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Eveiy yeai the sociology giauuate piogiam at the 0niveisity of Wisconsin-Nauison ieceives
hunuieus of applications, but we aie only able to aumit a small fiaction (fewei than 1u
peicent) of those applicants, making the selection piocess extiemely iigoious.

In the thiee yeais that I have seiveu as uiiectoi of giauuate stuuies foi sociology, I have
ieceiveu numeious email messages fiom applicants asking foi auvice about how best to
piepaie theii iespective applications anu impiove theii chances of aumission. I always tell
applicants the same thing: The giauuate aumission committee consiueis a wiue iange of
factois when selecting applicants, incluuing acauemic iecoiu, uPA, uRE scoies, T0EFL
scoies (in the case of inteinational stuuents), tiansciipts, statement of puipose anu
applicant's goals, letteis of iefeience, wiiting sample, pievious ieseaich expeiience, anu fit
with oui piogiam. No one of these factois outweighs the otheis; iathei they aie examineu
in combination. Foi answeis to fiequently askeu questions about oui use of these ciiteiia,
please see heie: http:ssc.wisc.euusocgiauaumissions_faq.php.

Although many of these factois aie alieauy set by the time a stuuent applies to the giauuate
piogiam, I believe that caieful piepaiation of one's statement of puipose anu wiiting
sample can help to impiove one's chances of aumission. With that in minu, I am happy to
shaie the following tips with applicants. This auvice ieflects my own peisonal expeiience
anu opinion anu uoes not necessaiily ieflect the views of any of my colleagues.

To begin with, make suie youi file is complete anu the application mateiials aie submitteu
on time. That's youi iesponsibility, not ouis. In auuition:

1. Nake youi statement of ieasons foi giauuate stuuy concise (no moie than two
pages) anu ieauable (uouble-spaceu, oi at least skip lines between paiagiaphs, anu
12-point font).
2. Things to avoiu in youi statement: Theie is no neeu foi a lengthy iecounting of past
couisewoik (it's ieuunuant: we have youi tiansciipt) oi a uetaileu ieseaich
pioposal. We uo want to see that you have some cleai ieseaich inteiests, but a
peisonal statement is not a ieseaich pioposal. Also avoiu extianeous infoimation.
The aumission committee uoesn't neeu to know, foi instance, about youi expeiience
as captain of the Quiuuitch team. These things have no beaiing on youi aumission.
Finally, I think it's best to avoiu stoiies about how you have been uestineu to
become a sociologist since biith oi how you weie always alieauy a sociologist. Even
if it's tiue, it will sounu like a clich.
S. Youi statement shoulu inuicate that you know what giauuate school is anu what it is
foi: that it is essentially piofessional tiaining anu not simply a continuation of youi
unueigiauuate euucation. Thus, it's helpful to say a few woius about youi futuie
caieei plans. Why uo you want a Ph.B. What will you uo with the uegiee. Bo you
plan to puisue an acauemic caieei, like most applicants we aumit, oi some othei
kinu of caieei. If some othei kinu of caieei, why uo you neeu a Ph.B. foi it. Why uo
you want a Ph.B. in !"#$"%"&' anu not anothei uiscipline, especially if youi
backgiounu oi pievious uegiees aie in anothei fielu. If you aie in anothei giauuate
piogiam alieauy, why uo you want to tiansfei. This infoimation will show that
you'ie seiious about stuuying sociology at the giauuate level anu that you know
why you'ie uoing it.
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4. What uiaws you to ()$! paiticulai giauuate piogiam. You may want to mention, foi
instance, specific faculty membeis you'u like to woik with heie anu why. This will
keep the statement fiom appeaiing geneiic (an impiession you want to avoiu) anu
uemonstiate youi familiaiity with oui giauuate piogiam. It will look moie
convincing if you've actually exchangeu emails oi spoken on the phone with those
faculty. (If you have, note it in youi statement!) Remembei that the aumission
piocess is like a couitship: we'ie couiting you (maybe), but you'ie couiting us as
well, so tailoi youi statement to oui piogiam.
S. If you have any weak spots in youi application such as a low uRE scoie (below the
Suth peicentile), the statement of puipose is a goou place to call attention to
mitigating oi extenuating ciicumstances the committee may not be awaie of, explain
how you aie iemeuying this weakness, anuoi make a case why the weak scoie is
not the best oi most accuiate inuicatoi of youi abilities in this aiea.
6. It's helpful to highlight in youi statement any pievious ieseaich expeiience you
have (senioi thesis, mastei's thesis, ieseaich assistantship, etc.). Reseaich
expeiience is by no means iequiieu foi aumission, but it may help to uistinguish
youi application fiom otheis.
7. You may have acquiieu consiueiable knowleuge in a paiticulai subfielu of sociology,
especially if you have alieauy completeu some giauuate stuuy, but uon't assume
that eveiyone on the aumission committee will be a specialist in that fielu.
8. "Whoevei wants a seimon," Nax Webei once wiote, "shoulu go to a conventicle"
not to giauuate school. Baving a passion foi social justice is not a bau thing, anu it
often seives as a poweiful motivation foi goou sociological woik, but sociology
shoulu not be confuseu with muckiaking. Simply exposing injustice anu oppiession
is not the same thing as illuminating the woikings of society. It's not news to social
scientists that some gioups aie uominateu oi exploiteu by otheis.
9. Befoie you submit an extiemely long wiiting sample, iemembei that the aumission
committee must ieview hunuieus of applications. This usually compels me to skim
thiough lengthy wiiting samples. Bettei to exceipt the best pait of a long papei oi
thesis anu pieface it with a biief intiouuction that summaiizes the papei as a whole
anu explains how the exceipt fits into it.
1u. What uo I look foi in a wiiting sample. Cleai anu well-oiganizeu wiiting, caieful
ieasoning, ieseaich expeiience, but above all a capacity foi cieative anu imaginative
thinking. I look foi applicants who tiy to uo moie than uesciibe what they have
stuuieu. I look foi applicants who, as my colleague Eiik Wiight likes to put it, stiive
to leain *+", a case anu not simply -."/( it.

I hope these suggestions will be helpful. uoou luck with youi application!

Piofessoi Chau Alan uolubeig
Biiectoi of uiauuate Stuuies foi Sociology
0niveisity of Wisconsin-Nauison
Novembei 2u12