curiousgeorge84

Haha. I'm not talking side jobs, I'm talking full-time professional positions. I know someone who went through the CUNY program and worked a full-time job and went to school. I actually work in university administration and when applying to CUNY I decided that if I were to attend I would probably keep my day job.

By the way, I don't know why you think it's ridiculous to hope they'll accept you. You have good stats and experience. Have confidence that things will work out OK:) I didn't see anyone else claim an acceptance so it's not like they sent out a whole bunch already. Just wait a little longer and I'm sure you'll be in somewhere for the fall.

Last year when I talked to Eva Bellin, who I think you would be working with given your interests, she said the funding was not very good. I think the reason that most of the classes are at night is because most students work during the day, which might make it take longer to graduate. I think their top funding is $18,000 and not everyone gets it. After taxes that is not enough money to live in NYC without taking out loans or working. She also said the school makes students work really hard for their money, sometimes teaching 3 classes in a semester. I guess its good teaching practice though.

Be careful when people suggest Brooklyn because a lot of Brooklyn is not OK. Brooklyn is cheap though, so if you're interested try Williamsburg, which is an up and coming area with a lot of young people and great cheap restaurants like SEA. You'll pay $900 or $1,000 for a studio or 1 bedroom apt. When you calculate your expenses for NYC, remember that a monthly metro card is $89. Harlem is slightly cheaper with 1 bedrooms running around $850 or $900. Also, be careful where you are in Harlem and stick to the West Side. Stay away from East Harlem.

It was a phone call from Joe Rollins-the Executive Officer of the Political Science Department. I missed the call because I was in a meeting but his message said I was being extended an offer of admissions, he'd be back in the office next week, and I should call back to talk about the program. He also said I'd get the official offer next week, I assume through the mail but I don't know. I'll be turning it down even though the 4+ hour round trip commute from my apartment in NYC to Rutgers is going to seriously suck.

It's completely ridiculous. A lot of rejections go out on Friday. Given that people are already arranging to attend their open house, I'm hoping to receive their official rejection tomorrow

Thanks everyone! Ziz, I think I'm going to go with your suggestion. It saves me from an awkward conversation and he said I would get the official acceptance next week so I won't have to let it sit around too long keeping it pending. It would still be nice to hear about the program though I've already met with my potential advisor and I have a friend who is a professor who went to the program and I spoke with his advisor. Anyway, Keller65 thanks for your input and I'll let you know next week if it comes by mail or email.

It was by phone, not the official letter. It might just be because even though the deadline was February, I submitted mine in December. Don't read too much into it. I got into another school over a month before everyone else by phone. It doesn't mean they're offering out most of the admissions now.

Well he asked that I call him back, so what do you suggest I say? I want to leave the slot open for someone else, but it's strange to reject the offer over the phone without receiving it in writing.

My acceptance today was from CUNY

I need some quick advice from anyone or everyone. I just missed the call and got a voice mail from the Chair of a department offering me admissions at his university, but I already accepted somewhere else. I have to call him back. What do I say and how do I nicely decline the offer. It's really nice that they do this personally, but I'm glad I missed the call because I hate getting stuck in these surprise situations.

By the way, I have been polite with them throughout as I work in university administration and handle applicants. However, the way applicants are being treated at Columbia would not be tolerated at my school, particulary with the insane application fee that is charged.

Let me clarify a bit. I was accepted very early into another program and have been under a bit of pressure to accept. They were kind enough to sweeten an already good funding package for me and because of all their efforts were really expecting a reply so that if I wasn't going to take it that someone else could be funded. I called Columbia's political science department and instead of just telling me that they were still reviewing or whatever they wanted to say, they told me to consult graduate admissions because they are handling acceptances and rejections. I didn't need them to check my personal file, I just wanted to know if the acceptances and waitlists were complete. Now I need to know if I'm rejected or if I should remove my name from consideration. The person with whom I spoke at admissions today gave me this man's number and told me to call him. My problem is that I'm being given the run around when all they need to tell me is we haven't made a decision, we can't tell you about the decision, or you are officially rejected because we have already set up visiting dates and even the waitlist. I just think it's odd not to answer the phone for two weeks. What if I had a problem with my application or something.

