2022 Fall Application: Chat, Share and Support One Another

[Klutch2381]

7 hours ago, marif said:

Don't get me wrong (not here to say something in a bad way), but I think this is also a problematic approach to the admission process. You are absolutely right that there is an element of rubbish chance, and more importantly, some people have strong cultural and economic capital, particularly from their parents, and some don't (like me). 

That being said, an admission committee should not decide based on your life story or your particular attributes. An admission committee should look into your research statement, the relative fit of your statement to the faculty, and the degree to which you understand how a research is conducted.

I do think that this is not happening in the admission processes right now, and I believe that it is quite problematic.

Just an opinion, please feel free to chime in and we'll have a nice discussion!

   Thanks for the response. I disagree with you, but I can do that respectfully. Essentially, for this process going forward — I’ve mentally compartmentalized it to something I’ll deal with as results reveal themselves. Unfortunately, I’ve had the hone that skill given the vicissitudes of life/time, so I move on from things quickly mentally and emotionally. I’m no longer visiting the results section, so I’m not living and dying with each update. That’s been beneficial for me. Now, to your point: there’s a great book I read over the summer called, “The Inequality Machine,” by Paul Tough. The gist of the book is that our most hallowed institutions fail to be the truly transformative entities they could be, and actually causally reproduce and further propagate inequality. How so? Well, generally when these “top” schools  select applicants, they accept students from a certain background (i.e., affluent, well to-do). Even when they accept minority students, they are generally from an affluent background either domestically or internationally. Moreover, what they are actually accepting when they opt to take on students is typically students with the means to best “game” the system. People with the resources that can hire a private tutor for 6 months to study for the GRE, spend 2K on Kaplan self-study materials, take a job for two years as a research assistant making next to nothing because they can afford to do so, and so on. I read a post on Reddit before where an international application in India said that the GRE fee cost was half of his monthly salary. Think of the sheer absurdity in this statement. What does his ability/inability to know that proper fractions get smaller when multiplied by a whole number have to do with a flourishing sociological imagination? I posit nothing. 
 

 I’d like to think I’m a pretty informed applicant now, and I didn’t even know people actually email and contact professors they’re interested in to foster a relationship before they even apply until this cycle. That actually blew my mind, because here I was thinking this was some wholly impartial process in terms of decisions being meted out. Silly me. It’s a game — within a game. Additionally, so much of sociology is devoted to inequality, injustice, etc. If there is ONE academic arena where one’s historical positioning should be accounted for, I contend it’s sociology. 
 

For example, Cal Berkeley is oft seen as this paragon of inclusivity, progressive ideologies, etc. Such that, there are specific pejoratives that parties will bandy about for people that attend institutions such as Cal. Yet, even Cal Berkeley struggles to adhere to these ideals with regard to its meager black populous — and many have accounted that their time at Cal has been racially and socially charged. Now, this is occurring at Cal Berkeley! What does that denote about the rest of the world outside of Cal? When I go to these university websites, and I look at the professors, and I peruse their CV’s, I see an overwhelmingly white demographic. Now, inequality, injustice, and so forth manifests itself in various ways throughout a functioning globalized society. Whether, you’re black in Compton, white in Appalachia, or Latino in Peru. However, I know how it has directly impacted my life. Do I think most of the people I see on these websites can turn the electricity back on in their house when it’s cutoff by power company with just a clothes hanger? No. I can, though. My mother taught me that when I was 6. 
 

We all learn about Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu, Max Weber, Mills, DuBois, et al. We all write papers on the juxtaposition of anomie to Marx’s alienation. We all have things we’re interested in and theories we’ve cultivated. We all have things we think should be researched or we intend to research, and we hope adcoms assent. Undoubtedly, I don’t think any of that is unique in some collective application sense. Sociology can be more than that. In fact, it should be. The greatest sociologists of the ages were radical in thought. I’d argue with one of my professors, how is sociology supposed to make the world a better place if we all have to write papers on the same stuff and in the same style? What is unique about people is normally their life course, and the road they’ve traveled to get to a particular point. Marx saw the world the way he did because the shit he’d been through. If sociology is ultimately really in interested in the bettering of the world vis-a-vis inequality those differences have to be taken into account. Otherwise, we’ll keep reproducing the same kind of people from the same backgrounds, and nothing will change. The best schools will continue to be a forlorn hope for certain demographics racially and socioeconomically, and the accepted will continue to be those most adept at playing the “game.” 
 

