After returning, I have realized something...

[Roll Right]

These forums just make me nervous. I'm in the middle of completing applications, and reading the posts on this forum have increased my stress ten fold! LOL, I thought this place was supposed to be helpful .

But no, really. There's a lot of worrying going on here. I haven't talked to anyone in a while from this board, so I'll update (if anyone cares) to kill some time.

Studying: Sociology of Religion and Stratification

Applying to:

Boston University

Northeastern University

Vanderbilt

Baylor

George Mason University

Notre Dame

Undergrad GPA: 3.6

MA degree GPA: 3.9

Verbal GRE 550

Quant GRE: 470

Analytical Writing: 5.0

Phi Beta Kappa

Alpha Kappa Delta

Various Presentations..

(and a bunch of other crap specific to my MA work).

I never did take the GRE again. I was advised against it by several professors. Also, I've visited a few PhD programs. The culture of these programs seems to inform their opinion of the test. Qualitative, theory driven schools don't seem to care about it as long as you aren't scoring in the 300's. Quantitative, research driven schools won't even look at you if you're not in the 1200 and above. Not gunna lie, the quantitative schools I visited were a little pretentious for my tastes... How are the apps going for everyone?

[sociology applicant 2011]

I agree. The stress conveyed on these boards is disheartening. Beginning a PhD program means embarking on the next 6-8 years of your career. I'm amazed that people are pulling all nighters and generally "obsessing" about their applications. I don't think this is healthy. Is this really how you plan to spend the next decade, people? If grad school makes you a crazy person, maybe it's not worth it. There are plenty of great careers which don't take years off of your life.

My question to posters is, how do you justify this stress?

For passion (shouldn't it be healthier), prestige (if we were smart, wouldn't we be smart enough to choose not to do a PhD), or a paycheck (ha! just kidding)?

[barilicious]

I agree. The stress conveyed on these boards is disheartening. Beginning a PhD program means embarking on the next 6-8 years of your career. I'm amazed that people are pulling all nighters and generally "obsessing" about their applications. I don't think this is healthy. Is this really how you plan to spend the next decade, people? If grad school makes you a crazy person, maybe it's not worth it. There are plenty of great careers which don't take years off of your life.

My question to posters is, how do you justify this stress?

For passion (shouldn't it be healthier), prestige (if we were smart, wouldn't we be smart enough to choose not to do a PhD), or a paycheck (ha! just kidding)?

I've just determined that I have the personality type of just being stressed 24/7. I think I strive under stress & am most productive when I'm stressed. I guess I'm pretty masochistic...

[Roll Right]

Stress is necessary if you want to accomplish something that elevates your abilities. Thats how I'm justifying this. I want to become an expert in the sociology of religion and stratification. Sociology is a passion that drives me to succeed inside academia and outside of it. Honestly, studying sociology and the liberal arts made me a better person in a moral sense as well. I think Wollstonecraft was right, a liberal arts education can help true individualism be realized. LOLZ, that sounds pretentious as hell.

But, I wouldn't do nothin else....now lets just find out if I get to do it at all.

Two more apps to go...

[Roll Right]

I've started a blog if anyone is interested in following it....does anyone else use blogspot to blog??

http://ghostofmarx.blogspot.com

only the beginning, of course. there isn't a lot of substance yet.

[Happy to be here]

This topic made me ask myself again: "Why am I applying to the PhD, given all the stress, issues, uncertainty, etc.?" Here's my answer.

One thing that I keep going back to is that I have simply enjoyed the research aspect of sociology. Papers written specifically for courses are sometimes hit or miss on whether or not the creativity or thought involved is really captivating, but for the most part I would rather do this than many other professions. So, doing research and teaching others about interesting topics in society seems fun to me. All the other BS is just that, BS. Whether it's stupid departmental dysfunction, application stress, or the unknowns of actually landing a decent job in academia--those are indeed problems, but I guess every job has drawbacks. I've held several different jobs throughout undergrad and high school and guess the one that really keeps me interested is sociological research. It's the one thing so far that I could actually be content with doing it the rest of my life. Now, there's good and bad ways to deal with the stresses involved, and one thing that helped me get through my thesis prospectus defense was the idea of "ritualized hazing." In all reality, I think a lot of people "make" (or should I say, socially construct) the difficulty, stress, and uncertainty into the academic career. And why do they do this? I think it's to give it an edge, a sense of worth, to make it something that not everyone can do and subsequently is more valuable as a result. Upon finishing getting grilled for almost an hour and a half at my thesis prospectus and having to bow to ridiculous egos and satisfy lame concerns--I go back to my grad carrell, stare at the wall for a few minutes, take a few deep breaths, and realize (again) that this is simply ritualized hazing. It's all a part of the act, and I play along with it so I can continue moving through it. Now, when I have uncertainty of PhD applications, I think to myself again--this is all a part of what "makes" being a professor great. They've been through all kinds of stuff and their reward is a very secure job where they get to research and teach stuff that they're interested in. For me, I'm willing to go through all the nonsense to get there, and recognizing it as ritualized hazing. Now, I have to say that not all of it is of this flavor--many of the difficulties of graduate school are for our own betterment and are a part of the learning process; however, I do think that some of the difficulties, uncertainties, and stresses are unnecessary and seeing things in this perspective has helped me tremendously.

Maybe I'm just rambling and this is nonsensical, but just thought I'd throw this out there. That's how Sue "C's" it.

[Roll Right]

Happy to be Here - I'm applying to Notre Dame as well, perhaps I'll see you there next fall.

Yeah, it is a lot of hazing. Jumping through hoops that are covered in gasoline and lit on fire would be easier and less stressful. I am now getting requests for transcripts from a study abroad experience in the UK. It was pass/fail credit and the courses are reported on my undergraduate transcripts.....I'm not even sure the UK institution has those records still.....and they'll take forever to arrive! Why.....

Edited December 28, 2010 by Roll Right

[joops]

Happy to be Here - I'm applying to Notre Dame as well, perhaps I'll see you there next fall.

Yeah, it is a lot of hazing. Jumping through hoops that are covered in gasoline and lit on fire would be easier and less stressful. I am now getting requests for transcripts from a study abroad experience in the UK. It was pass/fail credit and the courses are reported on my undergraduate transcripts.....I'm not even sure the UK institution has those records still.....and they'll take forever to arrive! Why.....

You're absolutely right about the hazing part. I believe that this process is much more difficult than it could be in order to "separate the boys from the men," as my awesome mother would say. I suppose the extra hoops are good to keep those who aren't serious out of the application process, but for those of us who are willing to do whatever it takes, the difficulty adds all sorts of extreme, unwarranted stress.

That transcripts thing is absurd. I have somewhat the same problem but to a lesser extreme. The college from which I transferred is simply awful about doing anything, and I'm not 100% sure they are competent enough have my old transcripts sent out, let alone on time.

I also applied to BU. If all goes right, maybe see you there!

[Roll Right]

I'd really like to be at BU - I'm from Cape Cod and Maine originally, so it'd be like going home. Plus, Nancy Ammerman is really great with soc of religion. They've got some good Bourdieu people too. I'm just a little worried about the funding.