tskinner

Haha! You're funny. Have fun refreshing the status page of your application as midnight of the application date draws near! This is inevitable for at least one of your letter writers. XD

Yeah, the institution should e-mail them. The forms in the application, if I recall, asked for their full names, addresses, telephone numbers, and professional job titles. This is my recommended 5 part plan for LORs: I'm thinking of applying to grad school. Will you write me a letter? I want to do x, y, and z. A month later: I just took the GRE and got perfect 800s on both sections. I will be applying to schools a-g. I'll input you into their system today and send you a list of all their deadlines. (You then go into your applications and input their information and e-mail addresses. The application then e-mails them a link to fill out the form EXCEPT FOR UCLA, WHO ARE IDIOTS, BECAUSE THEY WANT PAPER LETTERS, AND WHEN ONE OF YOUR REVIEWERS MOVED TO TAIWAN, IT GETS COMPLICATED! /rant) The day after #2: Here are a list of the deadlines. Did you get notifications from all the schools? Perhaps a month or so later: Here is my current draft of my Statement of Purpose. Though I would appreciate feedback if you had the time, I expect you are too busy with research and LOR writing, so I just wanted to send it to you to get a better idea of my plans and state of mind when you write my letters. A week before your last deadline: Hi Professor! I just wanted to let you know that I've submitted all my application information, and I wanted to thank you for all your support in the process and I'll keep you updated on the results. In case you need them, here are the deadlines again. This is a good way to give them frequent reminders without sounding overbearing.

I would like to echo this too. My school's fellowship coordinator was one of the best reviewer's I had, because she had read thousands before and had no problem hurting my feelings with honest criticism.

I applied to seven schools. All were PhD programs, and all but one were "dream schools" that I didn't have a shot at getting into. I applied to Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, Harvard, Yale, and Davis. I considered Davis my safety school and UCSD was my top choice. Interestingly, those were the only two programs I got into. I heard from Davis first really early on, which I think was the universe telling me that "everything was going to be OK," and then I slowly heard from all the others until I got an e-mail during Econometrics from UCSD. My hands flew up to my face in shock and I started to shake when my professor noticed me and asked if everything was okay. I said I had just gotten into UCSD and he definitely started a slow clap. So I got into my bottom pick and my top pick. I'm still in shock over it and I start next month!

What year are you in school? If you're going to be a Junior, I would look into this program: http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/2+2/timeline.html

Get used to this feeling. XD

Your LOR writers should already be expecting to write a few letters for you when you asked them to write LOR. When you contact them, just send them the links to the websites with the information on how to format the letters. It won't take them more than a few minutes to tweak your letters to fit each school's standards.

In general, programs don't even look at the AW score. The only time they even glance at it is if you have an AMAZING writing sample and a totally CRAPPY score. They might question the authenticity of the writing sample. They'll have so much else to look at to learn about your writing: SOP, PS, LOR, Writing Sample, etc I would highly recommend taking it again to get up into the mid 600s.

Also, see: for a lot more examples. Take a look at the signatures of posters to see where they got in!

BUMP.

