CarefreeWritingsontheWall

Oh tears. I was on a connecting flight back from a mediocre open house (with no guaranteed admit, invited to interview as part of their shortlist) when I went to turn off my phone and I got the email from Princeton. First official acceptance. I was sitting in the back surrounded by a ton of business associates flying together. I squealed, and restrained a scream of delight. The woman sitting next to me looked at me like I was insane. Spent the whole flight holding in happy tears and trying not to look crazy. 2 years ago I was rejected from everywhere I applied. Never thought this could happen - genuinely believed that all of my applications were a waste of money because of poor GRE scores. Currently been accepted to 4/5 programs that I've heard back from, with 3 more pending. Still so overwhelmed by this result.

I'm in a similar boat as @ultraultra, though less so in terms of the real world experience. My trajectory was High School -> BA -> MA at the same institution as my BA, back to back. I've only have summers off as breaks. BUT I did flirt with the option to work in the public and private sector out of my BA. I applied everywhere, both in terms of jobs, internships and MPA programs, and I didn't get in anywhere. I was devastated. I pulled every string I had to try and work in policy and I fell flat but my experience in policy was very limited, and I had (without realizing it) built up a very academically oriented resume (RA work, independent projects, participating in academic affairs at my current institution). In the process of internalizing all of those rejections, I realized that what I really wanted to do was research, and driving my own research agenda was really important (as opposed to consulting and being told what to look up). I was lucky to stay on at my current institution, turning to political science more concretely, and 2 years later I've been doing RA work, and a thesis, along with pre-comp coursework in my current program with PhD students that really allowed me to figure out that this is what I wanted to do. I can't picture myself doing anything else. I love the work, I love the teaching (I've been a TA for four classes in 2 years). I love that I can travel with my work and, within certain constraints, work on my own time. I just see it. Two years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed that I would ever want to apply to PhD programs - far far less so when I started university period. It's been extremely difficult to sell this to my family as I will be the first on both sides of my family to ever attend a PhD program and finish an MA in the social sciences. They don't understand what I do, or why I would be funded to do it. But I love the work, I really do. Very excited for what comes next and in that respect my family is finally okay with it.

I'm applying straight out of my MA, which I started right after finishing my BA. Wrapping up this thesis is going to be difficult. I've certainly put off a lot of important work in recent months to focus on this so now I'm behind schedule on finishing.

Does anyone find it weird that the Harvard admit is only listed as from the political science department, when technically you're accepted to either the department of Government or HKS?

I agree with everyone's comments related to why a department has every incentive to say they intend to grow, but I still think the question is worth bringing up for a few reasons. First, it segues into a discussion of what the hiring process for the department looks like, wherein you can ask how many people they've hired in recent years and if that trend can reasonably be expected to continue. It also leaves the door open to talk about funding issues, especially if you know state level legislation has been hard on a university recently. You can talk about the vision they have for the future in terms of who to hire etc. - if this is divergent across professors, this may speak to potential conflicts over the goals of the department and hiring committee issues. I think this discussion can speak as much to the issue of fit, but more so collegiality. Having attended an institution that was hit incredibly hard by budget cuts during my time here, I feel like these are important discussions to have for many reasons. I would also have up front discussions with current graduate students about whether the people you want to work with are leaving or are planning on leaving - I found that at one program, the two main people I want to work with are leaving, it's just not a publicized fact. These also happen to be the only two people work in my field of interest substantively and methodologically...In speaking to other professors in the department about my concerns, they were all up front about only one of these departures as they had already signed a contract elsewhere. Not one guaranteed those people would be replaced but the effort would be made. We then had discussions about the potential of working with people who do not work on issues directly related to my field of interest, but share a genuine theoretical and ontological viewpoint, and the pros and cons of such a fit when no one has a substantial interest in common with mine. This is another aspect of going with your eyes wide open, and again I don't think there is reason to believe that these people will lie. If the person you want to work with is leaving, then why have you attend? They can make a case in that situation (as this other program certainly has to me) but this pitch (if it's a good one) shouldn't rely on the "oh don't worry we're replacing these people next year with a search committee." If it does, then keep asking questions about what that process might look like. Given the responses you'll receive, I'm sure you can make a judgement as to whether their statements are credible or not.

