Canadianna

I had a pretty rough application season... straight rejections from SAIS, American, Michigan and Duke. I got waitlisted and eventually rejected at Syracuse BUT accepted to the Maryland POSI, so that's where I'll be headed. Although it wasn't my first choice, I think it'll work quite nicely for what I want to get out of a PhD. I think, in retrospect, I kind of shot myself in the foot by applying places where my fit wasn't ideal. My research interests are an awkward combination of international affairs and environmental policy, and I tried to wedge myself into some places where I probably didn't belong. And when over 100 people are applying to programs with 6 openings, fit is going to make or break you far more than it will in a larger program.

I'm so nervous... not because I'm afraid they'll rescind my offer or anything, but because I'm just nervous about the whole thing. Like, what if I'm making a huge mistake and a phd isn't for me? I'm also worried about the financial side. The aid package isn't quite as generous as I'd have liked given the cost of living where I'll be going, so I'm nervous about making ends meet.

I got this doozy from my friends the other day (context, I've done a funded master's and will be starting my phd in the fall). While we were discussing the struggles of moving out and living independently. Friend: What you did doesn't really count. I mean, it's not like you had a full time job, you're still a student. [My head nearly exploded and after a lengthy argument I left]

Ugh, so I've officially been rejected from every school I was even somewhat excited abut. The other two (one of which I've been waitlisted at, the other hasn't released decisions yet) are ones I added to the list at the last minute as "just in case, but hopefully not" options. This is really disappointing. It's been a rough year overall in terms of things not working out, and I was thinking this admissions cycle would be a big, lifechanging thing, and now it doesn't appear as though that will be the case whatsoever. Blah.

Christ, guys, the closest thing to good news I've had so far is a Syracuse wait list. This admissions cycle has been rough.

I have only heard from one school so far (of six), and they put me on the waitlist, which is really no better than not hearing.

I'm not even in rejection woes - I'm in purgatory-but-likely-to-be-damned woes! Applied to 6, the only thing I've heard back from ANYONE is one waitlisting. At this point I just want answers!

I'm at the 'no news is BAD NEWS' point in the process too. Like you, two of my schools (one was a top choice, one was what I thought was a realistic possibility) seem to have sent out admissions notices, so it's not looking too good for me. That only leaves 4. Right now I keep oscillating between the horror of potentially having to tell everyone that I've been completely shut out, and the horror of how much money I might have flushed down the drain (a burberry trench coat's worth, that's how much!). Dear God, what have I done....

I'm applying to their school of public policy phd program, and they told me that they were seriously backed up in terms of receiving and inputting transcripts, so it's likely an issue on their end.

What made you decide to apply to all UK?

I haven't heard a thing from anyone, except Johns Hopkins SAIS who just said that they wouldn't be releasing decisions until March (UGH). I'm still holding out hope with Duke, since my application was with the NIcholas School of Environment, not the Sanford School, although I suspect that one's a longshot either way. It's so stressful having no idea what's coming next year.

Cool, my interest is international environmental policy, so I applied to Duke, UMichigan, UMD, and Syracuse for Public Policy/Public Administration type programs, and then Johns Hopkins and American for International Affairs Programs. I haven't heard anything from anyone either. I'm very nervous - I took a major shot in the dark in terms of realistic set of schools to apply to, so I'm mentally preparing myself to be slammed with a ton of nos in a month's time!

Is anyone else applying to Policy or IR PhD programs this time around? I feel kind of homeless - this forum is all MPPs, whereas the Political Science forum is all... political science-y...

I'm applying for Public Policy PhDs for Fall 2014. To begin, a disclaimer: I'm not sure if this is where I should be posting - it seems that the Government Affairs forum is almost exclusively Masters applicants, so this seemed more appropriate. The programs that I'm applying for didn't specifically dictate anything beyond that I should have some stats and econ in my background, but now that I'm mostly done with applications and just working 9-5 for the time being, I was wondering whether I'd be well served to take a quant night class at the local university. As for my current background, I took Calc 1000 way back in 2007 (I don't remember anything from it), and then I took Stats 2000 in 2010. I also did intro micro and macro economics. During my masters I took a research methods course that was for all intents and purposes a stats course (we used Stata and did basic analysis of data sets... finding the strength of different variables and such), plus I took public sector economics, international trade and environmental economics. So my question is whether I would be well-served to take anther quantitative type course before I (god willing!) head off to start my PhD. I checked out the local university, and I could retake Calc 1000 as a night class, take Calc 1001 as an online course or probably do a small assortment of econ classes, either online or at night. No stats classes seem to be offered at convenient times, but I could always take one during the summer or online from a different university. Financially, I can afford it but would rather not waste money on it if it wouldn't be helpful. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I currently work in my hometown, so if I get accepted I'll keep working and keep saving up money (/paying off debt) until a few weeks before classes start, then take a few weeks of R&R while preparing for my move. If I don't get accepted I'm going to start seriously looking for a job that's closer to my preferred field and preferably in a bigger city.