Peter
-
Posts
48 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Peter
-
-
They told me they couldn't promise reimbursement but that there were decent odds. But my flight was cheap, so...
Civic education sounds like an interesting program. I honestly didn't know that was one of the subfields of Ed...
-
I am the Cornell wait-list... I believe (not entirely sure) that all accepts and wait-lists have been sent.
Nervous. Really want it.
Congrats! Great program!
-
Extremely odd about the Cornell waitlist. Was that anybody here? Just seems strange that they would announce waitlists pre:acceptances (unless the accepts haven't yet posted).
Hoping they send out the verdicts (all types) soon---Any accepts yet?
-
Lenin--
I'm sure this sounds like a ridiculous question, but I've been wondering what NSSR stands for. Could you clarify?
-
This seems to be the next stage in the process (assuming your top choice has a lesser funding package...) So---what do you all think?
How do you negotiate funding? How do you bring up other schools' offers appropriately? Can they serve as bargaining chips?
-
Good question about why one would apply to Georgetown.
I know when I was running through my list of potential schools w/profs Georgetown was almost always the one on my list that was discouraged. And I KNOW the ranking is low. And if they don't offer funding there is no way I'd attend, but to be honest, I feel torn about the GWU question. From what I hear they are better with funding, they rank, technically, the same as Georgetown, and most importantly, they're in DC. I must admit I miss it there, and I'm super attracted to the prospects of ACTUALLY doing something besides thinking and writing (i.e. continuing work in the gov't, think-tanks, policy formation, etc.) I, interestingly enough, only seem happy when I can have both worlds---academia AND the "real" one.
So, to be honest, even now I find myself torn between taking the significantly better ranked school or throwing rankings to the wind and running to DC (again, if funding at GWU works out). Anybody else feel this way? Perhaps not with DC but with another city? Anybody else tempted to take the "lesser" school?
-
Re: Georgetown---
I called yesterday and it appears the bulk of the admits won't go out for another couple weeks. I didn't ask about whether or not they've started sending stuff out. Since the school is ridiculous about funding (only providing fellowships to two people per subfield) my bet is that they'll contact those individuals early (perhaps what happened this week).
As for the question earlier today about hearing from people who have been through the cycle twice (now) with better luck, I'll sit down and type out what I learned in a couple weeks when the bulk of this craziness blows over...
Good luck to all this week.
Ah, and I also contacted GWU and it looks like it won't be until mid-March for them....
-
Congrats to those Harvard people (I was surprised to see so many on the results list). What a great opportunity!
-
The other option if you're considering an MA, though, is to just pick the inexpensive state school near you. As I've mentioned before, I was not admitted to PHD programs my first go-around, but I was offered an acceptance at Chicago's IR MA as well as NYU's American Lit (MA---long story on this one---I had/have many interests). Anyway, no funding offers were made, and I opted to not bury myself in loans. I enjoyed the admitted students weekend at Chicago, but to be honest, I got the feeling that the MA was meant to be a fundraiser for the PhD program. And, while the campus was beautiful, the professors were a bit too pretentious. I remember one came up to me and said, "_____State, eh? You're the first person I've EVER MET that graduated from that school!" Geez. Thanks but no thanks.
So, I used the MA at an absolutely unknown school to show I could do the polisci stuff, made some application tweaks, retook the GRE, and this year I've been fortunate with acceptances. SO, I guess it comes down to a bit of a gamble. If I had received my MA at Chicago PERHAPS I would have gotten into a better PhD program, true. But as it stands I'm still in at a #25 program and I had my tuition covered for my MA (I also went to a no-name state school for my BA, because a full ride (tuition, dorms, computer, you name it) was offered). BUT, you can guarantee (unless you're very wealthy) that Chicago will drain an enormous amount of money out of you. And the question is, are you willing to enter a PhD with that kind of debt when you never know if you'll need additional loans to make ends meet at the PhD level. And the reality is professors won't make that much... so taking out loans as a POLS student is NOT the same thing as for med/law school....
I absolutely do not question the prestige of UChicago, though. Nor do I question the weight of their name. This is just my story...
-
Hi futureprof--
I haven't heard from USC yet myself, but honestly, even if there is a conflict, I'd go to your other two visits. I think you'd have more opportunities, more supported research, greater placement odds, etc. at your other two admits.
-
And I think, fundamentally, the root issue here is semi-ethical, semi-philosophical, and largely personal. The question is, once society has given you this education (and yes, some would protest that you "earn" it, but seriously, our lives are a million times easier than that of the average global citizen, and I've worked "very hard" with academics) are you responsible for giving back? And then, importantly, how can you best do that?
I think we've all heard the "our gift to the world is our profoundly brilliant musings" line, but I also think if we actually sit and consider it very few of us would believe that we couldn't go a bit further.
