Chamberlain25

I just spoke to Steven Wilkinson who told me that since he wasn't on the admission's committee he has not seen the final list. Since he's the subfield coordinator maybe CP applicants still stand a chance?

Love the person who expected to get into Yale and the person above them who tells them what's up...Bless you, GradCafe.

Guys… don't panic if you haven't heard from Yale yet. Some professors will contact accepted students today, but most profs are just enjoying their weekend/do not read their mails. You'll probably get the official decision very soon!
 
Congrats to those who have already received their acceptances!

Can we get an animated GIF of your table flipping?
 
edit: and possibly some news from Yale? Thanks.

Pretty much my only research experience has been as an RA for a few different professors at my undergrad university. I don't know if you're still in the area of your undergrad institution, but you could try that. You could also, as someone else suggested, reach out to any and all professors at universities in your current area. I think professors are often looking for research help but have no students willing (particularly in smaller departments and departments without graduate programs). You could also try getting a research-oriented policy job and spinning that experience in your new SOP. Good luck and don't lose hope!!

I don't know of any good programs (in the US) with rolling or spring admissions. Dependening on your interests, you could look at Europe (for a Masters), which could also provide you with research experience.
 
I honestly have not really understood how you can get research experience in PoliSci, aside from writing papers, going to conferences etc. While RAships exist (though not anywhere I've ever studied), don't most of these go to their own students?

Hmm, I read it as a non-minority making a glib comment that they should have identified as a minority in order to get whatever supposed benefit that would yield w/r/t admissions.  Maybe I'm just jumping to the more cynical conclusion at this point.  Your reading is certainly giving the poster the benefit of the doubt.  

To the person who was rejected from Stanford and wishes you'd told them you were African-American...
 
When the sting of the rejection wears off, I hope you feel pretty crappy about that comment. You should feel crappy about it.
 
Edited for grammar and anger.

Claiming a Stanford offer (comparative)!
 
Only recently discovered the gradcafe...yay to my first post!!

Claiming an MIT acceptance. It was a call from POI. This is my first acceptance, I feel so relieved!

That was me.
 
I've applied for 4 rounds.
 
Finally.

Omg. Northwestern. Elated.

Well, today hurts, but at least I heard something from somewhere.  Rejected at: Emory, UT - Austin, UM, and Princeton.  ouch.  My already cynically qualified optimism is waning by the minute.  Congrats to all who got good news today; and a commiserating pat on the back to all who got bad news...

Well, today hurts, but at least I heard something from somewhere.  Rejected at: Emory, UT - Austin, UM, and Princeton.  ouch.  My already cynically qualified optimism is waning by the minute.  Congrats to all who got good news today; and a commiserating pat on the back to all who got bad news...

I was thinking: singing telegram 

I was thinking: singing telegram 

Not as extreme an example, but when applying for IR Master's programs I got into the IR and MPP programs - the latter which only admitted 4-6 people a year - at the University of Denver, while getting shut out at all of the State school programs I applied to.  

There's quite a bit, actually. I don't think US News publishes any measures of uncertainty, but the NRC, which also ranks graduate programs in political science, does. This illustration of an outdated set of rankings (data gathered 2006-07) from The Monkey Cage gives you some sense of how uncertain such estimates are.
 

 
Upshot: In rankings with this much noise, an increase or decrease of a few positions is pretty meaningless. (And by implication, the fact that one school is a few positions above or below another is pretty meaningless, for the most part.)
 
GWU is in red because, well, it's from The Monkey Cage.
 
 
It's hard to disentangle the effects of reputation, quality, and training on placement. My sense, for what it's worth, is that most of the schools that most of you are applying to have letterheads that will get your file read. Beyond that, it's mostly a question of how well you've been trained, which in turn depends a whole lot on fit.

The UCSD is me

Well, Berkeley, my number 1 choice, may have rejected me in today's wave of rejections (as well as a presumed rejection from Cornell), but I am happy to claim a spot at UC Irvine with a 6 year financial package that will compete with any other financial offers I may receive elsewhere! It feels good to receive that news after a week of bad news!

Claiming a UCLA admit... and absolutely stunned. I didn't think it was a great fit.
 
The sigh of relief was probably audible halfway around the world. I am going to graduate school!