Anyways, I definitely recommend that book I mentioned. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Klutch2381

[App22]

After emailing UT Austin, my portal was finally updated - rejection. Good luck to all!

[madlovetofuries]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:14 AM, madlovetofuries said:

Pretty sure the silence from UT Austin is a soft rejection. Oh well, I loved their sociology program as an undergrad, but I guess it really wasn't a good fit graduate school wise.

Got the rejection email from UT. Actually feeling good about it given that it was a bad fit looking at it now. Best of luck to the rest of us!

[madlovetofuries]

1 hour ago, Klutch2381 said:

   Thanks for the response. I disagree with you, but I can do that respectfully. Essentially, for this process going forward — I’ve mentally compartmentalized it to something I’ll deal with as results reveal themselves. Unfortunately, I’ve had the hone that skill given the vicissitudes of life/time, so I move on from things quickly mentally and emotionally. I’m no longer visiting the results section, so I’m not living and dying with each update. That’s been beneficial for me. Now, to your point: there’s a great book I read over the summer called, “The Inequality Machine,” by Paul Tough. The gist of the book is that our most hallowed institutions fail to be the truly transformative entities they could be, and actually causally reproduce and further propagate inequality. How so? Well, generally when these “top” schools  select applicants, they accept students from a certain background (i.e., affluent, well to-do). Even when they accept minority students, they are generally from an affluent background either domestically or internationally. Moreover, what they are actually accepting when they opt to take on students is typically students with the means to best “game” the system. People with the resources that can hire a private tutor for 6 months to study for the GRE, spend 2K on Kaplan self-study materials, take a job for two years as a research assistant making next to nothing because they can afford to do so, and so on. I read a post on Reddit before where an international application in India said that the GRE fee cost was half of his monthly salary. Think of the sheer absurdity in this statement. What does his ability/inability to know that proper fractions get smaller when multiplied by a whole number have to do with a flourishing sociological imagination? I posit nothing. 
 

 I’d like to think I’m a pretty informed applicant now, and I didn’t even know people actually email and contact professors they’re interested in to foster a relationship before they even apply until this cycle. That actually blew my mind, because here I was thinking this was some wholly impartial process in terms of decisions being meted out. Silly me. It’s a game — within a game. Additionally, so much of sociology is devoted to inequality, injustice, etc. If there is ONE academic arena where one’s historical positioning should be accounted for, I contend it’s sociology. 
 

For example, Cal Berkeley is oft seen as this paragon of inclusivity, progressive ideologies, etc. Such that, there are specific pejoratives that parties will bandy about for people that attend institutions such as Cal. Yet, even Cal Berkeley struggles to adhere to these ideals with regard to its meager black populous — and many have accounted that their time at Cal has been racially and socially charged. Now, this is occurring at Cal Berkeley! What does that denote about the rest of the world outside of Cal? When I go to these university websites, and I look at the professors, and I peruse their CV’s, I see an overwhelmingly white demographic. Now, inequality, injustice, and so forth manifests itself in various ways throughout a functioning globalized society. Whether, you’re black in Compton, white in Appalachia, or Latino in Peru. However, I know how it has directly impacted my life. Do I think most of the people I see on these websites can turn the electricity back on in their house when it’s cutoff by power company with just a clothes hanger? No. I can, though. My mother taught me that when I was 6. 
 

