I know you probably can't stand these posts, but I need some reassurance

[Darth.Vegan]

Hey everyone,

Let me first start off by saying that I apologize for making a post like this, I am sure you get tons of them, and they get really annoying.

That said, a PhD. in Sociology (I want to teach and do research) has been a goal of mine starting with my first intro sociology class in CC, and I have been feeling a little insecure about my chances

Portland Community College

GPA 3.2

Major GPA 3.5

University of Hawaii at Manoa (Yeah I know mediocre at best and my biggest concern at this point)

GPA 3.95 (On track to graduate with distinction, highest honors) (Spring 2012)

Major Sociology GPA 3.90

Minor Poli Sci GPA 4.0

Research Assistant (3 Semesters + 2 summers)

Hopefully presenting a paper at the pacific sociological association conference next year ( My Prof. that I RA for is encouraging me and signing me up)

GRE ( Currently studying, taking over summer, quant should be no problem, I am working on the verbal) ( I am expecting around 1300 based on practice)

In progress independent research project on poverty and inequality on Oahu' as part of my honors senior capstone project

Alpha Kappa Delta (Hoping for PBK by graduation next year)

3 very solid LoR (they have all told me that they believe I would "excel" in a top PhD. program)

1.PhD. 20+ years teaching ( This is the Prof. that I RA for)

2.PhD. UW-Madison (2005)

3. PhD. U-Mich Ann-Arbor (2009)

I am planning to apply to a lot of schools (15) so I am beginning to prepare SoP's now so that I can tailor each one to increase my chances

Research interests: Social Stratification, Poverty and Inequality, Gender Inequality, Globalization, Social Movements, and Environmental Sociology / Ecology

Here is my stupidly ambitious list, I recognize that some are better fit than others, and depends entirely on particular faculty in the departments. My plan is contact faculty at about the 6 month mark before applying.

First choice picks:

Stanford

Harvard

Columbia

Berkeley

NYU

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

University of Wisonsin - Madison

Second choice but also top picks:

Cornell

Yale

Northwestern

U Chicago

U Penn

Brown

UCLA

Third Choice:

Boston College

Boston University

UCI

USC

Edited March 20, 2011 by xdarthveganx

[moraurora]

Hello,

I would say that everybody kinda feels insecure during this process, nothing is certain. It seems you have everything going smoothly. I am an international student, so perhaps I don't know the intricacies of the system for US students. There are probaly people who have better advices than I have. But I know that this process sucks, and I advise you to try to relax a little bit.

I wrote this earlier in other threads, but I feel the need to repeat: I think it all comes to fit and luck at the end, and believe me or not, luck might be the most important factor. I have seen people got accepted without research experience, without any publication, without prior contact and without your GPA. That's probably because they had great fit and luck. On of my friends got accepted because one professor in the department really liked her SOP and wanted to work with her, and this professor only accepts students in every 4-5 years. Had she applied a year before or later, she would not have been accepted.

Of course, the fact that luck is important does not mean that gre, gpa, research, lor etc are not important. What I mean to say is that, you can get accepted with your current stats and experience but someone who does not have them can also get accepted. Just try to do your best and -while I see no reason for you not getting into- if you somehow can't make it in the first round, give it another try. You probably won't feel relaxed until you get into somewhere, but it's the same for everyone Try to keep up the good work, and I believe you will end up wherever you want to!

[Sharka]

It's certainly not impossible to make the steep climb from community college to a high ranking PhD program. I started my undergrad at PCC, too, graduated from PSU, just finished my MA at University of Washington, and now I'm heading off the the University of Chicago for my PhD. I found it easier to get into a strong PhD program after getting my MA. I applied to high ranking PhD programs straight out of my BA, and only got into one (with no funding). Getting the MA made me a much stronger candidate this time around. If this is an option for you, I'd highly recommend it.

[Bukharan]

You sound like you are very organised and I totally applaud this. You need to be organised!

I suggest you study super-hard for GRE: try to break into 1400. Also, if there is no research fit at the school (no research fit whatsoever but you like the school) - do not apply. It will likely be a waste of money on application fee. I would also recommend applying for a couple of funder Masters AND adding a couple of Ph.D's in safety schools.

[Darth.Vegan]

It's certainly not impossible to make the steep climb from community college to a high ranking PhD program. I started my undergrad at PCC, too, graduated from PSU, just finished my MA at University of Washington, and now I'm heading off the the University of Chicago for my PhD. I found it easier to get into a strong PhD program after getting my MA. I applied to high ranking PhD programs straight out of my BA, and only got into one (with no funding). Getting the MA made me a much stronger candidate this time around. If this is an option for you, I'd highly recommend it.

