2013 Applicants...

[tt503]

I know this may be jumping the gun...but there's a few of us lurking on here (and I assume more will be joining us) for admission in 2013, so maybe we should have our own thread? Who the heck are you and what do you want to do with a PhD in sociology? :-)

Or maybe...how are you working on your applications?

I want to do a PhD in sociology because it seems to be the tacit underpinnings of everything I find interesting (primarily, religion). I've done a lot of inter-disciplinary work (and I mean, a LOT...I'm on my second master's degree) which, by nature, doesn't really have a focused or rigid methodology. I'm really interested in theory, qualitative methods (historical comparative and...don't hate me, ANT), knowledge production, secularism and social movements. I'm working on my applications by studying for the GRE (I'm 1/3 of the way through Barron's 3500 word list...) and working up some papers to (hopefully) present at conferences later this year.

Your turn. :-)

Edited March 6, 2012 by tt503

[Darth.Vegan]

Hello! I have been lurking here for a year now. I am totally freaking out because it feels like my application cycle is rapidly approaching!!!!

[tt503]

It will be here before you know it. If I freak out, I just try to do something productive so it feels like I have more control over an almost unpredictable process. :-)

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

Advice for the GRE: Get into routine and get into routine early. If you're a night owl you need to snap that relatively soon. Your exam will be 8am or 1pm (I think). You'll want to start a routine of waking up at some certain time, having a good breakfast, and getting your mind warmed up by doing some reading and math questions in the morning. Also, start getting used to doing some practicing at all times of the day, with an emphasis also on the time frame that you'll be taking your exam. I made the mistake for a while of just doing a lot of night work because that's what I was used to. That back fired on the first time I took my gre. Anyways, get in routine and get used to eating breakfast if you don't already now - it will pay off.

Also, attend a conference if you can and meet a professor or two that you want to work with. Many that I met were really impressed that I was at conferences as an undergrad and that I was actively socializing with faculty.

[Darth.Vegan]

This forum has absolutely helped me, no doubt about it. Before stumbling upon this forum I thought I could get into grad school with just good grades and a high GRE score. HA! Who was I kidding!?

Anyway, I am currently waiting on 2 NSF summer internships that I think will help my applications immensely. The anticipation is killing me, it feels like a precursor to my grad school apps.

Edited March 6, 2012 by xdarthveganx

[tt503]

Also, attend a conference if you can and meet a professor or two that you want to work with. Many that I met were really impressed that I was at conferences as an undergrad and that I was actively socializing with faculty.

I think this is excellent advice. I'm hoping to present at AAR in Chicago, but I'll at least go. I will probably connect with some professors while I'm there, and I'm certainly going to be checking out a program in Chicago as well if the timing is right.

[sciencegirl]

No one gives this advice, but make sure to sign up for the GRE months ahead of time especially if you wait until Oct/Nov to take it.. spots fill up insanely fast starting from mid-September and by the end of October, there is nothing left for a time slot for the rest of the year in many places. You can also change the time for a fee I believe - so its best to just look ahead in your calendar for a time and then just pick it early.. if later on you want to change it, you can at least see if there are spots available to do that and you have at least something booked. A friend of mine waited too late to register for a spot in November and got really messed up since the only opening dates were in late December, messing up their applications quite a bit.

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

^ I'd suggest not waiting that long either. You want to give yourself enough time to take it twice in case you aren't happy with how the first one turned out. You can learn and adapt from the first one and go back and re take it. Maybe take your first one late summer and your second one mid-fall (august and november?)

[AaronM]

I've been lurking for a while as well. I'm getting ready to take the GRE in July. I want to go into sociology because a) it's fascinating and keeps me up at night thinking about stuff and because I feel I can actually make a difference in people's lives and help figure out how to improve society. As of now, what I want to focus on is stratification, education and mobility. I've been lucky enough to work on some papers with some professors in my department and the field is really interesting! I'm anxious but excited for the GRE and application season! Good luck to all 2013ers here and hopefully we'll have a lot of good discussion on this board as we get into GRE and pre-app season!

[Darth.Vegan]

We can officially update our profiles for Fall 2013 now! Woohoo!

[tt503]

...and hopefully we'll have a lot of good discussion on this board as we get into GRE and pre-app season!

It's already pre-app season...

[Darth.Vegan]

It's already pre-app season...

Yes it is. I've decided that studying for the GRE and taking 5 classes is a bad idea. I am dedicating part of my summer to it now.

[AaronM]

Yes it is. I've decided that studying for the GRE and taking 5 classes is a bad idea. I am dedicating part of my summer to it now.

I'm in the same boat. I must have thought there were more hours in the day when I signed up for it all

[Demographer]

I applied to 5 programs, and after hearing back (and accepted) to 3 of them, withdrew my application from the other two. I applied straight out of undergrad, and all 5 programs I applied to were top 15 (4 in top 10).

Of course you should strive for a good GPA and good GRE scores...but that's not enough. Here is the secret to getting into the best program: I am convinced that the most important thing to get you into the top programs is to have research experience. A PhD is essentially a research degree. You are paid and expected to produce research which will bring the department more grant money and more recognition. With that in mind, who are they most likely to accept? Someone who works hard is absolutely important (GRE and GPA) BUT someone who works hard AND can show the committee that they can research is by far the most important influence. Pursue as many experiences as you can...ask your professors if you can help them with their research, or even better, if they will mentor you in your research. Write to professors oversees and tell them that you will volunteer to help them research. This will show a huge effort on your part, and also give you international research experience. Not only will research experience catapult you into a great school, but will also give you a sense of what grad school is like.

