zephyr

damn. i think that means i will go 0 for 8 (once the MIT rejection which i assume is coming my way gets to me). wow.

i'd kill for a single acceptance at this point!

congrats on hopkins...fantastic program. see, things do tend to work out in PhD admissions...sometimes!

i think it depends on the subfield...they're definitely stronger in IR and comparative than others. though its not princeton/columbia/berkeley/wustl level, its a pretty good program. generally younger up-and-coming faculty, which could be very advantageous. they also don't fund everyone (like g-town)...what's up w/ the DC schools on this???? did you already hear from them? i thought i read somewhere that they weren't doing admits until next week or the week after.

haha! yeah, what i meant was, plenty of people w/ GPAs under 3.5, GREs under the 90th percentile, and unclear research ideas (and i mean all of these combined, not just one part...i'm sure people could get in w/ some of these) apply to places like chicago, berkeley, and columbia because everyone knows them. MIT doesn't have the same mass appeal as some of these other places. whatever, all these programs take like 5-10% of applicants, who the hell knows what they do to figure out who gets in!

my impression about MIT is that some admits get calls/emails, others just get the DHL packages. so i wouldn't freak out just yet. but its a tough one...300 applicants, 30 admits for 12-15 slots. and unlike columbia/chicago/berkeley, i think fewer people randomly throw apps to MIT, so i'd bet a larger share of the 300 are well qualified, compared to others. man, the waiting sucks!

well, that's encouraging! i should also say i submitted a strong writing sample - from a PhD class. the prof was very impressed with it and wanted me to submit it for publication. anyway, i'm pretty sure i would make it to the last round or two of cuts at most places i applied, but its making the final cut that is so damn unpredictable. like i said, i'm really hoping to get at least 1 acceptance.

was hoping some of you could give me your thoughts, as i'm currently officially 0 for 2 (unofficially 0 for 4). i applied to an array of top 25 programs, and really hope to get into at least 1. i know how random this process can be, so i'm not shocked by the rejections so far. but, i'm also at a loss for how to improve my application. i ended up doing a hard science major in undergrad, knocking my gpa down quite a bit (still graduated w/ honors from a top 50 school, but below a 3.5). i have a policy degree for my masters from a top 5 school, with very high grades, and scored above the 90th percentile in all GRE sections - i teach the exam for kaplan. i also have taken 5 PhD-level poli sci classes at a top 25 school since then, getting one A- and the rest A's. i feel like i have a really strong SOP, very good fits with every place i've applied to, and strong LORs (albeit not from any famous profs). i still have 4 more programs to hear from, so i'm optimistic i'll get at least one, but do you think my lower undergrad gpa in an unrelated major will kill my chances at a top program? i have no idea what else i could do, short of getting another masters degree, which i don't think would help much, considering my grades in the PhD level poli sci classes already. being 0 for 4 has dented my confidence severely.

actually, there were a handful of profs who talked extensively about the dangers of the impending war - mearsheimer, walt, khalidi, ikenberry, etc...poli sci, history, conservatives, progressives. the problem is the media is basically structurally incapable of stopping any government march to war these days - the corporate model has basically killed the opportunity to really do strong investigative research, hence the debacle that was the coverage leading up to iraq. but i think iraq has actually caused academics to speak up far more frequently than before - admittedly, we're talking about starting from pathetically low numbers, but you know, at least they're getting the point now. however, as someone who studied the media and nationalism at the graduate level, i don't know if it will actually be enough to do anything. still, doesn't mean profs shouldn't do so.

from what posts by supposed students in the program right now have suggested, columbia is still finalizing decisions this week and will contact accepted folks next week. it might be the epitome of randomness...700 applicants, 50-60 of which get accepted. while i bet most of the applicants aren't really qualified, but applied because columbia is their dream school, i suspect about 100 applicants are absolutely stellar and would unquestionably get in if not for the limited number of spots.

it does seem odd that there's only one result from chicago posted so far, considering the fact that many of us applied (considering the stellar programs some folks have already gotten in, i'd be a little surprised if none of us got into chicago) and that they did a mass email to accepted students last year. maybe they aren't mass emailing this year. maybe they are and none of us got in. or maybe the post is a fake...and why would anyone post a fake? seems like a really stupid thing to do. so...has anyone called chicago yet?

anyone call the dept. in chicago to see if all admits were emailed? i emailed them, but haven't heard anything back yet. from what a friend told me, they were pretty prompt last year...he emailed them the day after a lot of posts were up about admits getting emails, and they told him w/in a few hours that he didn't make the cut.

ditto...that's the only chicago acceptance i've seen anywhere. i imagine its a no-go for those of us who haven't heard yet.

anyone contact chicago yet? just curious - the grad school sends out all official info in early march for everyone, but it seems that admitted students find out via email in late february. same w/ columbia...anyone talk to the department to get an idea of when we might be hearing? they, like chicago, seem to email admitted students in late february.

yeah, i've taken a few PhD poli sci classes at a top 25 dept., and pretty much anyone in the cohort that plans on possibly using quantitative skills in their studies takes the same intro quant classes, so don't sweat it too much. i took the first quant class w/ the PhD students - its not that hard.

based on the past few years, looks like chicago admitted students should hear this week - last year, they were emailed right after president's day. gonna be a tough one - about 50 students or so should be admitted out of 500 applicants. and i'd bet at least 200 of those 500 are highly qualified. oh boy...

true...i did study much harder for my grad-level poli sci courses than i did for others...or more appropriately, i read more than i've ever read in my life! i was just pointing out the fact that most people get high grades in grad school classes (albeit because they like the material AND are more devoted to putting in time to master it), and i'm wondering if my nice transcript from them may not necessarily set me apart from others.

general question for those of you who have taken upper-level/graduate poli sci courses. do you think they will help your application? i'm wondering because i didn't take any poli sci courses in undergrad, but i've taken a handful of graduate (masters and PhD-level) courses in the field at a top 25 school. while in theory i would imagine these classes are much more challenging and would probably be significantly more important to an admissions committee (hence improving my chances to get into a top program), i just don't know and am curious. in general, i know it is easier to get higher grades in grad school classes, so the fact that i got all A's in these courses may or may not mean much. thoughts?

chicago is one of the premier poli sci programs, no doubt. apparently they got 500 applications this year and will probably only accept 50 or so for an incoming class of 15-20, so yeah, uber competitive.

so you know someone inside? one of the secretary's there told me some files were in review a few weeks ago, so i'm guessing we might hear from them in the next week or so (admittees, at least).

how do you know about chicago? are you basing this off previous years? or do you have an inside connection there? just curious. chicago is one of my top choices.

i think not hearing back from them might be a good sign...though it looks like they might be doing both admits and rejections in waves.

only one prof doing research in your area of interest? yeah, that will explain it. you'll have much better odds at places ranked higher than illinois if they have a few profs whose research mirrors your own. don't get too freaked out by the whole "i got rejected by a school i thought i'd probably get into" thing. rank and competitiveness matters, sure, but i think faculty research interests corresponding to your own matter even more.

to any of the people in at berkeley - did you get a big mass email? just curious - the department said they were still in the process of notifying admittees and would be so for a few more days, though i highly doubt this is the case...i would assume places email all admittees at once.

congrats! did you get called or emailed by a professor, or was it a mass email? just wondering - i didn't get anything from them, so i'm assuming i didn't get in.