uflkel

Some would argue that ranking is arbitrary once you get below the top 25. I turned down an offer to higher ranked school so that I could study with my advisor. I had to sacrifice a department with a strong quantitative program, but I am taking classes in the stats and economics departments here to compensate. Where are you going to be happiest? Attrition is high in Ph.D. programs and people who are unhappy are much more likely to not finish (or so I'd think). Best wishes.

(1) Professors are busy people. If you want to make sure you get the chance to speak to as many professors as possible, go during the official visit. If you are only interested in meeting with your POI, make an appointment and go visit on your schedule. You may get the chance to visit with a few other profs also, but email ahead for an appointment. (2) Student input is important. How do students perceive the program? Are they happy? Do they get what they need from the faculty and staff? What is the dynamic between funded and unfunded students? These things may seem trivial, but you will spend more time with other students than you will with faculty. One of the benefits of scheduled visits is the likelihood of being able to meet with students. You may be able to find an email list of current students or you may be able to work with the grad coordinator to get time with students outside of the official visit. But, like professors, students are busy, especially toward the end of March/early April. In the end, it really depends on the school and the structure of their visit. I ended up turning down an offer from a higher ranked school (top 35) for UF (49th). I have a great advisor for what I am studying and I am happy. I do not know what the alternative would have brought, but I would not have made the decision I made if I would have limited my visit to a POI. Finally, different strokes for different folks. Others will likely disagree with me. Some will agree. You really have to decide what it is you want and try to get it from the DGS if you go on a non-scheduled weekend. The good news, they are trying to recruit you so the DGS will try to set you up as well as he/she can. Hope that helps. Best of luck!

Prof. Nooruddin is great on Twitter, too! I tweeted something about my 3 year old a few months ago, got a reply from @irfan3, and we shared brief kid tales. Good times. I'm glad you guys dropped in to offer up words of wisdom.

I second this advice. Take a data analysis class if possible. Chances are, even if you aren't interested in quantitative methods, you will be required to take at least one course in basic stats. You don't want to get bogged down in a Ph.D. program if you can avoid it by taking something to get you prepared in the MPP.

I got my B.A. from a small regional school in the Southeast. Wasn't sure what I wanted to do (grad school or public sector), so I went into an MPA program. I was very clear during with my advisor that I wanted to potentially pursue a Ph.D. We had elective credits that you could use for specialized training (city management, human resource management, etc.), but they allowed me to use mine to take graduate course work in Political Science. However, the school I attended did not have an M.A. or Ph.D. in PoliSci, so I had to work out classes with undergrad faculty. They set me up with directed studies that were meant to mirror the level of discussion and reading that one would encounter in a Ph.D. program. I am currently a first year Ph.D. student with no regrets. I'm happy I did the MPA and I am thankful that I had professors willing to work with me to get me prepared, understanding that my undergrad institution was not a prep school for advanced degrees. I was able to attend a small conference, SPSA, and MPSA, and I have a co-authored publication coming out later this year. Obviously, CMU will be different. But if you can get a good advisor and some professors willing to mentor you, you will be able to work toward both goals without shutting either door. And as jcross9 stated, if you really like policy and you are still unsure about the Ph.D., work at a think-tank. Also, the market for Ph.D.'s is terrible, so if you do pursue a Ph.D., you'll have the MPP to fall back on (that's my backup plan at least) if you can't get your dream job. Oh, and congrats on the acceptances. Good luck!

Congrats to all on the acceptances! If you are in at UFL and have questions, message me. Again, congrats on all of the acceptances. I was here last year watching the results page and I don't envy you. For those of you still waiting, good luck. Hope it all works out!