Sociology prof who will answer any question about grad school applications

[xolo]

Thank you Professor, that is really helpful information.

[Robes]

Dear Gabe, thank you very much for this. The admission process in US works quite differently from Europe - at least, in terms of flexibility - so your help is very much appreciated.

 

Happy holidays to you, too!

 

Robes

[namilis]

Hello Professor,

 

I'm curious about whether I have a shot at a top-tier PhD program in Sociology, or whether you recommend applying to a master's program first.  I graduated Summa Cum Laude from a top-30 university with majors in Economics and Philosophy, but never took a Sociology course.  That said, my econ courses consisted largely of education and public econ related topics, and in philosophy I took courses related to race, ethics, etc...  I'm now in a master's degree program in "Social and Public Policy/Urban Studies" in Finland of all places - where I've now taken a couple of sociology courses.  I'm particularly interested in education, inequality/stratification, and theory - I like sociology (over phil/econ) because it allows me to both tackle questions re inequality empirically, but also offers a strong critical theoretical perspective.  

 

Considering that my exposure to Sociology really took place in Finland, and that I never took an undergrad sociology course in the US, what do you think?

 

Thank you,

-m

[Cpoco]

Hi Prof,

 

     I know this might sound just stupid but what is the role psychoanalysis plays in today's sociology? Which university/college programs encourage psychoanalytically and meta-analytically oriented research? If that exists, I would be very interested to apply. Thanks!

[jdsj]

Gabe,

 

I have an fully funded offer from a good school that is a great fit, and I am waiting to hear back from two other programs that are ranked 10 places higher than the first school.  My question is, how long do I have to make a decision for school 1 without being unprofessional?  It will still be 4-6 weeks for the other two programs, and my offer from the first school came last night.

 

Much thanks,

 

 

JD

[SocProf]

Namilis,

You definitely should apply to top sociology PhD programs, but also to a couple of masters programs as a backup. But keep in mind that some programs are friendlier to people with non-sociology backgrounds than are others, so your pattern of acceptance/rejection may end up looking haphazard. In any case, here's a possibly useful post from Fabio Rojas:

 

https://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/foucault-kids/

 

Personally, I fancy myself one of Fabio's "Foucault kids" and would like to see many more of them in our discipline!

 

Gabe

[SocProf]

Cpoco,

It may be difficult to find exactly the kind of program you have in mind, but Jeffrey Alexander and Phil Smith's cultural sociology center at Yale might work out well:

http://ccs.research.yale.edu/

 

Or consider working with someone like Isaac Reed at UC-Boulder. It might be a good idea to check out the culture and theory section newsletters and google names you find to see if there's someone who might make for a good mentor.

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/culture/

 

http://www.asatheory.org/newsletter

 

Best of luck!

 

Gabe

[SocProf]

Jdsj,

Email the first school to say thanks and let them know it will take some time before you are able to commit. Then use your offer from the first program as leverage to try to get the others to speed up their decision making. But unless the first offer is an "exploding offer" that is void after a certain period of time, you shouldn't feel too much pressure to take it immediately. Just be sure to communicate with the profs at the first school you're considering working with so they understand your situation.

 

Best of luck!

Gabe

[lilymasala]

Hi, GPA question here.  I'm an anthropologist

 

My undergrad GPA sucks at a 2.8 graduated in 2006.

 

Finished an MA in 2014 with a 4.17GPA, was awarded a competitive Graduate Assistantship all 5 semesters, 3 peer-reviewed publications, 2 professional presentations, glowing LORs, high GRE scores, 1 year of professional experience, do I have a chance of getting into a competitive PhD program even considering my dismal undergrad GPA from 8 years ago?

 

Thanks in advance.  

[SocProf]

Lilymasala,

 

I do think you will get into a few competitive PhD programs. It's likely that admissions committees will look closely at your undergrad transcript to identify your areas of strength and weakness, but if your GRE scores (esp. verbal) are good and you have strong letters of recommendation, you'll get into a few places.

