iheartplato
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Posts posted by iheartplato
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Yes, I'll be at the open house as well....so hopefully see you all there.
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Oops! Sorry, GW, not Georgetown
Anyway, I interpreted the above essentially as "Shoot for the stars, but have a backup plan in case it doesn't work out." I didn't really seem him as equating getting a TT job with a 2nd tier PhD as the same thing as going from the South Bronx to the NBA.
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You guys are really great
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In my experience, transferring "up the ladder" does not happen very frequently. In the 5 years that I was in residence in my PhD program, only one student transferred "in" from a lower-ranked school, and this lower-ranked school was overseas.
This is just my experience at one school. I have no idea how representative this is.
I do know that people from one program can be "in residence" at another program for an extended period of time. Gary King at Harvard, for example, frequently takes on students from other lesser-ranked programs. But this isn't a transfer, this is a visiting position. Students can also, on occasion, change departments when their adviser leaves--when Chris Achen moved to Princeton from Michigan, some of his students came too. (Apparently, my examples today are coming from big-name methodologists.)
I have one friend who started his PhD at a lower-ranked school and transferred to a great department, but his story is entirely different from the scenarios that I have seen on this blog (i.e. "I'll just try to transfer.") He started a lower ranked school and was prepared to be happy there, but after a couple of weeks one of his advisers sat him down and told him that he was a future star and needed to transfer. This adviser then pulled the strings to make it happen. So keep this in mind. He didn't start out looking to transfer, he was identified by the faculty as someone who should.
So my advice? Don't count on transferring. This isn't college. PhD programs invest substantial resources in their students, and expect them to stay. Plus, imagine how this would work. Are you going to ask the faculty at your current school, "you know, I think I'm better than this program, so can you write me a letter that says so?" For those of you who are looking to transfer because you're unhappy with your current placement, I wish you the best of luck, but do not count on this happening. In general, I think it is a terrible idea to start a PhD program that you have no desire to finish. It's a waste of your time and money, and theirs as well.
Well, thanks for being forthright about your opinion on it, realist. It seems to be a bit of a Catch-22...I think I would be quite happy in the 4th tier funded program, barring the severe placement issues that seem to be in the inevitable result from completing a degree there. So I guess I need to decide which is the bigger risk--attempting to botch relationships with schools and professors in order to attain better chances at placement success down the road, or complete the degree at a low-ranked school and potentially damage my placement chances. Um. Is 11 am too early to start drinking?
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Thanks for the info guys...it is helpful. And yoon, no, I didn't apply to Chicago MAPSS--I'm pretty sure most deadlines for Fall have passed by now though, unfortunately.
MissingVandyCandy, I definitely see your point about the delicate situation that would arise from attempting to transfer--I guess I was just hoping that it was more of a common occurrance and therefore could delude myself into thinking it's a super idea.
You're right that it will likely be entirely different than undergrad or law school transfers, and as such, I don't know that I'm willing to put myself through it. Ughhh decisions are so difficult~!!!Timing-wise, for me, I definitely wouldn't consider leaving until the masters degree would be completed. It would then give me a masters thesis (ie, good writing sample), better grades/coursework, and by then I'd have developed relationships with potential rec writers as well. Those were the main areas my app needs strengthening in--GREs and SOP I think are strong. Alanapsci, I wish I could speak more to your timing issues, since you already have the masters degree. I would roughly guess that 2 years would be a better option, if only to give you adequate time to build your strength as a applicant...especially considering that the application processes tend to begin nearly a year in advance of your intended semester start, anyway!
I'm still at a loss for what to do personally, but do appreciate the advice very much. Thanks a ton.
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This application process has not exactly worked out as well as I had initially hoped. Though I am waiting on one more school (which seems unlikely), I am left with the option of attending a roughly 2nd-tier school, unfunded, or a roughly 4th tier school, funded. Not exactly an ideal choice. These would both be for PhD programs--I did not apply to any pure masters programs, though in retrospect now I wish I had. Waiting for another year to re-apply is not an option for me, nor would it really help since the same weaknesses in my application will exist next year unless I get some additional scholarly work/contacts in the field (and GPA boosting) under my belt.
Has anyone taken (or known of anyone who has taken) the route of attending a lower-tier PhD program and transferring to a more reputable program after a couple of years? Is this a viable option, or unwise?
Any advice is appreciated. I'm pretty stumped on what to do at this point.
Thanks.
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Congrats! That is very exciting, and I'm glad it worked out for you.
Since no email was thrown my way, I guess I will need to cut my losses on that front. Anyway, congrats again to you~
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I just called over there and they said that all decisions have been made. They are processing the rejections now, and I think the informal admit emails as well. I don't know if that means we will hear today or next week, but hopefully the sooner the better.
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Thanks for the update.
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a massive number, huh. well, they usually have 600-700. still, i can't imagine they haven't sifted through a big chunk of the applications in order to admit their top 10 so far (the funded offers). my guess is they've already eliminated many applicants (maybe 300) in their initial run-through. they're probably going through the top 100-150 applicants left, and ranking them, with the top 70 or so left will be offered admission. based on the rankings, as funding becomes available (since i'm pretty sure most of those offered fellowships thus far have offers from higher-ranked places), they will go through these rankings to offer funding packages.
you know...i don't really get it. i realize that 600-700 apps is a lot, but i submitted my application last November--does it really take THAT long to go through all of them when you have a whole committee sifting through them?
this is more of a rant to the process in general as opposed to just Georgetown, but come ON--i submitted my app on time, is it so much to ask to get a definitive deadline as to when notices will go out so we're not all sitting around pulling our hair out with each passing week/day/hour?? if they're still figuring out funding--well, that's what a waitlist is for, right?? is it not possible to notify the rejects when they've made that decision, since Lord knows they did many of those right off the bat?
i realize the admissions process is difficult and dependent on many factors--including the admissions committee's other personal obligations, jobs and whatnot--but it still doesnt mean that i'm any less aggravated by it all!
