yeah i spent about $1000 applying to grad school (I applied to 9 schools). if you post your statement of purpose here I'd be happy to look it over and give you feedback :)

I have been gone from academia long enough.

I intend to return and spend the next two years completing my Sociology doctorate.

I earned my master’s degree from the University of Arizona in 2004. Over the following two years I completed the required doctoral coursework there, as well as my written comprehensive exams in the areas of religion and gender… I am enclosing the paper that was accepted as my master’s thesis as my writing sample for your review. Note that this paper served as a springboard for a collaborative effort with my Sociology of Gender professor, Louise Roth, and the resulting hybrid work (name) was published in the American Sociological Review in 2006. This demonstrates both the scholarly value of my research agenda, as well as my willingness and ability to cooperate successfully with professors and colleagues…

I left the U of A for a number of reasons… family issues demanded I be closer to our nucleus in South Eastern Wisconsin. Professionally, I began to languish over possible directions for a dissertation. I became increasingly concerned that my continuous transitions from high school, to college, to graduate school, had instilled in me an abstract “Ivory Tower” perspective on society. So I came home to participate more directly in the world.

My interests in research and social science did not abate, but they became supplemented by an interest in social justice. I have kept a foot in academia all along by teaching night classes at a few local colleges. I worked several jobs doing survey interviewing for R.T.I. (the Study of Community Family Life), community organizing for Citizen Action, and office work for the Census Bureau (see resume for more details). This has given me on-the-ground experience of how social science and social justice institutions interact with the real world and real peoples’ lives – invaluable experience that has enriched my understanding of society and deepened my conviction that sociological knowledge has much to offer the world…

looks good so far (except for all the ellipses), but i agree it would help to have paragraph with info about your dissertation plans following what you have here.

Also you should be more specific when discussing your research project that you published in ASR (unless that's what the ellipses are signifying)- what was your research question and what did you find, summarized in 2-3 sentences.

also you should have a paragraph in each one specific to the school you are applying to, talking about who you want to work with.

And talk about why completing the phd is necessary to your long career goals.

Also I'm not sure what is standard in these situations, but some programs may require you to retake comps/some coursework, and if that is the case the admin committee will probably be interested in your whether you are willing to repeat stuff.

What are you applying for?

sociology at U-Chicago, UW-Madison, Loyola, U-MN, Notre Dame, and, of course, U of A. any advice?

Looking over your letter draft above, if you have a specific idea for a dissertation topic (maybe particularly one coming out of your "on-the-ground experience") that might strengthen your letter. You might even consider a 10-page prospectus or some such as a supplemental material if schools will consider such things.

I've also always heard (although I didn't follow this advice myself obviously) that it is good to identify specific faculty members you could work with (shared interests/ potential committee members) and contact them to talk about mentoring/ collaborative possibilities.

Also, it looks like most of your choices are region specific...so did you consider UI-Chicago? UIowa? Urbana-Champaign? Maybe not a good match of interests? The latter two are too "small town" maybe? Or maybe you only have so much money to go around. :)

i vote for u of MN!