ampersand

Out of the schools I've been accepted by so far, UCSD is definitely the frontrunner. But that could change if Ohio and Michigan ever decide to send out acceptances (seriously, what's the hold up with those people?). I'm trying to set up a visit to Maryland and Stony Brook as well, to get a feel for what different departments are like and to make some new friends. I don't see a problem with letting both schools know about your visitation dilemma. If you're seriously considering both schools, it would be to their advantage to accommodate you and let you visit.

Alegriapura, I guess it all depends on what you want to emphasize. WUSTL and Princeton are both great schools and you'd be well served at either of them, but it sounds like WUSTL would be better for straight-up American politics and Princeton would be better if you wanted to go the political psychology route. Both WUSTL and Princeton have name recognition. Princeton more so.

Is it wrong to admit that I've failed in my attempts to read Bowling Alone? I know that it's one of the most important political science books of the last 10 years and "social capital" has become a buzzword in our culture, but 500 pages of very small type is incredibly intimidating. On the occasions I've tried, I usually get through about 75 pages before I give up and read Harry Potter instead. It makes for better bedtime reading.

Niiiiiiice. Congrats!

Maryland sent me a letter about three weeks ago. I have no idea if they've made all their decisions, or if they notified everyone at once.

I'm still waiting to hear from them too, although at this point I've got better options and probably wouldn't go there. If I get accepted, maybe I'll auction my spot to the highest bidder on eBay. These graduate stipends don't make you rich, so I'll need the extra income.

iulixa, they sent me a letter at the beginning of February. It was actually dated only a few days after the application deadline. A letter from the graduate school and a letter from the department (with my funding package) were sent to the permanent address I indicated on my application (which was my parents' house, so I made them send the letters to me so I could open them myself). I've also emailed back and forth a couple of times with Irwin Morris, the director of graduate studies in the department. I have no idea if they're still making acceptance decisions, although no one's posted a rejection on the results page. Hope this helps.

Oooh, sounds interesting. Even though I've been accepted to a program, can I maybe be a visiting professor at your commune?

My sexiest school by far is UCSD. Top 10 ranking, a hefty funding package, and really nice professors. Plus, no more deathly cold winters. That's pretty sexy.

They wait until mid-April to notify everyone? Seriously? They do realize that a lot of us are already being courted by other good schools, right? If they wait that long, they're going to miss out on a lot of good students...

I got full funding at UCSD! I'm stoked!

Wow, we've got quite a few public opinion people here. We could about author a conference paper with everyone here.

Spin, I grew up in SoCal too and am leaning pretty heavily towards UCSD (assuming they give me funding). What's your subfield? Are you going to the open house next month?

Stony Brook accepted me today, too, and they said they "would like to invite you to visit our department at our expense." (I take that to mean that they don't necessarily have a recruiting weekend, but also want to make time for students to visit.) I also got a nice email from another professor there touting their public opinion credentials. I'm not sure yet if I'll visit. Depending on the funding that UCSD offers me and whether or not I get in at Ohio State and Michigan, Stony Brook probably isn't all that high on my list. I'd be able to make much more informed decisions about where to visit if I knew for sure all the offers I was considering. If someone wants to send some good karma over to a few midwestern schools to get them to hurry up and make their decisions, it would be much appreciated.

I'm putting up this thread as a place for Americanist students to discuss their options. Feel free to tell us where you got in and when you'll be making visits, ask questions about schools and funding, and just generally chill with others of your kind.

I grew up a couple of cities over from Irvine. I haven't lived there for a few years while I've been doing my undergrad work, but I still visit a few times a year. Orange County has a pretty good market for computer-related jobs--my father works in Santa Ana, which is maybe a 20 minute drive away. North county, I think, has a lot of tech firms. Irvine is a pretty upscale (read: yuppie) community, so I don't think you'd have any problem finding vegan/vegetarian food options. I'm sure there are a few grocery stores and restaurants that cater to the vegetarian crowd.

Do they have different recruiting days for different departments? I'm going to the political science one on March 11-12.

I absolutely agree with you. This whole process is like being addicted to drugs! The last high I got a week ago is wearing off--I need another fix!

I went there and it didn't have anything on my admission status--is there a special hidden link I'm supposed to click on?

I'm also anxiously awaiting a decision from Michigan. When I saw that other people were getting acceptance emails yesterday, I freaked myself out so much that I nearly jumped out of my skin every time the new-email window popped up on Google Talk. Darn generic emails from Amazon.com getting my blood pressure up! But I would expect to hear from Michigan far sooner than April. They probably just said that to you to cover themselves in case it takes that long to get back to a few waitlistees. Does anyone know of a way to check your Michigan status online, ala Ohio State? I poked around on the grad school website for a while and couldn't figure out a way.