Midwest_PoliNERD

I too have decided to commit to UNC. One of the hardest decisions I ever made.

Just got back from Stony Brook, and it was fantastic. Will be going to North Carolina at the end of March, and then it is decision time!

Hello all, Will anybody admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill be attending the visitation weekend in late March? Just trying to get a count of people I may know. Thanks!!

I hope those URLs worked.

Sorry about that. Here is the url for the paper. I am also posting another paper that may help. http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~gillum/rankings_paper.pdf https://chroniclevitae.com/people/723-robert-l-oprisko/profile/featured_documents/49/download

That is an interesting field of study. As far as the ranking question goes, I have mixed reactions and feelings. Of course, ranking matters to a degree....But so too does fit and funding. Take for example, the above discussion on Stony Brook. Stony Brook is not ranked as high as others, except for political psychology. However, their graduates have found pretty good success in landing tenure-track jobs, better than some high ranked institutions. But, the question is if I specialize in political psychology to such a degree that it diminishes the expertise in related fields, will that turn off potential employers? I do not know the answer to that question. So I would definitely find a program that fits good, i.e. what you are really interested in, but also a program where you can become knowledgeable in other related fields to increase your marketable returns. That's my opinion of late. i am attaching an article too on ranking that may help. Best!! rankings_paper.pdf

Hi elwright, You make good points that I have also considered. i am chatting with a POI at UNC that is making the same points about Stony Brook in that they emphasize depth, but not breadth (i.e. you focus almost exclusively on political psychology and not much else, which is good and bad). Essentially, you are being trained as a psychologist who emphasizes political applications. Other universities like UNC would train you more as a political scientist who knows a lot about psychology. So this a trade off that must be made. I think I will make a pros and cons list too. If you would like, I can message you if you have any questions or just post them here. Always nice to hear from a person facing a similar problem. Hi PizzaCat93, What I would recommend is that if you had to choose between Northwestern and Ohio State, I would go for Northwestern. Here is my thinking: you mention that they have an excellent fit (if you mind sharing, what is your area of interest?) and give you a good funding package, which is a bonus. On the Ohio State front, they may be top ranked, but so is Northwestern. Every list I have seen of top 20-25 schools, Northwestern is on that list. So if you combine the fit, funding, and the pretty good ranking, Northwestern makes sense. I wouldn't make a definitive decision until after you have visited. Feel free to ask anything else. All the best!!

Thanks for the input. I too am leaning Stony Brook. BTW my area of interest is political psychology so Stony Brook is like a hub for that. However, UNC also has a strong political behavior bent and some very well known people. So it is so hard to decide.

Hi All, I am sure others may have asked this question, but I am going to ask it anyway as it is a question I am wrestling with. So of the universities I have been admitted to, I have narrowed it down to three. Two are top 15, the other is top 25. With that said, the first two - UNC and Ohio State - are ranking well and have a reputation in my field. The other, Stony Brook, is also good, just not as highly ranked as the others. What makes this decision difficult is that the Stony Brook program is probably the best fit in that it is tailored to my interests to a tee. It also has well-known people. But, the other two also have a good fit, just not as good. So it really is a battle of ranking vs. fit. Does anybody have any thoughts on how to choose? Or any experience? I can provide further details if needed. As always, Thanks for the help!

Does anybody know when the University of Minnesota will be releasing decisions? They are my last one.

Congrats! That's one hell of an accomplishment!

Congrats my friend!

Well, rejected from Michigan as well as Chicago but accepted to five others. One more in the waiting. Congrats to all the Michigan admits.

Hi friends, I wanted to get some opinions on how best to decide which college to go to. I have been admitted to five universities so far, some are better than others. So with that in mind, what are your thoughts?

Thanks yasir8959! Thanks for the congrats! My letter stated this about the visitation weekend: "Finally, we hope that you will visit our department this spring, so that you can gain a better sense of what we have to offer. Our admitted students’ weekend is scheduled for Thursday evening, March 31 through a brunch on Saturday, April 2. The department will provide reimbursement for up to $400 in travel expenses, if you are able to attend. Please contact our Graduate Coordinator to make arrangements for this event." I'm not sure if you got the same paragraph, but I assume that they will send a schedule later on.

Just got an acceptance letter from the University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill! Has anybody else heard anything? Happy Monday all!

Hey elwright, will you be at the Stony Brook open house March 3-4? Several on this thread will be going and I am just trying to get to know people!

Broadly, my interests lie in political psychology... The nature of ideology, prejudice, and the role of emotions in politics.

Congrats to all the UCLA acceptances!

Got some more admissions from two universities. They are not ranked the best, but it's good to know they liked my file. Hope everyone else is having a good Friday!

Hi everybody! Has anybody heard from the University of Chicago? I hear some did, others didn't. I don't know what to make of it. My application page hasn't changed at all. So any help would be great!

Hello all, So I was recently admitted to two universities out of my total of 8. Forgetting the others for the moment (which I have yet to hear from), I am interested if anyone currently in the Ohio State University Political Science PhD program can talk about (1) the program's funding on average, and (2) the overall quality of the political psychology concentration/faculty/seminars/etc? I am really divided over the two universities (again forget the others for the moment) with the other university being Stony Brook. Stony Brook's political psychology program is, in my opinion, the best in the nation. The faculty, classes, labs, research, etc, is just so superior....But, the living area is very expensive in terms of rent and so on, and the funding is so-so. I come from a lower-middle class background where money matters A LOT! I know about Stony Brook in terms of funding and everything else, but finding info on Ohio State is harder. PLEASE, PLEASE will anybody kindly give me any advice on the above questions or comments, OR any advice in general on the bank, decisions, etc. As always thank you all!

Great! Hope to see you all there too.

Admitted to Ohio State and Stony Brook. Probably going to go to Stony Brook. Anybody else going to Stony Brook in fall?

Thanks for the comment. Just having trouble dealing with rejection, if any. I appreciate your candor. Again, thanks for replying. Means a lot.