Given that I believe we've got one life (at times like this it would be easier to believe in reincarnation, eh?
the problems of this world are too deep, too tangible, and too prevalent to ignore. People are too real, journal articles are too distant. Not living amidst the problem doesn't make it not exist to me. Nor, hopefully, to any of us. Academia has made itself borderline irrelevant in the lives of most citizens and policymakers alike, and so obviously what is currently being done is insufficient.One of my theory profs once asked me why I was this way---why in the entire graduate seminar, I'd be the only one bothered that Hannah Arendt didn't take her writing a step further and let us know what we could do, etc., to make "it" better. I told him that I guess someone, somewhere down the line, told me I could change the world. And I believed them.
I wish more of us did.
A friend of mine found this quote on some Berkeley student's blog. I'm probably butchering it, but it's something like this: "There are people the world over who if you knew them you would love. And having loved them, you would pay dearly to see their lives bettered. That we may never meet them does not change anything." -Brian Loo
-
I completely agree that this is the mentality embraced by the academy.
But I would argue that the world has already been interpreted ad naseum, and furthermore the discipline seeks its players to interpret within the same confines, the same theories, etc. The result, generally, is neither new interpretation nor change.
Nonetheless, it is true that most academics want their jobs to be simply to think, interpret, and write. OK, but then what? It is expected that policymakers and the "doers" of the world will then read all the academics' musings and find ways to incorporate them into practice. This simply rarely happens. So, either we rag on the policymakers to be better educated and ask that they be able to perfectly interpret and apply "our brilliance" or we realize that we're only accomplishing half our job. Very well---our job is indeed to think. But that is only part of it. Who better to apply the grand theories than the people who created them? In other words, when will academics take the next step and ask themselves how their theories etc. could be applied... really?
The world is full of people who can point to this or that and say "This is wrong, it shouldn't be like this" but the real question is how you can take that truism and change the reality of the future. I believe in the potential of the academy to respond to the world not as an observer, but as a participant.
-
Since today has been a slow day, I thought of asking a question that might be of interest to many of us. Why did you choose to apply for PhD in PolSci? Is it because you want to become a professor and/or be in the academia or is it something else (e.g. jobs outside the academia). I am particularly interested in hearing from those who have been working for a while and now find themselves wanting to go back to school and pursue a degree in Politics. I, for example, wouldn't necessary want to work in the academia, so how well do you think PhD in PolSci prepares you for other non-research jobs?
Thanks.
I believe it is a human responsibility to make the world a better place. I believe serious problems require extensive knowledge to propose even a-long-shot-in-the-dark solutions. To understand the world enough to actually respond to these problems, I think a graduate degree is very helpful. Is it necessary? No, but it is helpful. Also, of course, your potential solutions would be better received if you have a PhD attached to your name.
I also believe academia in and of itself is a squander of talent and responsibility. I believe it's time that the sages of the world (professors and the academy) got their hands dirty and left just theory and merged to practice. To steal someone else's words, it's time for the sages to work with the technicians...and for some of them to become them, I believe. Imagine what could happen if the academics of the world--those priviledged few who are paid to think---actually rose to the challenge of merging theory and practice?
So I want the PhD to go back and work on effective policy (but don't tell PhD programs that or they sure as heck won't admit you---"policy" and "practical" are dirty, low-class words to the "intellectual elites"). Eventually I will teach but not until I have exhausted myself in using my mind to make a real mark. I agree that the life of an academic is extraordinary---but I believe, to quote Spiderman's grandpa (?) that with great power comes great responsibility. If you're born with a gifted mind in a gifted country I believe you are required to do something more with that than publish articles that the bulk of the world will never read. I think it's time we stepped out of the Ivory Tower, so to speak.
In short, I don't believe you need to want to be a prof to have a PhD. I think you just need to want to learn and be willing to use the gift of your education for something more important.
-
So this thread might be officially dead---but anybody else thinking of UW for their PhD in Political Science (IR concentration?) I hear there are likely going to be 4-5 IR-ites enrolling in 2008.... would love to meet any potential students...
-
Congrats to you all for some great options w/what appears to be solid funding. And I'm glad, Eve, you started this tread. I was meaning to ask some people about how to go about picking schools when push comes to shove.
As for me, I've only heard back from 4 schools (fortunately with three acceptances---UVA, UCDavis, and UW-Seattle). The bummer is the funding issue. Davis offers tuition plus about $16.5K per year, guaranteed, for five years (but yes, there is some department service required). UVA offers funding for years 2-4, but currently nothing for year one. And the school I like the most, UW is offering about 12.5K plus tuition waiver per year for five years but it's contingent on a TAship and that TAship is decided on a quarter by quarter basis. No guarantees. However, they say in the past five years there have only been two occasions when they couldn't give the TAship each quarter to students. But I'm an out-of-stater, which means if there isn't a TA position available I'd be stuck with out-of-state tuition....
I'm still waiting on 8 schools, but I'd really like UW to work out. Any advice on what to do when the funding offers are less than ideal? I know Davis is the wiser choice financially, and so I'm torn about picking a potentially "better" school that doesn't guarantee funding....which would you pick?