Here is my statement of purpose, but keep in mind that it is somewhat out of the ordinary. In my undergrad, I actually only took two classes in Political Science (both in my first two years), so I had the spend the majority of it outlining my passion and proficiency in other areas that would lend itself to political science. Therefore, my SOP is a little more unfocused than I would recommend--ESPECIALLY THE PARAGRAPH ON PROPOSED FUTURE RESEARCH. That paragraph is probably the most important one you right. They do not expect you to know what you want to research for the next five years, and in fact know that you WILL change your mind, but they want to see that you can logically think out a research plan and have a grasp of the current research of the field. Know that if you take my SOP and simply swap the information with yours, you will not get into the programs you apply to. Combined with your personal statement and writing sample, they will see through this attempt when the writing styles/levels do not match. It's the same when you steal someone's writing sample. Use this to take outlining ideas and to spark some inspiration. Also, don't get attached to anything you write. After inspiration struck one night, I wrote my entire SOP and LOVED every bit of it. I sent it off to my academic advisor and got this response: Also, being an English nerd, I wrote with a lot of passion and drama, and he said this: The other main tips I would give is to be succinct. Don't say something with a paragraph that you can say with two sentences; don't say something with 8 words when 2 will suffice. Don't make you statement longer than what they give you (they'll be looking for any reason to throw out your app and move on to the next), and if they don't give you a limit, keep it to just two pages (the adcomm will appreciate the brevity). Most importantly, show your personality. Be genuine and HUMBLE. If you've ever been to poliscijobrumors.com then you know what people already in the field think of prospective grad students. If you say that you are the best candidate out there, they won't believe you; if you say that you're ready to publish from day one, they'll think you arrogant. Let them know that you know that you have a long way to go, and that's why you want to go to grad school! Always write a paragraph on program fit, but don't stress out about it too much. They know your research interest WILL change, and they're really just more interested in knowing that you didn't just apply to ten schools that you picked out of a hat without researching them. I literally took my final paragraph and inserted different names and institutions. That'll work fine. Lastly, make EVERYONE read it over. Write it soon so that you can give it to your academic advisor, and when he gets it back to you 3 months later, you should still have plenty of time to do a complete rewrite! Have your friends edit it, and encourage them to be completely candid! If you're truly passionate about the subject, you should be able to bang one out in an hour or two--then you'll throw it away and start over. Just sit down and write something stream of consciousness and start from there! Good luck! By the time I arrived in Japan for my semester abroad, I had already made the decision to pursue a career in politics. With vague plans of joining the Foreign Service’s management track, I had decided to go to business school after graduating. However, on April 5th, 2009, North Korea fired the Unha-2 rocket over Japan. While watching the evening news with my host family, I realized that embassy work would not be enough for me. Wanting to know why North Korea, a country already shunned by the international community, would take such a risk, I thought back to my literature review for International Research Methods on the effects of missile defense systems on the probability of conflict. Before the attack, Japan did flex its defense muscles, but I knew that there were many variables, debates, and problems, such as whether “rogue states” truly act recklessly or if economic sanctions are actually effective, that I had yet to study. I decided to pursue graduate studies so that I could better comprehend the nature of interstate interaction and, through a career in academic research, contribute to understanding the nature of conflict and cooperation between states. Having had over a dozen foreign exchange students stay with my family while growing up, I have always been fascinated with and connected to the international world . This led to my eventual decision to spend my undergraduate career at the School of International Studies at University of the Pacific. Through their interdisciplinary approach to international relations, I have gained perspectives ranging from the anthropological to the historical, from the geographic to the political. My interdisciplinary training allows me to apply a variety of contexts to questions in political science. For example, when looking at the question of stability between states, not only can I consider realist factors of power balance in a uni-, bi-, or multipolar system in common examples like the Cold War and European conflicts, but I can also draw upon the fourth century B.C. warring states of China and the stateless societies of pre- colonial Africa. Moreover, I can consider deeper details, such as cultural conflicts between Israel and Palestine, the nuanced differences between Sunni and Shi’a Islam, and the geographic importance of a small island off the southeast coast of Korea. There is, however, always more to learn, both historically and theoretically. Also through my studies, I have gained a solid foundation in both qualitative and quantitative methods. In Cultural Anthropology and International Research Methods , I practiced ethnographic interviews and analysis with college students and community members . This, coupled with further cultural research methods from Cross-Cultural Training, was especially useful while studying and researching in Japan. The tools I acquired allowed me to take daily experiences and turn them into data for the papers I wrote on Japanese society and the Japanese state. Along with this qualitative training, my emphasis has been strongly quantitative. In International Research Methods, I also conducted quota sample surveys and used SPSS and tools learned in Statistics to form regression models and test hypotheses . Moreover, through my wide range of economic studies, I have learned how different economists have used models to describe the world. Next semester I will finish multivariate calculus and conclude my program with an Econometrics research project. Graduate school will allow me to take these tools and combine them with the foundations I have established in Comparative and International Politics to begin answering questions and testing hypotheses. After watching the Japanese missile crisis unfold, researching the effects missile defense systems, and debating the nature of conflict at the International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague, my interests in international relations have gravitated toward universal issues of warfare and cooperation. Some of the traditional topics that intrigue me include international politics, security policy, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction . My primary research interest, however, is conflict termination. In the past, when enemies were as clearly defined as the Third Reich or the Iron Curtain, the endpoint of war was clear: defeat of the enemy. Now that the enemy is frequently ideas themselves, as we see in the War on Terror, it has become less clear when to cease fire. By using qualitative methods and looking at data on variables like goal achievement, domestic political unrest, and casualty trends in a wide range of conflicts, I hope to bring the field closer to understanding how contemporary conflict has changed and help mitigate its impact. University of California: San Diego will provide me with the necessary resources to answer these questions. By utilizing the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation’s work on international security policy, regional relations, and innovations in international cooperation, I will be able to further both my education and my research outside of the classroom . Moreover, the research topics of Dr. Branislav L. Slantvhev in interwar negotiations and war termination, of Dr. Barbara F. Walter concerning conflict termination and cooperation, and of Dr. Erik A. Gartzke in information and war particularly dovetail with my interests. Also, courses like Game Theory and Quantitative International Relations will be instrumental in supporting my future dissertation work. With these resources and mentors, I hope to make significant contributions to the field of International Relations. After earning my PhD, I plan to move into a faculty position to continue my research and bring the world closer to understanding the dynamics of the international sphere.

