Fall 2016 Acceptances, Interviews, and Rejections Thread

[Heinztomatoketchup]

42 minutes ago, kelris said:

People who have gotten into several schools, what do you think set your applications apart? So many people are lucky to get into just one school. Why do you think some applications are accepted to many programs?

 

I honestly wonder the same thing. For me, my GPA was high, GRE was decent. I think what probably helped were my recommendation letters and possibly my writing sample. 

[nowayjose]

8 minutes ago, michaelalexiss said:

Got an email from NYU!!

the subject line : Attend an NYU Online Information Session - MS in Professional Writing

 

 

 

That was a sick joke 

mini heart attack, nbd

[redhillgirl]

Got my 1st rejection from duke! Totally expected and isnt top choice so not bunmed at all. Now if im rejected by NW or NYU...i'll be pretty disappointed.

I hv heard from 3 schs so far, got into 2 of them. Im sure what sets me apart is the SOP - my POI at Wisc said it was very strong and would definitely got me thru the crucial 1st cut, apparently it did.  Apart from it, my writing sample is quite strong too. 

[puton]

Hey guys! Do you think it would be safe to say that Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Penn, Columbia, and Chicago have sent all of their admission letters to those who are accepted by now? I know some programs send out acceptances in couple of different waves, but considering the relatively small cohorts size of these departments it would be wise to consider myself rejected as I have yet to hear from them, right?

Sad.....

 

[pi515]

2 minutes ago, puton said:

Hey guys! Do you think it would be safe to say that Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Penn, Columbia, and Chicago have sent all of their admission letters to those who are accepted by now? I know some programs send out acceptances in couple of different waves, but considering the relatively small cohorts size of these departments it would be wise to consider myself rejected as I have yet to hear from them, right?

Sad.....

 

I'm afraid so. Based on data on the results page, all of these schools contacted admits over the course of just one day, two days at most, in the past. I've applied to three of the schools you've listed (and have heard from none of them) so I feel your pain.  

[macadamia tea]

Received a Cornell acceptance about half an hour ago, so there is still some hope

[pi515]

5 minutes ago, macadamia tea said:

Received a Cornell acceptance about half an hour ago, so there is still some hope

no way!! congrats!! ok, in that case, I take back everything I just said.

Edited February 10, 2016 by pi515

[nowayjose]

We think Yale is done even though there are only 2 admits? That's pretty small, no? 

[c11m07]

4 minutes ago, nowayjose said:

We think Yale is done even though there are only 2 admits? That's pretty small, no? 

I looked through the past few years and it seems like usually about 3 Yale admits post. One year there were only 2. :/

[gingin6789]

18 minutes ago, macadamia tea said:

Received a Cornell acceptance about half an hour ago, so there is still some hope

Congratulations!!! Whoo! *throws confetti for you*

[puton]

17 minutes ago, macadamia tea said:

Received a Cornell acceptance about half an hour ago, so there is still some hope

Cool!   Was it via e-mail?

[SushiBar]

6 hours ago, Port Lake said:

I'm claiming a Chicago admit! 

Pertaining to the earlier discussion, I didn't contact any POIs before I applied. Some programmes (like Stanford) advised against. I would've maybe emailed if I had something meaningful to ask, but my research fits were pretty obvious to me so I didn't feel the need.

Same here! Didn't contact any POIs.

[soc_questions]

I have been lurking and just made an account to answer some of the questions coming up. For context, I have been accepted to 6 top-20 programs so far, waiting on 2 (one presumed rejection). I have a non-academic master's (i.e. not an MA or an MS) in a non-sociology field and several years' work experience (not academic or research). I feel like I've been really lucky to get good advice from people in this process so while I don't purport to know more than anyone else, I hope some of this is helpful... 

• Contacting professors ahead of application: I was advised to do this by several people, including some of my former professors. I googled "how to cold-email professors" and did it. I talked to some on the phone, some said "sorry, we don't talk to applicants ahead of time", and some wrote back saying they were too busy for a phone conversation. Some of the phone conversations were actually very helpful in helping me start to get a feel for a program aside from what you could learn on a website. In any case (even the "no we won't talk to you"), I don't think it hurt.  
• Letters of rec: none were from sociology profs.
• Contacting schools to inquire about application status: I have never done this. I doubt it'd help and wouldn't risk it. 
• What stands out... who knows. I do have good stats, good letters of rec (I'm pretty sure), and I like to think my statement of purpose was decent - but what resonates with one reader doesn't always resonate with another and it can be luck of the draw. Honestly, application processes suck and typically all have an element of arbitrary-ness to them... which doesn't help to hear, but it's true. (I have some experience reviewing applications for other things and these decisions can be really, really hard for reviewers too.)
• One piece of advice I received a long time ago (when applying to my master's program) was that your statement of purpose should reflect the academic/professional journey you've been on that got you to where you are, where you hope to go, and why this program will help you get there. I think that was useful and have taken that to heart. 

