IAmA Grad Student Rep on a AdComm

[FertMigMort]

What do you mean by "tailoring the SOP"? What exactly does need to be different for each school? Please be explicit.

Sorry I've taken so long to get back to you!

You need to explain exactly why you have applied to each school. If both schools have pop centers, make sure to identify them correctly by name, as a resource that you are interested in. Name professors (1-3) that you are interested in working in at that school. Use the school's name (tangent: Seriously applicants!? Some of you don't do this! It was so hard to argue for you when you don't do this! We assume that you just used a generic SOP. Please, please, PLEASE don't make this mistake. P.S. USE THE RIGHT SCHOOL'S NAME!!!!)

If that school has another resource (i.e. you want to do ethnography on immigrants and the school is located in an immigrant-rich city) mention it! Just make sure that when the committee reads your statement, they know why you applied to school X. Think of your SOP as an argument for your fit in the department you've addressed it to.

[FertMigMort]

Thank you so much for your incredibly helpful posts!

 

How would you recommend that an applicant switching fields approach the writing sample? Do you think that it would be better to submit your best work from a related discipline, or do you think that it would be better to come up with an entirely new writing sample that is specifically based in sociological literature?

AS, this has already been addressed, but I would just concur with what's being said. Submit your strongest writing piece that you have, regardless of the field. Most schools are okay with teaching you how to be a sociologist, but aren't going to teach you how to write.

[FertMigMort]

I am cross-posting this here. I underlined the portion I feel is most relevant to this discussion in case others are in this situation.
 

phd_paula, on 20 Mar 2013 - 12:38, said:

[gilmoregirl1010]

First of all, I want to add my voice to the chorus of "THANK YOU"s, FertMigMort. This is fantastic, and very illuminating.

I have a question about something you wrote earlier, in regards to publications being necessary for anyone at the Master's level. I'll be applying to PhDs this coming round, while finishing up a terminal Master's program in Sociology. I have a lot of research experience, and will have more than one paper submitted to journals by the time I start applying to programs, but I can't guarantee that I will have heard anything back one way or the other by the time I submit my applications. Would this level of research experience be acceptable, or do I really need to have something accepted into a journal to be competitive?

Part of the reason I ask is that a few of the programs I'm applying for waive the application fee if you submit the application early. With about a dozen schools on my list, every fee counts, but if it would significantly improve my chances of admission to wait until I had (HOPEFULLY) a definitive publication, I'd be willing to eat that $75.

Thank you again for your help!

[faculty]

I'm not FertMigMort, but I would suggest that you apply early to waive the fees and then email the graduate coordinator in the programs with an updated CV at the application deadline.

 

You can list the papers in an "under review" section and even include the journal titles if you'd like (although anyone can submit to top journals and these might change if you get decisions back and decide to send elsewhere).

[Sinthome]

FertMigMort, this is a terrific thread!

 

Where would I stand as an applicant to top-tier sociology programs in the US, if I have already completed two years of course work in one of the best sociology programs in Canda (at the best in class)? I have two MAs, one in Sociology and other in Political Science, both with distinction. Four years of research experience (with four publications by the end of year, and a number of research reports). I would be able to get recommendations from my current profs.

 

My main issue with my current program is bad funding (which my profs realize), as well as changing research interest which would be better suited with an American sociology program.

[Nito]

@FertMigMort, thank you so much for the advise!

I have a few questions regarding how to address people in the SOP.

1. Should I name specific people who have influenced my research interests if I have only read their work and they are not at the institution I am addressing? Or would it be better to only refer to broarder theoretical and substantive subfields in which these people work?
    
2. For those researchers I have worked with, what is the best way to address them in the SOP? By this I mean: Dr. Firstname Lastname, Dr. Lastname, Lastname (current institution), Dr. Lastname (alma mater ’97), etc...
    
3. For those at the university I would like to work with: How many should I name (I've heard a ~10% of faculty rule of thumb)?  How would I introduce them? Should I simply write a list in a sentence, or should I state the specific areas where our interests align, or should I hope my SOP is written so that connection is obvious?

