2021 Cycle

[AwesomeWilliam]

Guess we’ll have to wait until next week for results. Good luck everyone !

[PopStudies]

9 hours ago, nicolesaparty said:

How many people here have a masters? It’s starting to frighten me about going straight to a PhD from undergrad...seems like a lot of people already have their masters ? 

I'm coming right from undergrad (I graduated in December). A PhD is plan #1, a Master's is plan #2 with a PhD in a year or two, and plan 3 is plan 2 but substitute a Master's with working. 

It's intimidating for sure to to see so many qualified people that we're competing against for places in PhD programs, but I think that may (to a degree) be taken into account. There's  nothing wrong with having more/less education or experience prior to entering a PhD program. One thing I heard a professor say is that grad programs don't want carbon copy students. If a program wanted us to have a Master's beforehand it would be required. There is something to be said about students who are coming out of undergrad that may be still attempting to solidify research interests and that does in part work in the favor of the programs. 

[nicolesaparty]

2 minutes ago, PopStudies said:

I'm coming right from undergrad (I graduated in December). A PhD is plan #1, a Master's is plan #2 with a PhD in a year or two, and plan 3 is plan 2 but substitute a Master's with working. 

It's intimidating for sure to to see so many qualified people that we're competing against for places in PhD programs, but I think that may (to a degree) be taken into account. There's  nothing wrong with having more/less education or experience prior to entering a PhD program. One thing I heard a professor say is that grad programs don't want carbon copy students. If a program wanted us to have a Master's beforehand it would be required. There is something to be said about students who are coming out of undergrad that may be still attempting to solidify research interests and that does in part work in the favor of the programs. 

So true. I didn’t even think of it like that! I think at the end of the day it’s all about fit; at least that’s what I’ve been seeing. 

[justanothercookie]

10 hours ago, nicolesaparty said:

How many people here have a masters? It’s starting to frighten me about going straight to a PhD from undergrad...seems like a lot of people already have their masters ? 

It definitely doesn’t matter to have one or not. Fit is probably the #1 factor here. Plus, applying straight from undergrad definitely means a different set of expectations. It doesn’t harm to have a master’s but you should never be worried for not having one! 

[FrigidSky701]

12 hours ago, nicolesaparty said:

How many people here have a masters? It’s starting to frighten me about going straight to a PhD from undergrad...seems like a lot of people already have their masters ? 

I do have a masters, but my MA is in a completely different field (Religious Studies)

[wilderivywander]

15 hours ago, LMSoc said:

Thank you! Haha my hope is to change academia once I get in or shake it up from the outside. My students usually tell me they appreciate having me because I'm more compassionate than most faculty (beyond my department). I think that's what's been so hard to reconcile this cycle: I know what I can do and offer to the field and to know that some programs probably didn't see the value hurts a little. I talked a lot in my SoP about how I wanted to contribute to the field: theory, solutions to social problems, breaking down phenomena to the public, making the work accessible... and maybe it worked against me in ways ?‍♀️. Either way, I'm going to do the work the world needs.

If you ever want to start that college or university let me know and I'll help! I worked in Higher Ed for a while, and it was an interesting experience to say the least. Bureaucracy stifles so much potential change in academia (when they say they can't do something, most of the time they really mean they won't). 

So I had no idea gradcafe limits how many times you can react to posts in a day ?, so I was over here trying to like your post and it wouldn't let me ?. In any case, I just wanted to say that I very much relate to this desire to change academia or shake things up from the inside out. I keep thinking about some of the insights from Julia Posselt's book about graduate admissions, and some anecdotes from PhD turned professor friends and I'm honestly disheartened by the inequity within higher ed admissions. But my discouragement is driving me towards danger rather than away from it, go figure lol. I will definitely take you up on your offer though.

[LMSoc]

3 hours ago, wilderivywander said:

So I had no idea gradcafe limits how many times you can react to posts in a day ?, so I was over here trying to like your post and it wouldn't let me ?. In any case, I just wanted to say that I very much relate to this desire to change academia or shake things up from the inside out. I keep thinking about some of the insights from Julia Posselt's book about graduate admissions, and some anecdotes from PhD turned professor friends and I'm honestly disheartened by the inequity within higher ed admissions. But my discouragement is driving me towards danger rather than away from it, go figure lol. I will definitely take you up on your offer though.

