PoliSciGuy00

Hi All. I'm sorry to say this, but I'm claiming a Cornell admit. Had the god awful GRE quant score, 152. Fit matters, obviously. Also, this process seems incredibly idiosyncratic, lol. IR subfield. Domestic student. Admit letter said they had 326 applicants. *edits* I (will) have a respected grad degree, so I think that helps too. Also a strong grad GPA and good research experience and LORs. But, wow. I didn't think a Cornell admit was possible with my GRE scores.

Wow, Georgetown acceptance! Anyone claiming it? I'd love to attend that program, but seeing as Daniel Nexon said they accept only 2 people for IR, I think it's really unlikely I'll be admitted, lol.

I applied for the Security Studies cluster! No idea how competitive I am, these public policy PhD programs seem to want somewhat different things than traditional political science doctoral programs. I guess we'll see in a few weeks...

A great question. I also couldn't find a more relevant threat for public policy PhDs. I applied to WWS, Duke Sanford, and HKS, and haven't heard a peep. Scrolling through the results of previous years, this doesn't seem to be abnormal. I think we'd be lucky to hear something by March 1st.

Keep your head up, man. We're rooting for you.

As someone who was also accepted at Minnesota and is talking to several POIs at the school this week, I would second this notion. I've heard from alumni and at conferences that this department is unusually welcoming and supportive. Will you be going to admitted students day??

Columbia troll on the results page should try a different school. Give Harvard or MIT a shot.

Hi All, Sorry to be that guy, just curious if any of the UChicago admits are in the IR subfield. Trying to decide if I should hold out hope for a bit longer or chalk up UChicago as a rejection. Thanks!

Well, it's a new week. I'm really hoping on some movement from MIT or UChicago today!

Then again, I've been fooled by trolls before (grrrr.. Columbia) But, this is consistent with their schedule last year. My UChicago portal hasn't changed...

Wow!!! UChicago dropped! Anyone claiming it?

God, yes. I would love to hear a yay or nay from MIT or UChicago today.

Hmmm, a little quieter than I thought it would be today on the results page...

Wow! I can't believe Columbia acceptances were fakes! They had me fooled...I was nervously checking my portal last night. I agree about MIT. If history is anything to go by, acceptances should be coming out today, tomorrow, or possibly early next week.

Ditto. Nothing for me, either. Portal unchanged.

Woa! Anyone claiming Columbia? I know we've seen some Columbia trolls this cycle. My portal is still unchanged..

Hi All, I am claiming the Minnesota acceptance with the horrible quant GRE score (152). I would echo what people on this forum have said, fit with the department is very important. Good luck to everyone!

Thank you so much! I will definitely try this.

Hi Everyone, Congrats to all that got in. I was also accepted to SIPA, but with no scholarship money.. That said, I have two questions and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/experience that could be helpful. I’ve been offered some funding at GW, and while it isn’t much, it still makes the program roughly 20K less expensive each year than SIPA. Would it be worthwhile to contact SIPA and ask if they’d be willing to give me some funding? Additionally, looking at the SIPA admissions blog and GradCafe, it seems SIPA is more generous with funding for second year students. Can anyone attest to this? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Also, I'd love to PM sometime to get your perspective on Fletcher! As I said, I'm just one year out of college...so I'm still trying to figure this all out after leaving the cocoon of my rural SLAC.

Oh wow! This is very interesting. Some perspective, first. I'm currently about a year out of college, graduated from an Elite SLAC, an am now working as an intern in the House. I was bored this afternoon so decided to browse around the internet. As a caveat, I've only been here since January, but I've got lots of friends who work as interns and research assistants in think-tanks around DC. As far as I can tell, I think if you are looking to work in think-tanks, a degree from CIR would really help you, possibly more than a degree from Fletcher. Most employers that I've come across don't seem to distinguish much between institutions. They will care about you having a masters degree, and will be impressed that it is from a prestigious institution like UChicago. Research experience and relevant classes will help, and UChicago will certainly help you with those two things. Especially if you're looking to possibly pursue a Ph.D., a degree from CIR could really help you as well. I'd stick with Fletcher if you're passionate about someday working in diplomacy. But if think-tanks and academia is what you're searching for, I think a degree from CIR could really help you. For what it's worth, I'm looking into CIR for Fall 2017 and beyond. The theory-rich program looks very appealing to me, as well as the small class sizes. Many people on this forum also seem to have good things to say about CIR. Even if you ultimately discover policy is what you want to do, I don't think attending CIR will prevent you from doing that.