adaptations

Expanding on choachrjc's theme, don't be a jerk to your hosts. If you're going to a visit where you'll be staying with current students, you should make sure to communicate with them when you plan on arriving/departing and remember that they are probably busy studying for comps, preparing lesson plans, or getting ready for the next conference. I'm sure they're excited to host and they have a wealth of information to share, so try to start off on the right foot with them.

There is nothing wrong with doing the calculation yourself, and some schools will specifically ask for it, in which case you are expected to calculate it (if your school didn't). It's beside the point, but in my opinion you should be proud of your GPA - a 3.5 with a double major in econ. is quite respectable. That said, I would not add anything to your transcript. If you are compelled to include this information, I would add it elsewhere in your application, but I wouldn't do anything that could appear to be tampering with a transcript. Good luck. -adapt

Don't worry about this at all. Schools are used to seeing GRE reports where percentiles shift. As long as you're reporting the percentiles ETS gave you (either the old or current ones), you're doing the best you can to honestly report, and there won't be any issues.

Assuming you are committed to going into a PhD program, then my recommendation would be to apply now. The biggest reason is that your application won't change drastically in the next year, and since your application has a notable weakness (undergrad grades) you're probably better off having two cycles to apply (this year, and then if it doesn't go well you can apply again in a year). More specifically,the addition of the article published in your school's journal will have a marginal effect on the strength of your application and time away from academia after your MPP will not change your application. The additional semester of grades may help convince a committee that you're a strong student, but your first year of courses should do a reasonable job of signaling that. Your application will probably hinge on LORs and SOP, so as long as those are strong, there isn't much draw back in applying now (other than the cost of applications). Best of luck, adapt

Hi MyUsername123, With your GPA and experience there is no question that you will be a strong candidate for Masters programs. While it is true that some programs place a higher value on work experience than others, you'll be in the running for most of them. As you know, there are a variety of places where you can complete a masters in IR and, I don't mean to be rude, but it's probably best for you to just research them and see what sounds appealing to your specific interests, financial constraints, etc. Good luck,

From the administrators I've talked to, my perception is that when a department knows you'll be applying, which is assumed when they receive your score reports, LORs, application, etc, then they will start your file (either manually, or they have an electronic system that does it). You are always allowed to email and ask if your scores or materials were received, but that doesn't mean you'll get a response. Some schools are better about updating information online and responding to student inquiries, other school don't do much of either.

Administrators will not forget that you submitted a score report. All of this is managed on a pretty large scale, and as soon as the score report comes in your file will be started (if it isn't already active). Once you have your list of schools, it doesn't hurt to send the reports early. Good luck!

There is really no use stressing over your GPA, given that you have the GPA you have and you can't change it. I would not go out of your way to use space in your SOP to explain your graduate GPA (which isn't bad, it's just not as good as your undergrad GPA). Instead, focus on your SOP and writing sample, and make sure the faculty who you select for LORs will write truly great letters. You should have at least one or two of your letters from your graduate program and then you could reuse one or two letters from undergrad (If possible I think it would be better to have at least two letters from your graduate profs, but most importantly, make sure those faculty will write great letters). Assuming the letters are truly great and you've improved your SOP and writing sample, I would expect that you'll be competitive and can hopefully have better results than two years ago. Good luck!

I think you'll be competitive, so long as the faculty who write your letters write truly strong letters (don't just ask them because they are tenured, pick them because they are the professors who know you best and can write great letters). Your verbal score is still in the 90th percentile, so that will be fine, and if the letters and writing sample are strong most departments will overlook a 4.0 AW score. That being said, given the extremely competitive (and somewhat random) nature of the process, I would recommend adding more schools to your list if you can afford to apply to them and you would be interested in attending them. Given the list of schools you provided, I have a strong suspicion there are more schools with faculty in your research area that could be added to your list (both top-ranked and middle/lower ranked schools). Best of luck, adapt

