Indiana 2013

[nwbtcw_]

I know it's still early in the season but it looks like the acceptances for Indiana have all gone out. I was wondering if any of the admits were strongly leaning towards attending Indiana this fall. 

 

I'm most probably headed there.

[AaronM]

My acceptances are all similarly ranked so nowhere has really pulled far ahead yet, but I really like what I see from Indiana so far. I'm really excited for the visit day.

[Palito]

I'm really impressed with Indiana's program and very seriously considering accepting my offer there. There seems to be a lot of support in terms of faculty mentorship, as well as financially. I'm faced with deciding between Madison and Indiana though. This isn't going to be easy.

 

I definitely plan on attending the visit day,

[hobokennojokin]

Hi all, 

 

I know this is an important and nerve wracking time for you all. I'm a current first year graduate student in the department of sociology here at IU and would be happy to chat with any of you interested in learning more about the program. Feel free to PM me and we can exchange emails. Best of luck till April!

-socpsych

[galactic1088]

Is anyone planning on declining their offer of admission?

[soc_guy_2013]

Hey! Who all is planning on going to the visit day? The more research I do, the more I'm convinced that Indiana is one of the best programs in the country.

 

Hope to see many of you there!

[soc_guy_2013]

Is anyone planning on declining their offer of admission?

 

I'm not decided yet, but I think I end up there. The visit isn't until the end of March, so many students won't decide until then.

 

Were you waitlisted?

[galactic1088]

Yes, and I am still interested in attending. 

[soc_guy_2013]

Yes, and I am still interested in attending. 

 

Do you know if there is anyone ahead of you? I'd say it's very likely that at least one person declines.

 

Don't worry!

[galactic1088]

I don't know how many are waitlisted.  The DGS said it was a very short list.  I know of a few people who will most likely be declining, so I remain optimistic. When conversing with the DGS, he made it seem like I had a good shot of getting off the list, but we shall see. 

[notclever]

Did anyone go to Indiana's visit days or have they occurred yet? I'm wait listed and would like to learn as much about the program as possible. Thanks! Any insight would be appreciated.

[AaronM]

"Official" visit day is next Friday

[soc_guy_2013]

So...what does everyone think? Did anyone attend the visit day?

[gilbertrollins]

I thought the graduate students at Indiana were especially smart and outgoing.  The culture at Indiana really is everything the rumors say -- the faculty and students gel extremely well and there is a ton of extremely vigorous work taking place.  Lots of coursework, if you're opposed to that kind of thing.  But that's veritably the only detriment, and nobody I talked to had an enormous problem with it.  Forceful place.

[AaronM]

I'll second everything said above. Indiana seems very strong. Methods (both qualitative and quantitative) training there seems amazing. They are also a very broad department, so if your research interests change (which happens a lot I guess), there is almost guaranteed to be someone in the department who studies the general area you want to study. I was really impressed by the visit.

[notclever]

What did those who visited think about the culture of the department? Was it competitive? and did you feel that all students were getting fair opportunities? For example, did anyone complain about not being able to work on research versus teaching? Are students publishing with professors?

[Palito]

Students at Indiana enjoy the distinct advantage of being mentored by the entire department. It was really clear to me that students also interact closely with specific faculty, but the program is distinct in that everybody is looking out for every student. People do not fall through the cracks at Indiana, and it is clear that ensuring that everyone succeeds is part of the department's strategy for success. You will be hard pressed to find a program that does more to ready students to be professional sociologists.

 

I think the egalitarian approach to designing the program has helped to create an environment where students do not feel at odds with each other, and often collaborate. Also, I heard about lots of collaboration between students and faculty, resulting in publications. Additionally, students are encouraged to take a class dedicated to turning a draft of a paper into a publication. One can take this class multiple times, and it seems to have really contributed to students publication records and, consequently, careers.

 

Bottom line: If you go to Indiana, you will leave a really solid sociologist, maybe even a "star," and you will have benefited from a very deliberate program of professionalization that will make you very competitive in the job market. I really was so impressed with what they're doing in Bloomington.

[notclever]

Thanks for the response Palito! As I am waitlisted, I didn't have the opportunity to visit. I've narrowed my decision to one school based on my current offers, but it seems that there is still a possibility I could be accepted at IU. I liked what I saw at the department I visited, so that makes it very difficult to potentially have to make a decision when I haven't been able to gain the same insight into IU's department.