[AaronM]

I applied to 5 programs, and after hearing back (and accepted) to 3 of them, withdrew my application from the other two. I applied straight out of undergrad, and all 5 programs I applied to were top 15 (4 in top 10).

Of course you should strive for a good GPA and good GRE scores...but that's not enough. Here is the secret to getting into the best program: I am convinced that the most important thing to get you into the top programs is to have research experience. A PhD is essentially a research degree. You are paid and expected to produce research which will bring the department more grant money and more recognition. With that in mind, who are they most likely to accept? Someone who works hard is absolutely important (GRE and GPA) BUT someone who works hard AND can show the committee that they can research is by far the most important influence. Pursue as many experiences as you can...ask your professors if you can help them with their research, or even better, if they will mentor you in your research. Write to professors oversees and tell them that you will volunteer to help them research. This will show a huge effort on your part, and also give you international research experience. Not only will research experience catapult you into a great school, but will also give you a sense of what grad school is like.

that's what I'm banking on. I've been a research assistant with two large national surveys conducted from our department for a year and a half for one professor and have been working with another professor on quantitative research that we are submitting for publication in a month or so. I had a pretty rough GPA my freshman year and am in the process of recovering (I'm at 3.5 right now and hopefully will graduate with a 3.6, 3.9 major GPA) and even though I'm prepping for the GRE pretty intensely I'm not banking on doing amazing. Research experience will be my main strength because I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time a couple of times. To my fellow 2013 applicants, I would highly recommend doing everything possible to get research experience. In my experience it has helped me to find my niche in the field, get familiar with potential POI's that share my research interests, ignite a passion for sociology, and just get good experience

[Darth.Vegan]

I will echo the research experience as well. I will have 2 years of research experience. I have worked as a qualitative research assistant and developed 3 independent research papers as well. I hope that's enough for T20.

[tt503]

I will echo the research experience as well. I will have 2 years of research experience. I have worked as a qualitative research assistant and developed 3 independent research papers as well. I hope that's enough for T20.

That's pretty good! I think I have decent research experience as well, mostly qualitative methods--though I'm taking statistics in the fall (I used to be a stats tutor, but statistics for general education...this is statistics for the social sciences, so we'll see how it differs). I'm presenting at two conferences this fall, presented at an international conference a couple years ago, and have what was my previous Master's thesis published as a chapter in a book by an academic publisher, and have had my research included as part of a poster presentation...I also have two Master's degrees and the most college teaching experience I've seen any candidate have before they enter a PhD. I feel like a well-rounded candidate and an excellent fit for my top 3 programs...but this whole process is so frustratingly capricious, who knows anymore.

Edited March 21, 2012 by tt503

[Darth.Vegan]

Is it bad that I am already getting nervous about this whole process? Haha, oh well, getting ready to leave for a soc conference in San Diego.

[Karlito]

Stop posting on gradcafe and relax!

[tt503]

Is it bad that I am already getting nervous about this whole process? Haha, oh well, getting ready to leave for a soc conference in San Diego.

Find something to do outside your research. I've taken up running instead of being neurotic all the time and it's a great de-stresser.

[wmnshlthsoc]

hey... I was a Fall2012 applicant but was rejected from all programs so now I'm a 2013 applicant. Women's Health focus (so gender/sexuality and medical soc track)....

no idea what i want to be when I grow up... I love research but I doubt that'll be my entire career. we'll see. let the year begin (again)

[tt503]

hey... I was a Fall2012 applicant but was rejected from all programs so now I'm a 2013 applicant. Women's Health focus (so gender/sexuality and medical soc track)....

no idea what i want to be when I grow up... I love research but I doubt that'll be my entire career. we'll see. let the year begin (again)

Have you contacted the programs to see what might help improve your application? Also, if you're interested in medical sociology, you might want to cast your net wider and consider history of science programs, where you can still study sociology/gender/sexuality, but it might help with "fit" too (depending on your interests).

[Darth.Vegan]

no idea what i want to be when I grow up... I love research but I doubt that'll be my entire career. we'll see. let the year begin (again)

You didn't say this on your apps did you? did you make sure to specifically tailor each application?

Edited March 25, 2012 by xdarthveganx

[Hege-Money]

Fall 2013 applicant as well.

So "Why a PhD in Sociology?" Fundamentally, my only reason for wanting to 'waste' 6 to 7 years laboring for a piece of paper is that I regrettably acknowledge the significance of credentialing and the role that institutional legitimation plays in affording intellectual capital. There really is no form of real knowledge that is exclusive to graduate school, beyond whatever institutionalized ideology we will all inevitably accrue from having been subject to the various macro and micro power dynamics implicit within the graduate school experience. We don't need a Ph.D. in any principled sense but alas, we have been taught to accept and desire the kool-aid. So let's drink up!

[sociologyplease]

hey... I was a Fall2012 applicant but was rejected from all programs so now I'm a 2013 applicant. Women's Health focus (so gender/sexuality and medical soc track)....

Hey wmnshlthsoc, I'm bummed you didn't get in anywhere. I was rooting for you because our interests intersect a bit. Small word of advice to anyone who has a really set focus that is in gender/sexuality- apply widely. A lot of programs simply can't/won't support people with this focus. I have an incredibly niche focus inside of gender/sexuality which I have build an entire thesis around (previous m.s. in unrelated field) and that I will keep working on in doctoral studies. I am very sure that this kept me out of lots of programs where I had competitive stats/experience but my topic just didn't fit exactly. I would apply as widely as possible to any program that you think might be able to support your interests- so for you, gender/sexuality and medical soc programs.