Megan

Agh. This whole process is just agonizing.

I think GW will come somewhat later. I'm not expecting anything from there until at least first week of March.

On that note, are we all pretty sure Yale is done as well? That would mean I'm only waiting on Princeton and GW.

Thanks. That's disappointing. One of my top choices, but I feel lucky to have a good offer. Appreciate you checking on this.

I am so on board with this. If I'm not going to be accepted I would rather just know right now. I mean, I guess everybody feels this way though.

PSU - Feb 24-27 UT March 1-2 UC Irvine March 1-3 UChicago March 8-9 UCLA March 8-10 UNC - March 15-17 Michigan March 15-17 Wisconsin March 22-24 NYU - March 23 WUSTL - March 23-24 Rochester March 25-27 Minnesota March 26 FSU March 29th-31st Stanford April 9-10

Well, I feel a little silly now...Sorry about that guys.

Unless he's moving this year or something Bueno de Mesquita is definitely at NYU. He was one of my POIs.

Congratulations on Columbia! I wonder if adcoms sit around thinking, "How can we freak them out the most? I know! Let's start admitting on SUNDAYS!"

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who loves this. I think it might be my favorite television program of all time. No exaggeration. I also love Benedict Cumberbatch, and love him even more for having a name like Benedict Cumberbatch.

NYU had a faculty member (not a POI) send me an email. I finally emailed back today with questions and she responded SO quickly and thoroughly. I was very impressed. She gave me some names of students to reach out to. I have been unsure, however, whether it is ok to initiate contact with a POI if they haven't emailed me first? I don't want to bother them, but I would kind of like to communicate with one of them in particular. This particular email from UNC I will probably respond to, because it to some degree encourages that specifically.

Wait listed at UNC. Didn't look like a mass email as it referenced my place on the list and the likelihood of acceptance later in March.

Well, and perhaps tellingly the only place I'm admitted so far was a place where I said screw it and put one IR and one comparativist as my two POIs. Who knows. Luck schmuck. One admit is MAYBE luck. Chicago, Stanford, Yale is one impressive application, and you should be really, really proud of yourself. Sure, luck plays into every process, but you worked hard for and earned those offers and you should feel really good about it, imho.

Ooh, I applied to Yale too for comparative and conflict. Congrats! I'm guessing I'm most likely out there, but I'm glad somebody excited and positive is one of their admits for that field! Conflict is so tough. We are ALWAYS on that comparative/IR line. I had trouble with my applications in the opposite way from you. I'm mostly comparative and had to balance that in my applications, because lots of conflict people are IR.

In my particular case, this was not a prof at a school where I was applying, but a prof I know personally. Generally they are extremely frank and forthright, so I believe the assessment with this particular professor.

I have actually heard directly from a professor in a good polisci department that both numerically and in terms of quality it was one of the most competitive years they have ever seen. I choose to allow that to make me feel slightly better about my rejections, and even more excited about any acceptances. That doesn't say anything about how polisci compares to other disciplines though. That I'm not sure about, although I have a feeling it is on the competitive end of the spectrum.

I just read through this whole thread, so I'm not going to quote in my reply, but I wanted to add a few things I didn't see specifically addressed. I did a year of grad school at UNC, and lived in Carrboro. Firstly, as for veganism/vegetarianism, as most people have pointed out you will not have a problem. Except for major cities, I'm not sure there's a place that's easier. I would say it would be easier in Chapel Hill than in Saint Paul, MN, where I thought it was very easy. Also, careful with the southern stereotypes. I'm from a mid-sized southern city, not even a major place, and there are tons of vegetarian and vegan options (including one great totally vegan restaurant). Honestly, there are too many vegetarians/vegans in the world for it to be impossible to find resources in urban areas. Chapel Hill, however, will particularly cater to your needs, but I wanted to add this in case you want to travel to other parts of the south while you're at UNC. Secondly, somebody asked if a bike and zipcar would be sufficient. Absolutely. I had a bike and a roommate whose car I could borrow occasionally (the old fashioned zipcar), and I was very happy. The bus system is also great and is free so if you're like me and try to avoid biking in the rain (yeah, I'm a wimp) you have options. This was IN Chapel Hill/Carrboro. I have no clue what biking in Durham is like, but a couple other posters seem to have addressed this. I also want to add to the overall happy feel of this thread by saying I absolutely loved my time at Chapel Hill. I loved the school, practically had my office at Open Eye Cafe, and generally loved the area. It's also affordable, even eating all the great food that's available! Good luck making your decisions.

I would like to add to this that you still have some apps outstanding, and it only takes one offer to be in grad school. Not everybody can be accepted everywhere. I was also rejected across the board last time, so I really do know how awful it feels, but don't get too discouraged until it's actually the end. I think this board sometimes is so stocked with phenomenal people that we can forget the reality of admissions. The board makes it seem like everybody is getting in but you sometimes, which is not really the case. Lots of people are hearing nothing all across the country. Lots of people are getting rejected. Most importantly, lots of people are going to get into just one or two places. If you get to the end and really have no offers, then you can decide if you want to do this again next year. There is still time left though, stay strong!

Don't get too discouraged yet! You never know. Sometimes we pick a backup program based on stats, but where we aren't a good fit. Or sometimes, if they think you are overqualified, they might assume you will get in somewhere better and reject you because they don't think you will come (a friend of mine was EXPLICITLY told by a POI this is why he was rejected from a school). Or, sometimes, one school just sees something another doesn't. There is somebody here who is in at MIT and...Stanford I think, but was rejected at Duke. This process is crazy. Hang in there.

This is almost word for word what two separate advisers who have served on adcoms at top 20 programs have told me. You need a certain level of score (varies by school) and after that it doesn't matter.

Yes...but it stresses me out. Isn't this process all about me? (sarcasm...obviously) No, I know you're right. I'm just grouchy because I can't buy plane tickets home until I hear from a few more places. I actually think it's perfectly rational for them to make decisions in this way.

I can't imagine Yale is done, although I'm at a loss about how their process is working this year, so who knows. I thought UNC was done, but somebody seems to have been admitted yesterday. Basically, I have given up trying to understand and proceeded to just panic illogically.

I have a full draft of my thesis due next Friday. My progress is notably slowed at key times of the day. For the first time in my life I am the most productive in the mornings when no decisions will be announced, because everybody is sleeping.

While I obviously don't know what their package will be, Chapel Hill/Carrboro is REMARKABLY cheap in terms of living. I lived on what is probably less than their grad stipend, and with that I had a great place (and not the cheapest of the people that I knew), went out probably more than I should have, ate very well, and even took a couple of trips. I absolutely loved living there. If anybody has specific questions regarding Chapel Hill, as a school or as a town, feel free to PM me. I promise to be completely honest, but I'm also super biased as I really, really loved my time there.

Guessing. Absolutely no information of any kind except that gut feeling that says I shouldn't go out tomorrow night until after 11 PM my time.