wb3060

Agreed. The uncertainty is driving me crazy.

So if departments do phone calls, is it always a POI?

Congratulations @Jalapeno2257 !

This is really good advice that I'll second. I have heard that it is not unusual for admissions committees to contact letter writers, so I think this is a better avenue to pursue than contacting the department so early on in the notification period.

I think generally there is a lot of debate on this, but I'll put in my two cents. Especially because you are flexible in the type of job you want to end up with, I would say definitely still explore fully funded PhD in programs IF you think the program in question is a good fit for you (I would not advise it if you don't have a good research/faculty fit). I only have anecdotal evidence, but I have heard from people pursuing/working non-academic jobs that having a PhD can really open doors and usually gives higher pay (particularly if working federal jobs, maybe not so much for NGOs). Also, if you are not set on TT jobs, lower ranked schools routinely place their PhDs in more teaching focused programs and sometimes still tenure track jobs (although depends on how lower ranked for this). If you produce an interesting dissertation and have a couple of publications under your belt at a top 50 program, I think you would still have a decent shot at a TT job.

To echo the others, absolutely do the thesis option if you want to pursue a PhD. I've been told by faculty that it is a red flag if you choose to do a non-thesis, as that may bring into question your ability to do research, in long research projects in particular. Plus you may even get a publication out of it!

I think programs understand that the LORs are out of control. But I'd do everything possible to get the third writer to submit on time. Can you go to their office? I wouldn't wait for an email response. Good luck!

I think if you have a strong profile beyond your GREs, you have a good shot. Ultimately, I think other factors can give a better indication of the kind of grad student you will be. Don't worry!

Thanks everyone for all the input. I too have been under the impression that GRE mostly matters as a screening factor (and this is the advice I have received), particularly if you have a good writing sample, research experience, methodological training, etc. that provides more information on these areas. I'm sure though that it varies by program. I imagine GRE quant scores are given more consideration in very quant-heavy programs.

To those people who have gotten informal acceptance emails from DGS, POI, or admissions coordinator, are you replying to those emails? I want to write back to express my excitement about the program but I was wondering what the norm was here.

Ahh you're right, I mean the scaled score out of 170. Thanks for all the info! And I agree, I can't figure out how there could be such a large difference!

Out of curiosity while I'm anxiously awaiting my results... I was looking through profile eval boards. Someone posted their stats and while their quantitative score was only 1 point less than mine, the percentile was 27 points lower (I'm also wondering if there is some kind of mistake here, as this seems too wildly different). I did take the GRE back in 2013, however. So I don't know if something about the time difference / test takers is different in the time frame. Anyway, what matters more - percentile or raw score? I notice people here typically just put their raw score and not percentiles.

Did anyone else apply to Maryland, Georgetown, or UVA for IR? It seems like their results won't be out for a few weeks, but hoping for sooner :/

@GradSchoolTruther I have accepted that I will lose many of my credits. I know I will certainly have to repeat the methods sequence. I'm hoping that about a year (of my two years) will transfer so I only have to take about 2 years of classes at the new program. But I've made my peace with the fact I may have to start completely from scratch. I think ultimately it would be worth it. I am still concerned about the actual admissions itself though. I have heard mixed advice on the willingness of programs to accept transfers.

Hi BFB, How are transfer PhD students considered in the admissions process? Is there an automatic strike against them? I am in the second year of a direct admit PhD program at a lower ranked university (I will complete my master's-in-passing at the end of this semester). I decided to pursue applications to other programs for a couple reasons. Faculty with similar research interests to mine have left. I want to get a more comprehensive methods training than my program offers. I also just want the better prospects a higher ranked program offers. I have done very well in my program thus far and I think my applications will be competitive. But I have heard admission committees are often reluctant to accept transfer students. Thanks!

Thanks so much for your reply - very helpful advice! I originally wanted to go the policy route, but the longer I've been in grad school the more academia appeals to me. I've been worried though that coming from a lower ranked school made it a lost cause, so I am glad to hear it is doable (even if very difficult). Thanks!

Could you talk about how you successfully published 8 times before going on the market? How many of those are single authored vs. coauthored with faculty (or other grad students)? I am currently in a lower ranked program. While the faculty are very supportive in other areas, they don't seem to have much interest in coauthoring with grad students, at least in my subfield. I'm in my second year and am about to send out my first article for review with encouragement from my adviser and other faculty. The prospect of successfully publishing many articles on my own, however, seem quite daunting (although I am certainly going to work as hard as I can toward this goal). Any advice?

