ohhello Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Augh - someone just posted that they were waitlisted at Berkeley! I thought they had to do acceptances before waitlists! The worst part is I'm fairly certain that the demography department operates on a different timeline than sociology. That would be me. My smile turned into a frown as I read the email - it sounded like an acceptance for the first few sentences... They had nearly 400 applications this year.
SocHope Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 That would be me. My smile turned into a frown as I read the email - it sounded like an acceptance for the first few sentences... They had nearly 400 applications this year. Good gourd, 400! Now I'm really hoping demog/soc applicants are not put in that pile. Sorry about the news...sometimes a waitlist is worse than just a "no"...
ohhello Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Good gourd, 400! Now I'm really hoping demog/soc applicants are not put in that pile. Sorry about the news...sometimes a waitlist is worse than just a "no"... The email made it sound like they've finished reviewing all of the applications. So perhaps they'll be sending out acceptance/rejection emails soon.
Chuck Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 They had nearly 400 applications this year. Oh, WOW! Sounds like a record.
sociology27 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 I haven't heard anything back. I'd certainly take a waitlist. At the most, you'll get in in a month or so. At worst, it means you're very competitive and should feel good about your chances at other schools. I have a bad feeling I'm rejected; just cause I think logically they might send out acceptances and waitlists at the same time... and maybe rejections later. I guess I'm a pessimist.
jenjenjen Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Accepted to Berkeley Sociology PhD this morning. Financial aid package to come in a couple weeks. Interestingly was rejected from UT Austin last week... just goes to show how variable this process can be. I'm happy to answer any questions people have..
panasic Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Accepted to Berkeley Sociology PhD this morning. Financial aid package to come in a couple weeks. Interestingly was rejected from UT Austin last week... just goes to show how variable this process can be. I'm happy to answer any questions people have.. Hey jenjenjen, congratulations! There's a Berkeley thread going on, I am sure people on it would love to hear the details: how did they contact you, your stats, research interests, etc.
panasic Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Hey jenjenjen, congratulations! There's a Berkeley thread going on, I am sure people on it would love to hear the details: how did they contact you, your stats, research interests, etc. you beat me to it!
acooper Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) first of all congratulations! dream school and dream city! did you received an email or a phone call? Edited January 31, 2012 by acooper
Waits Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 I feel like a little kid running down the stairs to open Christmas presents as I grab my phone to check my e-mail the second I wake up, every single morning. And not sleeping all night for fear I'll miss something - time difference is killing me, all the action is the middle of the night my time!
testube21 Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 I haven't heard anything back. I'd certainly take a waitlist. At the most, you'll get in in a month or so. At worst, it means you're very competitive and should feel good about your chances at other schools. I have a bad feeling I'm rejected; just cause I think logically they might send out acceptances and waitlists at the same time... and maybe rejections later. I guess I'm a pessimist. yeah. im kinda of getting the same vibe
lovenhaight Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 It seems that the thread has moved on from the MA/No MA topic, but I thought I'd add in my two cents in case it helps anyone. First, this comes from my experience as a graduate admissions/student services manager in a social sciences department (but not Sociology) at a top university (HINT: For those who mentioned Pam Stokes, I know her quite well.). It also comes from my experience applying to graduate programs straight out of my undergraduate institution. Not having an MA can make it more difficult to enter a PhD program, simply because you're competing against applicants who already have one and therefore have more experience, both in regards to research and substantive coursework. There seems to be a feeling amongst faculty that those students who have already earned a Master's will enter a PhD program without needing quite as much professional socialization as those entering with a Bachelor's. This is not to say that it can't or doesn't happen for those who are straight out of undergrad, it just means that your application has to outshine those with more experience. This is a big reason that terminal MA programs are getting a higher caliber of student as of late. If you only have a BA/BS/BGS, etc., it wouldn't be a bad idea to apply to the terminal MA programs as a fail-safe so that you can continue your studies and have a better shot at the PhD program you want. I don't mean to sound as if I'm discouraging those without an MA, I just wanted to provide others with the knowledge that I have gained both personally and professionally. I wish that someone had taken me aside and explained these things when I applied to programs initially. It would have saved me a lot of time and anguish. lovenhaight and Chuck 2
jenjenjen Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Hi guys. So I deleted my previous post after deciding it was a little too personally identifying haha. But here's a short version for any newcomers to the thread: Got into Berkeley Sociology PhD on Jan 31, heard via an email fro Heather Haveman. Financial packages will be sent out "in a couple weeks." Personal stats: was poli sci and communication studies major, with an interdisciplinary minor. Completed multiple undergraduate teaching and research assistanships. Total GRE: 1450. GPA: 3.95 on 4.0 scale. Very good LOR, probably less stellar personal statements... Research interests: social movements, rhetoric, racial and ethnic politics, social stratification, politics of abortion. Also applied to: washington-seattle, texas, duke, michigan-ann arbor, stanford, harvard, princeton, yale Rejected from Texas. GOOD LUCK ALL!
lovenhaight Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Hi guys. So I deleted my previous post after deciding it was a little too personally identifying haha. But here's a short version for any newcomers to the thread: Got into Berkeley Sociology PhD on Jan 31, heard via an email fro Heather Haveman. Financial packages will be sent out "in a couple weeks." Personal stats: was poli sci and communication studies major, with an interdisciplinary minor. Completed multiple undergraduate teaching and research assistanships. Total GRE: 1450. GPA: 3.95 on 4.0 scale. Very good LOR, probably less stellar personal statements... Research interests: social movements, rhetoric, racial and ethnic politics, social stratification, politics of abortion. Also applied to: washington-seattle, texas, duke, michigan-ann arbor, stanford, harvard, princeton, yale Rejected from Texas. GOOD LUCK ALL! Congratulations and good luck on your other schools! (Although Berkeley is AMAZING.)
