Fall 2015 Acceptances (and Rejections) Thread

[sociology1]

Is anyone else still waiting to hear from Cornell? Mainly the Development Sociology PhD program but also the traditional Sociology PhD program? I have been lucky enough to receive a few funded offers but I can't make myself make a decision until I know for sure about Cornell. I'm too nervous to email them so I am hoping someone else has heard from them recently, specifically on a decision timeframe. I am assuming that at this point all acceptances have been sent out. However, on the GradCafe admissions board there are no Development Sociology acceptances, only rejections. Thanks for any help and I hope everyone is doing well.  

[anna_M]

I emailed Cornell a week ago and answerd immediately.

[sociology1]

I emailed Cornell a week ago and answerd immediately.

Did they email you with a decision? Or a timeframe for a decision? If they emailed you with a decision did they hint if they are still accepting people? Thank you for your help!

[sociology]

For anyone who went to the Irvine open house -  did you talk to current graduate students about funding?

[anonymous_soc]

For anyone who went to the Irvine open house -  did you talk to current graduate students about funding?

Yes. What are you curious about?

[sociology1]

There are two more Cornell Sociology PhD rejections posted today to the GradCafe admissions board. I still have yet to hear anything. Can anyone claim the rejections and let me know how they were notified. Did you guys email Cornell for a status update? Thank you for any help.. very confused at this point. 

[sociguy]

Hello guys. I need your (professional) opinion for my PhD decision. I got acceptance from Univ. of Virginia, Emory and Notre Dame. Which one do you recommend and why? Thank you in advance. 

[Nonyabuisness]

So i contacted purdue twice and still havent heard back, i guess its a rejection but juat not sure. Any ideas?

[anonymous_soc]

Hello guys. I need your (professional) opinion for my PhD decision. I got acceptance from Univ. of Virginia, Emory and Notre Dame. Which one do you recommend and why? Thank you in advance. 

 

It is impossible to give a recommendation without any additional information. What are your research interests? How well do those interests match up with the faculty members at each program? Have you visited any (or all) of the programs, and if so, what was your impression? Do you see each program as one that will be conducive to your success as a researcher and scholar? Can you see yourself spending the next 5-8 years of your life living each area? Obviously they may change, but what are your long-term career aspirations (TT, adjunct, public sector, private sector)? 

 

I know that I just threw a lot of questions at you, but they are vital making the proper decision. Feel free to PM if you'd like. 

[Pennywise]

There are two more Cornell Sociology PhD rejections posted today to the GradCafe admissions board. I still have yet to hear anything. Can anyone claim the rejections and let me know how they were notified. Did you guys email Cornell for a status update? Thank you for any help.. very confused at this point.

Did you ever hear from Cornell?

[Pennywise]

Out of curiosity -- have people actually gotten straight accepted (not off a wait list) this long after the first rounds of acceptances went out? Are there programs that just withhold some acceptance decisions?

Edited March 20, 2015 by Pennywise

[brokenwindow]

As of today's waitlist rejection, it is official -- I was rejected by every single Sociology program I applied to (despite having everything on paper that you would need to get into these programs).

 

I did get into 5 well ranked criminology programs, but the Sociology rejections really sting. I was even wait listed by a couple top Sociology programs and told I was on the cusp of acceptance but didn't quite make it. Small comfort. I have other good options, but it is still so disappointing.

[sociology1]

Did you ever hear from Cornell?

I did finally hear from them. I emailed them yesterday. I didn't receive a direct response to that email but I did receive a rejection email this morning. I am happy to know from every school I applied to now. I am lucky enough to have a few funded offers so the rejection isn't as painful as it could have been. I hope everyone is doing well with there admission cycle. 

[theoryoftheories]

Is anyone else still waiting to hear from UC Irvine, Riverside, or the Columbia MA program?

[randomnamegenerator]

As of today's waitlist rejection, it is official -- I was rejected by every single Sociology program I applied to (despite having everything on paper that you would need to get into these programs).