[gilbertrollins]

What did those who visited think about the culture of the department? Was it competitive? and did you feel that all students were getting fair opportunities? For example, did anyone complain about not being able to work on research versus teaching? Are students publishing with professors?

There isn't a more supportive department in the country.  If I understand Rojas' statement on orgtheory the other week correctly, they place 100% of the outgoing cohorts in jobs last year.  I doubt they were all R1, but it's a mind blowing statistic regardless. 

 

A senior grad student reported that it gets a bit more competitive in year 4-6, but keep in mind that after almost three full years of coursework and proseminars where they lean hard on you and meet with you regularly to help you publish.

 

Usually the ASA awards one faculty a year with a mentoring award -- the entire department received it last year (or the year before?).

[gilbertrollins]

Thanks for the response Palito! As I am waitlisted, I didn't have the opportunity to visit.

Email Michelson; he's extremely generous and transparent and will likely tell you what the probability of you getting an offer is.  You can also visit as a waitlister -- I did.  I was at the top of the waitlist, and decided it wasn't the right place for me -- so you're likely one step closer depending on how much declination they've gotten.  If there were a time to contact him about a potential offer it's now.  Just because you're on the wait list doesn't mean you're not still a commodity, and expressing sincere and continued interest in the department will bump your chances of getting an offer quite a lot I imagine.

 

As far as more impressions of the culture, the campus and department are similar I imagine to what you're going to find at any state school.  The grad students are pretty hip in terms of fashions and attitude; very laid back (to say nothing about their intelligence).  In fact the graduate cohorts are one of Indiana's strongest assets.  They get along extremely well and are very supportive of one another.  When I was walking back to Rojas' office with him from getting ice cream, he stopped a student and demanded the guy come see him asap -- you're not going to get that kind of attention at other departments -- in fact usually the opposite (chasing people down yourself). 

 

Were Indiana stronger in my interests I would have gone in a heart beat, but Rojas is their only economic sociologist.  And coursework isn't my taste -- I'm an awful student and look forward to hanging myself with the long rope of independent, aimless reading.  Rojas and Michelson were some of the most down to earth and supportive faculty I've met anywhere, and I got a similar vibe from Scott Long and Clem Brooks.  Unless there is a compelling reason to substitute toward another department in terms of your research interests, or unless you're considering offers from much higher ranked schools where you feel the faculty and students will be stronger, there is veritably no reason to not go to Indiana.  Kill placements.  Awesome culture.  Rigorous methods training.  Exciting research.

 

In the event Michelson says he can consider giving you an offer, you can probably get really good gut impressions over the phone with faculty and students.  I talked to Duke faculty on the phone before I went down for a visit, and the personality and affect of those conversations matched that of our in-person conversations on a one-to-one map.

Edited April 8, 2013 by econosocio

[notclever]

Email Michelson; he's extremely generous and transparent and will likely tell you what the probability of you getting an offer is.  You can also visit as a waitlister -- I did.  I was at the top of the waitlist, and decided it wasn't the right place for me -- so you're likely one step closer depending on how much declination they've gotten.  If there were a time to contact him about a potential offer it's now.  Just because you're on the wait list doesn't mean you're not still a commodity, and expressing sincere and continued interest in the department will bump your chances of getting an offer quite a lot I imagine.

 

Thanks for the advice. We made an appointment to meet on the phone today after he emailed me and asked that I wait a few days to accept my current offer. I am hoping to gauge my chances of acceptance. Any idea how many people were wait listed here?

[gilbertrollins]

It's hard to say how many there are, but if Michelson reached out to you without prompting -- it's a very good sign.  He's definitely still building the cohort.  Don't worry about the phone conversation.  He's the nicest guy ever.  You might also consider proactively emailing the faculty you are interested in and saying something like, "In the even Professor Michelson is able to offer me admission, are there some tentative times we might have a phone conversation about the department -- I have limited time to make my decisions, but would be extremely interested in speaking with you."  These kinds of scheduling details can take some time to hammer out, so it might be good to get a jump.

[gilbertrollins]

Happy for you!

[notclever]

Thank you! I really appreciate this insight. I'd honestly kind of "forgotten" this opportunity and figured I wouldn't have to make this decision (I'm a pessimist) until Dr. Michelson sent me a check in email a couple of weeks ago. Since, it has been a bit of a roller coaster. 

[notclever]

I was offered admission to Indiana this morning and I have accepted. VERY excited. Many thanks to all who shared information with me.