silencio1982

i can't speak to palo alto, but i currently live in boston and am pretty familiar with cambridge as i used to work near harvard sq and took a class at harvard. it's a cool place to live... i often cross to the cambridge side of the river for films, food, & music. definitely a vibrant student life. there are some pretty affordable places to live in cambridge as well, at least as expensive east coast city prices go. i am not totally in love with the boston/cambridge area (i am actually really excited to be starting somewhere new next year), but it was a good place to spend the last 4 years of my life, and definitely a great place to be a student. i've been pretty happy here, met my husband here, and made some great friends. i would say either school would obviously provide you with great opportunities and as far as placement goes i doubt harvard and stanford will have huge differential in the long run, even though it may vary from year to year. and, although it is a pretty trivial reason to pick a school, the weather up here in the winter is pretty damn depressing.

yeah- like i said in the other thread i live a 15 minute walk from MIT- i really thought i would get my rejection yesterday. but, since i don't get mail on weekends i will probably get it on monday. anyways i know MIT was my longest shot out of all the schools i applied to, so i am totally prepared to be rejected.

I think the outdatedness of these rankings definitely matters- for instance, Clarissa Hayward left OSU for WashU and James Gibson is leaving Stanford to return to WashU.... just one example, but it points out another one of the many flaws of ranking systems...

canadianpolisci... here they are. they only go up to 14. US News Rankings - Political Theory - Ranked in 2005. 1. Harvard University (MA) 2. Princeton University (NJ) 3. University of Chicago 4. Yale University (CT) 5. University of California

very interesting. it will be fun to see how this list compares to the new NRC rankings (which are allegedly coming out in "late spring.") they feel pretty accurate to me, at least for the top 40 or 50... but that is mainly based on my own perception of the schools' quality. i am not too familiar with the poli sci programs at the bottom of the list with a few exceptions...

blargh- i am getting impatient today. i live in boston and still haven't received anything from MIT. i am 99% sure it will be a rejection but what the heck is the issue with the USPS? you can walk from MIT to my apt in 15 minutes. also... i am dying to hear from northwestern. what is taking them so long to decide... it's my only other chance of being accepted and i just want to know!! now that i said that i'll probably get rejected on monday. chicago i have just written off at this point. i never really realized i was such an impatient person until the past month. i can't believe i am still so impatient even after i've had good news!

haha. yeah. i emailed the DGS a question after i got my letter and was half-expecting him to write back, oops- you weren't supposed to get that letter! i think i am still kind of in shock.

totally true!! i was convinced i was rejected at northwestern, until someone on the board emailed and dept. said they had not made decisions on all applications. (also posted on the NW poli sci dept. website) so i would say for almost all the schools, until you actually have a confirmed rejection, there is still hope. /threadjack

i saw that. just proves you never know who reads these things!!

sean- no need to despair- i just got the letter yesterday so i am sure its possible that yours could arrive today or even next week. good luck!

congrats pemorphy and noodlez! i think sundaymonday is right. my master's is in political theory so i am definitely interested in IR theory as well... one of the reasons that i really like JHU is that they are interested in blending work amongst the subfields, especially IR and comp pols. but i also think they (unlike some other schools) appreciate having a theory background no matter what subfield you're in. so, i am very very excited about JHU. i'm still waiting to hear about northwestern, coincidentally if i went there my work would be much more oriented to IR theory because of the faculty that fit my interests. (i am generally interested in identity, transnationalism, and immigration but also how these things have changed due to globalization...) so, i definitely feel you will have an interested community of people to work with noodlez!

hahahahahaha.... i feel as though you are spying on me... this is how i spent my entire day today!

16. You are in danger of getting fired from your job because you spend all your time on this website/on craigslist for the town/city of the school you just got accepted to...

awesome! congrats!

oh no! i am sorry. well, minnesota does not know what they are missing by rejecting us

rejected. oh well, was not the best fit for me. hope you get in UMNdude!

Oh, I don't think my letter says anything about orientation. But, I may go visit soon since they will reimburse my travel expenses.

thanks for the advice. it is definitely a good point to pick one, rather than living in between. plus, i probably will not have to go to baltimore every day, so it would be better to live somewhere more convenient for my husband who works 9-5.

thank you! i hope things work out for you, too!

Yes- first contact for me.

Ooh. Grovogui's work sounds cool. Don't know the others. Are you going to visit?

hi all, i just got accepted to the Ph.D. program in poli sci at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore campus). my husband has several job prospects in DC. can anyone recommend a safe but not overly expensive area that is convenient for commuting to both places?

hey congrats! that is awesome!

thanks, i have never been to baltimore but my husband has 4 job interviews for the D.C. area so i am really happy i got in!

hanchard & keck are the ones i am most interested in but i know there are others whose work i don't know as well but that i will be compatible with.