What are my chances?

[fallingup77]

I'm new to the gradcafe and have really enjoyed and benefited from many of the posts.

I was hoping that I might receive some feedback concerning my chances/options for PhD studies in Sociology.

My stats:

B.A. in Religion (3.86 gpa) from a small, relatively unknown private univ

Master of Divinity (3.5 gpa) from a well known, larger private univ.

GRE: 620 Verbal/ 600 Quant/ 4 AW

I have no research experience directly related to Sociology, but I hope to study Sociology of Religion, which would fit nicely with my Master's degree and experience working in churches and non-profits.

These are the schools I am considering applying to:

CUNY, NYU, Stony Brook, New School, Northeastern, Brandeis, Rutgers, Boston Univ, Loyola Chicago

On a separate issue, I am worried about my religious background and how it will appear on my application. My undergrad and graduate schools were both Baptist, and I fear that this will automatically label me as a conservative, fundamentalist, which is definitely not the case. Should I worry about this? Should I discuss this issue in my SOP?

Thanks so much for any thoughts.

[jacib]

I'm new to the gradcafe and have really enjoyed and benefited from many of the posts.

I was hoping that I might receive some feedback concerning my chances/options for PhD studies in Sociology.

My stats:

B.A. in Religion (3.86 gpa) from a small, relatively unknown private univ

Master of Divinity (3.5 gpa) from a well known, larger private univ.

GRE: 620 Verbal/ 600 Quant/ 4 AW

I have no research experience directly related to Sociology, but I hope to study Sociology of Religion, which would fit nicely with my Master's degree and experience working in churches and non-profits.

These are the schools I am considering applying to:

CUNY, NYU, Stony Brook, New School, Northeastern, Brandeis, Rutgers, Boston Univ, Loyola Chicago

On a separate issue, I am worried about my religious background and how it will appear on my application. My undergrad and graduate schools were both Baptist, and I fear that this will automatically label me as a conservative, fundamentalist, which is definitely not the case. Should I worry about this? Should I discuss this issue in my SOP?

Thanks so much for any thoughts.

My background is also in Religious Studies (from a secular university) and I'm now in a sociology PhD program. I can't say how they'll read the grades and qualifications from Baptist colleges and universities, but I know that being religious will not by itself mark you as "unserious". If you frame your interests as substantive, sociological interests, I'm positive you will come off as a "serious" student. After all, Andrew Greeley, one of the better known Sociologists today, is not only religious but is actually a Roman Catholic priest. It seems a more natural fit with sociology than say the occasional physicist or engineer who goes into sociology. If you're worried about it, you might make it clear in your statement of purpose that whatever you research, you're willing to find "negative" results about religions. Or that your background might be useful in getting you access to places that other sociologists might not be able to access. I'd definitely make sure to relate your interest in sociology directly to your experience in churches, etc. in your opening paragraph (there's often a format to SOPs--the first paragraph for many is the biography/hook/how I got interested paragraph). I don't think your scores will keep you out of any of the schools you applied to, but they won't help you stand out, I don't think. No set of scores get you in. You really have to demonstrate your interesting ideas in your statement of purpose, and writing/research/analytic skills in your writing sample.

You might want to choose a wider range of schools, unless for family/romantic reasons you need to stay in the Northeast/Chicago. You have a few schools in the top 30, but not many. Look at UT-Austin, for example, where I know some people work on religion, but just also look at some of the bigger state school programs. For sociology of religion, you might want to consider applying to Princeton. It's where a lot of the top sociologists of religion are trained. It's not that much harder to get into than NYU, I don't think. Yes, it'll be a long shot, and you might want to consider retaking the GRE if you want to pursue it more seriously. A higher GRE score might help make your application stand out from other candidates at any schools, but could particularly improve your chances at the couple of higher ranked, larger programs you're applying to, but it's not technically necessary for most (any) of them. For more on GRE stuff see I'm just saying this because there is still so much time until application season that it couldn't hurt to study for a few months and retake it, unless you're absolutely positive you will not improve significantly/have absolutely no time.

[going crazy]

I'm new to the gradcafe and have really enjoyed and benefited from many of the posts.

I was hoping that I might receive some feedback concerning my chances/options for PhD studies in Sociology.

My stats:

B.A. in Religion (3.86 gpa) from a small, relatively unknown private univ

Master of Divinity (3.5 gpa) from a well known, larger private univ.

GRE: 620 Verbal/ 600 Quant/ 4 AW

I have no research experience directly related to Sociology, but I hope to study Sociology of Religion, which would fit nicely with my Master's degree and experience working in churches and non-profits.

These are the schools I am considering applying to:

CUNY, NYU, Stony Brook, New School, Northeastern, Brandeis, Rutgers, Boston Univ, Loyola Chicago

On a separate issue, I am worried about my religious background and how it will appear on my application. My undergrad and graduate schools were both Baptist, and I fear that this will automatically label me as a conservative, fundamentalist, which is definitely not the case. Should I worry about this? Should I discuss this issue in my SOP?

Thanks so much for any thoughts.

I have a divinity degree as well (from a seminary that is extremely conservative-evangelical). I don't think that where you got your degrees will be the thing that kills you. Here are some things about what you communicated above that raise some red flags in my mind, and I'm certain they would raise red flags for adcoms. Just things to think about.

First, I'm getting the feeling that your choice of grad schools had more to do with location than with whether those programs have folks doing serious work in the sociology of religion. In my opinion, you need to kiss that kind of thinking goodbye. If you want to be a professional sociologist of religion, you need to be committed to going to the places that have folks working in that area (UT Austin, Baylor, Rice, Purdue, Notre Dame, Princeton, Duke, Minnesota, Yale, UC San Diego, Boston U., etc.).

Second, because sociology of religion is a popular area of interest, it's competitive as hell to get into the good places. That said, you NEED to take the GRE again. You particularly need to get that quant score up. You've got time. Study up, take the class, do whatever you need to do.

Third, I WOULDN'T discuss anything regarding your religious background, church experience, or ministry training in your SOP. It should be a non-issue. Focus on your substantive research interests, where you see the gaps in the literature, how your dissertation would fill those gaps, and why you know that particular program can offer you the training and resources to develop you professionally. Think about it this way. You're trying to convince the adcom that you want to be a professional sociologist and not (1) some person who couldn't decide what they wanted to do with their life so they decided they'd get a PhD in sociology of religion, or (2) some minister who wanted a secular PhD to seem more relevant. See what I'm saying?

Just my thoughts. Hope that helps.

[faculty]

I agree with Going Crazy on all fronts and would add that getting your analytical writing score up would be another benefit of an additional shot at the GRE.

Also related to the sociology of religion, I think that it's important that you decide what it is about sociology of religion that interests you. The schools that specialize in the area are competitive, but you can set yourself apart by demonstrating that you want to be a sociologist who studies religion and not a religious person who wants to study sociology. Is it culture and religion (Princeton), religious organizations (Duke), or something else that you would like to study? Specifying what it is that you're interested in, rather than just falling into it because you think it is what you know based on previous experience, is particularly important for someone with your background.

Good luck!

[fallingup77]

Thanks everyone for the advice. My wife had been telling me to retake the GRE and I really didn't want to mess with it, but it seems like the logical thing to do. As far as program location, I was trying to stay in the northeast if possible because my wife is wanting to do art conservation and the only 3 programs in the U.S. are in the Northeast. I have been researching the programs more in depth and will probably add a couple with more known Sociology of Religion programs closer to home (UTexas and Rice).

Thanks again!