We all learn about Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu, Max Weber, Mills, DuBois, et al. We all write papers on the juxtaposition of anomie to Marx’s alienation. We all have things we’re interested in and theories we’ve cultivated. We all have things we think should be researched or we intend to research, and we hope adcoms assent. Undoubtedly, I don’t think any of that is unique in some collective application sense. Sociology can be more than that. In fact, it should be. The greatest sociologists of the ages were radical in thought. I’d argue with one of my professors, how is sociology supposed to make the world a better place if we all have to write papers on the same stuff and in the same style? What is unique about people is normally their life course, and the road they’ve traveled to get to a particular point. Marx saw the world the way he did because the shit he’d been through. If sociology is ultimately really in interested in the bettering of the world vis-a-vis inequality those differences have to be taken into account. Otherwise, we’ll keep reproducing the same kind of people from the same backgrounds, and nothing will change. The best schools will continue to be a forlorn hope for certain demographics racially and socioeconomically, and the accepted will continue to be those most adept at playing the “game.” 
 

Anyways, I definitely recommend that book I mentioned. 

I have nothing to add on to this other than 1) I love this response, you hit the nail on everything I've ever felt about grad school admissions and the field of sociology (and public health while we're at it), and 2) The book THICK has an essay on how and why international students are far more valued than American students of color that is also worth checking out.

Edited February 2, 2022 by madlovetofuries
adding something I forgot

[bitingmynails2894]

1 hour ago, ebc658 said:

I really wish I knew Berkeley's timeline this year. Two years ago, it was end of January. Then last year, the joint program with demography was Feb 20 or so. So far away!

Same here! Aaaah

Edited February 2, 2022 by bitingmynails2894

[Minion20]

I applied to Yale Sociology Department with specialization in Cultural Sociology. Has anyone got some news regarding it? Also, what are your views regarding this program, at personal level I'm very much interested in Cultural Sociology but I have read a mixed reaction on the blogs online.

Edited February 2, 2022 by Minion20

[marif]

1 hour ago, Klutch2381 said:

   Thanks for the response. I disagree with you, but I can do that respectfully. Essentially, for this process going forward — I’ve mentally compartmentalized it to something I’ll deal with as results reveal themselves. Unfortunately, I’ve had the hone that skill given the vicissitudes of life/time, so I move on from things quickly mentally and emotionally. I’m no longer visiting the results section, so I’m not living and dying with each update. That’s been beneficial for me. Now, to your point: there’s a great book I read over the summer called, “The Inequality Machine,” by Paul Tough. The gist of the book is that our most hallowed institutions fail to be the truly transformative entities they could be, and actually causally reproduce and further propagate inequality. How so? Well, generally when these “top” schools  select applicants, they accept students from a certain background (i.e., affluent, well to-do). Even when they accept minority students, they are generally from an affluent background either domestically or internationally. Moreover, what they are actually accepting when they opt to take on students is typically students with the means to best “game” the system. People with the resources that can hire a private tutor for 6 months to study for the GRE, spend 2K on Kaplan self-study materials, take a job for two years as a research assistant making next to nothing because they can afford to do so, and so on. I read a post on Reddit before where an international application in India said that the GRE fee cost was half of his monthly salary. Think of the sheer absurdity in this statement. What does his ability/inability to know that proper fractions get smaller when multiplied by a whole number have to do with a flourishing sociological imagination? I posit nothing. 
 

 I’d like to think I’m a pretty informed applicant now, and I didn’t even know people actually email and contact professors they’re interested in to foster a relationship before they even apply until this cycle. That actually blew my mind, because here I was thinking this was some wholly impartial process in terms of decisions being meted out. Silly me. It’s a game — within a game. Additionally, so much of sociology is devoted to inequality, injustice, etc. If there is ONE academic arena where one’s historical positioning should be accounted for, I contend it’s sociology. 
 

For example, Cal Berkeley is oft seen as this paragon of inclusivity, progressive ideologies, etc. Such that, there are specific pejoratives that parties will bandy about for people that attend institutions such as Cal. Yet, even Cal Berkeley struggles to adhere to these ideals with regard to its meager black populous — and many have accounted that their time at Cal has been racially and socially charged. Now, this is occurring at Cal Berkeley! What does that denote about the rest of the world outside of Cal? When I go to these university websites, and I look at the professors, and I peruse their CV’s, I see an overwhelmingly white demographic. Now, inequality, injustice, and so forth manifests itself in various ways throughout a functioning globalized society. Whether, you’re black in Compton, white in Appalachia, or Latino in Peru. However, I know how it has directly impacted my life. Do I think most of the people I see on these websites can turn the electricity back on in their house when it’s cutoff by power company with just a clothes hanger? No. I can, though. My mother taught me that when I was 6. 
 

