maybe

Well, not much. I have finished my MA program, but I was already in the writing phase, so I don't think that made much of a difference - I was going to finish it anyway. I have applied with a different topic, which I think was more "anthropological". Last year, I was interested in a specific form of politics, but had not specified any fields. This year, I offered specific locations and built up my questions from there. I also went to Denver for AAA, but again, I don't really think that it had a huge impact too. I think the change of topic was the key to such radical differences in terms of the outcomes.

Hi all, As other people had already posted, I did not post my results, but I wanted to write to give a sense of the schools I have heard from. This is my second round and I hope that my results would give those of you who didn't make it this year some hope. Last year, I was waitlisted at Cornell, which did not work out. Here's what happened this year: I received offers from Harvard (last Friday), Northwestern (yesterday), Cornell (Feb. 17), and Johns Hopkins (Feb. 11). I am also waitlisted at Columbia, which I have learned through website on Feb. 12. I was also sent an email from a prof. in de department on Feb. 15. I also know that admitted students are invited for campus visit that's taking place this week. If this round did not work for you, please don't give up. I wish all of you the best!