Dark-Helmed

I think there's a subtle unifying theme to your post here.

This is based on experience from six rushes. Any example or issue I raise is from an actual event.

(1) Don't be a jerk. I can tell you this because I am, in fact, a jerk.

(2) Business casual is fine. If you want to add a blazer to your shirt and slacks, that's cool, but don't be a jerk about it. No shiny Ed Hardy shirts.

(3) Ask if you can sit in a class or two. If you do, don't be a jerk in class. You're there to observe, not to interrupt. If the professor asks you a question or something, go ahead and participate, but don't be a jerk about it.

An example on (3). Last year, we had a guy sit in our (highly technical) dynamic modeling class. He happened to sit in the dryest, hardest lecture of the year. So the professor proves a theorem on the board that has us all panting and trembling, and he writes out "for all" on the board in doing so. During break, the prospective student rocks up to the professor and is alike "Hey, why did you write out 'for all' instead of using the upside-down A? That would have been more rigorous.'" Don't be like that. That's jerky.

(4) If you are a jerk when you are drunk, then do not drink too much. If you are fun when you are drunk (but not a fun jerk---there are fun jerks out there), wait until the faculty are gone and then rock the f**k out.

(5) You can ask professors if they're happy at Department X, but don't be a jerk about it. Don't ask if they have a mortgage or anything. That's jerky. If they're unhappy, they'll say so in code. Don't press.

(6) Don't be a jerk on academic grounds. Don't talk down to people. Don't tell people they *need* to read a paper or a book. Don't talk about your own research unless asked. Don't say you published unless it's a real journal. Like, a real journal.

(7) Ask the students the hard questions, but don't be a jerk about it. Ask about their research to get a sense of the training. Don't feign being impressed, but don't get too critical. Ask what they're happy about, what they're unhappy about. Be discriminating-seeming but not critical.

(8) Don't be a jerk about other schools you're considering. Not everything you see at Department X reminds you of something you might see on your pending visit at Department Y. You don't have to rattle off your list all the live-long day; that's jerky. You came to visit and learn more about Department X, so stick to that.

(9) Don't be a jerk about stipends just yet. If you want to ask for more, visit day isn't the day to do it. That's really jerky.

(10) Don't be a jerk with the other visitors. Don't probe them constantly. Don't seem indifferent. If you go to Department X, then these people will be your all-nighter buddies during problem sets; your comp stress empathizers; your idea-bouncers. Don't get that off on the wrong foot.

(11) Seem like somebody that faculty and grad students will want to work with. The best way to do that is to avoid being a jerk.

And no, your offer won't be revoked if you're a jerk. But impressions matter. They matter with potential advisors, with other grad cohortmates you might coauthor with, with older grad students that might offer well-timed advice. You may think you've made it (and you have, and your achievements should be celebrated), but you'll be a lowly first-year soon enough. It's going to be a lot of fun, and you might as well get the experience off on the right foot.

Not for nothing, but I'm in a male-dominated hard science and I wore a pencil skirt and make-up for every interview.  Because, damn it, it was a day I wasn't working in a lab.  I also brought a pair of skinny jeans, blouse, cardigan, and flats for lab visits.  But if I'm just going to be talking to people about science they can deal with the fact that my legs aren't individually wrapped.  It didn't cause me any problems, although it was apperently memorable enough that students at the school I chose brought it up 4 months later when I came in the summer to start my research.
 
Honestly, if you're at a science graduate interview and you didn't cut your own hair and your socks match you're at least in the middle of the pack already.  Read your POIs papers and wear what you feel comfortable in & it will all work out.  

If you want to work in the US, go to a US program. While the top Canadian programs can be quite good, they aren't necessarily viewed the same way in the US as they are in Canada or in other countries. They also tend to have considerably less methods training than top 25 programs in the US, though that's often supplemented with summer schools and informal training through research assistantships.
 
If you want to work in Canada, it depends. If you want to get a job at McGill or UBC or some other top departments in Canada, you'd probably be better off going in the US, as well. A majority of tenure and tenure-track faculty at both places have PhDs from the U.S., at least as of last year. (McGill, in particular, has a predilection for hiring Princeton PhDs.) Otherwise, your best options are (depending on your interests) McGill, Montreal, Toronto, UBC and Queen's. Queen's probably won't be paid much attention to outside Canada but has historically done very well in placement with a small department. Montreal has very good faculty, but it's tended not to do particularly well in placement, save under certain advisors. Part of the issue may be that their language of instruction is French, which restricts the applicant pool and may attract students who want to say in Quebec and work in French, which would limit academic job prospects a fair bit. Toronto accounts for the largest share of tenure/tenure-track Canadian political science professors, but it also has the largest department, and once you adjust for department size other places, like McGill and UBC do better. It varies a bit across subfield, though. (There's also York, if you're into poststructuralist work. They have limited placement options in political science, since Canadian programs tend to be fairly/implicitly positivist, with some exceptions, so York tends to have a bit of an issue with hiring their own students.)
 
If you want to work outside both countries, a Canadian PhD can work, especially if your interest is in working in Australia or New Zealand.
My account may be slightly biased from using qualitative information obtained from people at the departments in Montreal, but I have a project in progress on where tenure and tenure-track Canadian political science professors obtain their PhDs, systematically collecting it from every Canadian university website, so this should be a fair description in quantitative terms.

