Ziz

Publications for people coming out of undergrad are not common. What I mean by that are 'real' publications like you are talking about. Publications in actual peer-reviewed, top-tier journals where you are competing against tenured academics to publish. However, low-tiered and undergrad journal publications abound, but I have been told by some profs that those don't hold much water anyway. So I think if your publication is a 'real' publication, it would be very impressive for an undergrad and would help you stand out. As for philosophy vs. politics, I'm assuming you're applying to political theory. As long as you can show that your interests are in the realm of political theroy and not metaphysics or something like that, and make a good case for why you would prefer to pursue your interests in a politics department and not a philosophy department, you should be all right. Some of this will also have to do with what kind of philosophy courses you took - was it all Metaphysics, Logic and Epistemology or did you focus more on ethics, political philosophy, etc. When I applied to PhD programs I was in the reverse situation, having done almost all political theory and little philosophy wanting to get into a philosophy program. I did end up getting accepted and that direction is generally considered harder - ie the philosophy people are less liketly to accept a non-philosophy major than politics departments are. I think in my case I was able to make a good case for it and also to show that despite the fact that my courses were all called "POLS###" I actually did a lot of philosophy work. If you can do that, I don' tthink you'[ll have any problem .

In at Oxford - only place I applied.

Got a letter from SSHRC today that my application was not forwarded on to the national competition (I applied directly to SSHRC). Sucks for me but might give a good idea of timelines to those who are still waiting...

I applied directly to SSHRC and haven't heard anything either way yet either so I wouldn't worry too much just yet.

Ok well I can pad away then! I guess in my midn I was limiting myself to sources that were directly relevant instead of reading 'around the subject' that I've done. Seems kind of silly, but I will do it!

Maybe this is a dumb question, but how do you have 5 pages of bibliography? I mean I know a lot of the sources I am going to use and I am only at one page max. It seems kind of pointless to want us to list 50 references that we may or may not end up using. Or are people doing more of an annotated bibliography where you actually discuss the source?

I would just add that the MSc at Oxford in particular is not intended as a standalone degree. It is treated more like the first year of a PhD, equivalent to the first 2 years at a US university. So if you apply, you will be expected to have a very clear idea of your eventual doctorate. An MSc elsewhere (like LSE for example) is a standalone degree but as it is only 1 year long, don't expect to have good references or any real advantage in your applications for PhD programs since your applications will be due before you've got any formal assessment/exams.

Hi, I also did my MSc at LSE. For context, I got a distinction overall and 75 on my dissertation. I also had 700+ on both parts of the GRE and got rejected from the 2 US schools I applied to (Harvard and Princeton). So I'd say it's not all about grades, but at the same time, just a 60 probably wouldn't be enough for the top schools.

I will also be at Lincoln!

I live at Queen/Bathurst and it only takes me about 20min to walk to U of T, so don't limit yourself to the Bloor area...consider the south!

Just got accepted to Toronto (PhD) off the waitlist...I will be declining so maybe that will help someone if there's anyone lower than me.

Woohoo!

Ya but according to his/her posts on last year's board, s/he seemed to know in advance when schools were going to release decisions. Obviously has some 'ins'.

Toronto would be funded wouldn't it? I would take that over McGill...

I will be in the politics department this fall . Don't know the college yet though...

I will be at Oxford...

Clarendon awards have all been allocated so if you haven't heard, you didn't get one. I didn't so my fingers are crossed for college funding...

Sorry, you're right. I just assumed he would have said they were. My bad.

I am going too, though not to the MPhil. I've heard good things about placement with respect to Canada and the UK but that it might not transfer so well to the US job market. I'm not American so I have no problem with that but if you do, you might want to consider NYU or Toronto.

I am going too, though not to the MPhil. I've heard good things about placement with respect to Canada and the UK but that it might not transfer so well to the US job market. I'm not American so I have no problem with that but if you do, you might want to consider NYU or Toronto.

I'd second what Shere Khan said about rankings being so variable and dependant on methodology. I don't think 5 spots is a huge difference since from your description, neither school is top 10. Remember that some of the things that affect placement have to do with the individual. If you are at a school with a great supervisor who takes a big interest in your work, you enjoy yourself there, like your fellow grad students, you are going to do better work which will help you get a job. So my advice is unless the placement at School B is really terrible, you should go there.

I'm sorry you didn't get into Brandeis, but isn't it nice to finally know where you're giong to be next year? To start making plans, learning everything about the school, city, etc.? You're going to have a great time in NYC .

PhD

Withdrew from the waiting list at Toronto politics. May help if anyone was behind me

It's not that uncommon (from what I understand) for BA/MA institutions to reject their own students for the PhD. So I wouldn't say it's anything this poster did or didn't do successfully.