Any acceptances yet?

[Purplepolarbear]

Just as the title indicates. Has anyone got any acceptances from sociology programs yet? Which ones?

[Willows]

After perusing the results survey for both 2011 and 2012, most schools don't notify until late January and early February. Although, UT could notify any day now based on history.

[jacib]

Just as the title indicates. Has anyone got any acceptances from sociology programs yet? Which ones?

Hey, I just glanced at your posts and it seems like you joined in the last couple of days.  Welcome!  One of the things that helped make Grad Cafe popular (before even the forums picked up) was the "Results" section.  It's obviously opt in, but people can anonymously post results that they got (by results I mean: admission, waitlist, rejection).  At this point, there are several years of results, all dated!  You'll notice that schools tend send out responses at the same time every year, and that most of these responses come between early February and mid-March. 

 

I noticed you applied to UF, for example.  Go to the "Results Search" on the bar on top and type in "Florida" and "Sociology" to the search bar.  Or you can just click here.  Seems like last year one person heard back early February, one person head back early (possibly two separate rounds of acceptance?).  In 2010 and 2009 they seemed to have gotten back to people in late February, and etc.  UF is a less than ideal example because it seems not have been as popular here in the last few years, and search for you "UF" instead of Florida is a nightmare.  However, if you wanted to know about this with NYU, you need to do two separate searches: "NYU" and "sociology" as well as "New York Univerity" and "sociology".  Alternatively, you can get fancy and do (NYU|"New York University") and sociology.  * is a wildcard, if you think people typed in "soc" instead of "sociology" you can just do "soc*", but you'll get a lot of social work stuff that way. 

 

 

When I applied, I made a spreadsheet of when I could expect to hear back from each school because I am a crazy person like that.  I never checked it, I just made it. It often tells you how people were contacted (phone, email), I made a note of that as well.  Anyway, if it's a school like Columbia where there's a huge lag between when they accept their candidates and when they reject everyone else, you can check the Results Page periodically and see if someone posted an acceptance.  This can tell you whether you got in weeks before you finally get a crumby rejection letter (Columbia is one of the ones with the most notable lag because they have a stand alone MA program that they shunt some of their more promising rejectees towards) because with a place like that with no waitlist, if you don't hear within a day or two of the first two people posting on the results page, you know you didn't get in (I say first two people because occasionally people will find out earlier through backchannel ways, either being contacted by their future adviser or by a past mentor who is buddy-buddy with someone on the ad comm).

 

Good luck!

[ohgoodness]

The research triangle sure is getting close tho. 2011-2012 was around 20-30 January.

Fun to think that if I do not go anywhere then the paper that I currently writing will be my last ever. Feels like I should do something special with it. Cut someone down ala C.W Mills perhaps... "and as for unobserved heterogeneity.. p*** off!"

Edited January 12, 2013 by cherub

[Purplepolarbear]

Hey, I just glanced at your posts and it seems like you joined in the last couple of days.  Welcome!  One of the things that helped make Grad Cafe popular (before even the forums picked up) was the "Results" section.  It's obviously opt in, but people can anonymously post results that they got (by results I mean: admission, waitlist, rejection).  At this point, there are several years of results, all dated!  You'll notice that schools tend send out responses at the same time every year, and that most of these responses come between early February and mid-March. 

 

I noticed you applied to UF, for example.  Go to the "Results Search" on the bar on top and type in "Florida" and "Sociology" to the search bar.  Or you can just click here.  Seems like last year one person heard back early February, one person head back early (possibly two separate rounds of acceptance?).  In 2010 and 2009 they seemed to have gotten back to people in late February, and etc.  UF is a less than ideal example because it seems not have been as popular here in the last few years, and search for you "UF" instead of Florida is a nightmare.  However, if you wanted to know about this with NYU, you need to do two separate searches: "NYU" and "sociology" as well as "New York Univerity" and "sociology".  Alternatively, you can get fancy and do (NYU|"New York University") and sociology.  * is a wildcard, if you think people typed in "soc" instead of "sociology" you can just do "soc*", but you'll get a lot of social work stuff that way. 

 

 

When I applied, I made a spreadsheet of when I could expect to hear back from each school because I am a crazy person like that.  I never checked it, I just made it. It often tells you how people were contacted (phone, email), I made a note of that as well.  Anyway, if it's a school like Columbia where there's a huge lag between when they accept their candidates and when they reject everyone else, you can check the Results Page periodically and see if someone posted an acceptance.  This can tell you whether you got in weeks before you finally get a crumby rejection letter (Columbia is one of the ones with the most notable lag because they have a stand alone MA program that they shunt some of their more promising rejectees towards) because with a place like that with no waitlist, if you don't hear within a day or two of the first two people posting on the results page, you know you didn't get in (I say first two people because occasionally people will find out earlier through backchannel ways, either being contacted by their future adviser or by a past mentor who is buddy-buddy with someone on the ad comm).

 

Good luck!

 

Ah cool! Yeah I wasn't quite sure what was meant by results from last year. I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the info!

[Purplepolarbear]

The research triangle sure is getting close tho. 2011-2012 was around 20-30 January.

Fun to think that if I do not go anywhere then the paper that I currently writing will be my last ever. Feels like I should do something special with it. Cut someone down ala C.W Mills perhaps... "and as for unobserved heterogeneity.. p*** off!"