It did that to me yesterday too! Like let me like everyone's posts if I want to! Between admissions to campus life/culture to hiring practices, it's heavily gate kept in so many ways. I also hate how so many people say program prestige matters, which builds off the other discussion on this thread about program ranking. I got some nasty comments about my school list from some folks and it made me realize how deep that runs.

It makes me nervous that the programs I liked were ranked lower or maybe aren't what comes to mind for sociology, but are great programs nonetheless. I don't care about prestige, I care about community and support through a process that I've read can break people along the way. But then comes the "hire" factor post-grad, and I also wonder about the risks of having a harder time getting hired (mind you I don't care to end up at an R1 ever). Hopefully we can shake things up enough and make the field stronger in a variety of ways.

[salamander27]

Hey guys, I know it's a thread on sociology decisions so this may be a long shot, but has anyone (with a particular interest/focus on STS) applied to U Chicago's CHSS? It's a smaller interdisciplinary program, and I'm trying to gauge where their admissions process is at. 

[Nihankg]

On 2/11/2021 at 10:08 PM, Ami said:

Hey folks, anyone who has been waitlisted by BC on here? How did you find out? 

I haven't heard anything from them at all and my application status is still "submitted" in the portal... What does it mean when you are not accepted, not rejected, and not waitlisted? ? 

Hi! My partner applied there. He is informed that he was waitlisted. The news came towards the end of January, I guess. I hope this helps. If you feel anxious you better reach out and keep us informed here. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Nihankg

[nicolesaparty]

Can someone claim the UChicago phone acceptance? Never heard of them calling anyone. 

[nicolesaparty]

On 2/11/2021 at 1:08 PM, Ami said:

Hey folks, anyone who has been waitlisted by BC on here? How did you find out? 

I haven't heard anything from them at all and my application status is still "submitted" in the portal... What does it mean when you are not accepted, not rejected, and not waitlisted? ? 

Hi this is late but I haven’t heard anything from BC either! I check and like you, it still says submitted. ? no idea what it means!

[SleeplessInSomewhere]

Just saw someone on Twitter post that they got into the University of Iowa's Sociology program! I guess they've already started sending out acceptances ?

[SleeplessInSomewhere]

1 minute ago, SleeplessInSomewhere said:

Just saw someone on Twitter post that they got into the University of Iowa's Sociology program! I guess they've already started sending out acceptances ?

In case anyone is interested the tweet is here https://twitter.com/andsmi437/status/1360645861726973954?s=19

[Planted]

14 hours ago, nicolesaparty said:

Hi this is late but I haven’t heard anything from BC either! I check and like you, it still says submitted. ? no idea what it means!

Thanks for replying. I’m sorry that you’re in the same boat but it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one!

My best guess at this point (based on nothing but posts on this website lol), is that I’m pretty far down the waitlist and might get a spot in the masters program. But who knows, logic doesn’t seem to apply to any aspect of this process. Good luck to you!!

[aebarton]

On 2/11/2021 at 2:08 PM, Ami said:

Hey folks, anyone who has been waitlisted by BC on here? How did you find out? 

I haven't heard anything from them at all and my application status is still "submitted" in the portal... What does it mean when you are not accepted, not rejected, and not waitlisted? ? 

I’m in the same boat and about to contact them. 
 

Also still waiting to hear from Colorado State, Portland State, and Univ of Oregon.

Edited February 15, 2021 by aebarton

[justanothercookie]

Has anyone heard from Cornell? I saw some posts about the developmental sociology but that seems to be a completely different program. Would appreciate if anyone has any information on their timeline from the past years! 

[nicolesaparty]

8 hours ago, aebarton said:

I’m in the same boat and about to contact them. 
 

Also still waiting to hear from Colorado State, Portland State, and Univ of Oregon.

I also applied to University of Oregon and have not heard anything!

[nicolesaparty]

Congrats to all the Michigan acceptances....I guess I’m still just in shock that I applied to 15 schools and I’m really only going to be accepted to one...I am happy about the one but it is still very disheartening. 

[justanothercookie]

20 minutes ago, nicolesaparty said:

Congrats to all the Michigan acceptances....I guess I’m still just in shock that I applied to 15 schools and I’m really only going to be accepted to one...I am happy about the one but it is still very disheartening. 

Don't be discouraged! As everyone has been saying, this cycle is EXTRA tough and getting in somewhere already says a LOT about your abilities! 

[nicolesaparty]

1 minute ago, justanothercookie said:

Don't be discouraged! As everyone has been saying, this cycle is EXTRA tough and getting in somewhere already says a LOT about your abilities! 

