eponine997

Thanks for the advice.

I say "nay" you say "yay" at the end I don't give a __________ (fill in the blank). I don't think it matters. Just listen to whatever the Ohio Professors said because they obviously know more than any prospective student.

I honestly don't think I looked at that question even once. A lot of our applicants left it blank; others wrote in a set of top-5 departments; yet others wrote in a greater variety of departments. I don't care (though I accept the notion that some might).
 
AFAIK, that question exists so the bean-counters in the graduate school can use the answers to generate a set of "peer" institutions, i.e., where do people applying to us also apply? It is not a factor in admissions.
 
Here's how I read the files:
1) Get basic info: name, previous ed institutions, GPA, GRE scores (the latter two simply to ascertain if you're above the arbitrary thresholds established by our graduate school since that has implications for funding, as BFB has explained previously).
2) Read personal statement closely; skim writing sample if provided (OSU doesn't require one)
3) If statement is any good, and if "fit" is plausible, glance at letters to see if any flags pop up.
4) Next file.
 
In short, for me, it's all about the statement and/or writing sample if one was provided. Frankly I found letters of rec fairly uninformative for the obvious selection bias reasons.
 
As my list formed, I had pretty strong priors as to who I thought would get a lot of attention and whom I thought we'd have the inside track on. But that didn't bear on my decision at all, and an admit's "gettability" never came up at the admission committee meeting.

In fact, yes. Bottom of the page.

Faculty alarm? Good idea. We eat brains. 

Someone in my grad school cohort who was wait-listed and eventually enrolled without funding ended up as clearly the star of our cohort. They got their first job at a top 5 department and now have tenure (early) at another top 5 department. Nobody remembers whether or not you were wait-listed or where you ranked in the admissions process once the admissions process is over.

Dude I went somewhere that waitlisted me undergrad. I got over it. you can too. All that matters is that you get in somewhere.

That's actually not true. If you weren't good enough, you wouldn't be on the wait list at all.
 
It may or may not mean that you're a lower priority for the Department than people who were accepted outright: as I've discussed above, some programs can't control funding as much as they'd like, and as you've just noted, fit is a huge deal. But it definitely doesn't mean you're not good enough.

For what it's worth, I'd like to second BFB's comment re: emailing DGSes to ask which aspects of your application were weakest and which next steps might be the most helpful.  The first time I applied to schools, it didn't go well (I happened to have both a low GPA AND a bad undergrad institution, woot woot); I lucked my way into acceptance for the PhD program of a good department that was weak in my own subfield and got relegated to a master's program at a top place.  So, I emailed the DGS at a school very dear to BFB's heart (where I had been rejected) and asked:  what was weak about my application, and which of these two steps do you think might help me the most moving forward? 
 
She was very candid.  Obviously, candor can be difficult to swallow sometimes, but you get over that.  She made her recommendation as to which path was better given my current weaknesses, and I took her advice.  When I re-applied to her department two years later, I was lucky enough to get in---and on the letter from her, she added a postscript about how pleased she was to see that our decision had paid dividends.  At the risk of getting trite, I was touched (too late---that was trite).  It made it all the harder when I went elsewhere...but that's another story.
 
The point here is:  acquiring information is scary, and it's hard, and it can be disappointing, and not every DGS will be so kind as to get back in touch with you, and not every DGS that does will be as kind as the one I reference here is, and so on.  But, what BFB is saying isn't just propaganda on the faculty side:  there are some good ones out there, and they can help you if you do it right.

It's really not that unusual to be confused about what you want or where you stand or what you should do at 25 (i'm assuming you're around that age based on graduating 3 years ago).  

"Why not?" is a horribly reason to pursue a graduate degree.  They take time (often more time than what you put into undergrad), money (even if you are fully funded, there is still lost opportunity since you almost certainly could be earning more if you weren't in school), and energy (again, usually more than undergrad, because its not like you finish your assignments and then you are done, it sometimes feels like a bottomless pit of research).  Basically, you should probably be willing to eat, sleep, and breath your discipline for however long it takes to complete you degree (unless you're looking at a part time program).  
 
If you are unsure of what you want, programs can often sense that.  They expect you to articulate your goals and interests in a clear SoP, if you can't do that, they often will not admit you.  
 
Will the history MA help you with your career path/life plan or does it just "sound fun?"  If its the latter, it seems like you can engage those interests by taking classes as a post-bac/non-matriculated student, which is what I would recommend (and would make you a stronger candidate should you choose to reapply).  Then if you decide a an MA/advanced degree is for you, you can usually transfer at least some of those credits into your grad program.  
 
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but thorough self-examination now could save you a lot of time, money, pain, and effort pursuing something you neither want nor need.  
 
It sounds like you do have a good job, so there is probably not terrible cause to freak out because you life isn't perfectly plotted out 3 years out of college .  Good luck with whatever you decide

It's really not that unusual to be confused about what you want or where you stand or what you should do at 25 (i'm assuming you're around that age based on graduating 3 years ago).  

"Why not?" is a horribly reason to pursue a graduate degree.  They take time (often more time than what you put into undergrad), money (even if you are fully funded, there is still lost opportunity since you almost certainly could be earning more if you weren't in school), and energy (again, usually more than undergrad, because its not like you finish your assignments and then you are done, it sometimes feels like a bottomless pit of research).  Basically, you should probably be willing to eat, sleep, and breath your discipline for however long it takes to complete you degree (unless you're looking at a part time program).  
 