I am applying to switch PhD programs upon completion of my master's this year (current PhD student). My first letter will be from a professor I have been a research assistant for since starting the program (with very close research interests to my own). At the end of spring semester he left to work in another (more highly ranked) department. My second letter will be from a professor in my subfield who I've taken two classes with (in the second now). I need advice on the third. I could have one from someone at a much higher ranked department than my own who I've done some RA work for, or I could ask another professor in my department (who could vouch for my methods abilities, but so will my grades in those classes). I'm worried that it will look like I don't have support in my department if only one of my letters is from a professor currently in that department. I'm not sure if the one who left will "count" in that sense. Thoughts?

I think that having a PhD in IR (with a focus on energy policy) would give you more value (and job opportunities) than an energy-specific degree. If you would prefer to live and work in academia in the US, my understanding is that it is very difficult to do so with a PhD earned abroad.

Thanks for the response! I am actually wanting to go the non-academic track (government job, best case scenario via PMF) and I think being already positioned in DC would be enormously helpful. Additionally, some of those schools have more placements in the types of jobs I'm interested in.

I am a direct admit PhD student at a lower ranked school (started directly out of undergrad). I will be getting my masters' at the end of this academic year and I want to jump ship and finish out my PhD elsewhere. It's really difficult for me to tell if I have a chance at getting into the schools I am interested in, so I would greatly appreciate your advice. To be clear, I have completed 1 year of grad school (for the purposes of application), but will have completed 2 years by the time I would start elsewhere. Undergrad info: 3.76 GPA, honors program grad Summer study abroad GRE: 163V, 159Q (I theoretically could retake this, although I would rather not. I only took it once when I was an undergrad and did not study*) Grad gpa: 4.13 (I got all As my first semester, all A+s my second semester) Methods: Very strong in methods, achieved top grade in both semesters, currently in advanced quant GRA: Have been GRA since beginning grad school with great feedback, fully funded LOR: I expect two will be very strong, and one pretty strong SOP: Should be strong, as this is under my control CV: 3 internships (I would consider one a little impressive, other two average), one short-term fellowship abroad Writing sample: I expect this will be strong. I plan on using a paper from this upcoming semester (so not written yet) - but academic writing is one of my greatest strengths. Language skills: none really, although I think I could develop Spanish with a little work as I have taken a lot of classes Applying only to schools in the DC area (GW is my top choice). What concerns me most is that I have no publications or conference attendances (although I have only been in grad school 1 year), no language, and although my GPA is excellent, it comes from a much lower-ranked university (80s). I am the top student in my cohort, but I'm not sure if that will be obvious in my application or not. I don't think that is something I can say in my SOP? But one of my LORs might mention it. But again, low ranked program. *Please let me know if you think my GRE scores will be an issue for funding (with DC schools in mind). I've heard that at top schools at least, you need to be above 75th percentile to be eligible. My verbal was 92nd percentile, but my quant was right at 75.

I will finish my masters' degree at the end of this year and soon will be applying for PhD programs (political science) in the DC area. Do you think it would hurt me to say in my SOP that my career goals are on the gov/think tank track rather than academia? I'm worried it will, but it seems unavoidable. I can't skip talking about my future plans. Thoughts?

Thanks so much for your advice. I think you're right. Part of the problem is my mindset. Having only completed a year, I've spent the last two semesters reading all the really famous works and big theories in the field. And then I think, how could I ever come up with something like that. Maybe part of my problem is not reading enough newer stuff yet. I have actually identified one area that seems to have a gap and is just under-theorized in general. My problem is that I have yet to come up with a good theory. However, this was a fairly recent discovery and I definitely need more familiarity with that literature, so I'm still holding out hope that I could come up with something good there once I pursue it a little more. Also I think another part of my problem is I find so many things interesting within my (broad) sub-field, but I don't have a single area that I find much more interesting than the rest. I think I could be happy doing work in a variety of areas, but since I haven't narrowed it down (although I have some since I began grad school) to something more specific, I keep bouncing from literature to literature instead of just focusing on one. I think this probably is making it harder for me to come up with ideas as well.

I have completed my first year in a PhD program (in the social sciences - 2 more years of classes to go), and I have this dilemma. I did really well my first year. I excelled in all my classes, impressed a few professors, and developed one really good relationship in particular as a research assistant. My problem (which I see as pretty critical as a PhD student) is that I really struggle to come up with original research ideas for papers, my eventual dissertation, or potential journal articles. People always say read the literature... which I am. I read as much as I can, but I have about a million demands on my time (classes, RA and TA work, etc.) and so I can only do so much. What can I do to get those creative juices flowing? How do you guys come up with good ideas for your papers? I feel like whenever I think of something, it has already been done or I think of all the flaws of the idea.