silencio1982

Personally I would say go to Northwestern unless you are very, very, very independently wealthy and the thought of paying graduate tuition for 5 to 7 years doesn't bother you at all. The fact is that most professors, even tenure track professors, do not make extravagant salaries. If you have to take out loans to pay tuition you are looking at at least $70,000, even if you got in-state residency in California after your first year, never mind living expenses-- it will take you years to pay that off. Northwestern is a very strong school with a very strong placement record. You'll get a great, marketable, and cost-free education from there. For me, that's an impossible deal to turn down. You should avoid paying for graduate school at all costs if you can. Again, if you are incredibly wealthy then maybe the decision changes, but I can't speak to that!

hey noodlez. as you've probably gathered i accepted JHU's offer. my decision was made a lot easier by virtue of the fact that it was my only acceptance, haha. still, i am super excited to be going there. all my former profs agreed that the dept has a very good reputation and it will be a great fit for me. good luck making your decision!

Most MA programs would be pretty flexible on the subject, I would think- as long as your new interests are within the bounds of what the department as a whole/at least some faculty members are studying. I would mention your new interests on the phone in the context of expanding your old interests (if they are at all related, which you do seem to imply). Then when you are choosing your coursework you can just go with more classes that fit your new interests. You can always get a new advisor. Advisors at the MA level (at least in my MA program in a different field) are really just there to help you make sure you have the requirements to graduate and also to point you in the right direction as far as your interests go. I think it's expected that most people's interests will change somewhat in an MA program.

someone posted an acceptance today- congrats to that person... great program.

Hey Ammar- I agree with the others that you should not blend in during recruitment weekend. I am a very very shy person and I feel like not being outgoing/aggressive enough was a real detriment to me in my MA program. Obviously, I turned out fine, but I wasn't outspoken and didn't establish in-depth relationships with faculty members until my second year. It is a little bit different with PhD students, since faculty members seem to pay more attention to them (us) for various reasons - so you can work that to your advantage. Remember, they want you to be studying there and saw potential in you. One awkward encounter (worst-case scenario) probably won't make them change their minds... they aren't going to take their offer of admission away. I'll echo others and say break the ice either by e-mail or phone. I spoke to one prof by phone and now feel much less nervous about meeting her in person. They are there to answer your questions and probably won't try to quiz you on your own research beyond some general questions. As ampersand pointed out, profs will know that you are nervous and most of them will probably cut you some slack. The DGS at my potential program specifically told me to email and contact profs I wanted to work with before I visited. Just send them a brief intro email at the very least, and you can go up to them at the weekend and say, Hi, I'm Ammar, I emailed you about X. Just have a few basic questions to ask them and time will fly by. You'll be fine!

I'll be there in the fall! Ph.D. in Political Science. Anyone else?

Interesting rankings, Lenin... I did find more Canadian unis (including York) on the Times Higher Education (UK rankings). Of particular interest to us might be the Social Science Rankings: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/h ... peCode=150 Of course, I could find problems with just about any rankings system, and I have never attended school in Canada, so I am not very familiar with the reputations of the various schools.

Hey all. This is a great discussion. I'll be the first in my family to get a PhD. My mom went back to college later in life to get a BA and an MA- she's a teacher. My dad is in construction (he got an AA on his way to getting into this career) and he is really... conflicted... about my education. I know my parents are proud of me but we get into a lot of conflicts about this. Everytime I am home at my parents' house, my dad gets mad at me for something and retorts with "Just because you've gone to school for 6 years doesn't mean you know everything." He also told my mom that if I get a Ph.D. he's worried that I'll forget where I came from and be one of those people who only talks about their subject and looks down on everything else. It's totally frustrating- I know that he's proud of me- he told me when I graduated with an MA that it was one of the proudest days of his life... but I know he feels like he can't relate to me anymore. He wanted me to be a lawyer or a stockbroker... for him, success is always related to money. I've tried to tell him that I know I would be miserable being a lawyer or a stockbroker, but I think he's still disappointed. It's all really complicated. Luckily when I was growing up, we never struggled too much money wise... but we were never rich and it was kind of a culture shock to go to a small liberal arts college where everyone's parents were doctors and lawyers... but I don't think I've changed too much. I'm proud of where I came from... I just feel like I am taking advantage of all the opportunities my parents worked so hard to get me, especially my dad who worked so many hours of overtime... Anyways, it's emotional and I think a lot of people take it for granted that their parents are fully understanding and supportive of their grad school path. But I know my parents will come around, they are just worried about me being financially secure in life and about me becoming someone they can't relate to. All I can say is that those of us who have come this far have the determination and skills to keep going!! Good luck everyone!

i hope to get a teaching job at a summer program. if that fails, i'll try to get something non-taxing to bring in some extra money. i don't plan on doing too much prep work before school starts. i'm trying to enjoy my last few months of brain vacation.

Yaaaaaaay!! Congrats VandyCandy!!

poli sci - tuition plus 16k and health insurance for 5 years. TA or grading 1 course per year. not too bad- i wish there was guaranteed summer funding but was told there are chances to get it from the dept and elsewhere around the university.

thanks! i wish you the best of luck as well. i hope one of your remaining schools works out.