If you are unsure of what you want, programs can often sense that.  They expect you to articulate your goals and interests in a clear SoP, if you can't do that, they often will not admit you.  
 
Will the history MA help you with your career path/life plan or does it just "sound fun?"  If its the latter, it seems like you can engage those interests by taking classes as a post-bac/non-matriculated student, which is what I would recommend (and would make you a stronger candidate should you choose to reapply).  Then if you decide a an MA/advanced degree is for you, you can usually transfer at least some of those credits into your grad program.  
 
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but thorough self-examination now could save you a lot of time, money, pain, and effort pursuing something you neither want nor need.  
 
It sounds like you do have a good job, so there is probably not terrible cause to freak out because you life isn't perfectly plotted out 3 years out of college .  Good luck with whatever you decide

^ This.  

But also consider what "fit" really means.  Does it mean there are one or two people on faculty whose work inspired you to become a political scientist to begin with?  Or does it mean a place where you have a lot of options in terms of people who might share SOMEWHAT (though perhaps not perfectly) close research interest and methodology?  If for you, "fit" means the former, you could be in a predicament if those people should leave during the 5 years you'll be spending at the program.  Going to a more highly ranked program usually means even if you don't have an advisor who LOVES you/your research, you still have the resources of a (more) reputable institution when it comes to placement.  

Does "fit" mean your POI's at one program responded to your emails while, those at the other program did not?  Keep in mind the impressions you have of them at this early stage in the process (you are not even there yet) may not reflect the type of support you'll actually receive or how well you will really get a long with them.  
 
I would imagine you have some dimension of "fit" with the better institution, because they bothered admitting you.  My understanding is that if there is truly no one there for you to work with or no one who shares your interests they'll reject you no matter how great your application.  Comb through the CVs and bios of the faculty at the other institution, see if there is something you might have missed.  
 
Also, whatever relationship you have with your advisor its usually not more than a 15 minute meeting every 2-3 weeks.  What also matters are the classmates you surround yourself with (which tend to be of higher quality at a more highly ranked program), you will do a lot of your learning from them, in seminars, with coauthoring, etc.  
 
- At my terminal MA program, I learned a couple of these things the hard way.  I had the two most appropriate advisors leave during my thesis-writing year, which made things much more difficult.  Also, as much as I do feel I work better on my own, multiple professors/instructors have told me that my education has probably suffered due to the program's decreasing size and the fact that no classmates share my interests.  

Finally, consider what you mean by "employability" if you want a tenure track job, pedigree matters (in one way or another).  If you are planning on working at a think tank or for Congressional Research Services or something similar, a more lowly ranked "policy-oriented" school in DC might be a better choice than a highly ranked program in the middle of nowhere because you'll have more opportunities to network and intern.  This is worth considering as well.  

Only funny because it is true: 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/what-grad-school-is-really-like

You, sir, are a hero for many reasons, but I'll point out these two: 
 

As someone trying to overcome mistakes in that past (read: less than stellar undergrad GPA) that have certainly hindered my applications, it means a lot that there are people out there like you willing to recognize this effort and "fight" on behalf of the applicant.  
 
 
Also, this ^ .  Well said.  

Should next cycle's applicants read this thread, I predict a surge in number of apps OSU receives

I'm going to leave the rest of this post alone—unprofessional to comment, really. But this line struck a nerve.
 
You're not "spending money and time in applying" to a school. You are offering to spend a very significant percentage of your life at a school, studying under the people who work there. The fact that you're offering to do that isn't an inconvenience. It's an honor.

Thanks. It means a lot to me, actually: we've put significant time and effort into making our website as informative as it can be. I was thrilled when you linked to our Time to Completion page... I wrote it (and made the graphic) myself. 

In at Georgetown with assistantship (though not sure how much, no details in letter)!

First, congrats again to all the recent GW admits!
 
If you have been admitted without funding or wait listed for funding, be sure to check out http://www.gwu.edu/~fellows/ ... you may be eligible for additional fellowships from Columbian College that will either reduce or eliminate your tuition.
 
Additionally, if you have any questions about the program, feel free to PM me or ask them here.

Was just notified of acceptance at Princeton as well! Congrats to the others!

I'm just that awesome.

I just returned from my first campus visit. I almost fell out of my chair when I was talking to the Director of Graduate Studies and she metioned the Grad Cafe. I was so surprised I don't even remember in what context.

Anyway, for those wondering, they are aware of this place.

The field's productivity would decline precipitously and then war and voter suppression would break out across the land??

ouch, never mind...  I guess I am just use to most places calling it a waiver.  

My biggest policy push would be to send out rejections as soon as someone is no longer in the running, so that they can all move on. 
Clearly not going to cut it? Rejection email ASAP! 
Decent candidate, but looks like a bad fit? Rejection letter today! 
On further reflection, we're inviting a bunch of other people for interviews (and there won't be enough spots for them, so there's definitely not a spot for this other candidate!)? Rejected now!!
Came out for the interview and was a total jerk / intolerable diva / just plain bad fit? Rejection email NAO!
 
I'd be the Oprah of rejection letters.  YOU get a rejection, and YOU get a rejection, and YOU GET A REJECTION!!  YAAAAAAAHHHHHH!