Starting to accept the inevitable

[Chuck]

In other good news, I am in dialogue with a few professors right now whose research greatly interested me and who I emailed...

I don't think all hope is lost right now.

That's awesome, Super! Continue to be diligent, you will come up with something great.

[Supernovasky]

That's awesome, Super! Continue to be diligent, you will come up with something great.

I've escaped a place with a background of less than 6% of the population earning college degrees, fought through a bad education system, got myself out of my hometown, went to a gifted school and busted by butt for 2 years, then did the same in college, published research, applied myself, established organizations. Through all the sweat, tears, working hard to help myself and my mother, and going through the stress of this application cycle, I am not going down easily. If I don't get accepted, it won't be for lack of me trying, and I feel like if I could just get face to face time with ANY of these faculty members from ANY of these universities, they'd get a good feel for who I am as a perosn. I've never, ever failed an interview... and to see that there are professors researching the very hardships I went through growing up in my community makes me happy, thankful, and hopeful that I can also join in.

I guess I have reversed course on the all hope is lost sentiment in the original post here. I'm dreaming of the cathartic feeling of an acceptance in my inbox, haha.

[ohhello]

One of my letter writers told me that adcoms "don't give a s***" about your personal background/history unless it somehow relates to what you want to study. It's good to keep this in mind.

[kbirch]

One of my letter writers told me that adcoms "don't give a s***" about your personal background/history unless it somehow relates to what you want to study. It's good to keep this in mind.

Wouldn't this be a natural consequence, though? As researchers, we're shaped by our experiences... That means that our research - methods, interests, writing - will be shaped by who we are, where we come from, our own contexts.

I guess I agree that adcoms are probably uninterested in our pasts unless we can connect them to our futures, but I find it kind of silly to expect that anyone would be unable to make these connections.

[RefurbedScientist]

One of my letter writers told me that adcoms "don't give a s***" about your personal background/history unless it somehow relates to what you want to study. It's good to keep this in mind.

While I think there is some truth to this statement, I would hesitate to overgeneralize. I'm sure individual faculty vary widely in their consideration of personal background factors. For instance, UCSB requires a statement about what your personal experiences can contribute to the department and the field of sociology at large. I thought it was interesting that, rather than giving the option for a diversity statement, this program expected applicants to reflect on their background and experiences, as these are ultimately inextricable from our work as sociologists.

So, Supernovasky, I wouldn't be discouraged by the conventional wisdom that adcoms only care about career potential and not personal background. In fact, speaking only from my perspective, having done my UG at Brandeis and being very close with a few faculty there, I can say that Brandeis' department is of such a culture that your personal story might be very compelling, as long as you had the other qualifications to back it up. Which is not to say admission will be any less competitive. Rather, not all adcoms calculate according to the same metrics. I think Brandeis is such a place where you might be well received.

Any just by way of backing up my call to not overgeneralize the admissions process, check out this post as scatterplot.

Jeremy Freese (Northwestern) writes, "The single thing that has surprised me most about serving on evaluation/selection committees is the heterogeneity of criteria that individuals on committees have. There is a direct asymmetrical implication for how you should parse advice: when people talk about what matters to them and what they personally take into account, listen closely; when they talk about what doesn’t matter, regard any implication cautiously until it plainly aggregates." (emphasis original)

I thought that was some good insight. There is no accounting for taste, as it were, in the admissions process.

Edited February 4, 2012 by SocialGroovements

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

On the subject of personal background, one of my advisers who sits on my universities adcomm said it is important to have a well put together CV and background statement for a few reasons with one major reason being they don't want "spoiled brats" coming into the department. The adviser went on to say that by seeing that someone has actually held a position in the past that had some kind of responsibility goes to show that they are more likely to be able to handle the responsibility of being a grad student as well (as a researcher, ta, whatever). The adviser went on to continue talking about how someone with an affluent background is fine but they will want to make clear (especially to professional sociologists) in the statement that they are cognizant of their backgrounds and privileges, that they are not the typical person and don't just see life through the "spoiled brat" view. Someone who is from an affluent background, isn't cognizant of their SES, gendered, or racial privileges (or disadvantages) would lead to a hard wake up call once they come to grad school for both them and the students (and faculty) as they are going to have to work with them for the next 6-7 years.

