TakeMyCoffeeBlack
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Posts posted by TakeMyCoffeeBlack
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Wow. Thanks for the article. Sounds like something pretty serious happened, but that they are taking the necessary steps to avoid a catastrophe of McGinn-like proportions.
Be sure to click on the actual report in the press release.
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I appreciate when girls buy me drinks. And they must do it knowing nothing will come of it, since I talk about my girlfriend like she's a goddess. And you know what, maybe that's how guys should start approaching drink buying. As a friendly gesture, nothing more.
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A hundred percent positive that for Emory, all admits this year will only come from the interview list.
I have reason to believe this about U Washington, too. Though it isn't clear that all interviews have been done.
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I'm finishing my undergrad at a Jesuit university and I've really learned to love the Jesuit way of doing things. And BC, honestly, might be the best fit of the schools I applied to. So I guess we'll see!
Ah, should have known. I attended mass at the St. Joan of Arc chapel at what I assume to be your school. I'll be there for a conference in March, actually.
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I just got an email this morning from my adviser (who's a BC grad) saying that BC got in touch with him about my application. Apparently I'm 'particularly promising' (his words) and they want to know that I intend to get the PhD since BC tends to accept people who are intending to get the PhD.
This is the first good news I've gotten in this admissions cycle (even though it's not official or anything), so I'm really excited. Apparently I'm promising!
I really wanted BC to "fit" me. I'm very active in the Jesuit education scene, and I absolutely love Boston. Sounds like promising news - fingers crossed!
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My stats are not so impressive in comparison to many on here! So many high 160's for GRE's along with extensive research accomplishments after hovering over a multitude of red diamonds on the results page.
Thanks. I hope the rest of the decision season continues to go well for you. (If I get lucky, maybe I'll see you at A&M)
Your stats are fine. Seriously. It might come down to SOP, fit, and this year's sub-field needs. Your GRE/GPA aren't keeping you out, especially of the schools on your list.
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Just found out that a new dataset on my topic of interest was compiled by The Heritage Foundation. I do take any positive sign that I can, and this does show that my topic is relevant/interesting for the US, right?^^
Right. But I wonder what the Heritage Foundation's motive is.
- o.j. and lonestarflag
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If it makes you feel any better, I can officially accept you today. Welcome to the University of Cautiously_Optimistic. No funding here, however.
I wonder if government fellowships would fund for UC_O.
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*poke the hornets nest*
Seriously though, when are these hornets gonna start stinging? It's oddly quiet.
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Looks like one of my professors did not submit his reference to one of my courses... Strange, because when I last checked, the reference showed up as received, but now, it's gone... Checking again! Such a mess...
You mean to one of your Unis? As you know, this happened to me just the other day. The school permitted a late upload, even though they're already in committee (so it may or may not matter). Do your best to be in touch with the school - you never do know!
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I've been thinking all day about all my fellow applicants who were unable to move forward in the Fulbright process. All of you seem like a very intelligent and ambitious group of people, so don't think of it as a missed opportunity but applaud yourself for having the guts to apply in the first place! You seriously are going to kick some major butt.
Question: what specifically is the host country committee? Is it the US embassy in our respective host countries or a separate entity? Anybody know?
Depends on the country. A lot of country's will have their very own Fulbright Commission (Germany, Benelux countries, etc.). I believe - though I may be wrong - that it would otherwise be the Embassy or some other State Dept. affiliated group.
Also, I'm sure most of you know about this already, but for those who don't - you can look at official numbers of applications vs. awards, including projections.
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However, plenty of people here seem to know an awful lot about EVERYTHING with no experience
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It really bugs ya that my principal adviser and advocate has a PhD from Berkeley doesn't it?
Berkeley has many Ph.D. graduates.
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There's a coin toss.
Person who calls it gets in.
Guy who determines the weight, strength, angle, etc.. picks heads. Other guy picks tails, cuz, reasons.
It lands on heads. Who deserves to get in and who is the "best" candidate? The guy who picked heads.
Unfortunately for philosophers, the coin toss isn't determined by how well they manage to draw skeletons.
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They make a quality judgement to choose the final admitted students.
It is not unknowable or random. Just because you can't understand the complexity of the system doesn't mean it's not at work.
I suppose evolution doesn't happen because it's too complicated?
Of course it's not random. It is, largely, "unknowable," because the criteria are largely subjective and vary from school to school, and committee member to committee member. You should know this part better than most, given your predicament with certain committee members questioning your application. What these students face, however, that you do not, is the probability of acceptance independent of applicant or application quality. From what I've gathered about your program - based on what you yourself have posted - is that it is new and it is highly specialized. They will take all qualifying candidates. This is not true of programs like philosophy.
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It is not unknowable, but as long as you persist in thinking that and behaving that way the answer will continue to elude you.
And because you decided to reassign the meaning of the word "random" does not mean your definition is somehow valid and should be accepted at will by anyone else with any respect for the English language.
Loric, most of the programs to which philosophy applicants have applied will admit ~5% of their applicants. The number of students these programs can accept is limited not by applicant quality, but internal university politics and funding.
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No wave of good news feels very disconcerting at the moment.
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While I do not necessarily disagree with the conclusion "wouldn't encourage you to apply somewhere with unresponsive professors," I want to caution inferring that based on one or two e-mails. People can be busy, they can forget, stuff happens.
Right, it takes more than one or two-emails to draw such a conclusion. In some cases one nasty response says a lot more than three no responses.
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I had this problem in both contexts. I kinda feel they don't give a shit when they don't answer. Also, I develop second thoughts when potential POIs don't answer. I understand they're busy but shall I wait 10 days to receive an answer as Chris Blatmann suggests?
You could always follow up after a few days. Respond to your original e-mail, and write something like: "Hello again, Prof. X, I'm just following up on my earlier e-mail. I'm sure you're very busy, but if you do get a moment I'd appreciate your advice/thoughts/whatever."
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What do you guys feel about faculty who do not respond to emails at all? What is the best approach to make them respond?
Depends. In what context? Were you admitted?
If you're not a current or admitted student, I don't think there's any reasonable expectation that they should have to respond. Of course with the caveat that they may make the program look bad, and I also wouldn't encourage you to apply somewhere with unresponsive professors.
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(E.g. One person reported that he/she was "absolutely enthralled" at the acceptance.)
Forget for a second that they probably wanted to say absolutely thrilled, and think about what it could mean if they had intended "enthralled." It's actually kind of funny.
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OSU and Wisc are really bringing it on today, bright red in the results! Sorry for everyone who heard officially!
I hope someone does acceptances before the day is out.
Welcome to the 2013-2014 Cycle
in Political Science Forum
Posted
Yes, absolutely thinking about this. There are no easy answers. FTR, I refer to US News for general rankings, and NRC for more specific qualities. NRC is more valuable, but requires more brain power to interpret.
That said, the difference between a T60 and T20 can be pretty significant. Ph.D. isn't only about your substantive interests, it's also about your training. Chances are, a T20 will train you better to be a political scientist, even if the T60 has a superstar in your field. This isn't always the case, but it's important to consider. The T20 is also much more likely to get you interviews down the road. Don't forget, your research interests will likely expand and change over time, too, so you shouldn't sell yourself on a program based on one professor (if you have options anyway).
That is all to say that maybe a T60 could be your best option for a lot of reasons. But my immediate instinct is to favor the T20, when faced with such a choice.
(side note: perhaps this mind experiment might be better comparing T20 and T40, or T40 and T60, etc.)