Greetings visgiven. I understand you're trying to get a better sense of your chances, but posting one or two pieces of information doesn't really help much in predicting your chances. Your GPA is only one component of the application process. There are people admitted to top 20 departments with 3.5 GPAs and there are people who get rejected from departments ranked 50-70 with the same GPA. Your letters of recommendation, SOP, GRE scores, and writing sample will be very important. If the other components of your application are very strong, you could get in anywhere. If other components of your application are good, but not great, or just mediocre, then you'll have a hard time getting in to top programs and probably some that are lower ranked as well. I'm sorry to say that given what info you've provided, there is just too little information to help predict your chances. Best of luck.

pacifists, Given your credentials, you will be a strong candidate for PhD programs. Coming from Chicago, your GPA will be viewed as very strong and you will presumably have letters from well known faculty, so you should be in good shape. If you reach the decision and are certain that a PhD is right for you, then I would apply directly. That said, if you are unsure about whether you want to earn a PhD, it can be very valuable to get experience outside of academia. The huge investment in a PhD is probably not worth it unless you are certain that it is exactly what you want to be doing. Working outside of academia can help give you a sense of what the outside options are. For some people, this affirms their desire to earn a PhD and for others it opens their eyes to a world of other opportunities that may be more appealing than academia. Another option that you might consider (if it's not too late) is doing the joint CIR MA with your undergrad work at Chicago. I know a few people did this when I was there, and it allowed them to participate in more graduate level courses and seminars (PISP, PIPES, etc). If you take advantage of these opportunities, you will have a pretty good idea of what a graduate program will be like, which should help you make your decision. Best of luck, adapt

A point of advice for future applicants. One thing I would recommend is that you don't eliminate schools due to a lack of contact prior to applying/being admitted. While MarketMan is correct in pointing out that a pre-established relationship with faculty might be an advantage(this is likely to depend on the school and their admissions process), it certainly isn't required. At some schools the DGS may not be on the admissions committee, faculty may be overwhelmed with immediate work or on leave and so you might not hear back from them (you might be surprised how many hopeful students email before/during applying and it doesn't necessarily mean anything bad if the faculty doesn't respond), or for a multitude of other reasons early contact might not help. (I am not saying early contact cannot help you, just that I don't think a lack of it is a good reason to eliminate applying somewhere where you otherwise would like to apply).

Congratulations to everyone who has, or will have, options from which to choose. I'm sure there will be lots of suggestions regarding the best questions to ask, things to look for, etc during your visits, but I'd like to add an additional piece of advice. I don't think the value of visits can be overstated, so my recommendation is to visit quite a few places (if you're lucky enough to be invited). It is easy to jump to the conclusion that you will go to school XXXXX (your dream school), and indeed that might be the end result. But visiting schools YYYYYY, ZZZZZ,....., will not only help you be more confident in your decision, but will also allow you to meet and network with faculty in your field, hear different perspectives on the process, and meet your future colleagues. So, even if you're very excited about school XXXXX, I think there is much to be gained by visiting other programs. (If you do this, it's important to keep an open mind and be genuinely interested in and considering the school you're visiting. Nobody appreciates the obnoxious prospective student who isn't actually interested in the school they are visiting and advertises to everyone that they are probably going to school XXXXX instead).

It's been a long time coming. I don't think any post this cycle has made me smile more. CONGRATULATIONS - very much deserved!

Please calm yourself down and breath deeply. This happens all the time and is NOT a problem. As you said, you already have confirmation from the school they received the letter so you're fine (Also, your file will still be reviewed even if it was missing one letter). Of course, it doesn't hurt to follow up with the graduate office (as I am sure you won't fully relax until they say everything is fine), but don't worry about this, it's not a big deal, and certainly not a deal breaker (even if the letter were to be missing). Cheers,

Quigley, don't despair. Although your SOP is a very important part of the application, there are many ways to write a good SOP. Even if you chose to write a more general statement that does not provide the same level of detail and direction as others, you may show enough potential (in the SOP and from other parts of the application) to be admitted. This process still has a long way to go, so try your best not to add to the stress by assuming the worst case outcome. That said, as somebody who was rejected from every PhD program I applied to the first time, it is good to be aware that it can happen. I was in a somewhat similar professional situation at the time I first applied and really needed to be moving on. Even before hearing back from schools, I started searching and applying for other jobs. You may find that starting to work on a backup plan helps you feel like you're moving forward, and if the applications don't work out, having a new job to move to, or at least having made headway in searching for one, will allow you to take a step forward. Lastly, it is worth noting for those that will inevitable experience the pain and disappointment of across the board rejections, it doesn't have to signal the end of your academic hopes/dreams. Having experienced that path, I can now reflect back on the experiences I had between then and now (I'm currently studying at one of the top institutions) and am certain that I would not be as good of a scholar or as confident about my desire to be in academia if I hadn't been forced to take the longer road and fight harder to get where I am today. Best of luck!

