elw

Whether there are other potential advisors is extraneous to the topic at hand, which is whether it is impolite to ask if a particular faculty member plans to remain at the institution.

Had a great first visit. But it's a super tiring process. These next two weeks are going to be the death of me. Ditto. Funding is typically guaranteed for 4-5 years and contingent only on success in meeting program requirements. It is very important to have package details in writing — informal agreements and assurances aren't reliable.

It's fine to ask, senior and junior faculty. These are legitimate concerns for graduate students.

Depends entirely on the individuals. Could be mostly about their research, or yours, or the program, city, etc. Safe to read up on a few of their recent publications to get a notion of what they've been working on.

I do consider myself fortunate in this respect. The first program I heard from in mid-January was a solid option. Since the old folks are outing themselves here finally — I'm 31 and never considered academia/graduate school as an undergraduate. The best possible scenario when applying to doctoral programs is to have a choice of programs, and I would generally recommend people in their 20s considering a second round of applications for whatever reason to do just that. You'll have that much more time to weigh your options, and, if going another round, to create a stronger application.

Don't leave me hanging all by myself in ultraultra's wrap-up thread, guys! I feel conspicuous!

Congratulations! I like many faculty research interests at IU, and the city of Bloomington receives high marks from people I know with experience there. (But it is not among my top choices at this juncture.)

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Liberal arts college Major(s)/Minor(s): Double-major Writing & Politics '07 Undergrad GPA: 3.04 Type of Grad: Master's Political Science '16 Grad GPA: 3.93 GRE: V167/Q155/AW4.5, V163/Q161/AW5.5 Any Special Courses: Scopes & Methods, Stat Methods in Research, Applied Longitudinal Stats Letters of Recommendation: Three from faculty in the master's program, two of whom I've worked rather close with, includes the DGS and department chair. Research Experience: Standard summative research projects for graduate courses; independent project involving an experimental survey of undergrads. Teaching Experience: Teaching assistant for intro IR and American courses. Subfield/Research Interests: American/behavior/psychology Other: Professional experience writing and journalism in the interim between undergrad and graduate level. RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): Six funded offers, three with additional fellowship money (from several hundred to $8k annually). Waitlists: 0 Rejections: 4 Pending: 1 Going to: Staying in the Northeast or heading to the Midwest LESSONS LEARNED: Fit fit fit. Brevity in the statement of purpose, levity while you wait for decisions. Pay more attention to real-life advisors and less to online forum posters.

March 24 — I missed the call and have a voicemail.

I currently have four visits planned over two weeks (scheduling worked well) and one I had to decline. Wouldn't be opposed to one more, but I'm likely set.

Good discussion folks!

UW-Madison prospectives should know to ask about the departmental climate.

I would consider it a rejection.

My better conscience got the better of me and I declined the Michigan State offer in the hopes that it will assist another.

You should ask UCSD.

"The page you are trying to access is not available for your account."

NRC r-based rankings show a greater discrepancy between Northwestern and OSU, for what it's worth. The printout I have places Northwestern at #30 (high) and #55 (low) and Ohio State at #7 (high), #20 (low). PHDs.org (also NRC, but apparently a different year) is 9-22 and 24-42, respectively. Not to get hung up on rankings. Other considerations: For better or worse, Northwestern's "private" status carries a prestige boost over OSU, which faculty from the latter will readily admit. Ultimately, the three of us are in really good positions, and I think our visits to each university will be illuminating.

I take issue with the tone of the original poster, not the importance of past placement.

Few thoughts since I'm in the... same exact boat with Stony Brook. Stony Brook's placements are very strong and faculty publications are top-notch in the political psychology subfield (as the OP knows, this is mostly for others' reference). It was definitely one of my top choices when I began this process last fall, and it remains that today. I would be quite interested in a political psychology/behavior ranking that took into consideration placements and publications: Stony Brook would be 'top five' in such a listing, in my opinion, and people in the discipline know this. The program is not low ranked for its specialization. The caveat that I (and my advisors) have with Stony Brook is its "niche-yness". Question to ask: Are you absolutely certain this is the trajectory you will follow? Are you really into experimental methods? Is there any chance your research interests change over time? Universities and other potential employers know what they're getting when they consider a Stony Brook graduate. That can potentially be double-edged. I know of a current Stony Brook student here, and another first-year who decided against Stony Brook in favor of an alternate program (UVA) that you may wish to reach out to. See you at the open house!

OP - Honest question: From what position of authority do you speak from?

Great advice — should make a "best of" thread.

++ Generous acceptance package from University of Minnesota.

Getting additional research experience would be a good goal. The writing sample, recommendation letters, and statement of purpose are crucial - have advisors look the latter over for comment. Read others' statements. Keep prepping for the GRE and get both scores over 160. If you're interested in quantitative work, a statistics course is a good suggestion, and the quantitative GRE section becomes more important. The thing that has less to do with your application but the most to do with long-term success according to most folks is ensuring good fit with the programs you'll apply to.

Assuredly!

Also behavior/psychology: Opinion formation/change (esp. "truther" or conspiratorial beliefs), partisanship, prejudice.