I have considered this as well. I have a couple concerns....

When I graduate I will have 50K in debt and the thought of getting more, esp. with the current state of higher ed. makes me really nervous.

I feel kind of old already, I am 27 now, I will be 28 when I graduate. That means I would be on track to finish a PhD. by 34-36, if I do an MA first ill be 38/39 before I even start looking for a job.

What is the chance that being older will help me get accepted? and also do you know of any well regarded M.A. programs that offer at least partial funding that I could consider?

[going crazy]

I have several thoughts.

First, you're way further along in your thought process than most applicants are, so be encouraged. I think you're thinking through things in the right way, for the most part. The only reason I say "for the most part" is I'm curious as to how you're selecting the schools you're applying to. At first glance, and this is just my thought, it looks like you simply picked the 10-15 most prestigious schools and decided those would be the best places to apply. If so, that's more like undergraduate thinking than graduate-level thinking. I agree with previous posters who emphasize fit. That needs to be the way you select schools. Which scholars at those schools are doing work that is specific to your interests?

Second, and this is just my opinion, I would deemphasize your desire to teach in your SoP, or just don't talk about it. Rather, just talk about your desire to contribute to your field through research and publication. My thought is that adcoms aren't too impressed with folks who sound like they want to live the lifestyle of a professor. They'd rather hear that you are passionate about your research interests and being a great scholar.

Third, I agree you should probably shoot for at least 1400 on the GRE for those schools (definitely above 700 on the quantitative score). Basically, you don't want them to have to accept you in spite of your GRE score. You simply want your GRE score to be a non-issue, something that doesn't immediately raise a red flag for them. In my opinion, below 700 quantitative scores raise red flags for these folks.

Fourth, your undergrad is definitely more respected than my generic state school, so I doubt that will be the thing that kills you. I think it's kinda cool, in fact.

Finally, I'd try to send a personal message to socme123 on this forum (hope he doesn't mind me recommending him). He had a pretty successful application year and he could probably give you some pretty great advice on how to tweak your SoP, etc. He's also a little older, if I'm not mistaken, so he may be able to speak to that. If you want to go beyond this you could send a personal message to several folks on this forum who had really successful years (barilicious, socme123, dreaming 1, goodmp, etc.).

Good luck! You sound like you're in great place! I'm sure you'll be successful.

[Darth.Vegan]

I have several thoughts.

First, you're way further along in your thought process than most applicants are, so be encouraged. I think you're thinking through things in the right way, for the most part. The only reason I say "for the most part" is I'm curious as to how you're selecting the schools you're applying to. At first glance, and this is just my thought, it looks like you simply picked the 10-15 most prestigious schools and decided those would be the best places to apply. If so, that's more like undergraduate thinking than graduate-level thinking. I agree with previous posters who emphasize fit. That needs to be the way you select schools. Which scholars at those schools are doing work that is specific to your interests?

Second, and this is just my opinion, I would deemphasize your desire to teach in your SoP, or just don't talk about it. Rather, just talk about your desire to contribute to your field through research and publication. My thought is that adcoms aren't too impressed with folks who sound like they want to live the lifestyle of a professor. They'd rather hear that you are passionate about your research interests and being a great scholar.

Third, I agree you should probably shoot for at least 1400 on the GRE for those schools (definitely above 700 on the quantitative score). Basically, you don't want them to have to accept you in spite of your GRE score. You simply want your GRE score to be a non-issue, something that doesn't immediately raise a red flag for them. In my opinion, below 700 quantitative scores raise red flags for these folks.

Fourth, your undergrad is definitely more respected than my generic state school, so I doubt that will be the thing that kills you. I think it's kinda cool, in fact.

Finally, I'd try to send a personal message to socme123 on this forum (hope he doesn't mind me recommending him). He had a pretty successful application year and he could probably give you some pretty great advice on how to tweak your SoP, etc. He's also a little older, if I'm not mistaken, so he may be able to speak to that. If you want to go beyond this you could send a personal message to several folks on this forum who had really successful years (barilicious, socme123, dreaming 1, goodmp, etc.).

Good luck! You sound like you're in great place! I'm sure you'll be successful.

Wow, so thank you for such an informative, and detailed post.