I'm going to Johns Hopkins. Woohoo!! edited- other schools i applied to posted in the undergrad stats thread.

well, the waiting is over- rejection via the website. here i come baltimore!

yeah, it is crazy that they haven't actually even sent out an email saying to those left that decisions are still being made.

no, being rich is not the point... but some of us have families, student loans, car payments, etc. etc. and i respectfully disagree with the assertion that you shouldn't work in grad school because it's somehow detrimental to your studies. i sincerely doubt that any of us grad students will be spending every waking moment engrossed in our studies. that is just not human. this is not to say that you shouldn't take graduate school seriously, and treat it as your full-time job, because it is, but we all need time away from our studies. i am not suggesting taking up extremely mentally or physically taxing work as a part-time job, but there are less stressful things to do that provide a respite from studies and can earn you some extra cash at the same time. my husband and i have shared financial goals and though he understands that he will be supporting me while i'm in grad school, i can still spare 10 hours a week to make some money. as i said i survived (and did pretty well in) my MA program and writing a thesis while having a part-time job. i think after getting your bearings in the department it's fine to work, unless your program has rules against you doing so. if you want to make time for it, you can. 10 hours a week is only 2 hours each weekday. i am sure people watch TV or go out with friends or putz around on the internet for at least that amount of time a day. i'll only be TAing or grading one course a year so i think i'll have time to work- at the very least in the semester that i'm not TAing or grading in. of course, if for some reason i find it too stressful or think my studies are suffering, i won't continue to do it. but i do think it's possible and i still think it's possible to be an excellent student while having a part-time job.

I definitely think it's possible to do this- in fact, there is someone in the Poli Sci threads that did just that... he/she didn't get into a PhD program at their top choice, was very disappointed, started up an email correspondence with the director of grad studies about his/her interests in the program and why it's a perfect fit for them, and he/she was offered an MA slot. (No funding.) it can't hurt, the worst they can say is no.

I absolutely can't WAIT to leave my job. As you can probably discern from the number of posts I make here, I have absolutely no motivation to do work here anymore. That being said, I am going to have to work part-time when I quit this gig. I am thinking 10-15 hours a week, maximum. My goal is to try to find something mindless that pays $10/hr. When I was getting my MA I had a sweet deal in an academic center on campus- the job was easy, the people were nice, and I got paid an amazing $15/hr. Obviously something like that is ideal. I might try tutoring again. I worked really briefly for one of the evil test prep companies, which didn't end up working out because I didn't have a car. Anyway, I would love to not work but we (my husband and I) could really use the extra income if we hope to maintain our standard of living at all. Anyway, having survived an MA program while working about 10-15 hours a week, I definitely know it is possible. You might want to wait a semester to get your bearings in your program, and I wouldn't work more than 10-15 hours a week.

Hey there- I don't think it's entirely a waste of space- it's a tricky approach and some people probably do pull it off- I, however, would prefer to play it safe in the SOP. It's subjective, of course. If you choose to leave those aspects in, I do think that considering the length of the essay you should spend less time on personal narrative, creative hooks, and your love of academia and more on delving into specific aspects of your future research. It's a tough call. Some departments probably put a lot more weight on SOPs than others. Some individuals on adcoms are probably bored of reading 400 essays like mine; yours probably would catch someone's eye just by being different. Personalization and passion are really important- don't get me wrong- but I think you can talk about your potential research in a very personalized and passionate way rather than about your personal story. It's cynical, but that's what adcoms are interested in (at least I think)- your research potential- not your biography. Most, if not all of us, can probably say that our research topic is connected in some very personal way to who we are. Most, if not all of us, feel passionately about the academy as a place to explore questions central to life, realize our dreams, and yadda yadda. Most, if not all of us, have had an A-ha! moment where we realized deep down in our core that this is the best possible life we can envision for ourselves. Your talent as a writer definitely adds to the weight of your story, but I don't think that your story is primarily what they are interested in. Then again- you have to be yourself in your SOP. So if handing in something that is entirely focused on your potential research and qualifications to carry it out seems wrong to you, stick to your guns. If it worked before, I can't see why it wouldn't work again. Of course, maybe adcoms pin all our SOPs up to a wall and play pin the tail on the admits. I really have no clue.

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comment on which we think is most important? well... obviously i think some mixture of the three. but, i think there is an overall feel for a program, that is tied into "program strength," that matters. for instance, i am interested in work that draws upon and blends comparative politics and international relations. so, i looked for programs that have strengths in that area rather than just the one subfield. but, if you are highly specialized then this may matter less to you. i think program strength and subfield strength also tie into the faculty there-- not just if the faculty are well known, but if they are doing the type of work you would ultimately like to do-- because that is what you will most likely be trained in. placement is obviously very important, as has been discussed ad nauseam... but there are no guarantees in life as far as placement goes. if the department's placement record mostly includes schools where you could see yourself being happy as a prof, then i would say that is probably the most important thing for placement. of course, if they are only placing 1-2 people each year out of 10 Ph.D.s granted, that would probably be a red flag. just my (incredibly subjective) two cents. of course, when you only have one firm offer in hand, like me, the decision is a lot easier... haha.

Hey lenin. I agree with the assessment of Canadianpolisci in that you need to include more about your future research. In my opinion the second to last paragraph is strongest... Move that to the forefront- and after you explain your research idea you can use the experiences you have had to say why you are qualified to pursue that topic... and then address why you think X program is the best program in which to pursue that research. I think you have the right idea- but you have to switch the emphasis from what you've done in the past to what you want to do in the future. I spent 2 full paragraphs on the details of my future research question in my SOP. Hope this helps.

Not sure. I would guess just postal but I don't know... sorry!

hey ya'll - does anyone have more up to date placement info than what's on the website? just curious.

qual/mixed method person here! i am sure there are a few of us... ::runs away and hides::