Here's my experience with issues such as this. I've been with my current department six years (BA and MA in the same place). In the last 3 I've been following departmental issues as a student rep, sat on two hiring committees, and talked to a lot of professors. When there is a divide, it's apparent in simple questions such as "do support hiring candidate A or B, why?" This is why I mentioned previously that it's useful to ask them about hiring strategies, where they see their department going - asking multiple people can expose schisms in a friendly discussion related to things like, "do you expect the department to grow in the next five years? What's the department's vision of itself down the road?" I spoke to a mentor of mine at my current institution the other day, and said that I was worried about divisive departments, and wanting to avoid being stuck in the middle of professors who have a different vision for the department, or even how to do research - there is a lot of debate on this in the field right now and I've been stuck between a very young faculty member who is very big data oriented, and a senior faculty member who prefers qualitative process tracing. He told me that in reality, all you really need is one person who is truly in your corner - your primary supervisor. If there's drama going on between other people, which is likely, then it shouldn't affect you unless you intend to work with both of those people. At that point, it's far better when talking to POIs at a particular school to ask them if they've done work with the other people you want to work with - and this goes back to my earlier comments about asking if people have lunch together, or if the department hosts department wide social events because if they don't then you can run into the reality that some people in the same department may not even talk to each other, or come into the office all that often. Like @ultraultra said, these are also things current grad students will be frank about (and they have been frank about it to me via email, and during the one open house I have attended).

I expected this, but didn't encounter it at a program I've already visited. Why would they want you to attend a program where you'll be miserable, considering all the money on the table? As much as they want to show boat their program, there are tough realities in a lot of places. Asking more than one person the same questions can get you a good sense of what's going on. I had the most frank discussions during my faculty dinner at the very end of the day. GWU has a contract stipulation that you take no extra work on top of your stipend, which is your TA/RA/fellowship pay - they allocate what you're doing each semester, and then offer $2500 for summer RA work. I was really surprised to hear this so I've been making an effort to hear back from other programs about such side details. I'm used to stipulations on additional hours, I have such a contract in one of my MA grants. There are some ways around it (to be paid in stipends as opposed to hourly work) but it's stopped me from taking a few contract RA positions and consulting options. I suspect I'll have limitations as I'll be an international student. Does anyone have experience in this regard?

I think there are a few ways to go about this on an admits day if you're concerned about collegiality. First and foremost it's a given that not everyone will get along, that students will have have stressful episodes with supervisors at some point or another. It's kind of unavoidable with the pressure of a PhD. But I think there are ways to get a sense of how well the department works together on a day to day basis. Ask people if they go to lunch with their colleagues, do the graduate students have regular events sponsored by the department that are well attended and fun (wine and cheeses, karaoke nights, trivia nights etc.). You can also ask what their hiring strategy is - and I would ask multiple people this question as it can be an indication of whether people see the department heading in the same direction, or what their vision is for themselves in a few years with departures or prospective new elements for their program. I would ask people how regularly they meet with their supervisor or student (a question to ask both current grad students and professors). Are meetings sparse but long (an hour every few weeks) or frequent and short (every week, 10-15 minute check in)? Ask current graduate students if they've been able to get feedback on non-course related papers from different professors, what kind of RA work do they do. I would also ask profs who have TAs how they prefer to handle that relationship (hands off TA does all the grading and fields all emails, or regular meetings to check in about students' progress, ask questions etc.). If you're a prospective female candidate, I would also ask female students and professors what the atmosphere is like, if the program is accommodating to women or if they've encountered barriers. At the end of the day, these places want you to be happy attending their program. Sure they might gloss over some issues, but the admitted students' days are generally quite long, with a lot of meetings. People tend to open up. On a side note, I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this just yet: when it comes to stipends, do most places consider your RA/TA salary as already included in your stipend (i.e. you get an RAship but your monthly funding is the same because it's your stipend) or additional to it (monthly pay is stipend + RA work, or TA work). Has anyone asked whether they are legally obligated not to hold another job on top of their funding package if they accept their office? I've heard that a few places do this, I just want to be sure.

Admitted to UWashington - I got an informal email with an offer letter and letter of acceptance.

Urgh. UPenn's admit day is on a Friday which is difficult for me to arrange. Anything that is Saturday through Wednesday is fine, but I have inflexible teaching commitments Thursday and Friday. Having already re-scheduled Friday sessions once this term...I'm not sure what I can swing. It's really going to depend on their offer letter and what contact I have with POIs leading up to the day.