There was another thread somewhere where someone wrote out a long list of suggested questions for visit days, but I can't seem to find it.  Does anyone else know where it is?  Thanks!
 
Edit: Found it!    The rest of the thread is good too.

And, since you might occasionally need a change of scenery, Philadelphia also has a bar with wine on tap:
 
https://www.triacafe.com/taproom/
 
...I miss that city

There are always such people who cannot bow out gracefully. Set backs are temporary. There is no need to drag down your good name and everyone who has supported you because of a set back. We are here to help each other pull ourselves up regardless of outcome, not be condescending and vindictive.

Department placement figures are obviously very very important and useful, but they are still a proxy to get at the job market success of an X person with similar attributes to future you. That is what we all want to learn, right? This is why we often want to learn about the subfield placements as well as the overall placement records. We naturally think that -say- the IR placement record would be more relevant for us if our subfield is IR. 
 
One way to diminish some of this uncertainty is to check the placement records of your POIs or people with whom you think you are likely to work. Such data is seldom available through departments, so you kind of have to ask the person herself about her students. I want to suggest another way:
 
ProQuest has a dissertations and theses database. I don't know if the database includes all dissertations completed in the US, but I think it is fairly close (if not exhaustive) for the past 10-ish years for most of the top-50 or so institutions. The search engine allows you to search dissertations by adviser. Now this kind of data doesn't go too far back, but I would argue that the most important part is the post-2007 period anyway. Moreover, for the past 5 years or so, many records on dissertations also include committee members (so not just chairs), which is extra useful. Using this tool, you can compile a list of all the students who completed their dissertations under the POI(s) that you want to work with. Then, you can simply google these people, check their CVs and see where they initially placed at. It is not terribly hard to get at, if a bit time consuming.
 
A second step can be that if some of these people who were advised by your POIs have dissertations that are sort of in the same research area as your interests, you can just e-mail these people and ask about their experiences and suggestions. They may not reply or provide useful advice, but then again, maybe they will.
 
I found this to be a useful method, hope it helps you too.

Admitted to UMD!!!!! Soo happy after those first rejections. 

That was me.
 
I've applied for 4 rounds.
 
Finally.

I know there are past threads on this somewhere so I'll only answer briefly. I actually really suck at budgeting. But, I also charge everything and then pay it off in full at the end of the month. I figure I might as well earn cash back or rewards points on the stuff I need to buy anyway. My BFF is totally into buying discounted retail gift cards online and then using those to purchase needed items, though I haven't done that myself. I probably should though...
 
I never eat lunch out unless it's a special occasion. Never. That is an ironclad rule that I've lived on throughout all of grad school. Lunch out, even if it's fast food, will cost you at least $5. That is $35/week (or more than my typical weekly grocery budget). I don't drink coffee and hot tea in coffee shops is expensive (plus really, it's a tea bag) so I avoid coffee shops. Other friends go for a few hours a day, which is easily another $3-7/day or $15-21/week. Those two habits alone will cost you a few hundred a month so don't get into the habit of either if you can help it. Huge cost savings.
 
I cook for myself. I love my slow cooker (CrockPot or whatever) and use it a lot. I live alone so making one recipe in my 4qt pot usually means 6-8 meals of food, which I divvy up between lunch, dinner, and the freezer. Yes, sometimes I get sick of it but, whatever. I also mostly eat vegetarian food at home, rarely purchasing meat, which saves on the money. When I go out to eat, I do eat meat but I find the price of buying it for home consumption to be a bit much. I shop the grocery sales and discount grocery stores (Aldi, Grocery Outlet, etc.) to look for deals/bargains on the things I like that are normally very expensive.
 
Oh and drinking out can get expensive. Set a budget and stick to it. Pay cash if you can so that you know how much each drink costs.

cute distraction: plot this in Google
 
plot sqrt(cos(x))cos(300x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)*(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(6-x^2), -sqrt(6-x^2) from -4 to 4

I just got the formal notification, so I'm ready to go public:
 
I am delighed and very, very relieved to claim a Duke admit.

Remember everyone, all you need is one acceptance! We will (almost) all miss many more than we get in this crazy process... Anyhow, one school out of the running and twelve to go... Bring on those emails next week!

I just got the formal notification, so I'm ready to go public:
 
I am delighed and very, very relieved to claim a Duke admit.

Hm I just got into MSU. That was unexpected

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!

I just got the formal notification, so I'm ready to go public:
 
I am delighed and very, very relieved to claim a Duke admit.

I just got the formal notification, so I'm ready to go public:
 
I am delighed and very, very relieved to claim a Duke admit.

CONGRATS!

I just got the formal notification, so I'm ready to go public:
 
I am delighed and very, very relieved to claim a Duke admit.

I can claim one of the Duke admits as well. So incredibly relieved.

I just got the formal notification, so I'm ready to go public:
 
I am delighed and very, very relieved to claim a Duke admit.

I just got the formal notification, so I'm ready to go public:
 
I am delighed and very, very relieved to claim a Duke admit.

Sorry xuejia! It is still super early! None of us are going to get into every school we applied to. You just got some bad news early. But better now than having to wait for it. Now you can focus on the other 12 schools you applied to!