I did get into 5 well ranked criminology programs, but the Sociology rejections really sting. I was even wait listed by a couple top Sociology programs and told I was on the cusp of acceptance but didn't quite make it. Small comfort. I have other good options, but it is still so disappointing.

I posted several pages back about my experience but, in brief, I got rejections last year but tried again this year and now have great options. The rejections hurt and waiting a year was difficult, but I think a lot of it came down to how I presented myself through my materials, who was on admissions committees, and other factors that aren't strictly based on merit. Try not to take it too hard! Edited March 20, 2015 by randomnamegenerator

[ChrisBer]

Has anyone heard anything on George Mason's Sociology program? I have been accepted with funding and I am waitlisted at Florida State University. I need to give GMU a decision soon as to what I plan to do. Any information that might help make that decision? Thoughts on the program? Advice?! I need it all!

[shilpav82]

 

 

Hi sdr2659, 

i wrote to mary fischer and manisha desai last month.

 

fischer's reply on feb 11:

"I actually had planned to contact you today with an update. The committee has ranked you highly, but we cannot offer you admission at this time. However that situation could change in the coming weeks as a number of factors on our end related to the budget become more clear. I will take note of the information you mention below and will contact you immediately if we are going to be able to offer you a position. In the meanwhile, feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns. I appreciate your interest in our program."

and reply from manisha desai on march 4: 

"I'm afraid I cannot give you any more information than Mary. I am on the Gradudate Admissions Committee but we have to hear from the Dean about our budget before we can make an offer and we have no way of knowing when that will be so.

So unfortunately I cannot provide more information that Mary

Hang in there and let's hope we will know soon". 

i feel it's not right to bother them again. but i am restless. 

do u have other good offers? 

 

[SocialHermit1]

Has anyone heard anything on George Mason's Sociology program? I have been accepted with funding and I am waitlisted at Florida State University. I need to give GMU a decision soon as to what I plan to do. Any information that might help make that decision? Thoughts on the program? Advice?! I need it all!

 

Do you mean the PhD program, or Masters? I'm waiting to hear back for the MA program, so if anyone has any news on both, please let us know!

[dw3000]

I got accepted into Oxford University for a Masters in Sociology. However, I am heart broken. Almost all available scholarships deadline in my country for the UK or Oxford specifically have passed. My parents are not forking out the money. And I just heard back from Anne Millard that all departmental funding nominations have been decided. 

 

I am stuck. I did not expect to get in. And yet I did. It is so close, and yet so far. I now have the acceptance, and yet I don't know where to look for funding. Can you guys help?

[brokenwindow]

I got accepted into Oxford University for a Masters in Sociology. However, I am heart broken. Almost all available scholarships deadline in my country for the UK or Oxford specifically have passed. My parents are not forking out the money. And I just heard back from Anne Millard that all departmental funding nominations have been decided. 

 

I am stuck. I did not expect to get in. And yet I did. It is so close, and yet so far. I now have the acceptance, and yet I don't know where to look for funding. Can you guys help?

 

I would do the funded Purdue PhD rather than the unfunded Oxford MA, unless you were confident you had a good shot of getting into a WAY better soc PhD if you had the Oxford Masters. Like, were you waitlisted at a few top PhD programs, so that one extra bit of pedigree might be the difference between wait list and acceptance?

 

Edit to add: I see that you are in Malaysia. It is possible that an Oxford Masters might have enough cachet in Malaysia to open some doors there, since it is a world class institution. So that makes it a little tougher to decide.

 

But good luck with your decision either way -- both are good options!

Edited March 21, 2015 by brokenwindow

[refriedbeans]

Hi guys, I haven't posted on this forum before but I have been reading often throughout my application process. I'm having a really difficult time with my decision and thought I might ask y'all for some advice. 

The PhD program to which I have been accepted is fairly low-ranked. However, they have offered me substantial funding and a graduate assistantship. I was also accepted to Columbia's terminal MA program and the New School's MA program with 30% tuition remission. My ultimate goal is teaching and researching at the university level, so I would ideally like to get my PhD at a highly ranked institution so I have the best chance of being employable. I also want to avoid debt where possible.

