correlatesoftheory

Just accepted an offer. Really excited/anxious for this!

Acceptances to LSE MSc program in IR and Chicago's MA program in IR, with some funding. Probably will decline since I'm into some good PhD programs. Haven't heard from Harvard, so I'm assuming it's a rejection.

From what I understand, IR and AP have had a bit of a meltdown. Some real talent has left recently, NS comes to mind. Take what I and other anonymous people say on the internet (especially PSR) with a grain of salt. This is what I've heard from three different persons across two different institutions. You could go on the visit and see that this internal dissension is exaggerated or non-existent, but I think it's something to bear in mind.

Definitely not a PSR exclusive. I've heard this same critique from former professors and one other at a nearby institution.

Yale rejection. Don't know if I'd go there anyway, even though it's a good fit. I've heard there's some internal department dissension that would best be avoided.

Rejections from Stanford and Michigan. A bit stung about Stanford, considering it was a great fit.

What are your interests? How do these institutions rank in relation to your interests? Is there faculty at either institutions that have overlapping interests? How strong is the overlap? What is their placement record? These questions can be answered by simply going onto the department website and doing basic homework. Also, I'm told that campus visits are highly informative. You should go to those.

Let me quote Nuno Monteiro, Associate Professor at Yale: "The verbal scores are important to the extent that a low score, say, below 160, will make people wonder whether you can actually understand and express yourself in english. But this usually also comes across in other parts of your application. The math score is very important, and anything below 165 is not a plus. (Anything below 160 is bad; between 160-164 it’s okay but not a plus, so if you want to compensate for a low GPA or lukewarm letters, you’ll need higher, at least 165.) Schools differ in the importance they attribute to the analytic score. Some don’t care. If they do — as many of the top schools do — anything below a 5.5 is not a plus; and anything below a 5.0 is a red flag. If you do significantly below these levels the first time, take the test again. If you do consistently below what you think your capabilities are, add a statement to your application indicating you typically don’t do well in standardized tests. It may help." Source: http://www.nunomonteiro.org/advice/grad-admissions

Also claiming a Penn State admit. No funding details. Notified via email from the DGS.

What's your subfield?

Rejected by Duke. Not stung, because it wasn't a good fit.

Thanks everyone. Still nervous about the "big" names though...

Claiming a UC Davis admit

I'm thinking they're just trying to play it safe and give a conservative estimate for decisions. My hunch is next week.

Thanks. I think they're a school that trickles out acceptances and rejections, which is obnoxious in my opinion.