Niels

You believe these fools have still not told me officially? For Christ sake, I live in NYC too so it's not "in the mail." BTW, I heard that NSSR offers something like $44K a year for full-time profs. NOT an enticing offer. I would imagine many of them leave.

TA's have a very heavy teaching load. Sometimes instructing up to two courses per semester every semester starting second year (the deal they offered me). Living on 18K in NYC is do-able, but you're gonna have roomies and live far (in terms of time of commute) from the CUNY Grad center. Also, your teaching stint can be at ANY CUNY campus throughout the city. God help you if you get sent out to the College of Staten Island and you live in the Bronx. But more importantly, their INDIVIDUAL health insurance plan is over $2000 a year. That's outrageous given the fact that SUNY grad students pay about $110. ALl things to consider...

(btw, I'm going to UChicago)

I totally agree!! One stress after another! Ah, the life. Good luck for your first year everyone!

Make your decision carefully, my friends. I really love CUNY's polisci faculty and the students seem great. But, cost of living in NYC is outrageous (I speak as a native), their teaching load is comparatively heavy, and the CUNY health insurance issue is huge (although I think it is likely to change in the next couple of years, check out the opening post on this thread). I was fortunate enough to get a great offer from one of my top choices, so I actually turned down CUNY's $16K aid offer. I hope they pass one on to all of you! Good luck in all your endeavors!

No dice. I received the letter via post today (April 11). I live in NY. The letter was dated April 4. 1200 predoctoral applications, 60 awards. Good luck everyone!

I received an email from the MA program assistant today informing me that I was put on the waitlist. She attached a letter from the admissions committee: "The Admissions Committee recently met and considered over two hundred applications for the Master

I didn't get it. The letter came couple days ago, dated March 24.

I've heard nothing yet. They really have to get on the ball with this. I'll be calling on Monday.

God, NSSR is SO SLOW! I called last Tuesday. The secretary told me I was in and my file was being sent "back to admission" so they gauge some sort of financial offer (a pitiful one, I imagine). We're getting really close to April 15....

They all seem pretty satisfied. Of course, there's all sorts mild debates/issues within the subfields (TAing for specific profs, what courses are being made available, ec.). However, no one has seemed disgruntled. The stipends are decent, the community is tight, and the department has great resources for the graduate students (that is, offices, a nice lounge, $ for conferences, etc).

wow, typos are embarrassing. "their may be..." Ha HA!

The Program: This is a little misleading. According to their Graduate Guidebook, available on their website: " The rules of the Indiana University Graduate School require the doctoral student to have completed 90 hours of graduate credit. Typically, two-thirds of the 90 hours are taken in formal course work and one-third in thesis credit. " Most of the students I talked to had very few or no classes in their third year. They were studying for the exams or doing independent work for credit. The guidebook also has the options for the quantitative requirement. My understanding is that basic stats courses are required for all except theory students, who can do qualitative methods. I'm not sure though, I'd check the fine print. I find the program to be solidly well-designed. Here's their (ambitious) outline (most students don't finish in under 5 years. That is the absolute fastest): First Year

I just came back from visiting the campus. Their program is really solid, at least in theory (they call it political philosophy). If anyone has questions/cares, I can write more about my impressions.

I called the department todays. They told me to call next week if I don't hear anything from them. They also told me they look at applications from visa students (Americans and other international students) last. They also don't have an April 15 matriculation deadline like everyone else. Great.

Not yet...

ps: I've heard nothing from York yet about admission or funding. But according to the York student (presumably) who posted above, notices can come as late as the second week in April (!). pps: Is Toronto an "expensive city" for Americans these days? Aside from the exchange rate issue, how does the city rate generally in expenses (rent, groceries, transport, etc.)? Is it New York-expensive? Or less so, like Chicago-expensive? Or "cheap" like Philadelphia or Baltimore?

Thanks for your insights. However, I have a couple questions/comments about York. While financing may be guaranteed for Canadian students, I was told that financing for international students (including Americans like me) is extraordinarily difficult to get from the department (It is also very difficult to get an offer of admission as an intl. student, they say). What attracted me to York is that the polisci department

Visiting IU I'm going to visit the school next week and I was wondering where people suggest I stay. The (polisci) dept. secretary suggested the Indiana Memorial Union since it is next door to the department's building. However, at over $80 a night, I was looking for another option. There seems to be an Econo Lodge ($44/night) on 2601 N. Walnut Street, but google maps says it's over two miles from the polisci building (1100 E. 7th St.). However, the campus is directly south along N. Walnut Street/N. College Ave. Is there a bus or shuttle along this route? I'm sure the Econo Lodge is dingy but as long as it's not an active brothel or the like, I don't really mind. Are there other options for someone without a car? Also, I had the vague impression that the dept. would arrange for me to stay with a grad student for a couple nights. Is this totally unheard of? I'm a little afraid to ask about it. But even with their $300 reimbursement for travel expenses (most of it going to plane fare), I'll still have to pay $200 out of pocket to cover a stay at the Memorial Union. This isn't even factoring in food and other expenses. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

I received a letter today, postmarked March 12, that indicates who my advisory will be if I matriculate. It also indicates the reception date for accepted students (April 10). And the kicker: "Please note that our program has a limited number of five year funding packages available. We are in the process of making funding offers and we will notify you when all the awards have been allocated. Those students who do not receive a package are still entitled to tuition remission at the in-state rate during their first ten semesters by teaching as an adjunct at a CUNY campus." Figures. Good luck everybody.

I have heard this as well, also third-hand. As for program, it is obviously highly prestigious. However, I have heard time and again from professors who are on hiring committees, that people who do non-traditional degrees in theory have a harder time landing polisci jobs. Of course, if you publish an amazing diss, you'll have a cutting edge (as a side note, I've been told by a mentor to understand the degree as a "license" and to not think of your diss as your gift to humanity/your most amazing work of your life. If you begin to understand grad school as the latter, you'll probably end up as an ABD). But in general, I hear that hiring committees want people to be able to teach the discipline's orthodoxy including being able to also teach basic traditional IR, Amer., or Comp in addition to theory. I'm curious, why did you not apply to UChicago's poli sci dept? (Selfishly, I ask only because I've been accepted into this program with a 5-year funding package. I'm leaning towards it, but in no way am I committed. I'm extremely lucky to have this option but I also have others. A visit early next month to the windy city will surely help me decide). All in all, I think you'll be able to great things and achieve a lot in both places. Congrats.

Yes, it's true. My housemate had a Hayek poster that was sent to him from some right-wing group with too much money on their hands. Also, why would you be interested in NSSR and have a poster of Hayek unless for obvious parody?

That's not what I was told. Prof. Tien, the deputy executive officer for the dept, told me via email: "No writing sample is required beyond your personal statement." Financial aid, including fellowships, were made through the application from the office of financial aid that did not require a writing sample. Perhaps you were applying for a special, named fellowship? Or, maybe you are confusing the personal statement with a writing sample? And I was unaware that some programs also did not require writing samples (supposedly Harvard, according to a previous post). It seems kind of silly not to require one.

Yes, I have heard York is broke. The only way I saw myself going there is if I got outside funding from NSF, Ford, or JCKF but those are a real crapshoot. And yes, I'm going for the MA, but I am shooting to complete the PhD. I also heard that York's polisci has 200-something GRADUATE students. I couldn't believe it. If this is true, what in gods name are they doing there? Lastly, did you write a six-pack goes for $12 (Canadian, I presume) ? I am truly sorry. Well, there goes my $85 application fee...(But I'm sure they can use the money).

Does anyone else think it's a bad sign that no writing sample was required for the application?