Determinedandnervous

I'm happy to say I claim one of those admissions! @Syas Don't lose hope, there were applicants in previous years that did not get an acceptance from OSU until later on.

Thanks! I submitted my application in late November, and it was processed in early December. If anyone else applied later than that or even at the same time, odds are they haven't even gotten close to everyone else's yet. Out of curiosity, what is your research interest within EU politics?

I just got accepted to the London School of Economic's Masters Program in EU Politics! It feels so good to know that I have not been shut out of the admissions process! Congrats to all other admits to political science thus far and here's to hoping everyone here gets into a school they love!

Also, Alberta may have better funding, but UBC will be more likely to get you a job. In the long run, this is more important.

That's certainly an interesting development, considering UT usually gets no shortage of applications. Were there technical difficulties?

Has anyone else been totally psyching themselves out over the process? I haven't even gotten one admissions decision back yet and I am already thinking about the weaknesses of my file/SOP and what I have to do to strengthen it by next cycle.

I would venture to guess that if that's what happened, it is a rare case. The results page doesn't have any cases like it for past years.

I have two questions about the admissions process with the OSU political science department, since I applied there (and I'm now anxiously awaiting the results). They center around the interviews, in particular. 1) If I don't end up receiving a request for an interview, does that mean I'm not in the running for acceptance? I saw someone got an interview request on the results page, and it's making me a little nervous. 2) Who tends to conduct the interviews? I'd like to echo the previous posters in thanking you for answering our questions about the process. You're adding transparency to an opaque process, and that helps us all a lot.

@ll085 Welcome to the forums! I think we're all more than a little anxious, so you're certainly not alone.

Excellent GPA, amazing research, but your GRE's are likely to drag you down at top programs. However, you are overall virtually a shoe-in for other programs.

Just submitted the last of my applications. I am happy that it's over, but now I am fearful and anxious.

Just wanted to say happy holidays to everyone! Everyone at TheGradCafe has been a wonderful help and support in this unique journey, and I cannot thank you all enough.

I'm well aware of this reality, as probably are many forum members. The anxiety over applications and acceptances at this time is probably why you're getting thumbs-down even though you are dead-on with this statistic. My personal plan of making this path a lower-risk venture is by making sure to go above and beyond in methodological training (maybe a masters in stats too depending on whether the program allows that) so that I have some sort of marketable skill if I don't do well in the academic job market.

My application season's not over by a long shot. I still have a few more due in January. I didn't want to submit them the same time as earlier applications since I'm waiting on fall grades and acceptances for conferences, and I want my CV to be as up to date as possible (I got my first conference acceptance yesterday, woo!) In a way, it's a blessing in disguise - the dreaded waiting process won't begin for me until a couple of weeks before acceptances/rejections start going out.

It depends on the school. It can be through email, a phone call, or in MIT's case - snail mail. Sometimes the school has your POI contact you if you get in.

As a middle-class white male with not much in the way of struggle or an interesting life story, I chose not to submit one either for programs (unless it was required as part of a personal history) because I didn't feel I needed that extra stipend money as much as somebody else might need it. However, that doesn't mean that middle class white males who write those statements are shameless. Diversity doesn't just encompass race or gender - it encompasses life experience as well.

I remember seeing in the profiles/SOP's threads of years past that someone consciously went twice over the limit. I think it's more of a "please don't write fluff" measure than a "if you get 501 words you're disqualified from admission" situation.

I always got the sense that even if it's optional, do it anyway. It probably won't hurt.

Your GRE scores are likely fine for that range. However, I would echo what others have said - it's a bit too late to just be thinking about places. Definitely apply to more than 3 - with the level of competition it's very much a crapshoot and perfect candidates sometimes don't get in.

I now have 10 applications out. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's slightly paranoid about doing something wrong and it screwing up my entire application. >.<

My writing sample is what I have so far of my senior thesis (32 pages, though by the December 15 deadlines I will have another chapter done). Depending on writing requirements for each application, I will cut that down or leave it as is. 13 of my schools are in the US (4 top 10, 4 in 11-20 range, 5 mid-tier), and 2 are abroad. I applied to so many for two reasons: 1) I want to cover my bases so that I don't have to apply for a second cycle and 2) Because my topical/regional focus is supported by many universities (political realignments in advanced democracies).

I am also applying to 15 programs.

I have submitted my applications for 5 of the schools I'm applying to. My god, I feel so nervous already. How's everyone else on their applications?

It's possible if the rest of your profile is exceptional, but you might want to apply to a few mid-tier schools as well to be safe. I know CU-Boulder's average GREs were 160V, 154Q for those admitted to the poli sci PhD program.

It's a bit complicated. The experience that you have is good, but your GRE scores are well below cutoffs for top programs. Since many of these top programs have hundreds of applicants, one easy way to whittle down the number of suitable candidates is to put cutoffs on GPA and GRE score. Also, most programs are pretty quant-heavy. Cornell is a good qualitative program, however. You may be better served by applying to a UK university or a better European one, where qualitative research is supported more and GRE scores don't really matter.