2020 FALL APPLICATION VENTING THREAD

[toolkitsocio]

Hi!
I created this with a hope to get people talking if it helps and also to let me know that I am not the only one going through these emotions. If such a thread exists please ignore this and let me know of it so I can join you there. That being said, I managed a total of 17 applications this year and now I am freaking out. The worst part of this period for me is not being engaged in anything else. I left my job to  just focus on these applications and have been without one for 5 months now. While the preparation was good and it hopefully gets me good results, I am in an ocean of uncertainty and anxiety!
I want to find a job now but I feel it will only be an excuse to not think about this and therefore I will not be totally committed to the job and perform poorly. I can't even muster the strength to write another cover letter now. And this "blank space" is painful! I have no clue of the application now, who is reading it, have the decisions already been made, when will the acceptances come out, etc.
Apart from the financial cost which has burned my pockets now, the psychological effect is overwhelming. I am not sure what I should do right now! Music, Meditation, have all failed in calming me down! 

Should I just stop looking at my mails and application status repeatedly and forget that I applied? I am falling short of answers and solutions to this phase. Let alone the fear of what those 17 decision will be !

[lkaitlyn]

I was waiting for someone to create this. Gradcafe has seemed so dead this year. You're not alone! ❤️

[TerrySoc]

I totally feel you. You're absolutely not alone. Interestingly, I also filed 17 applications this year. I just hope that at least one offer will turn up. I would say go out with your friends, and find something fun to do. They would be good distractions. Also, reading some books could possibly help you better understand the discipline while calming you down. Good luck!

[law_prospective]

21 hours ago, lkaitlyn said:

I was waiting for someone to create this. Gradcafe has seemed so dead this year. You're not alone! ❤️

It really has!!

I'm anxiously waiting for decision time to come around.  Only a couple more weeks. 

[toolkitsocio]

Has anyone heard about interviews? I don't think they have sent out interview mails yet but I may be wrong. Uchicago should be the first to conduct its interviews I guess. 
 

[lkaitlyn]

Only interview I've heard about was for Gender Studies. I don't think anywhere I applied for sociology does interviews since I didn't do Chicago. When are people expecting to hear things?

Edited January 4, 2020 by lkaitlyn

[toolkitsocio]

I was looking at previous years results. I am guessing it will start raining from Jan 17! 

[lkaitlyn]

Maybe the forms will wake up by then! Not that far away. Ahhhh! Sorry. Lots of nervous energy. I have an app that still isn't due and so results in two weeks seem outlandish, even though it's true for many programs.

Edited January 4, 2020 by lkaitlyn

[toolkitsocio]

I guess!
I don't think applications with Jan 15 deadlines will figure here. They'll probably take another 8 weeks for a decision. But the Dec 1 and Dec 15 deadlines might start sending decisions by the third week of Jan. At least a few of them.

[PoliticalSociology]

Thanks for starting this thread! I applied to about 10 schools and am also feeling anxious.

On 1/3/2020 at 2:20 PM, toolkitsocio said:

I am not sure what I should do right now! Music, Meditation, have all failed in calming me down! 

Maybe you could a meaningful project that takes a substantial amount of your time. Something you can look back on and see as a significant accomplishment, like learning a new instrument, going on a silent meditation retreat, writing up a theoretical paper/essay, or building something with your hands. That often feels better than just bouncing around between smaller hobbies, or worse, refreshing Grad Cafe! Just an idea.

1 hour ago, toolkitsocio said:

But the Dec 1 and Dec 15 deadlines might start sending decisions by the third week of Jan. At least a few of them.

I think that's right. The University of California schools seem particularly early. And University of Chicago sent out interview offers Jan 18-20 last year.

Edited January 5, 2020 by PoliticalSociology

[toolkitsocio]

University of Toronto also releases around that same time , last week of Jan. 

