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superboy

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  1. A little left-field here, but this is something you might want to consider before applying to schools in the US. Unlike most universities in the world, political science in America is very quantitative, very strong in statistical modeling and employs very economics-orientated methodology to study politics and power (assuming you are not doing political philosophy which is another sub-field). There are many political scientists that do qualitative work in America, which I believe is the mainstay of the UK political science departments, but for every qualitative political scientist, there are many more quantitative ones. Although many political scientists argue that they do both qualitative and quantitative work (and numerous books and articles have been geared towards marrying both in America's political science discipline), my experience is that most are actually pretty quantitative. Thus I would highly suggest you take some statistical classes (regression analysis, modeling software training etc) to show that you can do political science in America. Also, you need to think about which school to apply to and which professor you want to work with. Finding political scientists who do qualitative research is not difficult, but I have heard one too many complains from international students came to America with non-statistical backgrounds in their home countries. Many of them only realized how much they disagree with the prevailing methodology taught in America which are much less emphasized in other countries. Others left the program because they felt the approach they must undertake would be too top-down and elitist.
  2. Thanks a lot guys, all of your advice in the forum have been tremendously helpful in helping me make my final decision - which is the East Coast University.
  3. thelowendhz, That's really good advice about the financial aspects. I wonder how many people actually end up doing their dissertation based somewhat on their initial interests on entering graduate school? Perhaps one possibility to enjoy the benefits of both programs is to think of a way to visit Cambridge for a summer or a year to work with the professor that has the same interests as me (assuming that my interests persist throughout grad school) if I do decide to go to the Ivy league one. What do you think?
  4. I appreciate all the great advice here =) But what do you think of the issue of interests? In your experience, what is the marginal benefit of having an adviser in your same field with exact same interests (Cambridge) versus having adviser in the same field but having different research interests and time periods (Ivy League)? Do people's interests change when they go to graduate school within the same field? Of course this question should be placed in a broader context with the financial and resource concerns I just cited earlier. At this point of time, I do not know if I will change my interests. However, I remember that when I first went to college, I didn't know that I would be a history major and had so much passion for the subject that I wanted to do it in graduate school.
  5. Hey guys, I am trying to decide between two great PhD East Asian history programs in Cambridge University, UK and a top Ivy league university in the East Coast. While the former has an adviser I would really want to work with who has almost the same exact interests as me, Cambridge traditionally offers much lesser resources (in terms of funding [only 1/3 to 1/2 tuition waver not including living expenses and funding has to be competed for every year from various sources], attention, research grants, library materials etc) than the latter. The latter university does have potential advisers that are peripheral to my interests (in terms of both time periods and research topics), but all of my potential advisers have said they are very willing to work with me on my interests, even though they might not be experts on the field. Another factor to consider is training. In Cambridge, it would be pretty much just working on a dissertation which would be done in 3 years but in the Ivy league university, I will be able to get research, language and coursework training for 2 to 3 years before writing my dissertation. But that also means a longer program. In terms of intellectual community, I guess they are pretty equal with the latter having an edge with a vibrant area studies institute. If I was to go to Cambridge, I would have to pay realistically around 20,000 pounds per year for 2 or 3 years to finish my PhD. For the Ivy league university, it would be pretty comfortable living on a stipend. I have heard mixed things about placement for Cambridge but a very solid placement for the Ivy league university.Do you think my current interests will shift in graduate school? Anyone trying to make similar decisions? If not, which school will you decide on if you were me?
  6. Hey guys, I am trying to decide between two great PhD East Asian history programs in Cambridge University, UK and a top Ivy league university in the East Coast. While the former has an adviser I would really want to work with who has almost the same exact interests as me, Cambridge traditionally offers much lesser resources (in terms of funding [only 1/3 to 1/2 tuition waver not including living expenses and funding has to be competed for every year from various sources], attention, research grants, library materials etc) than the latter. The latter university does have potential advisers that are peripheral to my interests (in terms of both time periods and research topics), but all of my potential advisers have said they are very willing to work with me on my interests, even though they might not be experts on the field. Another factor to consider is training. In Cambridge, it would be pretty much just working on a dissertation which would be done in 3 years but in the Ivy league university, I will be able to get research, language and coursework training for 2 to 3 years before writing my dissertation. But that also means a longer program. In terms of intellectual community, I guess they are pretty equal with the latter having an edge with a vibrant area studies institute. If I was to go to Cambridge, I would have to pay realistically around 20,000 pounds per year for 2 or 3 years to finish my PhD. For the Ivy league university, it would be pretty comfortable living on a stipend. I have heard mixed things about placement for Cambridge but a very solid placement for the Ivy league university.Do you think my current interests will shift in graduate school? Anyone trying to make similar decisions? If not, which school will you decide on if you were me?
  7. Thanks rising star. Really good points about forgoing present income for potential future gains (assuming that there is some presumed linearity in our career path). I guess it also depends on whether you are single, attached, married or have children too. I imagine that singles and married couples without children have more leverage on their stipend amounts.
  8. Thanks for all those answers. It is interesting to hear that many are postponing their long term financial planning to after graduate school - which means that planning for most for the future starts only in the late 20s? I am not necessarily saying that any graduate student can get a stipend that allows them to day-trade (maybe business ones..who knows). But being able to buy some cheap long-term bonds and very low risks CD might be a good way to beat inflation on your dollar? Would anyone share something more specific - like how much do you save per month? Anyone take out student loans to cover your expenses?
  9. How do you guys manage your stipend/fellowship/scholarship? Is financial management of your (very) limited resources different from that of a person going out to the real world to work? Do you feel that you have to take loans to supplement your income at different times of the year? Do you invest your money in mutual funds, money funds etc? =)
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