quixote

Declining funded offers from UCLA, UPenn, and Northwestern (American Politics).

Harvard acceptances: was it from POI or a mass email?

I'm just finishing up the first draft of my SOP and I've come to a bit of a road block concerning "fit." It's easy enough to identify individual faculty members whose interests match up with mine, but I'm not sure how to get beyond that. What can I say about a department in general that won't be a waste of space?

Great question and as a fellow 2012 applicant I would also like to hear the answer. Also, is it a generally safe assumption that associate professors are tenured while assistant professors are not?

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will begin writing my personal statement for the coming application round. Can anyone who has already gone through the experience recommend a good resource containing models for affective essays? I already have "Graduate Admissions Essays" by Donald Asher, but it doesn't really focus on applications for PhD programs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey all, So for a long time I was thinking of applying to PhD programs with a focus on comparative politics, but a change in course in research interests as I finish up my undergrad career has led me to start thinking that maybe American Politics is the path for me. I remember reading somewhere that there are certain advantages to focusing on American politics as opposed to CP or IR. At the very least, I know that American politics students often get their degrees faster because they can do dissertation research in country or even without much field research. Can anyone tell me if it is easier to get admitted to programs as an american politics applicant? Once you get a degree, do American politics students have an easier time getting hired once they earn their doctorate? I think I remember reading such things somewhere a while back, but I can't quite remember where. Thanks!

Thanks , thats really helpful!

Hi guys, So I am trying to plan a year after graduating in May 2011 and I need to schedule in time to work on grad school apps. When do applications for PhD. programs generally become available online? Thanks!