2023 Fall Sociology Applications - Support, Advice, Results, Etc

[Planted]

Thoughts and prayers to everyone else hoping for decisions before another looong weekend of radio silence! ??

[deadinside]

Well, although I have to receive further information about 10 other schools, I've only been rejected. I'm calling it this year...

[socvall]

2 hours ago, zh_awk said:

Don't know if asking this question will help or increase my anxiety, but I've seen some acceptances for UPenn this week. Anyone know what their pattern is like, with distributing decisions? If it's a rolling thing or all in one day? I've been rejected by Brown, still haven't heard from HGSE after interviewing, and these three are all my top choices so I'm counting down the days until they're all officially dead dreams I know there's no such thing as a safety school and you can't really predict what's going to happen, but I don't know how much hope I have for the remaining programs I'm waiting to hear from later this month if none of these work out.

Edit: I applied and interviewed for the Harvard PhD in education, which is interdisciplinary with sociology. Forgot that doesn't really fall into this subthread!

I am also waiting on Penn for a decision. I emailed yesterday and they told me very vaguely that "any decision will come via email" and that they are "unable to provide update on my application status at this point in the process". So I am not getting my hopes high here... Good luck to us all!

[PeteButtigiegtiktoker]

1 hour ago, socvall said:

I am also waiting on Penn for a decision. I emailed yesterday and they told me very vaguely that "any decision will come via email" and that they are "unable to provide update on my application status at this point in the process". So I am not getting my hopes high here... Good luck to us all!

Sorry to be bearer of potentially bad news but got email from Dean of Grad Studies Wednesday, offer package later that day, follow up email from professor yesterday, and details about visiting day today. Think they likely sent out all offers. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by PeteButtigiegtiktoker

[socvall]

2 minutes ago, PeteButtigiegtiktoker said:

Sorry to be bearer of potentially bad news but got email from Dean of Grad Studies Wednesday, offer package later that day, follow up email from professor yesterday, and all details about visiting day today. Think they likely sent out all offers. 

Thank you for the info! Congrats on the admittance!!

[Poor.hungry.Depressed]

17 hours ago, magicisreal said:

I am just joining this conversation and reading everyone else's posts is wild. Each and every one of us are having very different experiences and it goes to show that the admissions process really is varied from program-to-program.

For those asking about IU, I was offered admission to the program just a day ago (along with a formal letter from department head and funding package offer). I am beyond overjoyed as this is my third wave of applications (1st wave back in 2018 and 2nd wave in 2021). Third time's the charm, I guess! ?

I was also recently admitted to the University of Kansas, waitlisted to University of Minnesota, and rejected by U-Wisc Madison. I am still waiting to hear back from 3 more programs I applied to.

This whole process is...very daunting. I can't help but check my phone and emails constantly while at work all day. I will be checking back frequently for updates. I wish everyone the best of luck on getting into their programs as we eagerly await results over the next week or so (most programs send out notifications mid-February, from my past experience of applying). Cheers.

Congrats on the acceptances! I was also waitlisted by UMN. 

I am dying to hear back from IU - seems they've trickled out some acceptances and some rejections, which leaves me with mixed feelings. But out of curiosity - did you interview for IU? and was your notification email personalized? I'm wondering if there are administrative/funding changes and/or obstacles that have made the process/timeline for them quite different this year - to be honest, I feel like that's probably everywhere.

 

Also, has anyone seen the dumpster fire going on at Temple University?! I absolutely cannot get over it.

[magicisreal]

2 minutes ago, Poor.hungry.Depressed said:

Congrats on the acceptances! I was also waitlisted by UMN. 

I am dying to hear back from IU - seems they've trickled out some acceptances and some rejections, which leaves me with mixed feelings. But out of curiosity - did you interview for IU? and was your notification email personalized? I'm wondering if there are administrative/funding changes and/or obstacles that have made the process/timeline for them quite different this year - to be honest, I feel like that's probably everywhere.

