qazwerty

I know that some schools let people take out some sort of a loan at the beginning of the school year to cover initial expenses. I never did it because I always had some savings, but it is something you could look into if you really need it.

disco stick

I know Charlie2010 and I can confirm that he is real!

I really thought this thread was just all in jest, keeping with the tone of the title and initial posts, not something to be taken seriously as something we should "care" about. I welcome anything that could lighten up the day.

dead end

doesn't count! edit coincided with the misspell! unless I edit the edit? lol, tried, it is too late

I blame the informal internet medium. When I read the posts in this thread, I read them as hilarious, light-hearted conjectures whereas others read them as mean, resentful, and gossipy. I think how you interpret the posts can be an inaccurate reflection of the intended tone of the post so whenever I read anything I feel is outrageous, I usually blame my own reading of the text. But I honestly don't think people here or in grad school are mean/gossipy/awful like some people are extrapolating from their experiences here. (Yes, I have been to grad school. I also once worked in grad admissions.) So I don't want you guys to feel disheartened by your experiences here. Grad students, to me, have always been really kind and friendly and not as competitive as this board makes them seem!

True, but it seems like those opportunities don't require PhDs.

Don't take rejections so hard. The competition is usually stiffer than you know and a lot of times even if you worked harder, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Even if you got perfect scores, lots of people from better schools with better degrees did, too. It doesn't mean you're not smart or didn't work hard. It's just that so very many brilliant people apply. I used to work in a grad admissions department at a top 5 school and it was almost obvious which candidates stood out the most. I always felt bad for people who had obviously worked hard, gone to decent schools, but probably didn't stand a chance against some of those who stood out the most. You'd be surprised how many Princeton grads with law degrees from Stanford with perfect scores go on to apply for more schooling right after finishing up law school. It's just tough. editted for grammar. sorry, my pet peeve.

I think someoneoutthere could use this tip...

edit Eh, I regretted this post as soon as I made it. So easy to debate numbers. I still don't think a majority of people who go into a top 10 were admitted to nearly all top 10s. You'll always be a superstar to me, SP!

Your post on this thread is probably the most unnecessarily mean-spirited thus far.

People aren't suggesting he's a troll for success--they're wondering if the success are real at all. I don't think he lied about acceptances, but from what I remember of his SOP, it looked like just a template. It could have been anyone's SOP.

LOL I actually considered his troll-status in the past, but decided he wasn't because he had so many insider details on acceptances, like when they were sent and things of that nature.

tin foil

muffin man

I doubt you'd experience any sort of unprofessionalism such as department-bashing. I answered honestly about good offers I was considering to a professor and he said, "Oh, that's a great program, you should seriously consider it." I was actually afraid that meant he didn't really want me at his school OR that he would suggest to the powers-that-be at his own school that I should get a lesser offer because I already had a good offer elsewhere and might not join the department or something, but I got a great offer from his school as well.

Final Destination

oops, double-post

I guess I'll add my MA experience since everyone else is doing it, too. I did a one-year MA program and it is almost impossible to apply for a PhD while still in it (though I know someone who did, but only to three programs). If I applied for a PhD while in my MA, I would've only had one semester (the Fall) to get to know my professors, yet still had to do research papers and my thesis. I ended up applying to PhD programs after I finished up my program and after I'd finished defending my thesis so that the professors could get to know me better. That meant a year in limbo and mostly unemployed because I also didn't apply to jobs while in the program. I wouldn't recommend this route unless you've got financial security, especially since you've already got a top-notch offer (so I hear). I don't know how Wisconsin-Madison is for polisci, but I know it has a strong reputation in econ.

lawn ornament

open sesame

Full Throttle

aw, c'mon guys! I love nic cage! City of Angels! Leaving Las Vegas! The movie 21 occasionally had an academic setting...

I tried so much to like that show, but the math and econ they use are so rudimentary and.. just out of place that I can't stand it. And I never saw it, but I recall Mona Lisa Smile being about women in college..