a combination of MPA work and sociology/theory, so I have a background in both quant/qualitative research. Anyone have a similar background of previous graduate work more in the social sciences that was able to count towards a Sociology PhD? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm curious if anyone around here was successfully able to transfer graduate credits towards a PhD degree in a different subject. I'm in the process of applying for PhD programs in History for Fall 2019, and I'd like to focus on the history of U.S. education - particularly higher education - and its role in shaping the political/economic/social landscape in post WWII America. My BA is in History, and I have my Master's degree in Higher Education Administration. My graduate program was out of the School of Public and International Affairs, so much of my coursework was more typical of a MPA degree than a counseling/student services degree. I took many courses in education history and policy, as well as wrote my capstone thesis on austerity policies around public higher education. One course in particular was taught from a historical angle, while the others were more from a sociology/poli sci methodology. Anyone have a similar background of previous graduate work more in the social sciences that was able to count towards a History PhD? Thanks!

Hi everyone, just wanted to give folks an update. I spoke with the graduate admissions advisor who basically said that it wouldn't be ideal for me to work part-time in student affairs....but it wouldn't be an absolute deal-breaker if I did. She said that if I were admitted and if I did have this part-time job, there may be some sort of arrangement I could work out (again, no guarantees, but it wasn't a no!). She seemed very understanding about the situation, as the stipend is $18K and that is hard to make work even in a less expensive area like MPLS. Again, I'm going to tread into the "seeing the world as I want to see it, not as it is territory" here, but I would think (there that phrase is again!) that departments would rather have me doing a more relevant side job (student affairs) than working in the service industry or retail to make ends meet. I can't imagine I will be the only one doing a side hustle to supplement the $18K stipend. So, moral of the story: it never hurts to ask. Graduate programs have to be feeling more pressure on this issue as the PhD markets continue to deteriorate.

All very good points. I see myself as an asset first and foremost because of the original scholarship I would be conducting that is directly relevant to the careers and livelihoods of the current faculty. Public research institutions have been nearly bled dry in the last decade, and we're only now seeing just how troubling these cuts have been for state economies, as well as for innovations in STEM/health fields. Case in point: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/10/midwestern-public-research-universities-funding/542889/ Many disciplines such as political science and sociology are actively publishing on this, but I haven't seen as many scholars who have brought in the historical angle. My hope is with more research and attention to these issues we can reverse the troubling trends of state budget cuts that threaten all academic disciplines. Additionally, an asset I bring would be my ability to help bridge the academic/administrative gap. As more and more universities move towards operating more like businesses (due to said budget cuts), individuals who can navigate both worlds become key figures to any department. I know that I wouldn't' be a traditional applicant, but I'm hoping that this may still be appealing to departments....?

Yes, most schools do!! U of MN offers full waivers for undergrad, but only 75% for graduate. Even with that steep discount, for 70ish credits, I'd still be on the hook for $31,500

Hi TakeruK, thanks so much for all the information. I would love to say that I am rolling in cash right now to save up for my PhD, but that is not the case! Student affairs doesn't pay very well and I still have some debt from graduate school, so that is why I'm trying to make a financially responsible decision, while still following my passions. To answer your questions about my motivations and goals for a PhD, ideally I'd love to be a tenure track professor, and this is certainly what I'd strive for, but at the same time I understand the market and I certainly don't want to put all my eggs in one (very unlikely) basket. My more realistic plan B would be to continue working on the administrative side of higher education and be either an academic program manager or move up to a student affairs director role - both of which often require PhDs. I've looked into higher education PhDs, which I'm definitely considering, but my passion is really with history and I figure if I'm going to be spending so much time on it, I better love it. Plus, if I go the full time administrator route, I'd love to be able to teach on the side as an adjunct, and a history PhD, as opposed to higher education, would open up a lot more doors for that.

Dang....MPLS is no NYC in terms of rent, but still, surviving on $20k is damn near impossible. As much as I would love to pursue a FT degree, there is no way I could make that work without a side job... I believe many grad classes are at night, so hopefully that would make it easier to balance everything. I imagine a full course load is 3-4 courses, correct?

Hi Kita, the U only offers a 75% reimbursement, which is a pain. I've already paid for one masters...I don't need to pay for another (even if it is still at a discount!). Plus, I'd really like to TA to get teaching experience. It's a stretch, but just looking into all my options