 

Also, has anyone seen the dumpster fire going on at Temple University?! I absolutely cannot get over it.

Thank you!

To answer your question, no interview necessary for IU and yes, the email was very personalized, in fact one of the most personalized admissions emails I’ve ever come across. For reference, it was direct from department head, included my areas of interest, potential advisors, funding/support offer, and other info to help me make my decision. Hope that helps! 

[Poor.hungry.Depressed]

1 hour ago, magicisreal said:

Thank you!

To answer your question, no interview necessary for IU and yes, the email was very personalized, in fact one of the most personalized admissions emails I’ve ever come across. For reference, it was direct from department head, included my areas of interest, potential advisors, funding/support offer, and other info to help me make my decision. Hope that helps! 

That is helpful - thank you! And congrats again!

[cschk]

Hey everyone!! I've seen people get accepted from UC Santa Barbara and I wonder if there are still people who haven't received an acceptance/rejection/waitlist mail? What kind of pattern are they following this cycle :S All best^^

[saffasrass]

28 minutes ago, cschk said:

Hey everyone!! I've seen people get accepted from UC Santa Barbara and I wonder if there are still people who haven't received an acceptance/rejection/waitlist mail? What kind of pattern are they following this cycle :S All best^^

I applied and haven't heard a peep either. I have a really great fit and thought I had a decent shot, so we'll see. As with all the rest of the programs I applied to this cycle, UCSB doesn't seem to be following their usual pattern for decisions.

[magicisreal]

27 minutes ago, cschk said:

Hey everyone!! I've seen people get accepted from UC Santa Barbara and I wonder if there are still people who haven't received an acceptance/rejection/waitlist mail? What kind of pattern are they following this cycle :S All best^^

Hello,

I am also still waiting to hear from UCSB. I found this info direct from their sociology admissions page:

NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE OR DENIAL

The Department of Sociology does not have a fixed schedule of dates for acceptance or denial. You will be notified by email when a decision has been made on your application, and your Application Status Page will be updated with a decision letter. Please note we are unable to reconsider or provide feedback on denied applications.

[ayitao]

The Harvard interview on the results page is giving me chills. Can someone confirm this?

[Nairel]

jesus! another week without info from schools. I just need a respose to let my dreams die or know what's gonna happen with life this summer T_____T

[ohnoherewegoagain]

8 hours ago, deadinside said:

Well, although I have to receive further information about 10 other schools, I've only been rejected. I'm calling it this year...

don't give up hope! you just need one acceptance. i was in your same spot last year.

[michigan girl]

On 2/2/2023 at 2:24 PM, saffasrass said:

Not Brandeis, but Yale interviewed 25 top applicants over the past few weeks and will be sending out results this week or next (according to someone in comments on a results post).

Do you know if the top 25 applicants included joint program applicants (e.g., American Studies, AFAM Studies, etc.)?

Edited February 11, 2023 by michigan girl

[saffasrass]

17 minutes ago, michigan girl said:

Do you know if the top 25 applicants included joint program applicants (e.g., American Studies, AFAM Studies, etc.)?

Afraid not, no. This is all anecdotal on my part.

[epoch61]

Does anyone receive an email from the TAMU Office of Admissions to let you activate your net ID for further communication? 

They already sent me the rejection email. Why do they still let me activate the ID? At the end of the email, they even wrote that if I do not activate this netID, they will continue to send me this email for the next two weeks!!

This is nonsense and annoying!

[salixck]

4 hours ago, saffasrass said:

Afraid not, no. This is all anecdotal on my part.

Me neither. Also anecdotal one. By the way, I am the one who said that Yale will provide their decision by last week but somehow they delay doing it. I am also spending such a long nights for several weeks. Haha

[severalaughters]

Hi there, for those who have had some interview experiences already, what questions were you asked, and how did you prepare for a successful interview with your POI and other faculty members? Also, if you were transferring from a different program or discipline (still in social sciences), how did you explain your situation to make it neutral? Any tips and advice would be helpful. Thank you!!

