Tips for applying to PhD programs. Any advice?

[researchguru85]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if I could get some feedback of my chances of getting into a Top 35 Sociology PhD program. Also, do you have any suggestions for Soc programs that I can apply to given my research interests?

 

My stats:

Undergraduate gpa (6 yrs ago): Overall - 2.94. Major: (Sociology) - 3.5

Graduate gpa: 3.45

-Two Sociology independent research projects in undergrad (received an 'A' in both)

-Three research assistant positions: One in underad; two in graduate school. None of these research experiences are in Sociology.

-GRE: 168 V; 156 Q; 4.5 Analytical Writing

 

Research interests: Immigration (primarily new immigrants and thei second-generation children), identity formation, nationalism, race/ethnicity, gender

 

Your advice is very much appreciated!

 

Thank you!

Edited March 28, 2014 by researchguru85

[researchguru85]

Bump!

[gingin6789]

I don't know much about your areas of interest, but I can say that your GRE scores look pretty darn solid, and your independent research projects should make excellent writing samples.  

[turbodream]

seems like your stats are a good enough foundation to start from... hopefully your grad gpa will eclipse your overall undergrad. i was in a similar position  (low 3's undergrad overall, 3.9 grad) and it worked out this year. that said... it's all about your SoP and explaining why you're a good fit for the department. 

 

also i heard recently that the AW score on the GRE should not be downplayed (which is contrary to what I had read in other places)... for what it's worth, that might be something you could focus on if you retake the test to get that up in the 5s. 

[researchguru85]

Thank you for all of your feedback! I should probably give you a little more information about my background. My interests are in assimilation among Caribbean immigrant families. As for schools, I am currently looking at Irvine, UCLA, SUNY and CUNY. Also, my research experience is primarily in psychology (one of them is social psychology).

 

Gingin6789 -- I will take yuour great advice and begin dusting off my research papers from the independeant projects to use as writing samples. I may take Turbodream's advice and retake the GRE to try and boost my AW score.

 

Turbodream -- I'm interested in applying to both UC Davis and UC Irvine. Could I ask you some questions about their programs?

Edited April 4, 2014 by researchguru85

[turbodream]

sure. feel free to send me a message.

[Darth.Vegan]

4.5 AW is perfectly fine even for T10 programs in my opinion. 

[Maleficent999]

Thank you for all of your feedback! I should probably give you a little more information about my background. My interests are in assimilation among Caribbean immigrant families. As for schools, I am currently looking at Irvine, UCLA, SUNY and CUNY. Also, my research experience is primarily in psychology (one of them is social psychology).

Gingin6789 -- I will take yuour great advice and begin dusting off my research papers from the independeant projects to use as writing samples. I may take Turbodream's advice and retake the GRE to try and boost my AW score.

Turbodream -- I'm interested in applying to both UC Davis and UC Irvine. Could I ask you some questions about their programs?

I'll be attending UC Davis in the Fall. Feel free to message me any questions now or later on in your app process.

[gingin6789]

Glad I could help!! :-) I have to agree that 4.5 is a very decent writing score as well...

[Chris Bosh the Dinosaurman]

Make sure that your personal statement matches the faculty at the program you are applying to.  Send me a message if you want more details on how to format this.  

 

This approach was recommended to me by a well-known faculty member at UNC that I will be working with in the coming year.  I ended up getting into 5/7 programs I applied to.  I'm pretty sure this person's assistance contributed to my success.  

 

P.S. I would recommend applying to Penn State.  They have a few great faculty who work on immigration.  Their funding packages are pretty good and they have a very collegial department.  Even providing RAships for your entire time in grad school.  They have good placements and their quantitative training is top tier.  

Edited April 7, 2014 by Chris Bosh the Dinosaurman

[Maleficent999]

I'll agree with the above poster. Spend time personalizing your SOP. Thankfully, things turned out well for me but if I could change anything about my application process it would be to have spent more time really configuring each SOP to fit the school. I fell victim to the page or word count blunders where I got to the portion to show how well I fit and ended up running out of space so it wasn't as detailed as it should've been. I'd advise to start each SOP with that section and then build the rest of it around it depending on how much space you have left.

[Chris Bosh the Dinosaurman]

Maleficent999... that's very interesting.  I was able to make a single SOP that fit each school.  I just changed the parts about my interests and the faculty I wanted to work with.  

 

It probably depends how much your interests vary with the school.  I discussed demography in my SOP and specified interests (like fertility, mortality, etc etc).  Just make sure that your interests fit the department.  You don't want to discuss your interest in ethnographies or social theory if you want to go to Penn State or say that you want to be a demographer in your Northwestern app.  

