fromark17

Yeah, I agree. I visited UNC and really liked it. I haven't visited OSU yet, so maybe that will clarify things.

Figured I'd throw in my own situation and see what people think. I'm in American and want to do behavior, public opinion, voting, etc. I'm trying to decide between UNC and OSU (UIUC is also in the mix but behind the others). It seems to me to be pretty much a toss-up between the two. Thoughts?

Same for me. It was expected and good to know officially.

MIT said they would notify the rest of their applicants about a decision today (by email if I remember correctly), but I haven't heard anything yet. Has anyone gotten an email?

Also rejected at Minnesota. Lame. I really expected to get in there. Oh well, probably would not have gone anyway so not a huge loss. I guess the cycle is over for me unless I get extremely late acceptances from UCLA and Columbia. It's on to the visitation/decision stage. I'm overall very pleased with how this process turned out and wish everyone still waiting lots of luck!

Haha, I made that same mistake as well in a couple emails before I realized. I'm sure she deals with a lot though.

Congrats! That will definitely be a difficult decision. In my opinion it would all come down to funding. Yale would be hard to turn down if you got funding but the debt might not be worth it otherwise (especially with offers from 2 great programs).

I got an email with funding details an hour or so ago. 5 full years plus health insurance. Not a bad package.

Another UMN acceptance is up on the results page. It mentions something about the applyyourself application. Anyone claiming it?

To those still waiting on UCLA, I emailed Joseph Brown asking about my status and got this response: The admission process is ongoing but will let you know within the next few weeks. That's not really what I expected (I kind of just wanted to confirm my rejection). I guess it means a "few more weeks" of uncertainty.

You're right, OSU hasn't given me that info. But I did talk to the DGS and she said funding was pretty much assured; they just have to wait for results of the fellowship competition to come in before committing. As for UCSD, just the way they've handled it is a bit disconcerting. They seem to be pushing us to come visit without giving any details, which worries me. I don't want to commit time and energy to a cross-country trip if funding might not be guaranteed or their offer isn't reasonable. I know it's not completely rational because they'll pay for my stay, but I'd rather not waste my time (and possibly make other more useful visits) if I know I won't be attending.

Has anyone gotten more information on funding yet? I know the email from Dr. Broz said it would be on or before March 1, but I was hoping it would come before this weekend. They're not making my decision as to whether or not to come to Open House any easier.

I'm assuming because I got nothing. Since they overnight the letters, I think everyone who will be admitted has been.

A few Columbia decisions have recently been posted on the results page. What should we make of them? Is anyone claiming one?

I would tend to agree with Cicero, however, I just checked my status and it says "incomplete" and "at department." It doesn't make sense that it would be incomplete because I clearly sent in everything before the deadline. And if they hadn't received something, I would hope the department would let me know about that. Other than that, I would just say it took a long time for them to update it since it's not a priority. I think I may email them too and find out what's up.

Has anyone received a letter from MIT today or did all the admits come yesterday?

That's what I'm hoping for. Someone mentioned they didn't get their letters mailed out until late yesterday so maybe some people will get them today. If I don't get something I'm assuming a rejection. Does anyone think UCLA will be sending out more decisions? A couple people posted acceptances yesterday so maybe they're trickling in.

Thanks for the input. I'm in American, which I know is OSU's strength. It seems like most professors are happy to work actively with grad students and I'm sure if I seek out opportunities I will be fine.

I'm a bit concerned about the size of the program (OSU is one of the bigger ones). What would you say to that? How often do most grad students interact with their advisors/other professors? Do they meet and discuss work frequently? How is living off the provided stipend? I know Columbus isn't an extremely expensive city but knowing how far the money will go is important. Do grads RA or TA more? How much work is involved with each? I'd like to do both and am hoping I'll actually get to teach classes at some point.

I agree with everything that has been said here and would add this: My GRE scores were exactly the same as yours (my AW was actually lower) and I've gotten into some of my top choices. I'm not sure how much the writing sample matters in the grand scheme of things because some schools don't even require one. I would focus on getting some solid research experience, improving your statement, and getting a third strong faculty recommendation. You have to show adcoms that you know how to do academic research and are prepared for the work grad school entails. Also, at first glance it seems like almost all the programs you applied to are extremely selective. There are really none on there that could be considered a safety. I know when you apply to 14 schools you think, "I should get into at least one right?" I was initially only planning on applying to top-20 programs, but I was worried I might strike out so I tried to include a couple safeties that I still would be happy going to. Choosing some large public schools with higher admit rates or lower ranked programs that are still good fits are a couple things you could do to improve your chances.

That's good to know. At least we'll know for sure. They still deliver the packages if no one is home, correct? It also seems a bit wasteful to send out all of those letters (360 of them!) instead of just using email, which is quicker and more efficient.

Congrats! Now I'll be eagerly awaiting a package. I put my home address for correspondence so I have to wait for my parents to get home from work and let me know if they got anything. FedEx usually ships pretty quickly so lots of people should get something today (or tomorrow at the latest I would guess). Also, does anyone know how many students MIT usually enrolls each year? A 7% admit rate for 360 applicants means about 25 acceptances, which points to a pretty small cohort.

Only a couple people have claimed them and there aren't too many on the results board, so I would say they aren't done yet. I'd heard they're reducing their incoming cohort because of financial problems (or maybe reducing funding?), but I hope more admits are coming.

Everything Midwestern said is spot-on, but I wanted to add a couple things from my own experience. I've often heard the argument that undergraduate institution matters a lot, but that doesn't seem to have affected my prospects (though I can see how it would get your file looked at more closely). I went to large state school that doesn't have a political science graduate program and is frankly not very strong in social science in general. My GREs were middling at 1400 with 5.0 AW, though my GPA was pretty high (4.0 for my major and 3.9 overall). I think what helped me the most were my LORs and a strong statement. I spent 2-3 months working on my statement and tried to tailor it at least somewhat to each school I applied to. I used it as an opportunity to demonstrate my research experience and show how my undergrad work prepared me to take on the rigors of grad school. I only talked briefly (1 paragraph) about my future interests. I also worked on research with 2 profs and they both wrote me great letters (the other letter was from a history professor, which doesn't seem to have worked against me). I think the main thing is to show that you have the capacity to do research and produce original scholarship and know what you're getting into with a 5+ year Ph.D. program. Getting professors to vouch for you on this front is crucial. The one thing I have learned from the process is that fit matters much more than I thought (or some people on this board seem to mention). The few schools I thought I had a shot at but didn't get into were not the best fit, and a couple others I'm convinced I was admitted to because my interests match the faculty's.

I haven't heard from Columbia either. I don't know if they're admitting by subfield (I'm in American politics). I figured that since some waitlists have already gone out that they are done. Has anyone gotten a straight up rejection?