[sleepycat]

Hi! First I want to thank you for this thread. I have been applying and I still feel I have no idea what they are looking for.  I have a few questions.

 

1) My first round at grad school in anthropology (see my next question) didn't go as smooth as I planed, but I am in another program (MPH) and provided I did very well (I thinking of applying to some bigger programs) would they see past the first attempt?

 

2) I have been bouncing back and forth between disciplines my entire academic career and my degree is an interdisciplinary (Soc/religious studies and a smattering of anthro). Does this put me at a disadvantage even if I provide a strong argument in my POS?

 

I'm soc for sure, although I am taking a detour through public health (health inequalities, social dimensions of (un)healthy behaviors, and prevention). I know that UCSF (where I am planning to apply) has several people with MPHs on their website so I don't think that is going to be much of a problem. 

 

3) As for publications, does it matter where the piece (provided it is peer reviewed) ends up? 

 

4)Work experience vs. right out of an MPH/MA? I am going to have some regardless because my program gets me working out in the field, so I will have about ~1 years worth of experience, but will another 2.5 look favorable? 

 

Lastly, are committees looking for only academics (working inside of the academy) or are they open to public sociologists?

 

Sorry for all the questions! lol Thanks again for this thread it is wicked helpful.

Edited June 30, 2013 by sleepycat

[Angua]

Obviously, I'm not Fert, but here's my 2 cents:
 

I have a few questions regarding how to address people in the SOP.

• Should I name specific people who have influenced my research interests if I have only read their work and they are not at the institution I am addressing? Or would it be better to only refer to broarder theoretical and substantive subfields in which these people work?

 
I would avoid mentioning people who are not faculty at the institution to which you are applying. The exception to this, in my opinion, is if the person you are referring to is so totally synonymous with the approach or subfield that it would be weird not to mention her. The example that jumps to mind for me is one in psych -- if you wanted to study Freudian psychology, it would be weird to not mention Freud. But really, if the person in question isn't Freud-level, I'd avoid mentioning them by name.  At best, it can seem name-droppy.  At worst, faculty may assume that (if the person you mention is still active in the field) you really want to work for that person, and will be using them as a back-up.  You also risk stepping in personal/political issues in your field that you may not be aware of.  Maybe the guy you mentioned was rude to your POI at a conference once, or wrote a scathing review of your POI's pet project, etc.  Instead, talk about the approach or subfield in substantive terms.  You'll come across as more knowledgeable about the topic (i.e., it will help you sound like you have your own understanding, rather than simply that you've read the understandings of others), and you won't risk sounding like you've only read one person on the topic.
 

• For those researchers I have worked with, what is the best way to address them in the SOP? By this I mean: Dr. Firstname Lastname, Dr. Lastname, Lastname (current institution), Dr. Lastname (alma mater ’97), etc...

 

I tried to refer to these kinds of people the way I would in conversation with someone who knows the field.  So if the person you've worked with was faculty in your field, I think "Dr. Firstname Lastname" is sufficient (your CV includes the details about where you worked with this person, right?).  If you worked with someone who was not faculty, like a grad student, I would say "Dr. Firstname Lastname (then a PhD candidate)" or "when I worked on widgetmaking with Firstname Lastname, a PhD candidate in Widgetry..."  Assume that your reader is fairly knowledgeable about the people in your field; you shouldn't need to introduce them.  I think "Dr. Firstname Lastname (current institution)" is fine, too, especially if you are applying to different field than you have previously done research in, but any more than that and I think it starts to sound like you are trying to impress the reader with the credentials of the researcher.  The risk of that is that it can make you seem like you don't think your own credentials are strong enough.

 

• For those at the university I would like to work with: How many should I name (I've heard a ~10% of faculty rule of thumb)?  How would I introduce them? Should I simply write a list in a sentence, or should I state the specific areas where our interests align, or should I hope my SOP is written so that connection is obvious?