Anyway... hope something in there is useful to someone. Good luck to everyone!

[gingin6789]

On 2/10/2016 at 7:39 PM, soc_questions said:

 

• One piece of advice I received a long time ago (when applying to my master's program) was that your statement of purpose should reflect the academic/professional journey you've been on that got you to where you are, where you hope to go, and why this program will help you get there. I think that was useful and have taken that to heart. 

Anyway... hope something in there is useful to someone. Good luck to everyone!

And I think this is where SOPs can greatly differ. Some applicants' SOPs are tremendously personal because that's what really matters as part of their academic journey, while others read more as research proposals. 

I'm reminded of Vanderbilt's advice for writing an SOP:

" We hope that your statement of purpose will tell us why you want to be a sociologist, and why you want to earn a Ph.D. in sociology. Your statement should provide us with a clear idea of what kind of research questions motivate you, and why you think Vanderbilt is the right place for you to pursue them. Your statement should also tell us how your intellectual background and perhaps your life experiences have prepared you for graduate school at this point in your life. More effective statements do not start with something like “I think I began to be a sociologist at age 10 when I noticed that white kids and black kids were treated differently in school.” Yawn. What you thought when you were 10 will not help us decide whether you are well-prepared for graduate school now. (For the record, something like this would not kill your application; it would just be boring, and we read so many…) The point is, bring up your personal experience if it matters. We want to hear about it, if it matters."

(emphasis added)

I've been hesitating to what makes my "application stand out." I've now been fortunate enough to have been accepted to five of eight programs.

It's hard to say what makes my application different from those who have been rejected from multiple places because so much of the decision process contains things I have no control over.

I could be a perfect fit for a program, know the profs in the department, but if those profs aren't able to take on PhD students, then I might not get accepted, for example. If I'm the perfect fit for a program but my stats are slightly weaker than the top 5, and they're only taking 5 students, then I'm bumped out of the running.

Sounds like a cop-out for an answer, but I always remember my professor's story. One of the best professors I've ever witnessed teaching, completely brilliant in his field, he got his PhD from WUSTL but was rejected from much "lower-ranked" programs. He shrugged and told me that the process can be completely arbitrary sometimes.

 

[soc_questions]

I agree with your response, gingin6789. There's a lot that an individual applicant does not have control over, which I was hoping to get across in my post ... but I figured I'd also share what elements I did have control over (even though I of course don't know if those are what got me in).

Edited February 11, 2016 by soc_questions

[gingin6789]

5 minutes ago, soc_questions said:

I agree with your response, gingin6789. There's a lot that an individual applicant does not have control over, which I was hoping to get across in my post ... but I figured I'd also share what elements I did have control over (even though I of course don't know if those are what got me in).

That's a perfect way to phrase it! There are many things you can control, but it's never certain how much weight each part carries during the admissions process. 

[oedipus]

39 minutes ago, gingin6789 said:

That's a perfect way to phrase it! There are many things you can control, but it's never certain how much weight each part carries during the admissions process. 

ugh i wish all programs did interviews.

[s0ciology1992]

16 minutes ago, oedipus said:

ugh i wish all programs did interviews.

cambridge does - and refuses to GRE

[Alice_JH]

17 hours ago, Shay825 said:

I talked to Northeastern yesterday. They haven't made any offers and are still reviewing applications. I was told we'd start seeing responses with the next 2-3 weeks.

Thank for your information! It is really hard to just wait.. 

[Alice_JH]

18 hours ago, ConsciousKid said:

Hi Alice, I also had an interview last week on Tuesday. I was told the same as you. I have also not heard anything. To be honest I think we should hear back anytime between now and Friday. So hang in there!

Thank you for your answer! I hope that both of us will receive the acceptance e-mail  

[macadamia tea]

8 hours ago, pi515 said:

no way!! congrats!! ok, in that case, I take back everything I just said.

 

8 hours ago, gingin6789 said:

Congratulations!!! Whoo! *throws confetti for you*

 

8 hours ago, puton said:

Cool!   Was it via e-mail?

Thank you all!

 

@puton Yes, it was an email with an attached pdf

[puton]

2 hours ago, macadamia tea said:

 

 

Thank you all!

 

@puton Yes, it was an email with an attached pdf

Thanks for sharing the information and big congrats on your acceptance!!

[Paul_SOC]

Hello, anyone claim the UPenn acceptance? 

[blanciblau]

On February 11, 2016 at 8:37 AM, Paul_SOC said:

Hello, anyone claim the UPenn acceptance? 

I was admitted to Penn -- received an email from their grad chair a few days ago. 

[soc13]

54 minutes ago, blanciblau said:

I was admitted to Penn -- received an email from their grad chair a few days ago. 

Congratulations, @blanciblau!

Has anyone gotten a rejection from Penn yet? I'm assuming one at this point, but would love (in that not-actually-love way) actual confirmation, but the portal still has no decision letter.