xuejia

Well played, sir.

I claim a Berkeley as well, smiling ear to ear.

PSR trolls, so long as they aren't being douchey bigots, are kinda funny. I now have a daily habit of checking PSR for my daily laugh quota.

Give it a couple of days, maybe the end of the week, then fret.

Kudos to all those movers and shakers today!

I know that we've had some discussion of rank vs. fit on the board, but has anyone given similar consideration to rank vs. money? Sure I'm jumping the gun somewhat, since I have but one choice. But it never hurts to prepare, and a number of you do have choices (congrats!). The cost of living at some of the top-ranked coastal schools is 150% of the national average, while at some Midwestern schools it's just barely above the national average, and finally some southern schools boast a cost of living below the national average. Assume two schools of equivalent fit, one is ranked a tier higher, the other throws you an additional five grand (after accounting for cost of living). Which do you choose? Taking future job prospects and salary into account, how much more must a lower ranked school offer before it became your sensible choice? As for myself, I'm still unsure. I gather that the higher the ranking of the program I attend, ceteris paribus, the brighter my future prospects. However, my partner and I hope to start a family soon, so avoiding pauperdom in the near term is a must. (Surely this discussion would be easier if I actually had two monetary offers to compare...maybe someone else can throw numbers down?) Thoughts?

Greatly appreciated TMCB

So... I'm technologically backwards. Can somebody tell me how you embed those youtube videos? (Feel free to berate my incompetence first, just be sure to educate me once you've finished.)

I'm still (totally) guessing that notification will occur the week of February 10-14, but I know there could be stragglers. Last year I got a gentler short-list rejection, but it took them until March 4 to make the final determination.

Also, I heard that folks at Berkeley are finalizing decisions 'quite soon', which is rather vague, but hang in there. Gnome: luv the troll vid!

I'd definitely say that those two rankings are the most talked about. However, I think there is some value to checking out older rankings with vastly different methodologies: 1) McCormick & Rice (2001) - Graduate Training and Research Productivity in the 1990s: A Look at Who Publishes 2) Hix (2004) - A Global Ranking of Political Science Departments 3) Schmidt & Chingos (2007) - Ranking Doctoral Programs by Placement: A New Method 4) Oprisko (2013) - Honor, Prestige, and the Academy: A Portrait of Political Science Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty in Ph.D.-Granting Institutions As for the fit vs. rank discussion...in my opinion they're both incredibly important. Personally, I placed a great deal of emphasis on fit when choosing where to apply to lessen the possibility of the fit vs. rank dilemmas later on down the road. If I'm fortunate enough to have choices, I'll be able to focus upon rank and financial aid, resting assured that every choice is a swell fit. As one who (loftily) aspires to someday teach at a well-regarded R1, shooting for a highly ranked program makes good career sense; having already determined that it's a pretty good fit makes it all the better. And making a decision based on fit entails more than one professor. That's my two cents.

A Wuffle and Kristine Coulter (2014). Is Political Science Meant for Every Tom, Dick, or Harriet? The Role of First Names and Middle Initials as Predictors of Academic Success . PS: Political Science & Politics, 47, pp 173-176. doi:10.1017/S1049096513001522. ^ Read it. Every bit as stupid as it sounds.

And I was able to supply a missing writing sample to get right into the committee's stack. If you have the slightest relationship with anyone in the department, even just somebody who responded to an email in a friendly manner, go to that person about fixing your application. You'd be amazed how easy it is for someone to 'put a note in your file' late in the game.

I certainly don't fault you for wishing to remain somewhat anonymous. It's better for us applicants when it puts you at liberty to speak more candidly. Can you speak more specifically about your beef with visitation and recruitment? And I have every intention of scoring student tickets, even if the school can't ball. I actually lolled when I read about The Bible (King Gary Version), and several other times, too, but not a treasure trove of useful or thoughtful information.

BTPS, is there ever any worthwhile information passed around there, or is the sole purpose to allow over-stressed nerds the opportunity to anonymously vent their snark? Btw, I've been meaning to ask you...wts is up with Buckeyes basketball?

Wowzers, me too. Brutal, brutal ish on every post. Are we in the kiddie pool?

You have to hand it to Wisconsin for being prompt with both good news and bad news. Gentler to all that way, in my opinion.

Just got the official, and I assume stock, rejection notice from Wisconsin by email. I'd wager they will come out en masse today. And congrats, btw, to the MSU, Vandy, and other admits!

No, but my partner and I watched Revolution this afternoon, precisely because it's totally brainless. I would recommend a round of Angry Birds but...

If I had to guess, Tremblay, I'd say that you're the departmental choice for big-dollar funding opportunities, hence the super early one-off acceptance. Like you say, the bulk of regular admits will likely follow in about two weeks. Again, if I had to guess...

I wholeheartedly concur.

Thanks aecp, and to all of you well-wishers. Melanie Manion is the department's resident Sinologist; it's actually Duke that is more lacking in that department, ever since Tianjian Shi passed away a few years back. They hired Edmund Malesky, a cutting-edge scholar of Vietnam. I'm a few years out of school with no stat/quant and few polisci classes on my transcripts. Last year I went 0-10, so starting in April last year, I completely overhauled my application: I took a statistics MOOC, read a few books on data analysis, studied regression analysis at an IPSA summer methods program, and then took even more MOOCs (game theory, social network analysis, a class on R, etc.). The IPSA class also produced a letter of recommendation that could address the methods worries. A translation I had made last year wound up on a graduate-level polisci syllabus this year, by sheer luck. Finally, I jumped into the broader polisci literature instead of only reading books on China, and that prompted a major shift in my research interests which was in turn reflected in my SoP. The last nine months required a huge investment of time, effort, and money, but paid dividends (Duke rejected me last year). I encourage anyone who is passionate about graduate school to bust balls (pardon my language) if this cycle (which is far from over) doesn't pan out.

With a heavy sigh of relief, I claim one of the Duke admits. Thanks to the many posters who have shared words of encouragement, and I hope that the roller coaster ride I've experienced today can provide some encouragement to others: a first rejection doesn't equate to a lost cycle!

Thanks to all for the warm wishes/condolences/pep talks. It was Wisconsin, where I emailed a professor for confirmation of my suspicions. I also just found out that somehow I neglected to submit a departmentally-required writing sample to the school at which I should have the best chance, and this oversight likely means that the best funding opportunities are blown. Thus far, this morning = fml

This is not how I wanted to start my second application cycle...