We all learn about Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu, Max Weber, Mills, DuBois, et al. We all write papers on the juxtaposition of anomie to Marx’s alienation. We all have things we’re interested in and theories we’ve cultivated. We all have things we think should be researched or we intend to research, and we hope adcoms assent. Undoubtedly, I don’t think any of that is unique in some collective application sense. Sociology can be more than that. In fact, it should be. The greatest sociologists of the ages were radical in thought. I’d argue with one of my professors, how is sociology supposed to make the world a better place if we all have to write papers on the same stuff and in the same style? What is unique about people is normally their life course, and the road they’ve traveled to get to a particular point. Marx saw the world the way he did because the shit he’d been through. If sociology is ultimately really in interested in the bettering of the world vis-a-vis inequality those differences have to be taken into account. Otherwise, we’ll keep reproducing the same kind of people from the same backgrounds, and nothing will change. The best schools will continue to be a forlorn hope for certain demographics racially and socioeconomically, and the accepted will continue to be those most adept at playing the “game.” 
 

Anyways, I definitely recommend that book I mentioned. 

Thank you very much for your response. I genuinely understand what you say, but I also believe that your response includes two different components that do not have a necessary logical connection:

- You say that there are strong inequalities, not only in the way we understand academic work, but also in the way we play the game. I genuinely agree with that, and I am *currently* living the same thing. I come from a working-class family, and believe me, I know.

- Yet, you also say that because there are inequalities, then the personal stories should be an integral part of our "game." This is the part I have strong disagreements. My point before was that an admission process should be, in an ideal world, only about the quality of the work and the quality of the research imagination, and nothing else at all. The main reason I think this way, and I believe this reflects the deep problems in the sociological field as well, is that I do not want to *change* the world with a sociologist hat in my head. If I want to do political work (as I do in my own country - I am an international applicant, and yes, GRE was a third of my salary, too), I can do it as a citizen, as a worker, or as a social movement member. I do not think that sociology (or any other social science) should be about remedying social inequalities. I want to do sociology because I want to do scientific work. I want to contribute to the scientific understanding of human behavior and social groups, and I believe that this should be the only goal we have to strive for. This does not mean that we are value-free (the research shows that we *have* strong values), but this doesn't exclude it as a normative ideal.

I am really upset to see that a highly personalized trend is occurring in the social scientific disciplines, where people are asked to provide "personal statements" that document their life-stories. I do not understand HOW one's life story should be a measure to understand valuable scientific research. I, personally, do not have strong personal histories. As I've said, I come from a working class background. I do not know what to tell about my life. I really love science, and I want to be evaluated with my potential as a scientific contributor, and nothing else. If an admission committee wants to learn more about me rather than looking into what I want to say as a contributor to the field, then I am sorry, I do not have anything to give, and I, personally, do not want to be judged on account of how poignant my history was.

We would have no common ground for comparison and evaluation if we lose the fact that we want to be scholars.

[Klutch2381]

10 minutes ago, marif said:

Thank you very much for your response. I genuinely understand what you say, but I also believe that your response includes two different components that do not have a necessary logical connection:

- You say that there are strong inequalities, not only in the way we understand academic work, but also in the way we play the game. I genuinely agree with that, and I am *currently* living the same thing. I come from a working-class family, and believe me, I know.

- Yet, you also say that because there are inequalities, then the personal stories should be an integral part of our "game." This is the part I have strong disagreements. My point before was that an admission process should be, in an ideal world, only about the quality of the work and the quality of the research imagination, and nothing else at all. The main reason I think this way, and I believe this reflects the deep problems in the sociological field as well, is that I do not want to *change* the world with a sociologist hat in my head. If I want to do political work (as I do in my own country - I am an international applicant, and yes, GRE was a third of my salary, too), I can do it as a citizen, as a worker, or as a social movement member. I do not think that sociology (or any other social science) should be about remedying social inequalities. I want to do sociology because I want to do scientific work. I want to contribute to the scientific understanding of human behavior and social groups, and I believe that this should be the only goal we have to strive for. This does not mean that we are value-free (the research shows that we *have* strong values), but this doesn't exclude it as a normative ideal.

