4th Year at a CHYMPS school.... AMA

[puddle]

I remember the application process and how stressful it was. I've been through admissions, starting at a new school (inc moving across the continent), coursework, comprehensive exams, teaching, and advancing to candidacy. Happy to honestly answer any questions you might have during the dreaded "waiting period".

[PizzaCat93]

Thanks for doing this! I have a few different questions.

1) Do you feel that there is a high degree of competition and tension within your cohort/peers? Or, is everyone fairly helpful and encouraging?
 

2) Is your advisor often too busy to meet with you/respond to emails/etc? Or is s/he very supportive and available?
 

3) What was the first year and adjustment like for you? Did you ever regret your decision to attend grad school?

[ultraultra]

I second the thanks above. I'm curious about the recruitment weekends. How far in advance do schools tell you about them? Do the recruitment weekends for top schools often overlap or do they stagger them reasonably well?  How much do they usually reimburse you for attending? Will they reimburse your travel costs if you come on a different weekend? And did you find your experiences at the recruitment weekend were a fairly accurate sign of what was to come (in terms of resources/"mood" of the department/friendliness of supervisors and admins) or not so much?

Edited December 17, 2015 by ultraultra
specificity

[wpg205]

I'm finding this very funny, if a little sad. 

[s1994]

Did most of the students in your cohort go to APSA in their first year? What about MPSA/SPSA, or other smaller regional references (say, for example, ISA-Midwest)? Thanks!

[puddle]

On 12/17/2015 at 2:44 PM, PizzaCat93 said:

Thanks for doing this! I have a few different questions.

1) Do you feel that there is a high degree of competition and tension within your cohort/peers? Or, is everyone fairly helpful and encouraging?

Hey - I think my school is pretty special. The department culture is very supportive... little unhealthy competition and almost no tension (even between students who study very similar things). Students in higher years are incredibly encouraging and help bring up first years. There is lots of collaborative work & courses/exams go much easier because of study groups.
 

2) Is your advisor often too busy to meet with you/respond to emails/etc? Or is s/he very supportive and available?

My adviser is AMAZING. I met with her during my recruiting visit and I left her office with a kind of intellectual fervor! Though my dissertation topic changed a lot over my first 3 years, she has always been super supportive. I think in part because she is cross-listed with another department (law), she has this amazing ability to contribute to a discussion on just about any topic (especially helpful as I have changed my field a few times and now sit at the intersection of 4-5 different disciplines).
 

3) What was the first year and adjustment like for you? Did you ever regret your decision to attend grad school?

Challenging in some ways. I moved from the west coast of Canada to the NEastern US. I did my undergrad in California so I had never really experienced the kind of culture (not to mention weather) they have out East. I didn't know a single person in the state... I drove 5000km to get there... I was a bit tired after my 4 year BA, a 2 year MA, and lots of travel/research. That said, I adjusted pretty quickly. My school has a great grad student social network (awesome grad student bar, welcoming week with pub crawls and movie nights etc. etc.) and I met people from a variety of departments/made friends fast. I have never regretted my decision to go to grad school (though I have had the occasional "what the F am I doing" existential crisis that my friends in other departments say is experienced by everyone). Last year I took 6 months in absentia and then 6 months on leave of absence (to chase my olympic dream). I would recommend a break to anyone who has gone straight through school as it really helped me re-order my priorities and get back on track with my prospectus/dissertation.

 

[puddle]

On 12/17/2015 at 3:34 PM, ultraultra said:

I second the thanks above. I'm curious about the recruitment weekends. How far in advance do schools tell you about them? Do the recruitment weekends for top schools often overlap or do they stagger them reasonably well?  How much do they usually reimburse you for attending? Will they reimburse your travel costs if you come on a different weekend? And did you find your experiences at the recruitment weekend were a fairly accurate sign of what was to come (in terms of resources/"mood" of the department/friendliness of supervisors and admins) or not so much?

I went on 1 recruiting visit because I had already decided to attend that school (I signed my commitment letter before I even got on the plane). I don't really have answers for most of those questions but I can say that they will reimbursed me for travel and paid for food & accommodation while I was there (probably all came to well over 1k as my flights alone were 750$+. I had a good time at my visit and I love my department (read above) so I guess it definitely was a good predictor in my case. For the most part I think you can tell if people are sincere... I spent most of my visit convincing the people I liked that they should also sign commitments... and they all did :).

[puddle]

On 12/22/2015 at 11:38 AM, wpg205 said:

I'm finding this very funny, if a little sad. 

Sense of humour always helps.

