IndEnth
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Posts posted by IndEnth
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Anyone else at the NYU recruitment event tomorrow and day after? Looking forward to meeting you in person!
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4 hours ago, twinsora said:
Looking to work with Simone Chambers, Cecelia Lynch, Kevin Olson and Kamal Sadiq on a Theory/IR project.
Did anyone at UCI ever get in touch with you? I was interested in working with Kamal Sadiq too but told, and I quote, "he's not keen on skype, I don't think that will work out."
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14 hours ago, wb3060 said:
Do you have any ideas how you are going to do this? I've been wondering as well what to write in them....
// also are you doing this for ones where they tell you to fill out an online form with your result?
I'll just write very nice emails, thanking them for their generous offer and the effort they've made to provide me the information I needed to make my decision. And then say that I think my interests will be better served at another place, and that I wanted to inform them early on so they can re-allocate their resources and plan ahead.
And I don't have any where I need to fill out an online form in case I don't accept.
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For weeks, I was dreading receiving rejection letters, now I'm about to write them - and am dreading that just as much. Would have never bet I'd be in this situation one day.
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7 hours ago, TobTob said:
Does anyone who was admitted to University of Maryland know what their standard funding package looks like? Good/bad? Thanks!
Depends on what you consider good or bad, I assume
The offer I got was $17,488.00 as a 5-year assistantship, meaning it comes tied to about 20 hours of work per week. Additionally $5,000 for the first summer. I was told that it's apparently just about enough to get by in College Park. However, it's considerably less than most other offers I received.
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4 hours ago, ultraultra said:
For me, I think it's a few things. I think the biggest disincentive is that I personally didn't find other peoples' SOPs all that useful. I perused some of them too, and imho, the ones that got people into great schools were often quite different from one another, and sometimes they had a whole lot in common with the ones of applicants with less success. It wasn't really easy to parse out some sort of 'perfect SOP formula' from previous SOPs (whereas its somewhat more feasible to determine a 'perfect applicant formula' from info on research experience/recommenders/GPAs/GREs etc). So except for the general structure (of which there are already many examples on this forum and off of it, and which I explained in my results post), I generally didn't think it would really be all that helpful to post my SOP. And I didn't want people in the future to read it over and over again looking for some non-existent magical formula for getting into Harvard. Not to mention that my sense is that SOPs aren't even that important relative to the things you actually put into them in terms of research experience. So altogether I decided that posting a detailed account of my file was more useful than posting my SOP.
As for other reasons... there are a few. Thousands of people lurk these forums, and while I'm a bit nervous about people stealing my ideas, I am much more nervous about someone potentially stealing my SOP, as in copy-pasting it in its entirety and then replacing my accolades with theirs. I write with a somewhat distinct and personal 'voice,' so I found that possibility pretty unnerving. There's also the anonymity aspect. I'm sure if someone knew me well IRL, they could probably figure out who I am from my results post (and actually I recognized a now-friend from their posts here), but I do generally appreciate the shred of anonymity I have to post about my anxieties about the process here, and posting a very personal life story document would undermine that a lot. Related to the fact is that my SOP is basically just me listing all of my projects and accolades, so by the time I redacted enough of it to curb my desire for anonymity, it would have been a shred of a document.
There are a few other minor reasons. but I'd say that's the main rationale.
Cool.
Well, I guess I'd also be a bit annoyed at the thought of someone just copy-pasting my SoP considering how many days of work went into writing this statement, which I also hope does not read entirely generic but reflects me and my style a bit.
But for me I think what has more weight is the fact that as the outsider that I was when I started this process (as in, haven't been a student in so many years, only in Europe and Asia, no mentors/professors/advisers to go to for help, don't know any PhD students to contact, etc.) it just made me feel soooo much better so see a couple of examples of how it's actually done. And of course I didn't think that the clue of how to get into Harvard is hidden in one of those sample SoPs here somewhere. It just was good to know how (un)specific the research questions were worded, how much of the SoP people devoted to their background vs. to explaining their fit, etc. Probably basic for someone who's part of the circus already. But for me, that was all extremely valuable. It also made me assess my chances of succeeding in the application process much more realistically to see where people got in with what sort of SoP/experience/etc.
So yeah, I guess considering all that, I'm very much convinced that I want to post my SoP publicly, even if I'll be the only one.
Consider it me giving back to the community
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2 hours ago, yasir8959 said:
Hello- You had a good cycle. I'd appreciate an opportunity to read your SoP.
I'm not the best person to look at if you want to get into a top-10 program - didn't make it into any of those
But if a decent, still higher-ranked uni is what you're looking for, then I think I booked a couple of those (and several safety unis too).
I'm planning to post my SoP publicly as soon as I have decided where I'll go.
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9 hours ago, Determinedandnervous said:
I didn't post my SOP because I didn't want adcoms from the schools that I applied to to identify me. Anyone can PM me for it though if they wish to see it.
Again, very honest question: Why would that be a bad thing?
(And, follow-up: If they really, really wanted to, couldn't they already from other info on the board?)
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Can I just ask: Why did people stop posting their SoPs on the wrap-up threads? I know it was increadibly helpful for me -- the non-American with only non-US degrees from really tiny no-name places where professors had never even heard of the unis I'm applying to, let alone ever seen an application to any of those places -- to peruse those old samples when preparing my application. I'm sure many of you did the same thing. But then three years ago or so, people seem to have suddenly gotten very secretive about this, and stopped posting them publicly.
Did everyone suddenly get paranoid that someone else would steal their topic? I mean, everyone who got admitted has a topic, so changing tracks and jumping on yours seems unlikely. And next year's applicants are far behind, so there's no way someone could snatch it from you considering that you'll plant your flag long before them.