 

Best of luck!

 

GI

[Cyniel]

I'm currently an Adjunct and have been since I graduated from my MA program, 2 years ago. I was wondering if Admissions committees will see that negatively, especially since I haven't been involved in active research since my MA though I am teaching Statistics and Research Methods with a 15 page requirement that's based on research the student conducts.

[SocProf]

Cyniel,

 

If you are applying to top-tier sociology departments you'll want to emphasize your research interests and skills in your personal statement, because (as you apparently recognize) a few admissions committee members may be concerned that you're now on a teaching track where research is secondary, and to succeed in a high-level PhD program requires total commitment to research for at least a few years. No one will hold your teaching experience against you, but they may wonder if your heart will be in your research or if in the end teaching is your thing.

 

Best of luck!

 

Gabe

[MidwesternAloha]

Hi, Gabe! I am curious about the importance of follow-up "thank you" emails to the faculty whom you met with during interviews. I would follow up any job interview with such a courtesy, but I almost feel like doing it after a grad school interview would be redundant. And professors are busy, right? Is it common practice to send these, and if so, do you need to write it cover letter style like you would for a job? Seems tedious, for 6+ interviewers at multiple schools.

[SocProf]

Midwestern Aloha,

We're extremely busy and only read emails that seem urgent. It's not a bad idea to write a brief email to the faculty members you felt you connected with best, but I wouldn't do more than that.

 

Best of luck!

 

Gabe

[synvilla]

Hi Gabe!

 

I'm an international student planning to apply for grad school in the US, to start in the fall of 2016. I got my bachelor degree last semester, and I'm currently working full-time.  I have a few years of relevant work experience within my field, and my bachelor thesis is directly related to the type of research I want to pursue. My goal is to eventually gain a PhD, but I wonder if it's reasonable to apply directly to a PhD without either an MA or research experience. Is it better to apply to an MA, and worry about the PhD after that? Would schools normally consider me for an MA automatically if I can't compete for a PhD?

[SocProf]

Synvilla,

 

I'd apply for both masters and doctoral programs simultaneously, maybe 2-4 masters and 5-10 PhD programs. Then you'll have to decide whether you are ready to commit to the PhD programs that admit (and fund) you, or whether it makes more sense to start in a masters (preferably a relatively affordable one) and use that as a springboard to a more competitive and better-funded PhD program. In some cases you may not even need to complete the masters degree, but simply to show that you can do graduate-level work for a semester or two. That can make the difference in being accepted into a competitive and well-funded doctoral program.

 

Best of luck!

Gabe

[DaDocStruggle]

Hello Gabe,

 

Not in sociology per se, but close enough. And I always had an inquiry about the interview day. From your experiences in reviewing boards. Do you feel the interview is truly the deciding factor, for those who make it there? Or are the candidates ranked much before they arrive on campus, and decisions are 70-75% finalize....? I have always felt that by interview days professors know who they want....what are your thoughts?

 

p.s I just finished my interview at my top choice.....

[SocProf]

DaDocStruggle,

 

I think you're basically on target, and I'd only add that the interview is quality control in two ways. First, the faculty needs to make sure the applicant isn't totally nuts. And second, they need to be sure the applicant wants to be there and will fit in. But in my experience, if the applicant is a reasonably stable personality who wants to join the department, the interview is pretty low stress, with the faculty doing most of the talking (as we are wont to do).

 

Good luck, and congrats on getting an interview at your top choice.

 

Gabe

[xolo]

My strategy for this cycle was pretty much what Gabe has outlined. I'm totally a non-traditional student and I feel I have a pretty unique story (probably not really, but I can flatter myself, right?). I also had to work ALOT on my application to get it to where it needed to be. I wish I had had a year instead of only six months to prepare the applications. Anyway, so far I've gotten one really good PhD admit and a couple of very respectable MA admits. 