 
 First, note that many places specify how to handle this very issue.  Some of my applications required an ordered list at the top of my SOP, some specifically asked me to include such people in my SOP, some asked for a separate document.  Obviously, the first rule is to follow the directions in the application.

 

But, many places don't specify, and it's not always clear how you should handle it even when they do (such as when a place says that your SOP should include such things).  For me, this was the most important feature of tailoring my SOP for every school.  The first thing you need to do is to determine for yourself which faculty members you would like to work with.  Don't worry about any specific number -- just go through them and pick out those that interest you (you could rate them all as "Yes" "Maybe" or "No", for example).  I actually think this is an important step in deciding where to apply in the first place -- for me, some schools I considered only had one "yes", and that was enough for me to eliminate them.  Otherwise, the number for me ranged from 1 "yes" and several "maybes" to about 6 "yes"es.   If you aren't sure if someone is a yes or a maybe, read over some of their work or talk to friendly faculty about them (recommendations from faculty are where I got most of my "yes"es to begin with), or just err on the side of calling them a "yes."

 

Then, for my SOP, I made sure to mention all "yes"es.  If there were only one or two "yes", I would think about adding "maybe"s to the list as well.  I usually aimed for about 3 faculty mentioned in my SOP.  For the few schools that were exceptionally good fits, I mentioned up to 6 names.  Sometimes I mentioned just 2 by name. 

 

As for the mechanics, I put the names into the part of my SOP that was set up for tailoring it to the school.  My skeleton SOP (the bare bones that I started with for each SOP) had an intro, then a paragraph about each of three projects I've worked on, including possible future directions for each of those projects, and then it had a paragraph at the end about why I was applying to XYZ school.  I added specific POI info to that last paragraph, usually by saying something like this:

 

"I think XYZ would be a great fit for me, because of its strong tradition in widgetry and its thriving wigetnomics faculty.  In particular, I am fascinated by the work of Dr. Jane Doe in widget telemetry and social widgeting.  Dr. John Smith's work in social widgeting and widgetnomics also interests me greatly, as does the work of Dr. Victor Frankenstein on the re-engineering of fancy widgets." 

 

I would flesh that out some, especially where one or more of the faculty was a true superstar in the field, or where I had a particular connection to their work.  For example, I had at least one SOP that read something like, "Dr. John Smith's groundbreaking work on social widgetry was instrumental in kindling my own interest in widgets; I read "Social Widgetry for Dummies" as part of my first widget course, and it had a profound impact on me."  In my opinion, you shouldn't be afraid to fawn a little -- just use it sparingly, where it really counts and is genuine.

 

I also backed up my statements of interest in the body of my SOP.  I looked over each POI's work, and thought about how it might be applied in the context of the projects I was discussing.  Then, where appropriate, I included references to the POI and/or her work in the body paragraphs as part of my future directions.  For example, after describing a social widgetry project, I might have said something like, "In the future, I would like to explore how widgets transfer across cultural lines, building on the work of Dr. John Smith."  Even when I wasn't able to make such a clear connection, the future directions were still tailored to be interesting to the POIs I was targeting.  So, for example, I might just say "In the future, I would like to explore how widgets transfer across cultural lines," knowing that Dr. Smith's research in cultural widgetry might cause him to think "Wow, that project would be a great fit for my lab."

 

Final note: I know a lot of this sounds strategic, but it's important that it also be genuine.  Remember that, as much as you want to get into grad school, you are beginning a career here, not just a degree.  It's so, so important that you find a place where you are genuinely interested in and excited about what's going on -- not just one that will let you in.  The best way, in my opinion, to do that is to be 100% honest and genuine in your application.  Don't feign interest in something just because you think it will get you in.  Not only can many readers detect false enthusiasm better than you think, but even if it "works," all you get out of it is 4-6 years of misery building a career foundation that isn't you.

[Soc2288]

@FertMigMort: I have a few questions about the application process.

 

1) Is it important that all three LORs come from a professor? 2 of my LOR are from professors (one undergrad, one grad - master's thesis), and my third LOR is from my direct supervisor. I have been teaching full time for four years since I graduated from undergrad, so getting a LOR from all three stages in my life made sense. Should I get an LOR from another professor instead of my supervisor?

