TakeMyCoffeeBlack

Loric doesn't much care for amicable conversation (). I don't even think Loric is a poli sci applicant, which makes this all the more interesting ().

Loric doesn't much care for amicable conversation (). I don't even think Loric is a poli sci applicant, which makes this all the more interesting ().

I don't think having "set foot" on the campuses plays a very big role when it comes to earning your Ph.D. The campus could look like a nuclear site, but as long as it has the faculty and resources you need to accomplish your academic/career goals, then it doesn't matter. You can learn this information without travelling to the university physically - and in fact, a good portion of future Ph.D. students make the decision without first visiting.

Question: will you be pursuing a Ph.D. in the US or Canada (or elsewhere)? I only ask because it seems to me that you'd probably be qualified to go right into an American Ph.D. program for political theory - of course, my knowledge about your profile is limited only to the theorists and philosophers with whom you're familiar. On the one hand, you may gain some valuable methodological skills that will help you get a spot at a dream Uni down the line, but you'll get that regardless.
 
Just a thought.
 
Otherwise - maybe lead in your statement with what you want to do, achieve, learn, and then back it up with your previous experiences.

I am happy for you Loric, congratulations. I hope those acceptances worked out for you very well. As for your advice - I do not think it is as sound as you think it is. Don't get me wrong though, nobody's advice is the gold standard. The process has a colossal stochastic component to it, therefore your advice would be absolutely reliable only if you were in the admissions committee of every single polisci department. Further, the admission process can vary dramatically from school to school for the same field - so I am not even commenting on the additional error introduced by comparing across fields. This should ideally have a bit of a humbling effect on the participants of this forum, and we should be more used to speaking in probabilistic terms.
 
This is missing the main point though. I imagine both gradcafe26 and others, including me and TMCB, welcome your advice. Please do not feel discouraged to share with us what you know and think. However, it is very important to sustain a friendly and helpful conversation for this forum to work the way it did in the past -I don't know how many- years. People who are applying to graduate schools are adults, whether they are applying straight from undergrad or not. There is a normative expectation that we treat each other as friends and peers. Therefore, condescending and patronizing attitudes are not very productive. An example to that is this: 
 
 
Obviously, if you want to continue this attitude, there are other, more fitting venues for you in our discipline as well. I would especially recommend this website: http://www.poliscirumors.com/

I fail to see how a degree that let you make all your decisions at home at your own pace while hiding under a security blanket, sipping herbal tea, and sniffing sachets of lavender benefitted you at all in becoming a professional of anything.
 
Maybe a professional cat hoarder.
 
In the other thread people are saying the idea of being medicated to get past the stress/anxiety isn't right. Well then what is? Either it's clinical and needs treatments or someone is just whining an awful lot over something they need to cowboy up and get over.
 
The inability to get over it says, to me, that you don't have what it takes to make it in grad school.

I have nothing but contempt for weakness. I suggest for your sake you adopt the same outlook.

You actually have them ranked in a strict order already for yourself..? Have you even set foot on these campuses?

Then my question would be why you're going through with all these applications and why they're on your "final" list in the first place. Schools can tell when you're just applying for the sake of applying. They do not look kindly on it. 

Well Loric, it's a good thing you're not on the ad coms. Why are you getting so personal?

At quick glance, it sounds to me like you're interested in IR. But you should keep in mind that the lines between CP/IR aren't always clear (and often the two can compliment each other). Programs will understand this, and I've heard that often students applying for CP or IR will have their applications considered for the subfield they hadn't originally considered (which, if they've gotten that far with your application, you're not doing too bad).

I got my German acceptance from IIE.

Liebe Fulbright-Kommission,
 
ich warte auf Sie mit voller Aufmerksamkeit und Angst. Wenn Sie die Entscheidung treffen, mich als Empfänger des berühmten Stipendium Fulbright anzuerkennen, bin ich Ihnen immer (und weiter) schuldig. Bitte, lassen Sie die Entscheidung schnell aus Ihrem shönen Land hierher kommen.
 
mit besten Grüßen von einem nervösen amerikanishen Student
 
TakeMyCoffeeBlack

Faculty: How likely is your department to defer admission for something like Fulbright? I've heard very different responses from different faculty members, sometimes in the same schools.

Just got news that I've been accepted at Georgetown!

I'm not really sure I understand the question.  I don't see that the opportunity costs for applying a second time are any higher than the first time.  Indeed, they're likely lower, as the basic framework for one's applications has already been set, and simply needs to be tweaked.
 
Why apply a second time?  Without trying to sound glib ... because when you want something, you persist and work for it.  Many people don't get accepted their first time around; it's not necessarily due to lacking qualifications.  Sometimes another year of experience, an additional publication, or perhaps a slight tweak in one's scope of work is all that's needed to hit the mark with the committee.
 
Academia is full of rejection.  Heck, all high level professions are.  As an academic, if you're not willing to get rejected, then you're not going to make it very far in terms of publications, grant proposals, job interviews, etc.
 
So, to answer you question ... why did I apply a second time around?  Because I am dedicated to pursuing a career in academia.  I want to spend my life researching, teaching, and publishing.

That may not be all that off, as students will usually apply to a range of schools. I imagine most of the data they base this on is self-reported via the application.

That said, there's no such thing as a majority that isn't simply more than 50%. There are 2/3 requirements and plurality votes (most votes). For that, I'd recommend you read the Constitution.

That said, there's no such thing as a majority that isn't simply more than 50%. There are 2/3 requirements and plurality votes (most votes). For that, I'd recommend you read the Constitution.

It's a bummer, but I've got 5 other schools I'm waiting on, and I'm a Fulbright finalist. As my adviser said today, if I'm lucky enough to get the Fulbright but not a Ph.D. acceptance, I've got a chance to apply again with more direction and a Fulbright. So, regardless, fingers crossed that something comes around!

Just regular headphones. Usually Mendelssohn, Strauss, Chopin or Tchaikovsky, but I have to be careful because I might get too into the music.