raptureonfire

A full ride to SIS is a great way to get a master's degree for use in policy and professional applications, but if you're interested in academia, then you're far better off by attending NYU, which is a top-15 school in terms of academic preparation. That's not to impugn SIS at all - again, it's a great professional program - it's simply to point out that academic training is different than policy-oriented training. You certainly shouldn't withdraw your application ... why on earth would you do that? If they've given you an offer, then they understand that you are likely waiting for other schools. See where else you get in. If NYU takes you, then you should pick NYU for academic training. Only when you've seen all your offers should you withdraw.

Well - that's your first problem! Do you want to work on CP or IR? What's your funding situation per school?

Good luck!

Are you determined to enter a PhD program? What do you want to do with the degree? Are you looking to teach, or to join policy? What are your stats (GPA/GRE/experience). Perhaps an MA would be helpful in strengthening your credentials. Which programs did you apply to, and how many? If you applied to top schools, then you may be in good shape for a second go-around at mid-level schools next year. What is your existing degree in? Can you pursue work experience in a related field? It may be worth moving to a city with a related field (DC/NYC) and trying your hand in the professional world. If you are determined to be a PhD, and you want to pursue academia, then I recommend trying to get into a competitive MA program (with the understanding that you will likely fund it yourself), and just do as much as you possibly can to put yourself in a strong position for your next cycle. That also includes the GRE. The new GRE is definitely better to study for, so put a good 6 months into it and really knock it out of the park. If you are sort of unsure about whether you want to be a PhD, then I'd recommend a few years of career building. See whether it's for you. And make some money (and connections) while you're at it!

Well, GWU bumped up - so congrats to them!

If you're looking for terminal MA with entry into policy/think tank, GWU Elliot is one of the best places to be, period. Elliot is right across from the state department, and they feed lots of people into internships and PMF. It's a good place to be. Just a word of warning, though ... State is insanely difficult to get into. More than you think. You and every other Elliot grad is going to want to get a job as an FAO when you graduate, so your competition will be stiff. All the more reason to make extremely strong connections and to work as many relevant internships as possible. AU is a decent school - it's strong for an MA; however, both GWU ranks better across the board, and has a stronger reputation here in the DC area. If anything, that simplifies the equation. A waitlist is not an acceptance, so unless you feel like rolling the dice, I'd stick with GWU.

Hey Mr. Tibbs, I'm not in any position of authority on the matter, but here are my thoughts ... If I were serving on an admissions committee (I am not, and never have), I would be asking myself about your ability to commit to a field/career. To be blunt, I'd question why, with an MBA and a JD, you haven't pursued a career in either business or law. I would question what you said on your applications to the MBA and JD program ... did you say that you wanted to manage businesses or be a lawyer? What were your stated reasons for enrolling in those programs? What makes your commitment to teaching any different than your past commitment to law or business? Just wanted to second this. Going into a PhD program with the intention of entering academia is maybe the least stable path that you can possibly take right now. If you're really looking for a stable middle class life, you should be starting your career, not postponing it by 5-7 years. Particularly given that you have a child (congratulations!), you should be investing in yourself now - particularly if you're hoping to stay in the South Carolina region. As anyone will tell you, when you're looking for a teaching job, "you get what you get, and you don't get upset". The chances that, at age 40+ with a degree from SC, that you would be able to get a job that allows you to remain in a specific region in SC, are extremely limited ... and then you'd either have to move to wherever you can get a job (and uproot your wife and kid), or just end up taking an unrelated career, having added a few more letters to your business card.

My thoughts? I'd probably take the #75 school. The jump between 75 and 50 is not so huge, and I really wouldn't suggest going into debt for a school that isn't top-top ranked. Even with top ranked school, I would be hesitant to recommend it.

SAIS's program is very strong for policy; not so much academia. That's probably why you don't see a huge focus on the program here at GC!

Heyo! Welcome to the club - I'll be at UMD this fall!

GWU jumped up a bit, no? That's good to see

Why not read up on the topic so that, instead of having to bullshit your way through the interview, you can actually speak with some knowledge about it?

Congratulations!!!

Ask them about support for publication and getting funding.

Congratulations!

I'm headed to University of Maryland w/ full funding, assistant-ship, and summer fellowship.

Good luck with Harvard! That said, you have some pretty enticing options otherwise, right? Not a bad position to be in

Ah! Well that is a totally different question altogether. I'd hate to de-rail this thread, so why don't you PM me and I can try to help out