[sakanie]

Hello! Your posts have been helpful and encouraging. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I'm an older student who's applying to MSW programs. This will be my second Masters, and I have been out of school 6 years. I'm no longer in contact with professors, so my LOR's are from professional colleagues. Will this be damaging to my application? And will a prior Masters carry any weight?

[SocProf]

Hi Sakanie,

 

I don't know the social work field well, although I have cousins and sisters in that field. If possible I'd try to get one academic reference, and yes, I assume a prior masters will carry weight because it shows that you are capable of completing an advanced degree.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Gabe

[jphye]

Ok, so I am asking for honest advice, but not brutal advice (stay away trolls).

This application season was a disaster for me and I'm looking for insight as to why.

Disaster = rejected by everyone.

 

Briefly, my stats:

• 4.00 GPA - Master's program (in Public Affairs)
• 3.85 GPA overall, 3.78 GPA major - Undergrad (BA in Liberal Studies), including student of the year for my department
• 3 strong letters (1 that was glowing); 1 from my master's advisor and paper committee chair (who is now a dean at a Big10 university, and my master's program is nationally ranked top 20); 1 from undergrad advisor; 1 from undergrad prof.
• Writing sample was original research I did for my Master's program, 7 month qualitiative-study using grounded theory/ethnographic methodology.
• GRE scores were mixed bag (from awesome to dismal): Verbal 164; Analytical Writing: 4.5; Quantitative 145
• I get test anxiety pretty bad when it comes to math; I got a 4.0 in all my required quantitative courses for my masters degree, but I bomb tests (as evidenced by my GRE quantitative score). It's so bad that I've even been advised that re-taking the GRE will probably result in only a few points increase at most and is probably not worth it. I don't understand why I can do the analysis in class, but not on standardized tests.
• I met with the professor I want to work with and specifically chose the university I applied to based on those conversations. The conversations were postive and I was encouraged to apply. The professors listed in my application are interdisciplinary and do similar research to what I have done and want to do in future.
• In my applications I stated my career focus is on Environmental Sociology, sociologies of trauma, and linking feminist theory to that research. Again, choosing professors, sociology department and fellowship that have a demonstrated track record with these areas.
• I have not taken an undergrad or graduate level sociology course, but so much of my coursework was either influenced by sociology or had clear overlap; i.e. quantitative analysis in public affiars is not that different than quantitative analysis in sociology. same with ethnography; focus group research, etc. etc.
• Since 2010, I've worked in higher education in a variety of roles including, adjunct faculty, adviser, administrator, and professional staff.

 

I would like to apply again next year, but I am getting no feedback and stonewalled on what I am doing wrong. Is sociology not for me? More importantly, is a PhD not for me?

[SocProf]

Jphye,

What were the rankings of the lowest- and highest-ranked programs to which you applied?

Gabe

[jphye]

Jphye,

What were the rankings of the lowest- and highest-ranked programs to which you applied?

Gabe

 

Thanks for the question! US News and World Report rankings (2013): They were all ranked 20, my first choice was U of Minnesota (because that is where faculty research and what I wanted to do best aligned...or so I thought...)

[SocProf]

OK, For a top-20 Sociology PhD program the red flag in your application is the writing sample, as grounded theory is a dirty word (OK phrase) in most US sociology departments. Fair or not, admissions committee members are likely to interpret GT as some combination of "hasn't read the literature," "has a superficial understanding of the role of theory in sociology," and "hasn't mastered any methods besides ethnography." While there may be faculty members at Minnesota and elsewhere who are more charitable toward GT, you should assume that if they're on the admissions committee they're likely to be outvoted.

 

That said, you seem to be well qualified, and should be able to get accepted into a few good programs. If you're up for trying again next year, I'd drop all references to Grounded Theory and apply to a broader range of programs where your lowest-ranked program is ranked 50-80 nationally. Actually you might want to apply to some unranked departments in the hope that they'll offer a better funding package to attract you. Program prestige matters, but money matters too.

 

Best of luck!

 

Gabe