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It's something to keep in mind. I had a rough go of it last year when two of three people I was interested in working with at one institution were moving (or intending to move within the next few years), at another one was retiring and another moved, and at a third a junior faculty member was denied tenure (and I found out recently that the other person I intended to work with also hopes to move in the next year or two). It's underestimated, and of course completely a function of the state of the job market for juniors looking to transition, or seniors negotiating a place somewhere else. 3 of my 8 applications were wasted - but a lot of these things are harder to find out from the outside. I would be attentive to it during visits when you get to that stage - and don't be afraid to ask.

I'm happy with my application choices - if I receive a funded offer this cycle, I'll go. However if there's no funding, I'll apply again next year.
And if I have the happy problem of having multiple funded offers...well, that'll be a decision I wouldn't mind agonizing over a bit!

Hi all - longtime lurker, first time poster here. Like the rest of you, I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my file (writing fit paragraphs for SOPs, final writing sample edits), and I can't believe that in just a few months we will know the results of all our hard work.
I have a question for other doctoral program applicants: if you don't get into one of your top choices this cycle, will you accept a lesser offer or will you go another round? While we are all anxious to begin pursuing our PhDs, and while the idea of another app cycle already seems painful, there is significant evidence that the "institutional prestige" of one's doctoral program affects one's entire career trajectory. In my case, there is a nontrivial difference in rank between the highest ranked program I applied to and the lowest. Both programs have plenty of faculty in my area of interest and both place their students in TT positions, it's just that the higher ranked one places students much better and more frequently. Would you be equally happy at any of the programs you applied to? Or would you be willing to wait a year for another shot at your first choice?

Sounds like you and I are in the same boat.  Similar GRE but I'll have a M.A. finished in the Spring and I have a few other quantitative bits and bobs in my profile which should help.  I narrowed my search down to 7 schools, but the breakdown of rankings is similar.  Programs didn't even make the short list if they didn't have at least one prof. doing research in my areas of interest.  I know me and I'll be much happier that way.  Getting a good job is all about publishing, anyways, and as long as you're focused on doing as much of that as you possibly can, things will work out.

My GRE score is pretty similar and I am only applying to top 15 institutions. If one of us has to worry, it will not be you.
Good luck to everyone here!

I wouldn't say so unless you use 0in margins and it specifies double-space in the FAQ. As long as you write something meaningful, I dont think that anyone will be bothered as it is in the prescribed range.

Just spent a small fortune sending out GRE scores.

Not forced or irrelevant. Go for it.

My decision to only apply to 4 schools was driven by the fact that I lived in DC and relocating was not an option for my family at the time. It was DC or nothing. Several DC-area schools were not a good fit for me, so I eliminated them. Frankly, I had zero interested in devoting time and money apply to programs where it was highly unlikely that I would receive an offer and I had no interest in attending.
Since, then, lots of things have changed. My husband accepted a temporary assignment outside of DC, in a city we discovered we don't like and do not intend to settle in. We'll be relocating again next July and the nature of my husband's current job is we can go almost anywhere. My options are suddenly much wider than before, but the window of opportunity is small. We don't want to move our kid 3 times in 3 years if it can be avoided.
I'm aware the timing is far from ideal. But the family situation combined with getting an essay accepted for publication two weeks ago got me thinking that maybe I should not have given up despite the rejections.
I made my peace with the rejections. There's no sadness. Just regret that I didn't immediately start thinking about admissions for Fall 2017.

you have a great profile. Don't worry about the private sector experience. It will not hurt you. 

you have a great profile. Don't worry about the private sector experience. It will not hurt you. 

First - having two years of private sector experience is not at all unusual. Most programs quite like it if people are a few years out of undergrad, and having spent those years in consulting is not at all a negative thing. At best it shows you've really thought through your options and know what you're doing in choosing academia, at worst it's just the opportunity cost of more research-related activities you could've been doing. I would say it should be in your SOP, but not as something to apologize for - instead, use it to explain how you came to the decision to go to grad school and try to think of which skills you gained from that experience that will be valuable in your life as a graduate student and academic, and emphasize that.
Regarding that C+, don't even mention it. It was one class several years ago, your grades overall are great, they really don't care. 
There's one thing I think you should think about carefully, and that's the choice between political science and political economy programs. There is not one single meaning of the term political economy. In particular, to some people it means "studying economics issues with political science tools" (which seems to be where you fall) whereas for others it means "studying politics issues with economics methods" (which gets you more to using formal models etc to answer questions that may have nothing to do with the economy directly). Different department lean different ways on this, so it would be worth figuring out (either from the work of faculty and grad students at the institution, or by asking your LOR writers) which places would be a good fit for you on this front.

Does anyone here encounter the issue where anything you write for an SoP just ends up sounding very cliched? Maybe it's just the nature of the beast, but I feel like I keep reaching the point of "mediocre at best" in all my drafts.

You should regard their responses as being professional. They don't want to be negative in case you are admitted, but they don't want to bring your hopes up in case you are rejected. The Cubs won and Trump won...I think you should apply to a wide range of programs as you never know.

Don't know if this helps but I e-mailed one of the programs and asked if I could submit a History paper with implications for IR when I'm applying to IR and they replied it's fine as long as the committee knows what I'm writing about so I guess quality matters more than how related it is to the program you're applying... 

This actually helped me last year. I interned in the Canadian Parliament and it piqued the interest of people at one of the schools I was choosing between. It will likely help you.
 
If you don't have anything else, I'm sure your work experience (if you can spin it as applied/practicum experience) wouldn't hurt.

Thanks! I was shocked by the verbal score. I had pretty much only reviewed quantitative material for the last month, so I really wasn't expecting that!

Congrats on the improvement!

Retook the GRE yesterday, which is a huge weight off my shoulders going into the last month of application writing. My unofficial scores (170V, 154Q) weren't everything I had hoped for (the quant is still dangerously low I think) but my verbal shot up. I'm hoping my AWA will at least match from my last taking of it (162V, 153Q, 5.5AWA). 
But, at least it's done! Time to turn more fully to those obnoxious SoPs...

Apparently, depending on the kind of online storage you use, you can also see who accessed it (to succumb to disappointment if nobody ever looked at the material you carefully prepared).

I included internships in parliament that are related to the subfield I am interested in. It probably hardly matters, but I don't think that it hurts either.

I included work experience because I've worked as management in a store and lead teams/groups of people.
Might be relevant fr teamwork/initiative. 

I'm in a similar boat. I have had some experience with helping others overcome barriers to education, but I'm going to have to stretch it. I talked to one retired faculty member from the Sociology department at my university, and he said if this part of your application is unremarkable then it shouldn't hurt you; however, if you do have experiences you can talk about or came from a "rough" background, then that might help. I think other parts of the app (statement, letters, grades, GRE scores, etc.) should weigh more, but this is mere speculation. 

One approach to consider is finding a few journal articles that really intrigue you and tracing back from there - see what universities the authors are at and where they did their PhDs - to find programs that might have people working in your research areas.

I had something under review when I was applying. I got into 7 schools, so I don't really think it will hurt you. They aren't expecting you to be this political science genius right out the gate, so even if the thing that you submitted (if you use it as your writing sample) isn't that great, you'll at least get points for being professionalized enough to understand enough of the academic publication process to submit somewhere.