NEPA

Wow. I'm glad you found that out so you can get the whole thing resolved. I have nightmares of random and seemingly unimportant pieces of my application materials (like transcripts of college courses I took while in high school) getting lost and dooming my application.

This may be sort of an odd question, but I'm wondering where grad schools mail notifications to applicants who are current undergrads, since they ask for both school and home addresses. It seems from the Results page that some of my programs might notify first by postal mail (oddly enough), and I'd hate to see my parents get the letter at home and have to read me the decision over the phone. Good news or bad, I'd rather it sent to me so I can hold the letter in my hands when I read it!

If I were you, I'd ask those questions in the Computer Science forum.

Subfield: Comparative Interests: Middle East, Arab-Israeli conflict, democratization, ethnic and religious conflict, terrorism

If I get accepted and start this fall, I'll have just turned 22. I'm happy that I'll hopefully finish by the time I turn 30. But that's just me. I totally agree with the posters who've said that age really shouldn't be a factor. Life experience prior to entering a Ph.D. program (or, for that matter, time spent actually in the Ph.D. program prior to getting an academic appointment or other job) is only time wasted if you choose to waste it; based on how impressed I've been by the posters on TheGradCafe, I doubt that any of you did!

I wouldn't necessarily say that GPA and GRE are a deciding factor in most cases, but if you're talking about the very top schools in the country, high scores in both are very important. I'm not sure how/if the requirements differ for international students, but I imagine a very high TOEFL is also expected. Your research and experience certainly seem impressive and should work in your favor.

Historically, my top choice program sends out admits in early/mid-February, and two others notify in late February, so at least I'll know soon what the verdict is from some of my schools. If I don't make it into any of those, there's no point in hoping for the ones who notify in March!

I don't think you and anxiousapplicant have too much to worry about. It should go without saying from your application and academic dedication that you're not that type of person, and certainly not dumb enough to leave incriminating photos visible during the grad application process. (Although one of my friends was forced to create a Facebook page, even though he hadn't wanted one, to combat someone with the same name who looked like a total jerk. So you both could try to create competing pages. But I don't think it's worth the time.)

My last name is ridiculously common, so a Google search of my full name won't get anyone anywhere. (People that share my name run the gamut of professions from state legislator to internet preacher.) Makes me very difficult to search on Facebook as well, without having mutual friends. I don't think much interesting turns up if you include the name of my school, either. It's not like I have anything to hide, though.

Really? You do realize that "Stuff White People Like" is meant to be satirical, right? Like, stereotypes meant to be chuckled at rather than taken seriously? And that's what you're using as the foundation of your argument that grad degrees outside math and natural sciences are not worthwhile? Please tell me I read that incorrectly.

Agreed. I can totally understand the desire to feel comfortable living and working in a certain community, and if that community (university, in this case) is vastly different and at odds with your beliefs, it might not be a good situation. I certainly hope LTee won't have that issue, though.

Tough call. I debated stopping to visit a couple departments while I was on their campuses in January, but it did seem to me like I would come off as a bit pushy. I guess it can depend on your field, but in many fields contacting professors in advance is not necessarily expected and wouldn't hurt your chances much. I think at this point it's best to let your application speak for itself. Plus, chances are the departments are really busy starting their semesters, moving deeper into any hiring searches they might be doing, and of course in the thick of grad admissions, so it really may not be a good time to visit. Still, I had a friend visit his department (they had invited him, however, since he didn't get to meet the full department when he was there in October) and they gave him a verbal acceptance. He's in a very small field, however, so they might do things differently.

It's not as much about not being able to afford the $150 as it is about how little you get for that money. The test itself is about as user-unfriendly as I could imagine, questionable in its ability to predict grad school success, and only getting to send four scores for free (and having to pick them right after the test, which can be very early in the whole process before you've finalized your list of schools) can require spending $300 or more. $300 is expensive for an awful lot of people, especially those of us who will rely on fellowships, TA-ships, RA-ships, and/or loans to finance their graduate education, which, fingers crossed, actually is a good investment.

My undergrad was pretty standard for my potential grad field: International Relations and Poli Sci majors, Arabic minor. I guess my philosophy minor might be a tad different, but far from unique. I never even really got to take that many straight-up electives, either. Just Intro to Psych freshman year. Basically everything else has been in my majors/minors. I totally liked it that way, but it's pretty boring, I guess!

