NYU, Vandy, or UW??

[grad2B]

I haven

[slothy]

I would consider ranking between NYU and UW to be effectively equal, but I would argue that Vandy is a notch lower on the soc job market totem pole. (Not a great metaphor, but I'm too tired to come up with a better one!) NYU is a very competitive department to get into, so if you're in, congrats! (UW is also having a very difficult time this year, they've cut their visiting weekend and much of their cohort will not have funding from what I understand.) UW would be a great choice for sex/gender, criminology, and demography, but beyond that it gets a little hard to put together a committee of like-minded faculty. On the plus side, they'll have a newly renovated building next year!

I was one of the posters trashing NYU for its approach to caring for its grad students, but if you visit the department and everything seems OK and you have a 5 year funding offer, I certainly would consider it seriously. Fit would be my most important criterion for choosing between your choices, since none of the departments you're looking at are indisputably top-15. Most of the problems I've heard coming out of NYU have to do with undergrads and unfunded MA students getting a lousy deal for their tuition money, but obviously that wouldn't be a concern if you're happy with your funding package.

If you're seriously thinking about NYU, you might be entertained to look up "Take Back NYU" on Google News when you get a chance - their demands were certainly eclectic, but you have to admit that they had some points with respect to the lack of transparency in private university administrations these days.

[sparkle456]

You brought up cost of living in Nashville, and I agree. That may be a deciding factor in and of itself.

Good luck, talk to family and friends, they know you best and will help you sort out this decision.

[grad2B]

Thanks for the feedback and info, Slothy. Where did you hear about UW's funding? Are people getting offers yet? If so, that may mean I'm not accepted, in which case it's a moot point.

Sparkle, Yeah, cost of living is a big consideration for me. My sig-o will be working from home, so both of us living and working in a small one-bedroom in NYC would be a challenge. Not impossible, but something to consider, especially since I could afford a three bedroom in Nashville!

[ejuliast]

Would you qualify for grad housing at any point at NYU? Their housing is really nice (and cheap) and the location is fantastic. Other than that, if space is a big issue for you, you can also look at places in Queens or Brooklyn - there are a few areas (particularly in Queens, as far as I know) where you might be able to get a 2-bedroom with a working SO pitching in. Just thought I'd throw that in there...not advocating for NYU per se, although I would agree with a previous poster that job market-wise you'd be in a better position coming out of UW or NYU than out of Vandy, imo.

[grad2B]

Hi ejuliast,

I'm not sure if I'd qualify for grad housing. I think often you have to be either single (i.e., living alone) or married, and I'm in between the two. Plus, since my SO may be doing a medical residency in the near future, I can't count on an extra working-level salary. We'll both be poor at that point! Oh, well. It's part of the grad school experience, right?

That's true, though. There are affordable places a bit farther out, and NYC has such a great public transportation system.

I think you and slothy are right - in academia NYU and UW might be more competitive in the job market. I'm considering non-academic research careers, though. Do you all think the public would make that distinction? I

[slothy]

If you think you're going to try to use your soc Ph.D. outside academia, then I'd say NYU would be the obvious choice based on geography - there just aren't that many interesting jobs for social scientists in the Northwest (probably not in TN either). Of course, you might want to pay extra attention to other factors if you're looking non-academic this far in advance, i.e. availability of advanced methods courses, attrition rates (people who decide not to go for academic careers have a way of ending up ABD), departmental culture with respect to academic careers, ect...

[hoobers]

NYU soc has that extra one-year fellowship for people going on to work outside the academe...