[annetod]

Someone just sent me these threads and while I've heard that Socjobrumors should be avoided, the information in the threads is definitely of interest to everyone here:

https://www.socjobrumors.com/topic/job-placement-records-for-programs-ranked-20-30-31

"TOTALS FOR 20-30 RANKED PROGRAMS:
104 graduates
21.2% got a TT R1 job (compared to 12.6% of 30-40)
28.8% got a lecturer/VAP/P-D position (25.2% of 30-40)
24.0% got a non-R1 academic job (compared to 22.3% of 30-40)
26% got a job outside academia (39.9% of 30-40)"

https://www.socjobrumors.com/topic/job-placement-records-for-programs-ranked-30-40-way-too-long-post

"TOTALS [for 30-40 ranked programs]:
103 graduates
12.6% got a TT R1 job
25.2% got a lecturer/VAP/P-D position
22.3% got a non-R1 TT job at an R2, CC, or non-selective liberal arts college
39.9% got a job outside of academia"

[PoliticalSociology]

@annetod, that's interesting. I've heard a lot of people say how terrible the sociology TT job market is, but personally, I would be open to a non-TT job. I think it's good for students, even at Top 10 programs, to remember that there are lots of great sociology jobs outside of TT or even just outside of TT R1.

[SocPsyPhDWannabe]

Anyone ever been offered admission without an interview? I am getting anxious...I gave up a slot to go to Air Force Officer Training so that I could pursue my PhD with autonomy, so I have a lot riding on this.

[PoliticalSociology]

1 hour ago, SocPsyPhDWannabe said:

Anyone ever been offered admission without an interview? I am getting anxious...I gave up a slot to go to Air Force Officer Training so that I could pursue my PhD with autonomy, so I have a lot riding on this.

I don't know of any sociology programs that have already sent out interviews or acceptances, but yes, there are certainly a lot of programs that don't do interviews. You can look through the results from last year and see that for some schools, nobody mentions interviews.

[lkaitlyn]

Very few programs that I know of do interviews anymore. I know Chicago has historically done interviews, and Irvine has historically done informal phone calls for some applicants with POIs (if you check the results board from past years). But for the most part, it seems like sociology programs have moved away from conducting interviews during the application process.

[toolkitsocio]

true! Only a few Asian and German universities conduct interviews. 

[PoliticalSociology]

20 minutes ago, toolkitsocio said:

true! Only a few Asian and German universities conduct interviews. 

I think University of Chicago does. I don't know any other American programs that do (I only applied to American programs).

[toolkitsocio]

3 hours ago, PoliticalSociology said:

I think University of Chicago does. I don't know any other American programs that do (I only applied to American programs).

Yep! Probably they'll start mailing around next week for interviews.

[SocPsyPhDWannabe]

6 hours ago, PoliticalSociology said:

I don't know of any sociology programs that have already sent out interviews or acceptances, but yes, there are certainly a lot of programs that don't do interviews. You can look through the results from last year and see that for some schools, nobody mentions interviews.

Wow, that's news to me! Last time I applied to PhD programs was 2014. Back then I heard a lot of people having to do multi-day in-person interviews. A little bit of a relief, so thank you! BTW I'm applying to primarily Social Psychology programs, not sociology, although I feel the admission process for the two are pretty similar.

 

4 hours ago, lkaitlyn said:

Very few programs that I know of do interviews anymore. I know Chicago has historically done interviews, and Irvine has historically done informal phone calls for some applicants with POIs (if you check the results board from past years). But for the most part, it seems like sociology programs have moved away from conducting interviews during the application process. Thank you!!

Totally relieved to hear this. I'm applying to Social Psychology programs, but I'm sure the info is the same. I am honestly relieved to know that I won't be driving around my state doing in-person interviews. I heard that the admission selection letters arrive in April, so I suppose I will have to wait until then. Thank you!

[PoliticalSociology]

19 minutes ago, SocPsyPhDWannabe said:

A little bit of a relief, so thank you! BTW I'm applying to primarily Social Psychology programs, not sociology, although I feel the admission process for the two are pretty similar.

There's a psychology forum that has more answers for Social Psychology. Interviews are more common in psychology departments, though I'm not sure exactly how common.
 

[SocPsyPhDWannabe]

2 hours ago, PoliticalSociology said:

There's a psychology forum that has more answers for Social Psychology. Interviews are more common in psychology departments, though I'm not sure exactly how common.
 

Woops! My apologies! I clicked on recent posts and didn't notice this was a sociology-specific forum. 

 

[toolkitsocio]

Ok this is weird. I suddenly don't see my application on UC Berkeley application management. Is this happening to someone else?
I am freaking out!!!!

[lkaitlyn]

Mine still looks the same. Try logging out and logging back in with a different browser, maybe? I'm not good at tech trouble-shooting. I doubt it means anything application-wise.

[toolkitsocio]

Yep! Technical glitch. Mailed the university. 
Anyone expecting any decisions this week? Looks like Pol Sc has started sending out decisions already. Nothing for sociology yet.