Ugh I know I sound so ungrateful I know so many people haven’t gotten in anywhere ???? it just still hurts!!! Lol

[socsci14]

17 minutes ago, nicolesaparty said:

Congrats to all the Michigan acceptances....I guess I’m still just in shock that I applied to 15 schools and I’m really only going to be accepted to one...I am happy about the one but it is still very disheartening. 

A note of encouragement:

My undergrad sociology mentor recently told me they got into 2 out of the 10 schools they applied to. Another undergrad mentor in a related field got into 1 PhD program, and now they both teach at an R1. These are two of the smartest people I've ever met, and they are both extremely successful academics. I was shocked when I first heard they had faced so many rejections- it made me realize that after a certain point, it's a numbers game. No matter how many years of research experience, degrees, or publications you have, so much of the admissions process comes down to luck (not to say that working hard doesn't matter, just that there are no guarantees despite how hard you work). It's such a difficult feeling to manage when you have already done everything you can and now your fate is in someone else's hands. But as the second mentor has been saying to me for the past few months, "don't worry about how many acceptances you get, you only need one because you can only go to one." 

In case you or anyone else needs to hear this, your value as a person, aptitude for sociology, or potential for academic life have nothing to do with how many programs admit you. You are worth way more than your work. 

[gforgreat]

40 minutes ago, nicolesaparty said:

Congrats to all the Michigan acceptances....I guess I’m still just in shock that I applied to 15 schools and I’m really only going to be accepted to one...I am happy about the one but it is still very disheartening. 

I applied to 13 and only got one acceptance as well. I’m grateful but I’m disappointed. Umich is my TOP choice so this one definitely hurts a lot.
 

I’m the one who mentioned about the discreet waitlist on this forum but it seems like Umich don’t have one since they sent out formal waitlist emails to applicants. So I really have no hope here.

[nicolesaparty]

2 minutes ago, socsci14 said:

A note of encouragement:

My undergrad sociology mentor recently told me they got into 2 out of the 10 schools they applied to. Another undergrad mentor in a related field got into 1 PhD program, and now they both teach at an R1. These are two of the smartest people I've ever met, and they are both extremely successful academics. I was shocked when I first heard they had faced so many rejections- it made me realize that after a certain point, it's a numbers game. No matter how many years of research experience, degrees, or publications you have, so much of the admissions process comes down to luck (not to say that working hard doesn't matter, just that there are no guarantees despite how hard you work). It's such a difficult feeling to manage when you have already done everything you can and now your fate is in someone else's hands. But as the second mentor has been saying to me for the past few months, "don't worry about how many acceptances you get, you only need one because you can only go to one." 

In case you or anyone else needs to hear this, your value as a person, aptitude for sociology, or potential for academic life have nothing to do with how many programs admit you. You are worth way more than your work. 

I love this. I’m going to read this every time I get depressed. ?

[nicolesaparty]

2 minutes ago, gforgreat said:

I applied to 13 and only got one acceptance as well. I’m grateful but I’m disappointed. Umich is my TOP choice so this one definitely hurts a lot.
 

I’m the one who mentioned about the discreet waitlist on this forum but it seems like Umich don’t have one since they sent out formal waitlist emails to applicants. So I really have no hope here.

We are in the same boat, UMich and UChicago are my top choices ?? but hey we got one!!!!!! Thankfully. Lol

[wilderivywander]

45 minutes ago, nicolesaparty said:

Congrats to all the Michigan acceptances....I guess I’m still just in shock that I applied to 15 schools and I’m really only going to be accepted to one...I am happy about the one but it is still very disheartening. 

I'm just going to hop on the encouragement gravy train and say that you are definitely entitled to feel however you want to feel about this cycle AND ALSO remember that YOU are the success, the secret sauce and the determining WOW/IT factor in your career. I know as aspiring sociologists we look a lot at structural/societal factors and constraints, but I just want to remind you of your individual agency and no matter where you end up, as long as you don't lose sight of who you are, what you are capable of and your personal vision for your career, I truly and totally believe you will be a smashing success (whatever you define success as). This cycle definitely sucks, and it is painful to apply to so many places and receive so little in return and I do believe in processing our feelings (it's your admissions cycle and you can cry if you want to!). But I also hope that when the pain has cleared from your eyes, you remember everything that you bring to the field. In this journey, you are the hero, and you're going to make the most of every opportunity that comes your way, rejection be damned.