I am really upset to see that a highly personalized trend is occurring in the social scientific disciplines, where people are asked to provide "personal statements" that document their life-stories. I do not understand HOW one's life story should be a measure to understand valuable scientific research. I, personally, do not have strong personal histories. As I've said, I come from a working class background. I do not know what to tell about my life. I really love science, and I want to be evaluated with my potential as a scientific contributor, and nothing else. If an admission committee wants to learn more about me rather than looking into what I want to say as a contributor to the field, then I am sorry, I do not have anything to give, and I, personally, do not want to be judged on account of how poignant my history was.

We would have no common ground for comparison and evaluation if we lose the fact that we want to be scholars.

 I understand your point. I disagree with it — specifically as it relates to sociology. However, I don’t want to derail this thread anymore. I wish you much success! 

[Klutch2381]

Michigan told me this today: 

 

Thanks for reaching out! We plan to send out the first round of offers in mid-February and will send out denials within 2 weeks of those offers.

[ebc658]

15 minutes ago, Klutch2381 said:

Michigan told me this today: 

 

Thanks for reaching out! We plan to send out the first round of offers in mid-February and will send out denials within 2 weeks of those offers.

Thanks for the scouting and reporting back. I would much rather know when to expect a decision. Otherwise, I just keep refreshing. Imagine all the anxiety schools could save us if they'd just announce when decisions will be released. 

[Klutch2381]

3 minutes ago, ebc658 said:

Thanks for the scouting and reporting back. I would much rather know when to expect a decision. Otherwise, I just keep refreshing. Imagine all the anxiety schools could save us if they'd just announce when decisions will be released. 

 Yep, I’ve just been asking. I’m about to ask Cal now. lol 

[deadinside]

Thanks for reporting back. Any news from NYU?

[Klutch2381]

I asked Yale too. I’ll report back! 

[Beeman]

How’s everyone holding up?

[epoch61]

Does anyone have any update from UC berkeley?

I saw someone posted acceptance result on the board. 

[CinnamonCream]

Hi everyone. I very much appreciate the thoughtful and cilvil discussion that has occurred in the thread! It looks like there's going to be a lot of movement and news in the coming weeks. Let's stay strong and keep going! I've been prepping for an upcoming interview. Wish me luck.

[anxiousapplicat]

I'm waiting to hear from NYU too, but going by historical trends it seems like they usually send out results between mid-end February.

[kareese85]

Has anyone heard from UCONN?  Had some great chats with my POI, but getting super nervous.

[ahwithsoc]

Anyone has any idea about the Brown acceptance on the result board? Brown doesn't usually send out acceptance this early.....

[catlady1994]

Has anyone else gotten the NYU invitation to the graduate students of color mentorship event?

[Beeman]

2 hours ago, ahwithsoc said:

Anyone has any idea about the Brown acceptance on the result board? Brown doesn't usually send out acceptance this early.....

If it isn't fake it may be similar to some situations I had (at other universities). The committee wanted to nominate me for fellowships that required my admission decision be made before other applicants.

[imtiredlmao]

can attest to the above ^ comment. i received a "likely letter" of admission to the university of iowa over a week ago but didn't receive my official letter of acceptance until this morning. it was because the committee wanted to nominate me for a special fellowship that they wanted to discuss with me first.

[Oceanisblue]

Hi everyone. Thanks for gathering here and sharing the discussion.  

Anyone has idea or heard back from Cornell? I am a bit nervous about my pending coz I couldn't login to the activity page and my IELTS is still pending......

After submitting the materials, is it normal that you will only get one confirmation email asking you to wait 7-10 days? or any following email ?

Edited February 4, 2022 by Oceanisblue

[MadnessPink]

Has anyone heard from Berkeley? I saw some responses from the result but I don't know whether they are fake or not.

[awesome3141]

Did Duke release all their rejections? I saw a bunch of people posted in the results that they got rejected, but I haven't heard anything. Should I get my hopes up????