TakeMyCoffeeBlack

You have to hand it to Wisconsin for being prompt with both good news and bad news. Gentler to all that way, in my opinion.

Take comfort in fit.
 
full disclosure: that is not I!

Accepted at MSU! Very excited!

We have a tremendous range of experience on these forums, and that's one of the great advantages of even having GradCafe. Of course life experiences at 28 for one person may be very different than 28 for another. And maturity and wisdom do not always correlate with age (let's be real, how many older people do we know who listen to *insert offensive radio host name here* and repeat their arguments word for word), though I can only hope that all of us future (and current) political scientists are mature and wise (well, let's hope we're not too mature). I think most of the advice given here tonight is valid - but it is not universally applicable. That's the nature of advice based on personal experience.
 
There is never a perfect time to begin a Ph.D. in political science. The best any of us can do is work to beat the odds regardless of our age.
 
And drink red wine. Yes, that too.

SHUT UP! 
 

Age is tearing my gradcafe family apart.

SHUT UP! 
 

Age is tearing my gradcafe family apart.

Sort of makes me want to wake up feeling really down just in case.

With a heavy sigh of relief, I claim one of the Duke admits. Thanks to the many posters who have shared words of encouragement, and I hope that the roller coaster ride I've experienced today can provide some encouragement to others: a first rejection doesn't equate to a lost cycle!

CONGRATS!

GPA is a tough signal to interpret, because there is so much variation in grading standards, both between institutions and within an institution depending on what kind of courses you take. I find it very challenging to use GPA as a signal, except as a negative one, although grades in particular courses can sometimes be useful. GRE is not the most important factor, but it is at least a consistent measure from applicant to applicant, so I tend to take a quick glance at that first. Fit and intangibles are probably most important when at the final narrowing stage, although significant violations of fit (i.e. applying to do nothing but ethnographic research focused on a region where we have no-one with expertise) might be enough to make us feel that we shouldn't admit you.

LoRs can vary a lot in usefulness. Think of it in terms of signalling, where the letter-writer has to navigate how to send us credible signals besides "this applicant is great". If we know the letter-writer well, these signals can be a bit clearer, as we know the pool against which that letter-writer is evaluating applicants, they can make explicit comparisons to other successful applicants, and if we have a history with them, we know what a good letter is and what a great letter is. In some of these cases, a single, very strong letter has had a huge impact on the success of an application. In other instances, letter-writers might make comparisons to students in the letter-writer's former graduate programs, etc. Other cases, we might be looking for a letter-writer to say positive things, but because we don't know enough about them to fully interpret the signal, we have to rely mostly on other factors so long as the letter doesn't discourage us.

Reputation of your school's program mostly has an effect through the letter-writers you can find, the degree of socialization you're likely to get in the discipline before applying, and to some extent the credibility of the grades. However, lots of people with Ivy undergrads and great GPAs and GREs were eliminated early on, so it's definitely not the main contributing factor to success.

What happened to everyone? Eerily quiet...
 
Just got my first acceptance, from a UK school, albeit without funding info as of now...

I think that's reading as in literacy as in education.

I just read some Kant for the first time (outside of summaries) over Christmas. My god, the man was brilliant!

Are you sure it's not you? I ask because you say you had a crappy life before this. There are people who are just miserable no matter what happens. Are you sure that's not you? Also, are these feelings just your interpretation or are they legit? Are your professors really sexist, do they really favor the male students who just pull things out of their ass, do they really shoot down all the intelligent things you say, do you really say intelligent things, do your classmates really talk down to you, and do they really laugh at you?

I just read some Kant for the first time (outside of summaries) over Christmas. My god, the man was brilliant!

I'll go ahead and claim the other Wisconsin admit...very relieved to have heard from my first school.  Best of luck to the other applicants!

I'd say it's neither too formal nor too personalized. It addresses me using my nickname, but other than that it sounds rather impersonal. It is only an informal acceptance and says that I have been recommended for admission to the political science department.

Did everyone disappear to watch for a Wisconsin e-mail or something?

Did everyone disappear to watch for a Wisconsin e-mail or something?

Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I'll claim the UNC admit (and one of the UC Davis admits). Thanks for the messages!
 
The admissions letters came from the graduate school. The short version is that the letter suggested for UC Davis was that the department, not the graduate school, would be in touch regarding funding packages. It was the same for UNC, except their letter was even shorter.

The good news is that the average life span is much longer than it was in the 1950s. Even if you start a decade later, you'll have just as many years to do this. Try and enjoy being young and single as much as you can. You have the next ~60 years to cook and clean for your husband.

In the 1940s my great-grandfather drove his daughter, my "Oma," to Bell-Aerospace, where she became the lead mathematician under Werner von Braun for that location. She met my grandfather there, a young engineer helping to develop the technology that brought us to the moon. When she gave birth to my father some years later, she stayed home to raise him and, eventually, her daughter. Thank God, though, that her father had permitted empowerment and not required her to fulfill the traditional feminine ideal. When my grandfather became very ill, she became financially responsible for the family - which she did as a professional musician.
 
This is feminism. It's about choices, and it's about discovering who you are intellectually, professionally, and emotionally. 

In the 1940s my great-grandfather drove his daughter, my "Oma," to Bell-Aerospace, where she became the lead mathematician under Werner von Braun for that location. She met my grandfather there, a young engineer helping to develop the technology that brought us to the moon. When she gave birth to my father some years later, she stayed home to raise him and, eventually, her daughter. Thank God, though, that her father had permitted empowerment and not required her to fulfill the traditional feminine ideal. When my grandfather became very ill, she became financially responsible for the family - which she did as a professional musician.
 
This is feminism. It's about choices, and it's about discovering who you are intellectually, professionally, and emotionally.