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Um yeaaaahhh.......so if they could just go ahead and let me in now, that would be greeeeaaat. Thanks.
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When did you all hear about the open house? I re-checked my admission packet but didn't see anything about it in there. I would definitely like to attend, though, assuming I'm invited!
Unfortunately I was told pretty much flat-out that I would not receive any funding, which really sucks. I don't see how I can make it work otherwise...
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Grades and performance is another thing that really bothers me. My first three years of school, I studies electrical engineering. I HATED EVERY SECOND OF IT. But, coming from a very poor family, the prospect of being able to make 50k my first year out of school was extremely appealing. However, the fact that I hated it showed in my grades. I had a 2.6 gpa after my junior year. You have to understand, I had one B throughout high school, the rest were A's and A-'s. So I realized that there was a major disconnect. So I switched majors to something as far away from EE as possible, Asian Studies.
I LOVED EVERY SECOND of Asian Studies, and had one B for the next five semesters I was in undergrad. I then went to the Elliott School at GW where I had two b's in 2 years. So cumulatively for the last 4.5 years of school I have had a total of 3 b's and the rest A's.
The problem is that even though I have shown that I can kick some major butt when studying something I actually like, my undergraduate gpa only got up to a 3.02 by the time I graduated. There is nothing I can do about that, what's done is done. Now, I got into UIUC in spite of my low gpa, but I have already been told by two Iveys that I applied to that my low gpa was what kept me from being accepted (I know profs at both Yale and Cornell from working at a think tank in D.C.).
So you tell me what kind of a system that is...
I agree that's it's unfortunate that the application system is so imperfect. It truly isn't fair that the process is not more of a thorough evaluation of each applicant, as opposed to a quick snapshot of one's history and accomplishments.
But, the unfortunate truth is that that is how most of the world seems to work--if you have flaws in your record, they show up, and people aren't subjected to the explanations for them as readily as they are to the flaws themselves. Believe me, I have fallen victim to this--my first two years of undergrad in a different major, in addition to my lack of motivation and other personal circumstances, harmed my overall GPA. No matter how much light I try to shine on those last 2 years of improvement as an undergrad, i don't have the overall stellar number to show for my hard work.
I always felt that it was such a shame that it takes so much more work to recover from a slip in success than it would if the slip had never happened; but also, you do have to give yourself credit for MAKING that kind of recovery.
Fortunately, you seem to have taken advantage of every recourse you can take. You took steps to get a Masters degree from a good school, which many people never get the chance to do. You proved yourself and your ability to perform in this field, and you succeeded in getting into a VERY good phD program as a result.
As much as it sucks to have Ivy and other top-10 rejections under your belt, it does make sense that they use grades and/or GREs to essetially weed people out--they are looking for their versions of the best, and unfortunately, they make the rules on what criteria to use for evaluating this!! They probably get tons more applicants than other schools, and so can't be expected to thoroughly analyze applications that, while they may be brimming with merit otherwise, don't meet their basic numbers. I'm not saying I agree with it--I wish it were different myself!! But as the saying goes, life just ain't all that fair.
I'm trying to come to terms with this myself, but there's really only so much you can do with it. You just gotta keep pushing yourself, continuing to persevere (which you seem to have done), and make the most of the situation you are in. Success comes in many forms, and not just from Ivy Leagues--but I think you know that already!!!
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24. you start to miscount.
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I like it. Maybe it will catch on.
i've already started using it--it's got a nice flow to it.
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Then I don't suppose you could go to 2000 Penn, drop by el burro, order me a black bean burrito, and fedex it to me from the mailboxes etc. that is right next door?
Haha...I'm not so sure you'd WANT the burrito by the time it got to you, but I could certainly give it a shot!
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Yeah, good info--thanks! I would love to live near a close metro stop! I actually live in MD at the moment, and work in DC...it's a pretty long commute into the city, but I'm used to it at this point. I'm hoping that going back to a class schedule as opposed to a rush-hour 9-6 job can at least put me into the off-peak metro fares to save a little money.
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That is so awesome, congrats. If you have any questions whatsoever about GW, please ask. I worked and went to school there for my masters at the Elliott School and could answer probably any question you could think of, from either the student side or the administration side.
Thanks tidefan! I really appreciate it!
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silencio1982 said:
congrats!!
I am glad it worked out for you!!
Thank you soo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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YAY i got in!!!!!!!
I checked the website and a link was suddenly in there indicating that a decision had been made...I skimmed it assuming it was a rejection like all the rest, until I realized it said Congratulations!!!! I am in shock!!
No details on funding included so I'm not sure where I stand on that, but it said that the "complete terms and conditions" of my admission will be included in the mailed version.
WAHOOO!
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apparently, all funding decisions have been made but not all admissions decisions (not that it's much of a relief to hear that....)
they will be sending out some rejections starting tomorrow, but their final meeting is on the 14th--apparently they still have a stack of apps to get through and final decisions on those will be made at that time.
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Ohhhh well. Princeton would have been one helluva commute from D.C. anyway.
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UMD--College Park update, for those interested:
I called to check on admissions updates and the woman I spoke to in the department said that no decisions had gone out yet--that they would start to go out tomorrow.
I know a couple of people have already posted acceptances on here so take what you will from this info, but perhaps at the very least, the majority of acceptances have yet to go out? I certainly hope so!!
George Washington Ph.D. program???
in Political Science Forum
Posted
Have you guys heard anything further yet about details for Monday? My last email was also March 11, which said that more details would be sent a week prior to the open house, but I still haven't received anything.