Fall 2016 Acceptances, Interviews, and Rejections Thread

[macadamia tea]

37 minutes ago, notthatgood said:

Hi everyone! I am a long time lurker. Just wanted to say thanks to all contributors. Knowing that there are people out there going through the same process helped me feel less isolated in the past few weeks.

In the last 4-5 hours I have gone through the entire five stages of grief after seeing that NYU admissions went out. It was my last chance to get into Top-20, after four rejections last week. I thought I was a good fit, and made sure the adcom could realize that I was a good fit, plus established a contact with a POI, who was really really encouraging. It didn't happen but I am lucky that I already have an offer with decent funding from a Top-25-ish department. 

For those who are empty-handed, I am almost certain you will do much better next cycle (unless you decide to do something else with your life) thanks to this year's experience. This forum has helped me a lot figure out how I could have improved my applications, I am sure you all feel the same. I know if I was to have another shot at this I would do much much better. 

And congratulations to all those who are accepted. Especially those of you who got multiple Top-10 offers in addition to multiple Top-20's. Impressive. 

I just want to make sure you know 'top 20' and 'top 25' don't literally mean the top 20 in a particular ranking - it's shorthand for talking about perceived 'tiers'. There could be 24 top-20s, or 16 - there's nothing magic about multiples of 5. I think any difference between 'top 20' and 'top 25' is going to be slight, and subjective.

Sorry if this comes across as patronizing or anything, just wanted to be extra sure you knew.

Edited February 11, 2016 by macadamia tea

[Katastrophe]

2 hours ago, nowayjose said:

how did nyu let you know about waitlist? how long after acceptances went out?

Just got notified I was wait listed. 

[nowayjose]

12 minutes ago, Katastrophe said:

Just got notified I was wait listed. 

damn, was it generic?

[nowayjose]

Just now, nowayjose said:

damn, was it generic?

and did your application status change at all?

[Katastrophe]

12 minutes ago, nowayjose said:

and did your application status change at all?

I'll pm you!

[notthatgood]

30 minutes ago, macadamia tea said:

I just want to make sure you know 'top 20' and 'top 25' don't literally mean the top 20 in a particular ranking - it's shorthand for talking about perceived 'tiers'. There could be 24 top-20s, or 16 - there's nothing magic about multiples of 5. I think any difference between 'top 20' and 'top 25' is going to be slight, and subjective.

Sorry if this comes across as patronizing or anything, just wanted to be extra sure you knew.

Thanks for warning. Half of the people asked would consider it Top-20 while the other half would consider it Top-30. That's what I meant. I know it's very arbitrary. 

[SushiBar]

2 hours ago, pingaling said:

In at Upenn Demography

I am a special case--already at a top sociology program in my second year and looking to leave.

in at UPenn Demography too! Mind sharing about why you are looking to leave? Can PM.

[Heinztomatoketchup]

Currently mourning NYU hopes and dreams

[oquinnje]

On 2/10/2016 at 10:10 PM, Alice_JH said:

Hi, everyone

I had an interview with the sociology department of Northeastern University in the  last Thursday.

There is anyone who get the admission e-mail from the Northeastern University after the interview?

The professor who had conversation with me said that the decision will be made in this week (unless I'm mistaken..).

I want to know that the decision is already made or not.....

 

 

I also had an interview with Northeastern (last week) and still haven't heard anything back from them, so I think you're good!

[oquinnje]

7 hours ago, SocPhDreamer said:

Has anyone heard back from Northwestern?

I haven't!! Waiting anxiously..

[c11m07]

Anyone hear anything from UMass Amherst? I missed a call from an Amherst number about a half hour ago-- no voicemail. I did my undergrad in that area, so I'm convinced it's a call looking for donations or something, but also I'm freaking out. I don't see any evidence that they usually call anyone and I don't have any contacts in the department. Ahhhhhh. 

[oquinnje]

Just now, c11m07 said:

Anyone hear anything from UMass Amherst? I missed a call from an Amherst number about a half hour ago-- no voicemail. I did my undergrad in that area, so I'm convinced it's a call looking for donations or something, but also I'm freaking out. I don't see any evidence that they usually call anyone and I don't have any contacts in the department. Ahhhhhh. 

I haven't heard from them yet! Their application had a later deadline though so I feel like they wouldn't get back to us this quickly....

[c11m07]

1 minute ago, oquinnje said:

I haven't heard from them yet! Their application had a later deadline though so I feel like they wouldn't get back to us this quickly....

Yeah, the earliest data I'm seeing on the results boards is Feb 17th. Usually 17th-23rd ish for admits. Maybe wishful thinking because I'm so desperate for good news. One rejection and two assumed rejections under my belt.

[KimchiRamen]

Any UC Irvine admits heard about funding yet? It has been about a month since their initial contact, but further information about financial aid seems elusive. I asked the DGS and the social science coordinator but didn't get a clear answer. Was wondering if anyone else is facing the same problem.

[gradstudentsoc]

yo everyone, i received this email from yale yesterday, was wondering what it meant. have replied but heard nothing so far:

Dear,

 

I am writing you today in my capacity as chair of the graduate admissions committee for the Yale University Department of Sociology.

