Stanford and Harvard

[socscholar]

Good points! I think it will be a decent living for the first two years, but the Stanford Soc website says 70 percent of grads live off campus--I imagine these are older grads and older cohorts. Off-campus rents seem obscene...

I don't want to sleep in a twin bed for 5 more years, but I guess that's the incentive to apply for extramural funding?

[sciencegirl]

@socscholar... OK, so this is how detailed I am.. but the studios have full size extra long beds so no twin size beds... lol (ok, so we think alike I guess).

Some grads actually move to SF... if you would believe it. I think we are just coming from different frames of reference... you can find "cheap" housing if you work at it... "cheap" being under $1000. I even had friends who said that getting a bedroom in a shared house or apartment off campus would run no more than $800. Of course this isn't the midwest or south though, so if you are comparing say Duke to Stanford, I think there are cheaper options in the Raleigh area if you live off campus and better quality of life for bang for the buck.

[Darjeeling]

Tomatoonwheat, I am also waiting on Stanford. Hopefully we'll hear good news soon!

[Darth.Vegan]

So jealous of you all that got in! If I am super lucky I may see some of you in 2013.

[Nazimova23]

It's amusing to read these posts in the immediate wake of the Stanford Open House. I can associate faces with screennames now since some of you broached the questions you've broached here live in your very distinct voices.

Are any of you other prospective students feeling clear on what to do now, but more than a little depressed about it? I initially thought the funding package irresistable too but, given that I now know what some faculty and students who I consider "like me" think about Palo Alto and the department's methodological slant, I'm almost certain that Stanford is a poor fit for my career ambitions and lifestyle preferences. But I'm sad about that because the students were so infectiously fraternal, and it's obvious that the faculty care for them deeply.

[sciencegirl]

@nazimova23 - that's really funny.. since well, I could only figure out a few people, and not everyone... though I think it might be unfair a bit since well, some of us have posted far more than others - like I have no clue who you are

I'm not as torn as before honestly.. well... hmm.. I think the effort from Stanford to be more qualitative was sincere and genuine. I think their response to Monica's leaving was honest - and was not out of any malice or disrespect towards her work, ethnography or qualitative methods (and I believe a few people confirmed with me that the decision not to give her tenure was not made by the department - who supported her - but by the school at large/faculty in other departments).

I'm still leaning towards Stanford despite other options being better in qualitative methods... I think the idea of mixed methods as the wave of the future really resonated with me more than before my visit. That you can go into a more qualitative program and have a sort of echo chamber of what you are doing is great -- but once you leave and present at ASA or move on into a post doc or assistant professor job and into the real world of sociology, you might not have that echo chamber any more. I dunno.. they seemed really honest about selling their program as what it was - top in the field in regards to quantitative training, but also supportive and open to qualitative work.

As to the other stuff, I loved some of the current grad students there, and also some of the others I met who might go.. though as someone joked, it was sort of like trying to hit a moving target since we don't know who is going to accept and who isn't. Also, I found the faculty incredibly warm and congenial... it went from my first day of feeling so intimidated by them, to the last day of when they did the presentations, where scholars like David Grusky and Doug McAdam were just so chill, open and honest to taking feedback about their projects from us... incoming students. Felt so warm and a great place to be. So you are right, infectiously fraternal - the whole place felt very very supportive. the faculty dinner event and other events felt much like a family/extended family get together, than a feuding fiefdom of warlords, which some sociology departments can become.

So yes, a bit sad in some ways - but in another way, really illuminating. @Nazimova23 - it seems that you aren't going to go? Perhaps why you are a bit sad? I have a few more visits to finish up before the end of the month, but I can see myself very happy at Stanford and I'm leaning heavily towards going still.

Also, I think it seems like this year was a special bumper year crop.. and I'm taking that as a sign.. I do like the idea of being in a larger cohort as it allows for more people with similar interests as you. I was talking to someone who just finished the program - that year only had 8 people, and only 2 were strictly qualitative - I can imagine in the 14 they are aiming for this year, they would get at least 5-6, which is equal or more than you would get at other more qualitative programs - or in any other year at Stanford. If you would ever take a leap of faith, it would probably be best in such a year...

Edited March 20, 2012 by sciencegirl

[Nazimova23]

Hi sciencegirl - Yes, I'm making a deliberate effort to be ambiguous about my identity for now.

I'm completely with you on mixed methods, the congeniality and sincerity of the students and faculty, et al. One of the students told me a story about a fellow graduate student who needed to go on long-term medical leave, which would normally result in the suspension of her health insurance; she said that the department paid for her health insurance the whole time (I believe it).

I doubt the department that I'm leaning toward joining is so hospitable, but professionally and [due in large part to the location] socially, the path there is so clear to me. I think some Stanford Soc. faculty might appreciate my research and ambitions but I don't know that anyone there could guide them well. My interests are just too interdisciplinary and influenced by the eros and grit of cities. I was also extremely uncomfortable with the size of the Stanford campus and the fact that people without cars are at an undeniable disadvantage, and the experience of subletting in strangers' San Francisco apartments just doesn't interest me after doing the same in NYC.

[sciencegirl]

@Nazimova23 I hear you on the location and the specifics of the campus. I think those things you can't change - and it can be a deal breaker... Cold weather is an odd one for me.. I can deal with it, but I really really hate cold weather and snow (it makes me lethargic, seasonally sad, and I wind up eating a lot of food to compensate in the winter time). I've really debated if I should let this random factor affect my decision, and after some thought, these things should matter.

So maybe like in real estate, location matters a lot more than we think in our decisions? I also think we are all so unique and different.. the exact things you listed as negatives are actually quite a draw to me.. the campus: I liked how you could bike around without worrying about a car hitting you or hitting pedestrians (compared to biking in an urban city). I also think I'll be able to afford a car if I need it (or I'll save up a year for one later). And after experiencing the eros and grit of a city for a lot of my life, I'd be looking forward to a break from it for awhile as I work on my graduate studies...

But again, I will say this about all of the people I met at the Stanford open house who were struggling with decisions at the visit event.. I don't think any one there could make a "bad" decision. Everyone had great options and I believe will be successful wherever everyone winds up going.

It sounds like you have made up your mind, and I don't think its a bad idea for you to follow your gut and go to the other program.. the things you listed as problems with Stanford are going to still be there in the Fall and would contribute to a very difficult/negative experience for you if they are already bothering you now...