Seeking last minute advice for graduate school

[heathenist]

Okay, so here is the deal; I am certain that want to go to graduate school and get a Ph.D in sociology. I make decent grades and have a good relationship with all of my professors and I'm confident that I would do well in grad school. However, my numbers aren't very impressive due to a low GRE score and I'm not coming from a well known university. Originally my plans to were to apply to a PhD program straight out of undergrad, but after reading around and knowing that as of now my numbers aren't that impressive I'm wondering if I should stay where I am and work on a Master's here. I pretty much have a guaranteed admission to the program, I like the faculty, and I could continue doing research with one of the professors. However, the program only offers a Master's degree and honestly, I'm ready to get out of this town. I'm retaking the GRE in a few weeks and hopefully I'll be able to up my score quite a bit since I'm actually going to study this time. But since it's so late in the game should I A: Just go ahead and apply for PhD programs anyway even if they wouldn't be my top choice if I had better scores, B: Apply for MA programs at other universities (problem is many programs combine MA and PhD programs so it would be the same as applying to a PhD program) or C:Stay where I am and after completing a master's try to apply to the top schools I'm interested in.

GPA 3.5, Major GPA 3.7

GRE: 510V, 570Q (without studying, retaking soon)

Currently working on a research project with a professor.

Will have strong Letters of Recommendation (hopefully).

Also, on top of all of that, my girlfriend and I will be trying to get into the same schools (She will be applying to English programs).

Any advice is appreciated.

Edited October 28, 2010 by heathenist

[Coffe-ology]

Your situation is similar to mine 2 years ago and I am now applying to Phd programs...If you really want to get out of town then don't stay working on a thesis in a place you don't want to be makes it a lot more stressful. If the only thing in your way is the GRE retake it and apply to the programs you want never settle for a program though. Good luck

[heathenist]

Yeah, I wouldn't be super excited about staying in town, but I like it here so I would be willing to stay if it would help me in the long run. I see you're in Greensboro are you studying at UNCG? If so how do you like the program and what is your area of research. If I'm planning on getting a MA then reapplying to PhD programs then I don't think UNCG would be a terrible choice given they have faculty I could work with. In-State tuition would be a plus since I may not get the most funding doing a MA program at a public university.

[Coffe-ology]

Yeah, I wouldn't be super excited about staying in town, but I like it here so I would be willing to stay if it would help me in the long run. I see you're in Greensboro are you studying at UNCG? If so how do you like the program and what is your area of research. If I'm planning on getting a MA then reapplying to PhD programs then I don't think UNCG would be a terrible choice given they have faculty I could work with. In-State tuition would be a plus since I may not get the most funding doing a MA program at a public university.

Yea I'm at UNCG my area is sociology of education for the most part more generally race and ethnic relations and strat...let me know if you have any questions

[heathenist]

I'm interested in Law and social change/movements. I see there is one person on faculty there that does stuff with change and movements, Dr. Luebke. Do you know how I might find anything he has published? The website only lists fields of interest and political soci, movements, and law are all so broad I'd like to know exactly what areas within those fields he is interested in.

Also, how do you like the department there at UNCG? Anything I should know about if I were to apply?

[jacib]

I'm interested in Law and social change/movements. I see there is one person on faculty there that does stuff with change and movements, Dr. Luebke. Do you know how I might find anything he has published? The website only lists fields of interest and political soci, movements, and law are all so broad I'd like to know exactly what areas within those fields he is interested in.

Also, how do you like the department there at UNCG? Anything I should know about if I were to apply?

Find articles on google scholar/jstor. His website also lists two books he wrote: Tarheel Politics 2000 (1998, UNC Press) and Tar Heel Politics:Myths and realities (1990), which is no longer in print. From what I can tell though, he's also a state senator and might not be around all that much, and if he does, he might not have as much time for research as other professors. His website hasn't been updated since 2007. It's also probably worth noting that he is an associate professor, while most of the other associate professors got their PhDs 20 years after he did. This probably means he's not a very active member of the department. In fact, his website says he teaches "when the legislature is not in session".

Another option, especially if you know some statisticis, is trying to get a job at a think tank or policy center (instead of going for a stand-alone masters). Graduate programs tend to look favorably on that, from what I can gather.

Edited November 1, 2010 by jacib

[Coffe-ology]

I'm interested in Law and social change/movements. I see there is one person on faculty there that does stuff with change and movements, Dr. Luebke. Do you know how I might find anything he has published? The website only lists fields of interest and political soci, movements, and law are all so broad I'd like to know exactly what areas within those fields he is interested in.

Also, how do you like the department there at UNCG? Anything I should know about if I were to apply?

As far as a Law and Criminology go its a great department faculty wise. It is a really really small program as there are only 10 faculty, but on any give day you can walk down the hall and talk to every single one. As for Dr. Luebke he does still take students just not as often as most professors do as he doesn't teach very other semester because of his state senate obligations but he is still around from time to time, he is also running for reelection this year so tomorrow he may not be a state senator any more, although I doubt that he has had that position for forever. Although he hasn't written since 2002 he still presents at conferences from time to time. I wouldn't apply to UNCG just to work with just Dr. Luebke, the thing about the department is that they will let work on pretty much whatever you want and someone will support you. Your best bet is to e-mail him and pretty much every faculty member is quick to respond and don't mind responding.

To be honest the course offerings are not that great but you are only required to take 4 courses in the program everything else can be taken where ever you desire. As for information you tend to learn more about how the department works through the other grad students than from the professors. There are some professors that will chair your committee and let you do what you want and then there are others that will kind of hijack your thesis. Since your scores are similar to what mine were you may or may not have trouble getting funded.

[heathenist]

As far as a Law and Criminology go its a great department faculty wise. It is a really really small program as there are only 10 faculty, but on any give day you can walk down the hall and talk to every single one. As for Dr. Luebke he does still take students just not as often as most professors do as he doesn't teach very other semester because of his state senate obligations but he is still around from time to time, he is also running for reelection this year so tomorrow he may not be a state senator any more, although I doubt that he has had that position for forever. Although he hasn't written since 2002 he still presents at conferences from time to time. I wouldn't apply to UNCG just to work with just Dr. Luebke, the thing about the department is that they will let work on pretty much whatever you want and someone will support you. Your best bet is to e-mail him and pretty much every faculty member is quick to respond and don't mind responding.

To be honest the course offerings are not that great but you are only required to take 4 courses in the program everything else can be taken where ever you desire. As for information you tend to learn more about how the department works through the other grad students than from the professors. There are some professors that will chair your committee and let you do what you want and then there are others that will kind of hijack your thesis. Since your scores are similar to what mine were you may or may not have trouble getting funded.

That's good information to know about Dr. Luebke. I'll be doing some more research on the faculty there, thanks for the help.

[Coffe-ology]

That's good information to know about Dr. Luebke. I'll be doing some more research on the faculty there, thanks for the help.

Update: He was reelected in a landslide he's unstoppable