Like everything though, this just goes to show that people vary completely at how they look at applicants.

[ohhello]

I think it would be good practice to rely on your research statement over your "diversity"/personal statement to pull you through the admissions process. Remember, you're applying to a sociology department for graduate studies. You can't rely on the "I was incredibly disadvantaged and yet I somehow pulled myself out of destitution through pure will and determination" narrative; you wouldn't have the capital necessary to apply for a PhD if you were truly disadvantaged. And if you do mention your personal history, you have to be more reflexive, and you must somehow relate your history to what you want to study - especially given that some departments don't even request or care for a diversity/personal statement.

[sciencegirl]

I would second the idea of placing research in front of diversity/personal for the SOP, but it seemed that 30% of the schools asked for an additional diversity/background statement. In my main SOP, my "background" was the last paragraph.. I led with my proposed and past research.

[maximus82]

If you background influences your research directly (for example, your family converted to a new religion and thus you are interested in religious converts, which is sort of what happened to me), then I think it is okay. I agree with the idea that research is more important than background in this case.

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

I also agree with the idea that personal background is more or less irrelevant in this process. My understanding is that in some states (like California, where all the schools I applied to required diversity statements) are barred from considering race or ethnicity in admissions decisions. The diversity statement/personal history statement is not a requirement because adcoms have a genuine interest in our sob stories, but rather as a way to sidestep the "race prohibition" to ensure diversity in admissions.

You'd be surprised. I'm at a university in California that some people on this board have applied to and I posted how the professors on the adcomm viewed that statement. It isn't always just a non-sense loop to jump through. Now this isn't saying it's the most important part of an application, because it's not, but it should be taken seriously too.

[Supernovasky]

Looks like Seattle already sent out their acceptances. Hoping for at least a waitlist.

My last real hope is UC-Boulder, and possibly Brandeis.

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

Looks like Seattle already sent out their acceptances. Hoping for at least a waitlist.

Me too

[Sociograd]

Me too

Someone posted somewhere else that Seattle sent out their early admits and still have more people to accept. This person found out after contacting the department. I didn't apply here, but the door is still open.

[lovenhaight]

One of my letter writers told me that adcoms "don't give a s***" about your personal background/history unless it somehow relates to what you want to study. It's good to keep this in mind.

I've often heard that you in fact should begin with a bit of personal background/history if it gives you a "hook", assuming that you use that to segue into why/what/how you want to study.

[lovenhaight]

Someone posted somewhere else that Seattle sent out their early admits and still have more people to accept. This person found out after contacting the department. I didn't apply here, but the door is still open.

I'm not the person who posted elsewhere, but I spoke to them Friday afternoon and was told the same thing. When rejections start rolling in, we might then have a better idea as to where we stand - assuming that we're not one of those rejections.

[Supernovasky]

Good to know. Next week is going to be huge... culminating for me with the UC Boulder campus invites on the 13th-15th

[msafiri]

What about Texas State-San Marcos? http://www.soci.txst...s/graduate.html to work with this guy

They offer assistantships and the deadline to apply is March 1. As an added bonus, it's not far from Austin... Just something to consider in case you're still worried, Supernovasky.

Edited February 7, 2012 by msafiri

[Supernovasky]

What about Texas State-San Marcos? http://www.soci.txst...s/graduate.html to work with this guy

They offer assistantships and the deadline to apply is March 1. As an added bonus, it's not far from Austin... Just something to consider in case you're still worried, Supernovasky.

Not so bad. I may throw in an aplication there, especially considering they offer assistantships.

[Supernovasky]

Hoping we hear something from Seattle today.