[saffasrass]

5 hours ago, severalaughters said:

Hi there, for those who have had some interview experiences already, what questions were you asked, and how did you prepare for a successful interview with your POI and other faculty members? Also, if you were transferring from a different program or discipline (still in social sciences), how did you explain your situation to make it neutral? Any tips and advice would be helpful. Thank you!!

Both interviews I had were 30 minute casual conversations with one faculty member. We spoke about my research interests and fit with the department, discussed the department's culture, and spoke a bit about the POI's mentorship style. With both, we spent maybe 2 or 3 minutes discussing why their program was a better fit than my current one, but they didn't seem concerned at all about the fact that I am looking to switch programs.

[severalaughters]

5 minutes ago, saffasrass said:

Both interviews I had were 30 minute casual conversations with one faculty member. We spoke about my research interests and fit with the department, discussed the department's culture, and spoke a bit about the POI's mentorship style. With both, we spent maybe 2 or 3 minutes discussing why their program was a better fit than my current one, but they didn't seem concerned at all about the fact that I am looking to switch programs.

Thank you very much! This definitely helps me not be so nervous. 

[salixck]

9 hours ago, severalaughters said:

Hi there, for those who have had some interview experiences already, what questions were you asked, and how did you prepare for a successful interview with your POI and other faculty members? Also, if you were transferring from a different program or discipline (still in social sciences), how did you explain your situation to make it neutral? Any tips and advice would be helpful. Thank you!!

Yale: 3 professors came to my interview and all of them are kinds of my POI although I didn't mention one in my SOP. They asked me about 1) "Who are you?", 2) "Why you want to study at Yale?", 3) "Are you going to study further on what you have done before?", 4) (For those who transfers) "What are the differences between your current program and that of Yale?", 5) "What are you planning to do after your Ph.D.?", 6) (Statistical question) "What can be erroneous if you assume causal relationship between level of education and that of income based on the result from linear regression model?" 7) (No disadvantage from this question) "Where are other universities that you applied else?", ? "Do you have anything to ask?"

-> For question #4, I just mentioned that there is somewhat mismatch between my research interests and that of my current Ph.D. program. I think question #7 is for evaluating you sincerity to the research topic so you'd better name some universities that provide your research interests.

 

Good luck!

Edited February 11, 2023 by salixck
grammatical errors

[ohnoherewegoagain]

10 hours ago, severalaughters said:

Hi there, for those who have had some interview experiences already, what questions were you asked, and how did you prepare for a successful interview with your POI and other faculty members? Also, if you were transferring from a different program or discipline (still in social sciences), how did you explain your situation to make it neutral? Any tips and advice would be helpful. Thank you!!

haven't had any interviews thus far so can't speak on that part. my most important reasons for transferring are kind of specific therefore won't necessarily go into them, but i explained those as well as how the three "tracks" my current program follows don't really align with what my research interests are! i also contacted many programs to discuss how they evaluated transfers/reapplicants. all of them were understanding and explained i wouldn't be penalized for things out of my control, which i was relieved to hear. 

Edited February 12, 2023 by ohnoherewegoagain

[Nairel]

19 hours ago, michigan girl said:

Do you know if the top 25 applicants included joint program applicants (e.g., American Studies, AFAM Studies, etc.)?

Hey! they didn't mention that. I applied to the joint program with WGSS and the interview included the DGS from the sociology dept. They said they would be releasing decisions after one or two weeks after that interview (not dure if soc+wgss or soc in general). This was Jan 21st and no reply yet so I think maybe they're taking more time or just soft rejection? I'm dying over here

[magnets]

CUNY finally responded almost three weeks after the interview. Waitlisted as I expected. Does anyone know from previous years how likely it is to get an offer? Considering it was mentioned earlier in the thread that 20 people got interviews, I'm assuming it's all acceptances and waitlists? Fingers crossed, it's a waiting game now.