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lurker15

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Everything posted by lurker15

  1. ^^ Perhaps, but it's pretty widely known that certain depts favor applicants just out of grad school, or just recently out. I've spoken to members of admissions committees at 2 of the top 3 programs who've confirmed this about their own application reviews. I can't think of any that have favored 40 year olds. Doesn't mean it never happens, but I don't think that's their preference.
  2. Currently at a Top10 program: (1) Theory job market still sucks. If you want a job in theory, Yale/Chicago are still probably your best bet (2) For whatever reason, a lot of people last year really did not care for Princeton's visit days. No one doubts it is a good dept, but there were a lot of stories of profs and current grad students either not meshing well with admits, or in some cases failing to call them, etc., as scheduled. Unclear if this was a fluke or something to be concerned about going forward, but I personally know of three folks who turned down Princeton specifically because of the people. (3) The nation's best econ dept is at Stanford University. The second best econ dept is Stanford Political Science. (4) From talking to friends at other T1 schools, Yale seems to have the reputation for having the most collegial faculty/also being the dept that won't flip out if you pursue something outside of academia. Have a friend at Stanford who said he would have picked Yale "hands down" if he were only choosing based on the people. (5) Yale killed it on the job market this year and also did very well last year. For all the talk about faculty exits, this doesn't seem to be impacting their placement too much (6) Harvard continues to kill the job market as well. Seems to have had the best placement (along with Yale) the past 2-3 years. Stanford seems to have hit a bit of a rough patch, unclear why or how long it will last (it's Stanford, so probably not for long) (7) Cornell and UNC have made some great tandem hires. Been pretty impressed with who comes out of Cornell as well.
  3. The overwhelming majority (90%+) of assistant profs that I've met at top-tier departments were late 20s or early 30s when they were hired. I've also met a number of other former military officers with PhDs who are brought on as senior research scholars, etc., at interdisciplinary research centers, and then go on to teach political science courses. However, these positions typically have a different type of tenure agreement (eg you go up for reappointment every 3-5 years), and they are usually not given anything beyond courtesy appointments in the relevant department.
  4. I would say, generally speaking, early 30s is on the older end of the spectrum, and after that your age would become a discussion point in committee meetings. This doesn't mean it would be a disadvantage, and I can see some ways in which it might be an advantage. But it would be noticed, whereas that's probably less the case with students in their 20s. And yes, I would say that it's probably safe to assume that the majority of top programs would rather hire a 30 year old than a 50 year old, because they potentially get 20 more years of scholarship and teaching out of them. Exceptions happen, but I've spent time at three top-10 departments, and I can't remember ever seeing a 50 year old assistant professor.
  5. Yale guarantees full funding for all admits for 6 years. First department in the country to guarantee it outright. Feel free to PM me with more questions about the department if you have them. Congratulations!
  6. Come again? I haven't deceived you. I was extremely clear in both the above and a follow-up post that I was not guaranteeing decisions would be released Tuesday, but that the department "expected to be allowed to release decisions on Tuesday." I further stated that this often takes a few days due to faculty travel or administrative hold-ups. Just because you haven't heard doesn't mean that other's haven't. Reading carefully (and not lambasting those trying to help you) will serve you well in grad school, at Yale or otherwise. Then again, I should have known better than to post on here in the first place! It's "let no good deed go unpunished" territory this time of year! Deuces and good luck to you all.
  7. To clarify, current students were informed by the Yale DGS that the dept expects to be allowed to release decisions tomorrow (Tuesday). Typically they have faculty POI's send a welcome note or call, though (or even current students in instances where a grad student knows the applicant, which is common), so this isn't to say that everyone will hear tomorrow. Some faculty are traveling, on sabbatical, etc., which means it could take a few days. But I expect folks will start hearing tomorrow. Fwiw we have not been shut down by the storm; Harvard and MIT seem to be more impacted this winter.
  8. For what it's worth, I'm at Yale and there are some guys in the program here who served as Army officers prior to beginning the program. I think there is a first year who's late 20s/early 30s, and a second year who is mid-late 30's. Both are combat vets and their perspective on IR and security broadly, is from my understanding, very highly regarded and respected in the department. Both of them are working with Jason Lyall, who is a leading scholar on insurgency and has done a ton of fieldwork in Afghanistan. Obviously if you aren't looking to do a PhD anyway, you should go the MA route. But I just wanted to throw it out there because I'd hate to see you pass on the opportunity simply because you think you'd be too old (the avg starting age of this year's 1st year cohort is 27), or because you think you'd be the only military guy. I know a number of other military vets in econ PhDs, etc. It's a good community for the right person. PM me if you want more info. Good luck!
  9. fwiw, barring administrative hold-ups from the Graduate School (GSAS), Yale will be cleared to release decisions Tuesday. If anyone has questions about the program, feel free to PM me. As with most schools, there is a lot of misinformation on this forum and elsewhere about the training and department, especially since a lot of stuff has been overhauled in the past 3-5 years. I hardly ever visit this forum (and my mental health thanks me for it), but am happy to answer private messages. Good luck, and remember, hope dies last!
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