Claiming a UPenn admit as well.

So, I thought this too - Georgetown is my MA supervisor's alma mater, and he said that when he attended there were only 2 funded IR PhD slots (1 security, 1 IPE). But this was....quite awhile ago. And when I was at GWU people said they had friends at Georgetown who claimed they had moved to a fully funded program as well. So I'm not entirely sure what the state of things is over there. Beautiful campus though. I certainly fell in love with the area, then I died a little when I heard estimates of how much rent was on average.

I did! Really not sure what I'm going to hear back from them, or even my other applications. I know that Columbia is very likely a rejection since it's been radio silence on their end. Georgetown is also a bit on the fence - it looks like they do waves of admits from the results boards in previous years. I'm still wondering what the result will be. I'd be open to additional fly-outs to at least two places I have yet to hear back from. Good luck to you though! As much as you're already preparing for the next cycle, I'd like to think that it's not over until it's truly over.

Thank you! Came as a surprise to me to be honest. I was almost certain in November that I was going to take a year to work on strengthening my profile. Even when I did apply, I kept thinking it was pointless. But it worked out...this comes two years after I was rejected everywhere that I applied outside my BA institution for an MA. My mother has certainly continued to tell me "things will work out just have faith in yourself." I'm still overwhelmed by it. I focus on IR (IPE).

Genuinely have zero motivation to get any work done this weekend. This is worse than high school senioritis...

Ugh yes. I can definitely relate Trying to finish writing my MA thesis proposal so that the paperwork can be finalized and I can move onto writing my actual paper. Now I just don't feel like touching it...yet I need a hard copy drafted and ready for Monday. On the math boot camp, it's increasingly common. Emory, GWU and Cornell do a two week session for sure. The focus of each is a little different. I'm not sure about others.

I still find it weird that I have yet to hear from Columbia and Georgetown, but it looks like given previous years Georgetown does cycles of admits until mid March. Oh well. What a week, and still more to come. At least with President's Day on Monday we'll have a little bit of a longer breather. I suspect that with the holiday, we won't hear anything now until Tuesday?

Possibly? I didn't ask for the details. My supervisor has worked closely with number of people at at least three to four of the universities I applied to, most of which are working with them still on various papers as co-authors. Could be they were catching up on the latest draft of their current project and that I had applied there came up.

Oop. I logged in just to check and my decision was also there. Rejected at Stanford - which was expected. Only had two POIs but the fit wasn't great.

I know this sounds weird, but what letter does your last name start with? Maybe they release results alphabetically. I have yet to hear from Stanford, Georgetown or Columbia.

It's not over until it's over, but I know what it's like to be in your position. I didn't get in anywhere right out of my BA - I applied to a number of schools and was told that I was ambitious but had a shot by my mentors. When I was rejected by everywhere that I applied, I blamed myself for not being realistic about my ability to get into to places. My first set of GRE scores were also a mess ( > 40th percentile Q - my focus was shot after a power outage had my computer terminal off for 30 minutes). I would urge you not to blame yourself. This process really is, in so many ways, an unreliable messy thing - a process so far from perfect, we're all on this forum for a reason. When it comes to early communication with POIs - I did not contact anyone. I've only been emailed by POIs after being admitted. If any contact was made, it was my rec letter writers, and I never asked them to reach out, though I know one of them did to a number of places they have ties to. In this case, networking can help you but only so much. As I mentioned earlier, it really doesn't hurt to ask if any of your rec letter writers have heard things. My MA supervisor knew I was admitted to Princeton two weeks before I did (found that this morning.) I agree with the people who have said it's not a good idea to reach out to people prior to receiving an admission decision. If you receive rejections, it also doesn't hurt to contact the program's DGS to ask for feedback on your application for the next cycle. I really hope you hear back good news.

Very true. It's tough not to read too much into these things.

I'm an IR concentration (IPE more specifically). I haven't heard anything from Columbia so my guess is that I'm rejected there, as well as Georgetown.

Thanks everyone! Was not expecting this in the least. So excited! I have yet to hear back from 6 applications - otherwise I've only heard back from GWU (I'm on their shortlist) and now Princeton today.

Claiming a Princeton acceptance here. Received the email around 4PM EST. I can't believe this is real!