[puddle]

On 12/23/2015 at 3:41 AM, shane94 said:

Did most of the students in your cohort go to APSA in their first year? What about MPSA/SPSA, or other smaller regional references (say, for example, ISA-Midwest)? Thanks!

Some people went to APSA but not very many in their first year... large amounts of conference funding isn't that easy to come by unless you have a paper to present so the richies went and the poor saps stayed behind. I presented at a smaller regional conference (WPSA) and I received something like 500$ from my department to pay for it (not nearly enough... but it helped).

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

Hey Puddle! Thanks for the answers. Just wondering how many programs you applied to in total - you mentioned that you had already signed your commitment letter before your recruitment weekend visit, but I'm unsure if this means you applied widely or narrowly with a specific program in mind. When it comes to fit, what were the primary reasons why you ultimately chose the program you did? Also, out of curiosity, did your GRE scores and experience applying into the program fall below, or above your department's posted average statistics?

[puddle]

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 2:28 PM, CarefreeWritingsontheWall said:

Hey Puddle! Thanks for the answers. Just wondering how many programs you applied to in total - you mentioned that you had already signed your commitment letter before your recruitment weekend visit, but I'm unsure if this means you applied widely or narrowly with a specific program in mind. When it comes to fit, what were the primary reasons why you ultimately chose the program you did? Also, out of curiosity, did your GRE scores and experience applying into the program fall below, or above your department's posted average statistics?

Hey - I applied fairly widely (3 in Canada, 8 in the US with 7/8 in the top 10). The school I chose was by far the best school I got into (both objectively in terms of funding, reputation, etc. And for me in terms of the number of profs I could work with). I sorta chose a school based on fit but I prioritized funding, faculty size and reputation... I have no regrets about this as I ended up changing my advisory team and dissertation topic 3 times before settling on my current project /team. My school has a lot of money and lots of opportunities to pick up funding for exploratory research. This is awesome... I can't imagine going to school somewhere that didn't have those things. Reputation seems like it shouldn't matter @ grad school... But dont kid yourself, it does. Big, internationally famous, rich schools with "t-shirt" worthy names will open doors. People answer emails more quickly, they are more willing to interview you for jobs, hell... Even US customs goes more quickly when you drop your school's name in at the beginning of the conversation.

My GREs were good (800 math, 760 in eng). I had a 3.7 gpa from a large public R1 where I had also been a 4 year full-ride D1 student-athlete. I had an MA with distinction and a fairly interesting thesis. Good letters of rec from my thesis advisors and one prof from the US who I had worked with for years. I had 2 years research experience in south eastern Africa. I had no publications but 2 conference presentations. I had/still have Canada's SSHRC scholarship.

... Oh and of the 8 top-10 schools I applied to, I was accepted to only 1. The system is unpredictable. That's my biggest word to the wise. You just cannot know if you are going to be accepted. Your stats are essentially meaningless. I think fit is meaningless too because I was rejected from worse schools with which I had technically better fit.

[puddle]

On 1/17/2016 at 0:30 PM, sociologyapp2016 said:

Both statements are flat out false. Yes, the admissions process can be arbitrary, but grad committees don't just pick names out of a hat. 

And think about the logic of your argument. It's like equivalent of: "I never smoked my entire life. I ended up getting lung cancer at age 50, though fortunately I ended up living to be 100 years old. Therefore, whether you smoke or not is meaningless with respect to longevity." 

Lol what?

Fair enough. That's not really what I meant but I think I expressed this poorly. I guess what I should have said was that there are many applicants to top programs. Of these, several will have similar stats to you and a similar fit. Several will have better stats and better fit (or one of these). Whether you are accepted or they are accepted cannot be predicted. This is why - IMO - schools don't report accurate GRE or GPA cutoffs for their programs. 

Here is an example from my own experience. I applied to a program equal in ranking to the one I ended up getting accepted to. I had 4-5 profs I could have worked with, had grades & GRE scores on the high end of what they accepted that year, had a  etc. I was not accepted. I was later told that of the profs I "fit" with, none were looking to take on new grad students my year (going on sabbatical, had too many students from a previous year, was changing schools etc.).

So, anyways, yes... your grades do matter & your GRE scores matter in that they keep you off the outright "no" list. Just like your lifestyle choices make a difference in whether you get cancer or not. However - there is a largely unpredictable element in acceptances to grad school as in lung cancer. I don't mean you can't improve your chances of being accepted by working hard, getting good grades, applying to schools that seem to be a good fit, etc. I mean that once you have taken all these precautions, you cannot know what the system has in store for you. You could still be rejected from every school you applied to... or you could be accepted to them all. The system is - as you say - often arbitrary. Though names are not just "picked out of a hat", I am not certain that any other selection system is particularly more "fair".