 

LOL. Go out with a punch?

[jacib]

Fun to think that if I do not go anywhere then the paper that I currently writing will be my last ever. Feels like I should do something special with it. Cut someone down ala C.W Mills perhaps... "and as for unobserved heterogeneity.. p*** off!"

Having seen what you've posted on this board, I have a feeling that this will not be your last academic paper... but that's still no reason not to go out with a bang.  I remember my senior thesis was, let's say, wonderfully precocious.  You need to own it, announce to the world the Cherub has arrived.  Jacib arrived with a senior thesis full of "obviously" and "of course" (as in, "Of course, most of what is written on this subject is wrong").  I had bits of French and German in-line (which is totally how one writes in religious studies; I had the courtesy to provide translations in footnoes, but that's definitely not a univerisal in my undergraduate field.  I mean, educated people all know basic French and German, right?).  I also had a lot of what I call now "citation vomit".  Like not only citation vomit showing "I know this body work, I just don't really care about it.  It's worth mentioning, but not discussing," but also just the unnecessary flourishes that try to show total mastery.  Things like footnotes saying, "For similar critques of a, b, c, d, see w, x, y, and z, respectively".  I guess roughly the academic equivalent of peeing on a firehydrant to say I OWN THIS TOPIC, I HAVE MADE IT MINE, Y'ALL CAN TRUST ME ON THIS ONE, I GOT IT, which is (of course) how most academics write.

 

On a related note, I always love a blog post Daniel Drezner (International Relations professor at Tufts) wrote called "The Best Paragraph I Have Ever Read in a Dissertation Prospectus" where he mentions that writing requires a "delicate alchemy of fear and arrogance".  You're joining the "academic club" now, you should starting writing like it, with that slight arragonce academics have, but also tons of citations covering your ass fighting off the horror.  Maybe you're not fully ready to walk the walk (I probably wasn't straight out of undergrad), but that is not a reason you shouldn't talk the talk in your last undergraduate paper.

[OrangeSoc]

Jacib - you've got to be one of the coolest people in the world. I absolutely love your generous spirit. That's all.

[ohgoodness]

Having seen what you've posted on this board, I have a feeling that this will not be your last academic paper... but that's still no reason not to go out with a bang.  I remember my senior thesis was, let's say, wonderfully precocious.  You need to own it, announce to the world the Cherub has arrived.  Jacib arrived with a senior thesis full of "obviously" and "of course" (as in, "Of course, most of what is written on this subject is wrong").  I had bits of French and German in-line (which is totally how one writes in religious studies; I had the courtesy to provide translations in footnoes, but that's definitely not a univerisal in my undergraduate field.  I mean, educated people all know basic French and German, right?).  I also had a lot of what I call now "citation vomit".  Like not only citation vomit showing "I know this body work, I just don't really care about it.  It's worth mentioning, but not discussing," but also just the unnecessary flourishes that try to show total mastery.  Things like footnotes saying, "For similar critques of a, b, c, d, see w, x, y, and z, respectively".  I guess roughly the academic equivalent of peeing on a firehydrant to say I OWN THIS TOPIC, I HAVE MADE IT MINE, Y'ALL CAN TRUST ME ON THIS ONE, I GOT IT, which is (of course) how most academics write.

 

Thanks Extremely kind of you! Have some karma!

 

 This is actually my final home-exam for my MA; just can't wait!  Thesis written and done!  Can't even lower or raise my GPA. Itchy fingers to go where no man has gone before. "Juxtaposing the want for children and the need for children - a critique of normalization through policy".  Then again I want to transfer my MA courseload to som extent so should perhaps take things seriously. 

[jacib]

Thanks Extremely kind of you! Have some karma!

Man, are a redditor?  Man, I've noticed the board looking a lot like Reddit recently.  It's never been like that in past years.  Message boards are really making a come back, it's weird to see how it affects Grad Cafe (I smell a thesis topic....)

 

 

 This is actually my final home-exam for my MA; just can't wait!  Thesis written and done!  Can't even lower or raise my GPA. Itchy fingers to go where no man has gone before. "Juxtaposing the want for children and the need for children - a critique of normalization through policy".  Then again I want to transfer my MA courseload to som extent so should perhaps take things seriously. 

Congrats on the thesis!  Grades don't matter in a PhD.  They'll let you transfer it as long as you pass, I'd wager.  My third eye sees well-deserved rest and relaxation in your future.

[jacib]

Jacib - you've got to be one of the coolest people in the world. I absolutely love your generous spirit. That's all.

Homie, I hope you're being sarcastic. I'm at home on a Saturday "working" on a paper.  If you think I'm cool, you need to get out more.  Which you can, because you have so much free time now that you're done with apply for these stupid grad programs! 

 

Seriously, I just remember feeling like all of a sudden I had so much time.  Me and my girlfriend at the time (who had just done her own round of applications) started going out for dinner all the time and stuff, it was great!  Until I got into my top choice school in February, and she had six hellish weeks of me being happy while she got rejection after rejection (literally, like 17 or 18).... until she got wait listed at her second choice school, and then she chilled out... and then got in to her top choice school (literally the best in her field, period) in mid-March.  And she apologized for being a grouch.  Ahh memories.

[SocioEd]

Great information. Thanks everyone!

I cannot help check this forum after two friends asked me "any news from your application?" today...lol