-
adaptations said:It was only a short while ago when I asked that WashU be my saving grace. Unfortunately it was the slap across the face. I just received a rejection from them, which leaves me waiting on Princeton, MIT, UCSD, Michigan, and Chicago. Hmm, it really will take a miracle now. I think I must have gone about this all wrong. I know my numbers are good enough, but I guess the SOP and writing sample weren't what they were looking for.
All I can say is, I'm very very sad...
The admissions process is a crap-shoot...really. I, too, was rejected to WashU, though I'd tailored my last couple years to that school specifically. The schools I have been admitted to were not seriously on the radar screen before (and I personally don't see as great a fit in the bulk of them). It's ridiculous.
And for what its worth, this is the second time I've been through the PHD application cycle. The first time yielded no PhD acceptances. But I feel like I learned a lot about what to change in my apps for the second go-round. It is a game. Once this whole process is done I'll sit down and type out some of those things.
But the point is, I'm the same person now as I was then. I'm just as capable now as I was then. And yet, given a few tweaks and a new application strategy, NOW schools accept me that didn't before. And so I see the process as completely laughable, actually. I'd bet you'll have great options at the end of this journey, but I think it's helpful to sit back occasionally and see this process for the severely flawed and falsely idolized process that it is. Admissions decisions are not the result of someone looking into the omniscient crystal ball of all our abilities, intellect, or potential. Really. Frankly, I really don't think we should see acceptances in this process as an affirmation of our true abilities as researchers or academics--and "rejection," similarly, should not be seen as an indicator of a lack of ability, talent, or potential.
-
Heard good news from UW-Seattle today---so thrilled--helped me recover from a hard-to-take rejection yesterday.
The email was relatively personalized, which makes me believe they're going to be sending them out on a rolling basis (it was from a member on the Admissions committee who was interested personally in the research project) so if you haven't heard yet, I wouldn't worry. I think it may take a few days to get these out if they're personalized....
Good luck to all!
-
Has anyone heard from UW-Seattle?
I emailed them asking this very question and they said decisions would be emailed out by the end of this week. For what it's worth...
-
Anyone want to share their opinions on the respective strengths/weaknesses of the programs at UCI and USC?
I really thought I'd get rejected by all of the schools, so I never thought I'd have to choose two in SoCal.
Thanks for those who responded earlier re: WUSTL acceptances---I appreciate it. It will stink to get rejected to one of my top choices. But so it goes, I suppose.
As for the UCI vs. USC debate, I believe you'll find UCI is ranked higher, but USC will provide more funds with their acceptances AND I believe you'll have a lesser TA requirement. I am also waiting on USC (did not apply to UCI) but whereas I've heard from Davis and UVA I think I'll opt for one of those programs. It's a hard question, though, and largely depends on how much you value US News rankings. And more superficially, I visited both and enjoyed the USC campus more, though the materialism is a bit hard to swallow.
I thought the following might be useful for some. Again, it depends on how you value the rankings. But I snagged these off of a website, so take them for what they're worth. Many of you likely already have these rankings engraved in your mind, but for those who haven't seen them...
POLS Rank/School Average assessment
score (5.0 = highest)
1. Harvard University (MA) 5.0
2. Stanford University (CA) 4.9
3. University of Michigan
-
Congrats to all the WashU admits.
I haven't heard anything yet which likely is a bad sign, but I wondered if you were international or domestic students? I noticed on the results page that one person heard from snail mail and others from email---just wondering about the disconnect.
If it was an email, may I ask who it was from??
Thanks!
-
Thank you for your comment on the Davis/UVA question. As for the previous inquiry---
I had a BA in English, actually--and when I went though the first round of PhD applications that wasn't enough. So now I'm picking up an MA in POLS and applying to PhD programs from there. And yes, now I have some outright acceptances. It was worth it to me to get the MA first to try for a better ranked PHD program than I could have been admitted to w/an unrelated BA.
For what it's worth I think schools are looking for a commitment to the field (hard to show w/out a related degree), a demonstrated potential/history as a researcher (i.e. understanding what you're getting into w/a PhD program), decent GRE scores, and frankly, a big-name school for your undergrad. I didn't have that last one, but I think that if I had, it would have really helped...
Just thoughts...
-
Hello all--
This is my first time using a forum like this, but I thought it might be helpful. I wondered if I might pick your brains a bit. What do you think of UCDavis vs. UVA for their POLS IR programs? I'm still waiting on a variety of schools, but right now these are the two that have responded.
Also, if I haven't heard back from NYU yet (which I haven't), does it mean it's a rejection? I saw many people have already heard acceptances... just not sure how this process works.
Thanks! Good luck to all!
Cornell
in Political Science Forum
Posted
And it is strange that someone received a rejection letter (via email), and people have received waitlist notifications, but as of yet no acceptances have been posted.
On my end I've heard nothing at all. At least it's not an outright rejection yet....