Hey OP, GMU has some very strong people - there's no doubt that the faculty are very good, and I wouldn't be surprised if GMU did rise up a little bit over the next few years. I have really enjoyed interactions with quite a few of their professors (John Paden, particularly). They have an up-and-coming Central Asia guy (McGlinchey) who is part of the PONARS network, so that's quite an accomplishment. But, that said, I wouldn't stake any bets on the school as a whole becoming a powerhouse in political science. "Up and coming" is one of those terms that sounds much more hopeful than it really is. It's sort of like describing a house as "a fixer-upper". Yeah, there's definitely potential, but there's no guarantee that it will ever realize that potential. In terms of rankings and comparability ... I'm going to take what Eponine said and push it a bit further. I don't think that GMU will ever get close to top 15-20; it's doubtful it will break the top 40, IMO. It just doesn't have the prestige or momentum that you find at the top twenty schools. GMU doesn't show up in the NRC rankings, and it's in the back 50 in the USNWR rankings. In order to break even the top 30, it would have to slog past Brown, UVA, Georgetown, George Washington,etc. etc. Furthermore, to get to the top 20, it would have to fight past UMD, Penn, Mich State, Emory, etc. There's just no way that's going to happen. Now, if you are hoping to go into public policy, or perhaps you want to pursue a technical position in the international development field, GMU is really a great place to go. As someone who works in the international development field, I can assure you that this is not a bad field to be in. With a PhD and some field experience, you can expect starting salaries around $80K ranging up to $130K with more experience, and you could go travel/live in plenty of exciting (read: often dangerous) places. So, if that's something you want to consider, I would definitely consider GMU. As for placing GMU in the same tier as GWU or Georgetown ... I think that is a bit of a stretch, even in the policy/development world; however, that may be where the school is really rising. But if you are looking for academic training, then I probably wouldn't place my bets on GMU. Given how harsh the academic job market is, it's just not worth the time/investment. Remember, the professors that I mentioned in this post got their PhDs from Harvard and Princeton, respectively. THAT's how competitive things are.

In terms of your goals for the future - are you hoping to work in a more policy-oriented or academia-oriented career? I would say that you probably can't go wrong with a stats/econ training, but if you could double major in political science, that would of course only strengthen your dossier (provided you maintain a strong GPA). As for your comment stating that: The answer is both 'yes' and 'no'. Yes, in a sense, of course you could snag a syllabus from the PS department and read up on the literature yourself. That's sort of true of most fields - particularly in the social sciences. But you'd be missing out on the experience of class debate and discussion, as well as being challenged by professors who have stronger grasps of the material that you do. You can learn a lot on your own; however, in my opinion, the experience of in-person class discussions, lectures, and debates can't be overemphasized.

Certainly not - I'll be attending in the fall! Maryland has very strong faculty and academic preparation. You should call them up to see if you can visit. They're regularly placing articles in top journals across all fields, and their academic placements (and post-doc placements) are quite nice. Give Mike Hanmer a call and see if he can set up a weekend for you at the school.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can guarantee that my MA is the only reason that I was considered at certain schools. My undergraduate degree was in Psychology (certainly helpful in any field, but not exactly a direct pathway). An MA gave me access to the quantitative and theoretical tools, and gave me opportunity to publish a few articles and write a thesis. It also opened up the path to attaining a position in a related field, which gave me further opportunity to travel and experience the world from a different point of view. So, to those wondering about an MA, I wouldn't discourage you from pursuing one (provided the financial strain isn't a problem).

To piggyback onto that ... The discussion of finances can't be so easily simplified down to viewing the PhD as a commitment, nor as a labor of passion. The PhD is a commitment in the same way that investing 5+ years into a career-path position is a commitment. As Gopher says - people's passions wax and wane with time and experience. How one views the prospect of limited finances will likely be related in some way to one's age, level of work experience, and prospects for a top-paying position after the degree. It will also have to do with one's expected outside financial support. It's easy to be enthusiastic about an additional 5+ years of 'student life' when one is directly out of undergrad, and can count on outside funding from the family. That calculus becomes a bit more complicated when one already has commitments, or perhaps can't truly count on outside help. From where I'm sitting, the issue of passion for research really doesn't come into play at all; presumably, we're all passionate about research ... that's why we are pursuing research degrees.

It's not an easy decision to make, to be sure. As a policy school, GWU is a leader. As for its academic-focus ... well, I can only tell you what I know from multiple conversations with several of its professors. There are some very strong faculty members at GWU, including Michael Barnett, Martha Finnemore, and Henry Hale. I met with about 5 or 6 professors last summer/fall when discussing applying to the PhD program. Each one of them essentially told me the same two things: GWU is working hard to improve its standing in the academic world; Go to the best ranked program I could. So, take that for what it's worth. Now, I suppose there are some exceptions. What exactly do you want to study? If you are at all interested in Russia/Eurasia, the Elliot School has an extremely strong program with IERES. They have Henry Hale, of course. But they also have PONARS, and I think they're only going to improve over the next year or two. PONARS alone is reason to consider the school - again, in the case that you want to study Russia/Eurasia. Between the two, I would probably choose Georgetown. They are often ranked closely with each other; however, Georgetown's name carries with it significantly more prestige and recognition. The NRC rankings seem to be relatively contentious; I'm honestly not sure what to make of them. Particularly since you can rank schools by different criteria. I definitely view GWU as a rising school, though I wouldn't be confident placing it in the top 25. Not because it's not a top-quality school (I really believe it is), but because other schools have made longer, bigger investments in a curriculum for preparing academics (as opposed to policy experts). But then again, what the heck do I know! So, those are my thoughts

I would stick with the "Too Awesome" hypothesis.