Pros and Cons of Small Cohort Size

[wildflower21]

Hi!

I will be attending a Sociology PhD program this fall with a cohort size of 2 (me and another person). I was a little surprised at this, usually the incoming cohort size is around 5-7. What are the pros and cons of having a small cohort? 

[rising_star]

Pros: Individual attention; ready-made study buddy; potentially better access to internal funding since you're competing with fewer people

Cons: Classes may be smaller or offered less frequently; if you two don't get along, things could be awkward and difficult; fewer people to bounce ideas off of and get feedback from

It'll be important to build relationships with those in other cohorts either way.

[MastersHoping]

Just to add onto rising_star's comment - if you happen to not get along, I encourage you to seek communities outside your department. Do you have some sort of hobby or interest? I'm a dancer, for example, and I joined a dance group here recently. 

[AP]

In addition:

You will (or should) interact with people outside your cohort. For example, you will share seminars with first years from other departments or with second years in your own department. My closest friends from grad school were (besides one from my cohort), one in Anthro, two in English, and then two in the cohorts below me. This, of course, depends on your department culture. In my school, I did not cross paths with any but one sociologist, but with an array of people in the romance languages departments. 

Good luck!