another ph.d. profile... please evaluate!

[neutiquamerro]

thanks for all of the help.

[slothy]

Assuming that a 3.48 translates to a respectable class rank at your institution, it shouldn't be too big of an obstacle if you're taking grad level courses. Hope you had A's in your soc courses! Top soc programs don't tend to be too GPA-obsessed from what I understand. You have very strong GRE's for sociology which should also help your case if you can make a compelling argument in your SOP for sociology with so little direct background in the disicipline. You should also be forewarned (as I'm sure you know) that the majority of soc research seems to be quantitative - some might wonder why someone who's been doing ethnography wouldn't be more interested in anthropology. I'd be suprised if you don't get into at least one so long as you made a compelling argument for research fit at each one - although all but maybe NYU are rather competititve.

[rising_star]

You might want to apply to some schools that aren't in the top 10. Do you have any research experience (senior thesis, research assistant, etc)? Is your writing sample strong? Did you have connections with the faculty at each school you applied to?

As for GPA, a lot depends on which Ivy you went to. Some are known for grade inflation while others (ie, Princeton) have enacted grade deflation policies.

[misterpat]

You should also be forewarned (as I'm sure you know) that the majority of soc research seems to be quantitative - some might wonder why someone who's been doing ethnography wouldn't be more interested in anthropology. ...all but maybe NYU are rather competititve.

There are plenty of sociologists doing Ethnography and Qualitative research. While it is true that the big Sociology journals like ASR are overwhelmingly dominated by Quantitative articles, ethnography is by no means a rarity in Sociology.

And NYU is still pretty competitive. Maybe less so than the other programs you applied to, but still not a definite admit in any case. I agree that you should apply to at least one backup school, if only to transfer after you complete an MA.

[neutiquamerro]

again, thanks!