Rice Sociology?

[distinction]

Has anyone heard any buzz about Rice? I'm strongly thinking about applying (looks like GREAT faculty) but I'm not sure what life as a grad student there would be like. A prof at my school said to go for it but what do you think?

[EVG14]

My best friend from undergrad now goes there and he loves it. Their faculty are top-notch and their stipend is also insane (27,500). I would definitely say go for it!

[gilbertrollins]

I've definitely heard of people studying food: a girl i met recently did an entire thesis on buffalo mozzarella.  But if you're going to study rice, it will help to have a specific theoretical question going in because it is otherwise such a large topic.

[hopeful426]

Distinction, I am applying too! Rice is perfect -- its my top choice. I met a Rice student at a conference thing and I was so impressed by how much they loved their program. Like EVG said, the stipend is great and it seems like the students like it. Really though, for me, its about the faculty. They are all really young and productive. I have heard some people say that the "new-ness" of the program is a disadvantage or could be risky because it is not ranked. But I want to strike while the iron is hot. Its pretty clear to me that they are going to be very highly ranked when they do get ranked just based on how many publications they produce per year. Haha hopefully not too many people apply so I still have a shot! Best of luck to all! 

[demogragirl]

To EVG14: One of my friends from undergrad is at Rice too. I visited this last year, the campus is really awesome.

To the prospective applicants, I can say that my friend loves the program and actually is getting more attention from their advisor than I get from mine. It seems like the faculty are pushing the students there to publish/present a lot. So the expectations are high, but the pay off will be great if the manage to place their students well. 

 

In general, I say if you are curious about a school, apply to it. During visit weekends you get a feel for what is the right fit for you. During my app year, I knew right away during visits where I wanted to go. 

[hopeful426]

EVG or demogragirl, do you know about when your friends heard back from the adcomm? It looks like based on the few people who have done results search that Rice does interviews and admissions decisions early?

[EVG14]

I don't know exactly, but I know he received his invitation to interview before I had heard from any school. My guess would be sometime in January? As far as the actual acceptance letter, I think that came a week or so after the interview. Again, take this with a grain of salt as I am not 100% sure haha. 

[BlogStar]

I was admitted to Rice but decided against going.

They send out their invitations for an interview in mid-to-late January followed by a decision letter within two weeks of the interview. Within the letter will include information about your stipend, health insurance, etc.

The program is quite new. The faculty are very productive, and I would highly suggest anyone interested in sociology to visit this particular program. It's strong, budding, and the (few) students in the program are thriving.

[Maleficent999]

I was admitted to Rice but decided against going.

They send out their invitations for an interview in mid-to-late January followed by a decision letter within two weeks of the interview. Within the letter will include information about your stipend, health insurance, etc.

The program is quite new. The faculty are very productive, and I would highly suggest anyone interested in sociology to visit this particular program. It's strong, budding, and the (few) students in the program are thriving.

As a new program, did you find that they had less funding than other programs?