xinguin

This might mean you're on the waitlist for the waitlist - so a long shot. I know CUNY does this. 

News for my fellow applicants waiting it out for Hopkins:
I reached out to their amazing program director to inquire about their hopeful timeline and was informed that they are still working though the final list and will be notifying folks near the end of the month.  So my earlier prediction -- based on years past -- that the first round would go out this Friday (tomorrow) looks to be incorrect. In any case, I hope this is helpful and will take some pressure off of their program admin in case some of you were also thinking of inquiring. 
I've played this waiting game 4 times now: one failed attempt during last year of undergrad, one for an MA that I ended up leaving, another for the MA I recently finished, and now. It never gets any easier.  The anguish is almost too much to bear. With that, I give my utmost condolences to those caught up in the Columbia debacle. That really is inexcusable. Folks in this forum know the desperation of this process and how just one acceptance can be a nothing short of a life boat in a stormy sea. I am so sorry. Whoever was responsible should be held to account. 

No idea! Last I heard, they had narrowed it down to a handful of applicants. They also received a historic number of applicants this year... 

Looking for methodological diversity is more of a PSI thing. There's already a ton of grad students doing qualitative work - but it's ultimately about who applies and who accepts, right? PGSC looks more for regional interest in applicants, like what part of the world you're interested in studying. The divide between the two divisions is pretty substantial - PGSC is heavily theoretical and usually attracts people who intellectually work in Marxist tradition. PSI tends to be more about (domestic) public policy and policy-related issues like family, educational inequality, etc. The department is pretty small, so you have to be sure you know what you want to study. But there's also a lot of opportunities to collaborate with other departments like public health, education, etc.  
And yep - rumor has it they're looking for 6 people this year, as opposed to the normal 4. But the new funding system (which is pretty hefty - same as other private elites) still applies to the new cohort. Hope this helps! 

Sigh, it never ceases to amaze me how trigger happy you all are and eager to one up another poster. First, noticed I prefaced the post with the qualifier "this early".
Second, what is it, like a handful of LRM programs who do these mandatory interviews for everyone? Interviews still won't happen for the vast majority of North American applicants, unless you are disproportionately applying to these LRM places...which i guess everyone on this board is doing. Anyone wants to take a guess as to why applicants to top programs don't post here?