Chuck Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 lovenhaight has some sound advice here. As someone with an MS who also works in higher education, I'd like to give a big +1 to everything you've said above. I think we're in the middle of a big shift in graduate education in the social sciences. It used to be that disciplines were much more compartmentalized, with clear-cut boundaries and cannons of knowledge. Undergraduates had a clear path to the PhD, down to the specific courses and skills expected upon application. Admissions were also much less competitive. The MS/MA was the red-headed stepchild of graduate school, a consolation prize for those who hadn't managed to assemble all of the various multiple requirements for a PhD admissions portfolio. MA students were considered to be failed PhD applicants, at the bottom of the heap. Maybe they would manage to improve their credentials in time to be admitted to a PhD program the second time around, but maybe not. Nobody really paid attention. As going "straight through" was the gold standard, there were always enough BA applicants who had gone through the right hoops. At the cynical end of the spectrum there were those who saw the MA as a permanent black mark. With this trend in the background, the social sciences have also been broadening the areas of their disciplinary purview. Some of the biggest contributions have started to come from those who had spent at least some of their academic life outside of the field. And admissions committees started to take notice. And so it's gradually stopped making sense to have applicants who are all prepared in the same rigid cannon. A diversity of educational background was seen to ensure a diversity of perspective, which in turn might ensure the relevance of the discipline going forward. The thinking was that a strong and dedicated applicant would be educated in the sociology cannon in an introductory theory class anyways. And so, a student with a BS in field ecology has not only mastered the analytical and observational skills of a typical sociology applicant, they also have a rigorous understanding of the scientific method and the patience acquired through field research. The paradox has become that many programs have started looking for good students more so than they are looking for fully-fledged sociologists. What really mattered was that the applicant was 1) of high aptitude, 2) could be reasonably assumed to be dedicated to academics and research. As we can see on these boards, there is no shortage of high aptitude applicants. Admissions committees could fill every spot in the top 25 PhD programs with students who have 3.8 GPA's and 1400 GRE's. There is, however, a perceived shortage of students who demonstrate a commitment and talent for research. So how can high aptitude applicants demonstrate that they fulfill criteria #2? Either they begin college with a single-minded focus on sociology, allowing them to pack in the coursework for the major and a stellar independent research project, or.... they go to an MA program. So MA/MS programs are becoming more relevant - both because of the increased competitiveness of the applicant pool, and the increased desire among many departments to build the intellectual diversity of PhD cohorts.* The ancillary benefits of the MA support it becoming a self-fulfilling cycle. MA grads are older (and therefore perceived to be more mature), have already gotten the experience of being graduate students (and therefore perceived to be able to hit the ground running in a PhD), may have fulfilled much of the required PhD coursework at the graduate level (and therefore are less expensive/time consuming for a PhD department to educate), have become socialized into the world of academia (and therefore won't take up professors time with mundane low-level needs).. the list goes on and on. Of course there will always be students who finish undergrad with the clear credentials, experience, and drive to be competitive PhD admits. But I do think that, at least in the social sciences, this will continue to be less common. *Do take this observation with a grain of salt- there are of course many departments, including some at the top, with an ongoing reputation for disciplinary isolationism. Chuck 1
sleepycat Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I take an interdisciplinary, that boarders transdisciplinary, approach to my research so it is comforting knowing that is starting to become a trend within Sociology. One of my mentors at my UG institution said schools somewhat prefer people to have the MA, rather then go straight from their BA, granted he is in Religious Studies. This is why I didn't apply to Boston U and a few other schools because everyone at the Ph.d had a MA from another institution.
SocHope Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Kind of a slow day for notices. And February is supposed to be the busiest month for that sort of thing. Argg...
hobokennojokin Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Kind of a slow day for notices. And February is supposed to be the busiest month for that sort of thing. Argg... Tell me about it. This whole week has been slow. It's killing me
ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I heard from Notre Dame today; I got an invite to 'Visit Day'
Darth.Vegan Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I heard from Notre Dame today; I got an invite to 'Visit Day' Oh boy, that means you'll have to get interviewed right? Do they cover expenses for those trips?
Supernovasky Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 I heard from Notre Dame today; I got an invite to 'Visit Day' Congrats. That's one more better peice of news than I have gotten. COME ON WASHINGTON! That's the one I am itching to hear from right now.
doberman Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 god!!!! i am accepted by maryland park!!!! official letter on finance will be sent later. oh my god oh my god . i am as happy as a dog.....sorry.......
MashaMashaMasha Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 god!!!! i am accepted by maryland park!!!! official letter on finance will be sent later. oh my god oh my god . i am as happy as a dog.....sorry....... Yay! Congrats!
ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Oh boy, that means you'll have to get interviewed right? Do they cover expenses for those trips? Ya, from what I gathered from the other thread and from PMing the person with the experience is there are multiple interviews that are conducted. I'm told they do cover funding but i'm not sure on details yet. I just replied this morning confirming that I would like to attend it. I'll post up what kind of funding they give for it. They make arrangements so you can stay with current grad students as well. I'm pretty anxious and nervous. While it's not necessarily a high-ranked program, the chair of my department spoke with me about some programs and told me that ND is an up-and-coming program right now. They have a lot of young scholars that people are looking for big things to come out of. He said individualistically it is full of fantastic people to work with, but in terms of rankings which has to do with how the department on the whole outputs and functions, it's still unknown as to what it will coalesce into but there are a lot of positive things said about it. His veneration for the program makes me feel pretty good about it. Plus, there are a lot of people with interests in theory and religion (something a lot of my research is focused on around too). tl;dr Ya there are some interviews. They do fund. I'm excited about the program. Out of the schools I applied to that aren't in top 30 it is probably one of the better ones for my research.
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