Or did people suddenly feel insecure about the fact that they got into a good school with an SoP that's actually not magic and witchcraft, but just a down-to-earth piece of work? You got in, so your application was good - there's no reason to be shy about it.
The only other explanation I can come up with off the top of my head is that people didn't want to share to not provide the next generation of applicants with a head-start that they themselves might not have had, which would simply be sad.
Please, people, enlighten me. Am I missing something essential here?
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17 hours ago, Tvent1986 said:
Hey Guys, I was accepted to UMD program. I really would like to talk about the program with one of you. Is any of you considering their offer? What do you know about the program? It was my only acceptance until now, but I would like to have as much as possible information before my decision.
I talked to a couple of professors there (more out of curiosity than because it's actually one of my top choices). It's definitely a decent program, it's just that I have other options that are better fits for me. I'll be happy to tell you everything I know!
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Yup, received my official offer as well. Got an email that told me the offer letter is downloadable on the website. Maybe check the site?
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I know, it's a pain when coming from outside the US. I'm only able to afford it because I'm visiting several universities, and they all make a contribution toward cost, and because I'm working full-time and can thus spend some of my own income on it. Lots of other people don't have that option. Like in many other instances during the process, lack of finances is a real hindrance during the decision-making part.
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3 hours ago, Tvent1986 said:
Any news about NYU Comparative Politics? I saw some acceptances and rejection two weeks ago, but I didnt receive nothing.
I'm NYU comparative, and I got the offer about two weeks ago. Have been invited to the visitation day, which is March 25, have received funding information and have talked to POIs. Don't know what it means if you haven't heard by this point. Maybe you can contact them directly to check?
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50 minutes ago, twinsora said:
I just got mine last evening! No e-mail, just logged on admissions portal.
Just got the email. Six-year funding in form of an assistantship (mostly TA, potentially RA in between), around 20k per year. I don't know what the cost of living is in Irvine, but that seems very little?
I'll turn it down anyways though.
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2 hours ago, springwheel said:
Hey guys i have been checking this forum several times every day since January and I am about to wrap up this season as only 1 school is yet to release its decision. So far, (3a, 10r, 1?).
I was wondering when I turn down an offer, if i have to send emails to all professors who have been in contact with me at the school. I just sent a turn down message to an administrative officer and I am puzzled how I manage to say "Ive decided to choose a better offer.." to professors directly..
You're not obligated to tell them all of course, but if you find them useful connections, I'd suggest you send them a nice thank you mail, telling them how grateful you are for their support and time, that it was a very difficult decision, and that you look forward to staying in constructive and inspiring talks with them.
I've personally been talking to professors at 5 universities, even at schools where I know I won't go, simply because they have that one person who's really good in my field and whom I know I'll meet again at conferences or whose help I possibly could use down the line. So I make sure they remember my face (skype) and my name (and my research interest). I'll let all of them down easily and try to establish good talking relationships. Networking really doesn't hurt in this field.
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18 hours ago, twinsora said:
Was wondering if you received an e-mail from UCI in terms of their funding package. I'm still waiting on mine!
Hey, sorry for the late reply. I haven't received official funding offer yet, but the admissions email said that they'll give me funding for six years contingent on satisfactory progress. Don't know how much that would be though.
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I'd second that and say definitely go to visit. There's some insights you can't get over the phone/through email, including whether you'll like to live in the place, what vibe you get from people at the department, etc.
In general, placement is extremely important. But if it's just a minor difference in placement record between the two (I wouldn't know, but I'm sure you have the data), then that won't help much in the decision.
In my experience, talking to grad students can be very valuable, because they'll often be more frank than faculty who're trying to sell their school to you.
Good luck!
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2 minutes ago, wpg205 said:
I know from a friend's experience that schools definitely reject applicants they think will get in and accept somewhere better. There are so few spots that I think they are very strategic about who they accept.
Awww, you just brightened that rejection for me
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Also, I'm part of the Brown rejection wave too. I really thought I had a shot there, as it's a great fit for my region and topic. And considering that I got into much higher-ranked schools...
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I think my acceptance of any offer is conditional on Trump not becoming president
- Syas, elw and IRTheoryNerd
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8 hours ago, wpg205 said:
I would also like to go to visiting students day, even if I am still in waitlist limbo, just so I can make an informed choice should I be given the decision.
I think you absolutely should. At least if they also susidize your travel - I assume you don't want to pay for it out of your own pocket. But don't discount your waitlisted options just yet. Some people on this forum have admissions to several top schools, so they'll have to vacate spots at some of them eventually. You might get in somewhere after all. And when that happens, you might not have as much time as we all have now to make your decision. So why not get a head-start now?
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Good luck everyone in this (hopefully) last week of waiting and hoping!
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4 hours ago, ezra123 said:
Just out of curiosity from your signature, which program(s) that admitted you this time around are your favorite? P.S., those are some great schools, congrats!
Thank you! I am terribly excited, because they're basically all good fits (they have at least one person working in my area, which is a bit niche).
My definite front runners are NYU and UPenn, not just for the obivous reasons like prestige and funding, but also because they have amazing people in my field.
But I'm still talking to Emory and UMD as well. Funding looks a lot more dire there, but I don't want to discount the dynamic strength of a small department with one or two really great matches right away. Might go and visit all of them in the end.
The UCs unfortunately lack way behind in funding offers (which is a shame, because weather-wise that's definitely more of my comfort zone than the East Coast...).
Welcome to the 2015-2016 Cycle!
in Political Science Forum
Posted
Ok, I'll try again: Anyone else at UPenn tomorrow?