Exactly. I don't think tactfully announcing you got into your dream school is entirely inappropriate, unless you feel it would make your friends who might not get into grad school/their top choice feel uncomfortable. I think I'll post something like "[My name] finally knows what he'll be doing next year" or something to that effect, so anyone who knows me will know I got in somewhere, and ask me about it if they're curious. I certainly hope that wouldn't upset anyone who happens to be in a negative or uncertain position, but I don't think it's being conceited.

My professors have absolutely no connections, but from what I've heard, it can be a big help since grad adcomms are likely to trust the recommendation of undergrad professors they know and respect.

I usually get the same with people thinking I'm fluent in Arabic because I've studied it for while. Or sometimes, they want to know how to say "bomb" or "terrorist" and/or lecture me on why people become suicide bombers (they usually have no actual idea). I get sick of explaining to people that there's so much more to the Middle East than terrorism, that it's much less dangerous there than people think, and that it's a really fascinating region to study!

Not sure if it'll be helpful, but I can only offer my own experience (one of my primary research interests is democratization in the Middle East). For me, regional focus was important; in other words, I first tried to find someone who studied the Middle East. Then, if they didn't research democratization (most Middle East scholars I came across have to some extent), I tried to find someone who studied that theme. If I found those two matches, I'd see how many other profs shared my other research interests. Fortunately for me, I found a number of potential advisers and programs I could get excited about. I'd suggest e-mailing potential faculty you might be interested in working with and going to visit the department if possible. You could also seek out the advice of grad students at each program.

My grandfather died at the end of November as I was starting to wrap up my applications and gather my LOR's. Granted, he'd been sick since the summer (and was also 88 years old) so it wasn't a shock, but it still put quite a damper on things. Oddly, the day after he died I found out I was picked to go on a service trip to Ecuador that my university sponsors. One very sad event followed by a happy event. Life goes on despite grad school applications! I'm sorry you have an ongoing stressful situation. I'm honestly not sure what advice to give, but I'd suggest taking some time for yourself every day, if you have that luxury. Remind yourself what your strengths are, why you love to study what you study, and why you want to go to grad school. Remind yourself that the whole process will be over in just a few months and that you're bound to have some good news that will give you confidence in your difficult situation. Talk to friends and loved ones you trust for good advice. Take some quiet time to walk, think, and maybe talk with others as a way to reduce your stress.

Congrats! I can imagine the thrill of getting accepted - it must be fantastic! All the better that you really like their program.

Same with Syracuse, although they apologize for the lack of status checker and are very helpful when it comes to checking with them on what they've received. One of my other schools (George Mason) has an online status checker but claims to have almost none of my stuff, which is kind of hard to believe since every other school got my transcripts and LOR's in early December at the latest. A number of other people I know applying there have had similar problems checking their application status online as well. Might go to show that online status checkers aren't always that much of a help!

I second everyone's stress! For me, it's not really helping that a friend of mine in the sciences has already gotten glowing (and generously-funded) acceptances from two of his schools. Granted, he's in a far, far smaller field than PS, and a national standout in that field, so the personal attention is understandable. I couldn't be happier for him, but at the same time, I really wish every field could decide that quickly! I know it's completely not possible - just my own anxiety. I guess a month or two really isn't all that long to wait, though, especially considering the 5+ years we're going to be spending in grad school.

I think only two of mine had that section, one of which assured me it would have no bearing on my application, which I thought was a bit obvious. I kind of shrugged them off as attempts by the grad school and/or department to get some statistics on where else their applicants are applying. Maybe they use some sort of ranking system and like to compare the other schools to their rank and vice versa.

I envision myself having a primarily teaching load as a professor. Not that I don't love research (getting a PhD would be pretty silly, and painful, if I didn't!), but if I could work at a medium-sized university like the one where I've done my undergrad, where research is expected but there's a bit more emphasis on teaching, I'd be happy as a clam. I'm also open to State Department or intelligence analyst work for at least a few years out of grad school.

I'm afraid I don't know much Russian, but I do have one other fun fact: the guy Stalin had write the original lyrics (Sergey Mikhalkov) was, at something like 90 years old, commissioned to write the new lyrics when they brought back Alexandrov's original music in 2000.