The other committee members and I have read your file with great interest and are impressed not only with what you have accomplished to this point, but also with your potential.

As we narrow the pool of candidates to the 10 we plan to offer admission, we would be grateful to know if you have already accepted an offer of admission elsewhere.

Thank you for the opportunity to review your exceptional file.

Ron Eyerman

 

 

 

Anyone any insight? 

[nowayjose]

1 minute ago, gradstudentsoc said:

yo everyone, i received this email from yale yesterday, was wondering what it meant. have replied but heard nothing so far:

Dear,

 

I am writing you today in my capacity as chair of the graduate admissions committee for the Yale University Department of Sociology.

The other committee members and I have read your file with great interest and are impressed not only with what you have accomplished to this point, but also with your potential.

As we narrow the pool of candidates to the 10 we plan to offer admission, we would be grateful to know if you have already accepted an offer of admission elsewhere.

Thank you for the opportunity to review your exceptional file.

Ron Eyerman

 

 

 

Anyone any insight? 

Wow, that's awesome. I guess they're just wondering whether it's worth it to offer it to you. Congrats.

[Paul_SOC]

10 hours ago, blanciblau said:

Thank you!

My acceptance letter states, "If you do decide before [4/15] that you will not be joining us at Penn, we would appreciate it if you could please inform us as soon as possible. We have a few admits who are on a waiting list for funding allocations, and we cannot complete their offers until we have clarity on our overall enrollment numbers." It sounds like the committee has a list of students that they are hoping to admit, but that they don't have funding for. It's very possible that they are withholding those notifications until a later date, when they have a better idea of who from the "first wave" will be committing.

I will most likely be declining Penn, as I've also been accepted to a better fit program and offered extremely generous funding. I am going to be withholding my final decision until after visit days, but I will let them know as soon as possible should I commit elsewhere!

Thanks a lot for your information! I will PM you for more information as I could be the very student in that "list". 

[redhillgirl]

5 hours ago, pingaling said:

In at Upenn Demography

I am a special case--already at a top sociology program in my second year and looking to leave.

Im always a little curious as to why people leave their programs. I can imagine there are many possible factors (change in personal life, change of interest,  funding etc)....but can people who are already in a phd program but looking to leave tell us a little bit more as to why they wanna start all over again? (so i can prepare for my future...) 

[ts1493]

15 minutes ago, redhillgirl said:

Im always a little curious as to why people leave their programs. I can imagine there are many possible factors (change in personal life, change of interest,  funding etc)....but can people who are already in a phd program but looking to leave tell us a little bit more as to why they wanna start all over again? (so i can prepare for my future...) 

Yes, curious about the same thing!

[123letsgo]

This might not be appropriate here, but did anyone apply/hear from Harvard's Social Policy program?  I know it's not Sociology exactly, but I thought this would be the place to ask.

[ts1493]

I applied to the Brandeis Social Policy program but haven't found anything about it or other social policy programs in these forums ... good luck! 

[ConsciousKid]

19 minutes ago, 123letsgo said:

This might not be appropriate here, but did anyone apply/hear from Harvard's Social Policy program?  I know it's not Sociology exactly, but I thought this would be the place to ask.

I applied to the joint Sociology & Social Policy Ph.D. program. Have not heard anything at all. Assuming that isn't a good sign. :/

[Heinztomatoketchup]

1 hour ago, nowayjose said:

Wow, that's awesome. I guess they're just wondering whether it's worth it to offer it to you. Congrats.

Agreed ^. They want to make sure they're offering a student who is available. I'd say it's a good sign. Congratulations!

[socilinda]

50 minutes ago, redhillgirl said:

Im always a little curious as to why people leave their programs. I can imagine there are many possible factors (change in personal life, change of interest,  funding etc)....but can people who are already in a phd program but looking to leave tell us a little bit more as to why they wanna start all over again? (so i can prepare for my future...) 

Because grad school can be an extremely uncomfortable and lonely experience for some people. Academics are among the most self-centered and awkward people I know so it's easy to see how some people get jaded after a couple of years in their programs.

For some, it's the constant competition for resources, pressure to publish, teach, and have a life on the side that gets them. For others, it's the massive chasm between their romanticized notions of academia as this world of great minds versus the reality of their situation, which often consists of low income, depression, crazy work hours, anxiety, loneliness, and a host of other issues. 

I have contemplated dropping out a couple of times in the past but it's way too late now, haha. And, I should also say that I do tend to overgeneralize when responding to these types of questions but I just wanted to give you a "view from the other side". Academia can also be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. It's ultimately what you make of it!

[goofylemon]

I kindly suggest again to the folks here to not being too obsessed about ranking, talk about your interests. I see so many folks here talking about "aha! top 10", "well, top 20/25". It is meaningless unless you have no idea about your research interests. When you are about to graduate, TT positions/job talks will perhaps look at (in order of priority) #1 your publication #2 who is your adviser, #3 your recommendation letter, and maybe well then your program. 

I received two top-10 offers this year but declined them right away to choose Brown. With my interests in family, social demography, urban soc, China and life course/aging, No place will beat Brown, despite its ranking is a 25. Look, I am not even talking about money.

Edited February 12, 2016 by goofylemon