I give up on Columbia and from the way they treat applicants I decided I didn't want to go there and accepted somewhere else before hearing from them. I emailed the admissions officer who handles political science 10 days ago and he didn't get back to me. No one has picked up the phone for two weeks in their office. When I called today, I got a receptionist who takes over the phones when everyone is at lunch and he gave me the guy's private number and told me to call at 2:00pm. The guy still didn't answer his private phone and didn't return my phone message. I think they don't really care and are taking people's money and running with it.

Sorry you guys. I didn't want to be a total downer. My parents have both worked at the U.N. over 30 years. That's where they met. It's just a lot harder to get in than it used to be. Never go in as a general service. Always go in as a professional, which requires at least an M.A. or you'll have trouble getting promoted once you get your graduate degree. It's not impossible to get a job there now, it's just quite a bit harder, particularly because they also have country quotas. Each year the national exam is only offered to people from specific countries. Last year the U.S. was on the list so you have to wait until your country is on the list again. Again, it's not impossible to get a job there and the benefits are fantastic (medical, 6 weeks vacation, etc.), but the politics of getting a job there can make very difficult. Interning can help if you can get a well connected mentor who likes you while you're there. He/She can let you know when a position is 'really' open or when something is about to open.

Good luck trying to work for the UN. My father has worked in HR for the UN for over 30 years and everytime they post a job, it's already taken by someone already in the organization or someone with connections. It's not really an open system. Even when you take the national exam there are always politics involved.

I double majored in International Relations and Middle East Studies. Almost every class I took was for one or the other. I sometimes wish I had branched out a bit more.

I'm going into the Political Science program and I liked it. The professors were really great and showed an interest in my research interests and I think they offer a lot of professional support. The campus isn't the prettiest and is kind of spread out, but they have university transportation and for the PhD you really are only going to one place anyway. I was talking to someone on the train doing his PhD in geography and he said by the third year, a lot of people commute from New York and Pennsylvania. I'm going to commute from NYC from the beginning and there is a university bus that picks you up right from the train. Only 45 minutes from NYC!

Yay! I talked to the Vice Chair when I went to visit and he said they are doing a lot more grant writing and getting students on board so that they get part of the grant. I also heard from one of the students that after the first year, if you want to teach you usually can and they pay pretty well per class.

Because my husband makes the money that will support us while I do my PhD, I was confined to commuting distance, which unfortunately only allowed my to apply to some of the top 7 and then 48 and up. No medium ranked schools, which I probably could have gotten into = ( I couldn't apply to NYU or Stonybrook because the programs were too far from anything I wanted to study. I then found schools that had professors focusing on my region and chose 6, the number of applications I could afford. However, if you aren't confined to an area, I suggest choosing reach, level, and safety schools that have professors focusing on the same topics or regions in which you are interested. Also, check out their placement rates and where they are placing.

amandaimeparis. Did you hear about funding from Rutgers yet? Where else have you been accepted? I don't want to be by myself there = )

Here are my thoughts on Columbia given that many acceptances went out last week and they only updated some people's status in the past couple days. 1) They were so backlogged that they never got their act together and took some people's money and never gave a good look to the application 2) They only update people's status before they are about to send them an answer. I have a feeling there will be mass rejections tomorrow. I really don't see the possibility of more acceptances given the number of acceptances last week and waitlist as well. You don't decide the waitlist before the acceptances.

Columbia has just been a mess this year. They got their application out later than everyone else and it was full of grammatical errors. I don't know if you saw on the results search but someone said they heard from Columbia professors that all the acceptances have been sent out. I think they're just too disorganized to send out the rejections. They couldn't find my transcripts until three months after they were sent because they were in a "large stack" of unfiled paperwork.

Hey all! I accepted for Rutgers-New Brunswick. Anyone else?

I think that either approach will work. It really depends on the school, the person who is reading it, the mood of the person who is reading it on that particular day etc. I just suggest writing in a way that you don't have regrets. I decided that if I share something personal and they don't like me for it then I don't want to be at the school anyway because then they don't like me. It's just as important that you like the school as it is for them to like you. If you can't come up with something interesting and personal to say or you think the program really doesn't care then don't write personal. There is a reason why Columbia only allows 500 words. However, I believe (and I'm not an expert) that when the essay is 1,000 words or more, they want a bit more personality, a bit more about you, and what makes you different (along with your academic focus etc.).