First just to get this out of the way GRE... I am not worried about quant section, I expect to score above a 700. I am a little rusty in some of the math, but when I took it at the CC, at the time it was all quite easy.

I never took geometry in high school, so that will probably my most difficult section, but it does not seem too hard so far. I am using the GMAT/ GRE a systematic approach book by Sid Thatte, and I am also working through the exercises on Khan Academy.

My biggest concern is the verbal, not because I have a small vocabulary or anything, simply because I have heard its a total crapshoot. I will keep working on bringing up my score, I am hoping to take it before the new test goes in to effect, but I have decent amount of time left before then.

On to the SoP, thanks for the advice on emphasizing research and not teaching. I have ordered Donald Asher's book "Write Your Way Into the Graduate School of Your Choice", which will hopefully help with the SoP's.

As far as my school picks... some of them are on the list for practical reasons, others because they are a strong fit for me.

I am currently working on a spreadsheet with all the schools I plan to apply to (I know I am not the only who did this haha) I have already weeded out quite a few that I did not think would work for me.

My #1 choice is by and large, Stanford, particularly for Poverty and Inequality, but that is a huge long shot.

Most I have found have full-time faculty working directly in my areas of interest, the rest are still somewhat related.

I am applying to some for practical reasons because my partner is also hoping to get into a PhD. education program ( I know, I know, believe me I know) so I am applying for multiple schools in the same region (i.e. Harvard, BU and BC)

My accepting is not contingent on her getting in, but we are trying anyway. Her profile is better than mine anyway. She has a 3.7 GPA from Haverford in Anthropology and an M.P.A. from Washington State with a 3.97 GPA and she got a 1340 on the GRE the first time around. Her score is expired now (6 years ago) so we are studying to retake together.

[neuropsychosocial]

University of Hawaii at Manoa (Yeah I know mediocre at best and my biggest concern at this point)

A 3.95 from the main campus of a state university is not "mediocre" and will not hurt your application. Your LORs will matter more, perhaps, than someone with a 3.95 at YPH, but I think there's a huge advantage to coming from a less competitive undergrad environment: it's easier for your letter writers to honestly say that you are one of the best students that they've seen, which is one of the things that adcoms *want* to hear in LORs. If graduating from UHM is truly your biggest concern at this point in the application process, stop worrying. (I know, easier said than done.) I'd worry more about adcoms in New England worrying about whether you can handle their weather.

(FWIW, many soc departments will give full credit for an MA, so it wouldn't necessarily delay the completion of your Ph.D. by a full two years. I'm sure that policy varies by department, though.)

[Darth.Vegan]

thank you everyone.

I know the grad school admissions process is sort of hit or miss. I guess I just needed some reassurance that I was on the right track.

I will pick out 2 or 3 M.A. programs to apply to as a safety option, any idea of the few top programs that offer M.A.'s which ones offer partial funding?

Edited March 21, 2011 by xdarthveganx

[going crazy]

thank you everyone.

I know the grad school admissions process is sort of hit or miss. I guess I just needed some reassurance that I was on the right track.

I will pick out 2 or 3 M.A. programs to apply to as a safety option, any idea of the few top programs that offer M.A.'s which ones offer partial funding?

If you apply to UChicago and don't get accepted, they will most likely offer you a spot in the MAPSS program (a one-year Master of Arts Program in Social Sciences). From the results page, they seem to offer financial support in the form of 1/3, 1/2, and 2/3 tuition remission. It's no doubt a huge cash cow for the University, but they are supposedly pretty successful at getting their graduates into funded PhD programs, and it's only a year, so that might be an idea (if only to use as a backup if you don't get a better offer when you apply).

Several other posters have recommended Masters programs around the country so maybe they can provide you with other options.

[heathenist]

Just want to say that you're resume seems pretty great and you shouldn't have trouble getting into some great schools.

Also, is there any chance you listen to hardcore/punk?

[Darth.Vegan]

Just want to say that you're resume seems pretty great and you shouldn't have trouble getting into some great schools.

Also, is there any chance you listen to hardcore/punk?

Hey thanks for the kind words

Yup, I've had anarchist leanings politically for about 6-7 years, been vegan for 15 years and straightedge for almost 16 years (yup I was really young)

I grew up in the hardcore / punk scene in Orange County, CA before moving to Portland, OR at age 23.

I have been pretty involved in social and environmental justice movements for a long time, so as you can imagine, sociology was pretty easy fit.