I have been advised to go to the low-ranked school, get my MA, and apply for PhD programs at a better university (now with an MA degree, research experience, a thesis, possibly publications, and little-to-no debt). 

My question is this: how common is it for people to get their MA when accepted to a PhD program and then apply elsewhere to earn their PhD? Does this risk leaving a bad impression at the university you decide to leave? 

feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[bamboos]

I got accepted into Oxford University for a Masters in Sociology. However, I am heart broken. Almost all available scholarships deadline in my country for the UK or Oxford specifically have passed. My parents are not forking out the money. And I just heard back from Anne Millard that all departmental funding nominations have been decided. 

 

I am stuck. I did not expect to get in. And yet I did. It is so close, and yet so far. I now have the acceptance, and yet I don't know where to look for funding. Can you guys help?

 

I am sorry that this happened to you, but you should not take this situation as a setback to your academic career. 4 years ago, I was exactly at the same situation as you are. I had the Oxford Sociology Master's acceptance with no funding. I felt utterly devastated. However, I pulled myself together and a year later I got into a Sociology master's program in my country. And now, I'm glad it happened that way. I met great people, and it really changed my research interests in a good way. Now, I'm heading to Cambridge for my PhD. Long story short, what seems like the worst thing in the world at the time you experience it might turn out to be the best. I know it is hard to feel that way at this precise moment, but if you can't attend Oxford, you stand a good chance at celebrating it a few years later.

 

That said, maybe you'll find a way to go there, and I wish you the best wherever you end up!

[breaks0]

My life is in the trash heap, I can't do this anymore, rejected by all but 1 school which gave no funding last year, rejected from 10 (including 8 sociology programs) and 3 de facto waitlists this year. I'm in a huge financial hole to the point of needing to go on public assistance now (applications are f-ing expensive!), I think the phd is now unattainable and I dont even know if I can get a professional masters. I'm obviously incompetent and don't know how to do this game, I've read alot of the advice but convincing an adcomm seems a magic trick to me. You can only gutwrench yourself into poverty so many times before it becomes unsustainable to continue. Full of regret and dejection.

Edited March 22, 2015 by breaks0

[sociologygrad]

My life is in the trash heap, I can't do this anymore, rejected by all but 1 school which gave no funding last year, rejected from 10 (including 8 sociology programs) and 3 de facto waitlists this year. I'm in a huge financial hole to the point of needing to go on public assistance now (applications are f-ing expensive!), I think the phd is now unattainable and I dont even know if I can get a professional masters. I'm obviously incompetent and don't know how to do this game, I've read alot of the advice but convincing an adcomm seems a magic trick to me. You can only gutwrench yourself into poverty so many times before it becomes unsustainable to continue. Full of regret and dejection.

Please don’t say that. I am sure you are a wonderful student. Your worth is not determined by a Ph.D. program, and you can always try again. Maybe this happened for the best. I know many grad students who are very unhappy in grad school, and not everyone who made it is deserving. I am sure you will do great in whatever you will do in the future.

*Hugs* 

[Pennywise]

My life is in the trash heap, I can't do this anymore, rejected by all but 1 school which gave no funding last year, rejected from 10 (including 8 sociology programs) and 3 de facto waitlists this year. I'm in a huge financial hole to the point of needing to go on public assistance now (applications are f-ing expensive!), I think the phd is now unattainable and I dont even know if I can get a professional masters. I'm obviously incompetent and don't know how to do this game, I've read alot of the advice but convincing an adcomm seems a magic trick to me. You can only gutwrench yourself into poverty so many times before it becomes unsustainable to continue. Full of regret and dejection.

 

I see that you got into York Geography but would have to pay for your own tuition for 3 years.

 

If your other option is abject misery as described above, mightn't it be preferable to take out student loans for tuition for a year? Hopefully next year you would have figured out a way to get external funding, so you'd only have an extra $30K or so in loans.

 

Yes I realize a Marxist Geography Phd is not a sure-fire path to a lucrative job, but if your other option is so horrible, I think taking out federal loans could be an option.