I don't know how well they are integrated, but there are faculty at Princeton working on climate change/environment and also a strong group working on security. I'm certain you could put together a strong committee drawing from both. For example, Keohane is doing a lot on the environment these days and there are plenty of other people who are affiliated with both the policy school and the politics department in both areas.

Depends on your list of schools. When I applied, the first news I received was on the last day of January, but that was two years ago. It's hard to say what the timeline will be for you guys this year. Good luck!

As a former applicant to Chicago's PhD program, I can confirm that those who are rejected from the PhD program are considered for CIR and MAPSS. There is no need to mention your interest in these programs in your SOP,as you will be automatically considered. Good luck. For more info on CIR here's an older thread with come background, links, and opinions:

3.8 and even 3.7 are not mediocre. You're fine! Actually, based solely on GPA, you're better than fine.

I don't think this is something you should worry about. I've known people who applied in IR or Comparative, and were basically admitted with the other field listed as their primary field (by the committee), just because the committee thought it was a better fit.

Without knowing more about your specific interests within IR, I'm afraid I can't be much help selecting schools. Of course, you'll need schools with good faculty research matches, and as I mentioned, maybe there is a chance that GW or Georgetown would value the fact that you have funding (or other such schools as McMuffin suggested), but they are still very selective programs so that's probably a long shot. If you can afford the applications, it doesn't hurt to try and apply broadly, and I do know some applicants who were admitted to great programs with significant problems and red flags in their applications so it is possible, even if very challenging! One point I'll mention, which is a common refrain of mine, is to consider your professional goals (tenure track research position, SLAC, community college, government, private sector) and be sure that the programs to which you apply will set you up to achieve those goals. If you're looking to get a tenure track position at a research university or good liberal arts college, it is increasingly challenging if you go to a less known PhD program/school. Thus, if you need to wait another year to retake the GRE and get the FF removed from your transcript it may be worth it if you have a significantly better chance of getting the type of job you want 5-6 years down the road.

To answer your first question, I would still answer the financial aid questions as you never know what might happen in the future regarding your funding or number of years of funding that you need. There may be a slight advantage at some schools when they are aware that a student is already fully funded, but the advantage is probably at the margin and not very significant. That said, a school like Georgetown may look favorably on the fact that you have guaranteed funding, given that they typically fund a small portion of admitted students, so might view you as more likely to attend than the numerous students who are admitted without funding. As for your school selection, I believe the FF will probably be a significant problem, especially when coupled with your low GRE score. If the FF is properly addressed by one of your recommenders it may be forgiven, but too many red flags on your application make you a risker applicant to admit, in comparison to the multitude of applicants with nearly perfect records. I would be very surprised to see a school like Chicago admit someone with a 450verbal and a significant blemish on their transcript (undergrad mishaps seem more likely to be forgiven than something that has occurred recently in your masters program). Sorry to be a downer, and I with you the best of luck in the process.

The schools on your list seem like an appropriate mix of levels, which should give you a good shot. I don't know about your specific area of study, so I can't comment on specific programs, but I wouldn't be afraid to add a couple more schools to the list if there are others that might have a close enough research matches. Since you'll only attend one school, and it only takes one acceptance, I don't think it hurts (except your pocket book) to apply to more programs. Best of luck.

Given that you were waitlisted at a number of schools last year, your file was already getting positive attention, and since you've had another year to improve things, I expect you'll be competitive at a range of schools. Rather than scaling back on the number of schools you're applying to, I would expand the list. All it takes is one funded offer and then you're off and running in a PhD program. So I would apply to a broad range of schools that you would want to attend, and hopefully at least one says yes to you and gives you funding. Good luck!