[Maleficent999]

Maleficent999... that's very interesting. I was able to make a single SOP that fit each school. I just changed the parts about my interests and the faculty I wanted to work with.

It probably depends how much your interests vary with the school. I discussed demography in my SOP and specified interests (like fertility, mortality, etc etc). Just make sure that your interests fit the department. You don't want to discuss your interest in ethnographies or social theory if you want to go to Penn State or say that you want to be a demographer in your Northwestern app.

My biggest issue was that each school had a different page or word limit. For instance, one school had a page limit of 3 and UC Davis had a CHARACTER limit that ended up being less than a page single-spaced. If every school were the same it would've been fine but having to drastically cut some sections or, as I said, running out of space toward the end was something I would've spent more time remedying and working out could I go back in time.

[Darth.Vegan]

My biggest issue was that each school had a different page or word limit. For instance, one school had a page limit of 3 and UC Davis had a CHARACTER limit that ended up being less than a page single-spaced. If every school were the same it would've been fine but having to drastically cut some sections or, as I said, running out of space toward the end was something I would've spent more time remedying and working out could I go back in time.

 

 

That was the worst. Toronto is one page too, I just jammed as much in as I could lol

[Maleficent999]

That was the worst. Toronto is one page too, I just jammed as much in as I could lol

Haha yeah, I was surprised I got into Davis because I was so frustrated with the app. I'm pretty sure there was latent anger that seeped through. Maybe they read it as passion about my topic.

My main point is that the "fit" is the most important section, so my advice if you're dealing with length limits would be to start with that section and cut from other places if you have to. I wish I had done this instead of wanting to include stuff that was probably far less important.

[Darth.Vegan]

Haha yeah, I was surprised I got into Davis because I was so frustrated with the app. I'm pretty sure there was latent anger that seeped through. Maybe they read it as passion about my topic.

My main point is that the "fit" is the most important section, so my advice if you're dealing with length limits would be to start with that section and cut from other places if you have to. I wish I had done this instead of wanting to include stuff that was probably far less important.

 

My best SOP was the one that ultimately got me into Irvine, and it was 2.5 pages with 1.5 spacing. It involved creating a narrative that supported my interests and grabbed the readers attention, while leaving room to talk about personal achievements and fit. You just don't have room to do that with such a short page length requirement.

 

Paragraph 1: Introduction into my area of interest

Paragraph 2: Get more specific about which areas I'd like to study and why

Paragraph 3: Personal achievements that prepared me for graduate study

Paragraph 4: Faculty Fit at Irvine

Paragraph 5: Department fit, school fit and conclusion

These were all relatively long paragraphs. 

 

I'm happy to send mine to some folks if you need some ideas. 

Edited April 7, 2014 by xdarthveganx

[gingin6789]

I will chime in and also recommend tailoring your SOP! It is so easy and convenient to reuse the same SOP, but, retrospectively, I don't recommend this. I didn't use the same SOP, but I know I could've tailored mine better to each program. I only applied to three programs. Two programs only allowed two pages, and one program gave me a generous five page limit. I didn't take the opportunity to flesh out my SOP for that school, and my SOP was still only two pages.

That being said, I will direct my next statement to people who have ALREADY submitted SOPs (they might read this thread during next application season. I know I was desperately digging through old threads for nuggets of reassurance): if you have not mentioned faculty or if you haven't flawlessly tailored your SOP super specifically, you have not shot yourself in the foot and you have not completely botched your chances! There is hope! (anecdotal evidence: I did end up getting in to two of the three places I've applied.) Take a deep breath; you're going to be ok!!

[Chris Bosh the Dinosaurman]

The standard length SOP is 2 pages.  I really don't think that it is necessary to modify your SOP much if every school has a standard SOP length.  Like I said... I changed 2 paragraphs each time.  All of the schools that I applied to didn't mention a different length...

 

Btw.... xdarthevaganx... do you know Jim Hull at Irvine?  He went to my alma mater!!  Same academic adviser!

[researchguru85]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice. I will definitely take everyone's advice about tailoring my SOP to heart. More specifically, the parts about emphasizing fit on my application. You guys have been so great! All of your insightful and supportive comments have really boosted my confidence in applying to PhD programs!

 

Chris Bosh the Dinosaurman -- I'll look into Penn State. I'll PM you about your SOP suggestions about tailoring my SOP to the faculty of the program.

Maleficent99 -- I will be sure to begin with the "fit" section. What great advice!

xdarthveganx -- Thank you much for the format that you used on your SOP -- that helps so much. I'll PM you.