Hello everybody! I got a lot of help from this board when I was applying to programs last year, and now I'm working full time at a job before I start my program. I have LOTS of time on my hands at work, so I figured I would offer to look over some SOP. Just PM me and I'll read it over, do a couple edits, and give you a few pointers. I won't do anything like a massive rewrite, but you don't have to worry about me stealing any of your ideas at least! -tskinner

Another quick note on knowing maths. There's big debates in the profession between the "Qualitative Camp" and the "Quantitative Camp." They argue over whether or not math is necessary (or even appropriate) in the research of the profession, but regardless of which side you fall on (and, IMHO, they're both idiotic...you clearly should be able to do both and should always be doing both as they support each other), you still need to be able to show that you can consume and understand the quantitative literature, even if you don't plan to produce any.

You're probably going to need to get your GRE scores higher than 1200. You quant, for Biology, should at least be in the 700s, but with a GPA like that, you should really be shooting for 780-800. The verbal score really won't be that important, but since your GPA is so low, that probably needs to be in the upper 600s. I like bluellie's advice of taking some more courses, because they're not going to take your word that you "got your act together" at work without some evidence! Good luck.

Like Kaz says, most schools (in fact, all that I came across in my application process) do not allow you to apply to more than one department per application cycle.

I highly agree. At the least you should take up through multivariate calculus. Whether or not these math skills are necessary for the program you're applying to/the research you looking to do, showing that you can think abstractly like this is a big deal on an application (and I think one of the reasons I got into the program I did).

His SOP was pretty legit.

I'm glad Davis went well!

Any idea on when UCLA or Harvard are going to send out rejections!? I just need them to tell me "no" so I can commit already!

Today I told Davis that I will not be attending their open house (sorry AP!)...and for some reason I also sent the e-mail to Jennifer Evangelista over at UCSD! She sent me an e-mail very confused at why I was telling her I was not attending Davis. So embarrassed. ! That being said, I will be at UCSD next week. See ya there!

UC Undergrads just love to protest at the drop of a hat.

Which I hope is an indication that they're trying to take serious steps to maintain their reputation.

UCSD funding packages came in e-mails today! 5 years guaranteed. If you've been waiting on yours, check your e-mails and spam folders (that's where mine was)!

I just got my funding package in an e-mail! 5yrs guaranteed!

As far as civil liberties go, I'm pretty liberal: Gay marriage, some drug legalization (though I've never even smoked pot), maybe even prostitution, etc. (get the gov't out of our personal lives!)... As far as economics go, I recognize there are times where a gov't needs to be fiscally conservative, and that there are times when a government needs to SPEND! Since my civil liberties side is the only constant I have, I tend to "label" myself left of center, but I just wish politicians were more fricken' flexible!