 

2) How important is research experience in any field? in sociology? I have very little experience conducting research as it took me quite some time to settle into what career I wanted to pursue.

 

3) In general, does early submission matter, or are all applications typically viewed at the same time?

 

4) If you had to estimate, what would the average cut off GPA and GRE scores be for most top10 programs? top 20 programs?

 

Thanks for all the info you've provided so far, it has been very useful, and I hope you are able to answer my questions.

[TheLuckyOne]

We were more interested in the Master's GPA, and in general the GPA didn't matter unless it was low. The GPA was rarely discussed at our meetings, which surprised me. We were more interested in grades for classes that we felt were important prerequisites for our program.

Thank you so much for this thread! What is consider a low GPA? Is there a cutoff as well? And what are some classes that are generally prerequisites for graduate school? Does the admissions committee pay more attention to certain classes on the transcript than others? Thank you!

[Kleio_77]

This is the most valuable thread I have come across so far on this site! I have been researching how to write academic cvs, sops, and the general process for over a year, and many of the questions and answers have provided such invaluable knowledge! 

However, I do have one question, which may pertain more so to Canadian Universities, but here in Canada, many applications have a section to declare Aboriginal status, or special status. So, what does that mean for people who declare some type of special status? I see this option on Canadian university applications, so I apologize if you are unfamiliar with this aspect of the application process. 

[IncomingPhD2017]

Not sure if OP is still answering questions on here, but maybe someone else can help me. My concern echoes a thread I just posted as well: Did you come across any applications that were overtly religious, and did this adversely effect the application? I ask because, while I don't plan on mentioning religion in my SOP or writing sample, I did do 1 year of graduate work at a seminary (working towards a Master of Divinity). I'm wondering how much, if at all, this will impact my application.  Feel free to answer here or on my post: 

 

Thanks!

[FertMigMort]

This is the most valuable thread I have come across so far on this site! I have been researching how to write academic cvs, sops, and the general process for over a year, and many of the questions and answers have provided such invaluable knowledge! 

However, I do have one question, which may pertain more so to Canadian Universities, but here in Canada, many applications have a section to declare Aboriginal status, or special status. So, what does that mean for people who declare some type of special status? I see this option on Canadian university applications, so I apologize if you are unfamiliar with this aspect of the application process. 

I'm not as familiar with Canadian applications, but in the US, most schools give some sort of preference to minority students. The type of preference varies from school to school.

[FertMigMort]

Not sure if OP is still answering questions on here, but maybe someone else can help me. My concern echoes a thread I just posted as well: Did you come across any applications that were overtly religious, and did this adversely effect the application? I ask because, while I don't plan on mentioning religion in my SOP or writing sample, I did do 1 year of graduate work at a seminary (working towards a Master of Divinity). I'm wondering how much, if at all, this will impact my application.  Feel free to answer here or on my post: 

 

Thanks!

I hope this isn't too late, but I don't remember this affecting applications. I know of several students who had divinity degrees, in my program and others. Hopefully, you've gotten in and this isn't a concern.

[FertMigMort]

Hey everyone, just wanted to say that I'm going to retire from answering questions. I've graduated and have a real job in the real world now. I'm definitely not a source of information for academics anymore. I'm glad that my thread was helpful and I hope that it serves as a resource for many people to come!

Best of luck in academia!

[Pennywise]

Before you go -- do you mean you've left academia? I'm so curious about that decision!

Thanks again for all your great advice.

[FertMigMort]

Before you go -- do you mean you've left academia? I'm so curious about that decision!

Thanks again for all your great advice.

It does indeed. I finished my Ph.D. and got a non-academic job. I am so much happier and healthier now that I've left. To avoid outing myself, if anyone has questions about leaving, please feel free to PM me.

[sociologyheroine]

Thank you so much for this.

[KLPLANTER]

super interesting read. thanks for sharing.