ralphwiththeconch

I'd think the likelihood is pretty low to nothing, unfortunately. When you start getting into the top few programs, it's a pretty limited number of people who can shift around and choose to go elsewhere....You might have already done this, but you could also write to the professor that you wanted to work with? I did and the professor seemed regretful but pretty final that they have their cohort in place. I'm sorry but I hope things work out for you in the end!

If you're still waiting on a response from a particular school, I suggest you email the DGS since they know they'll receive inquiries around this time and should update you. Some students get extensions until shortly after April 15 to make a decision, which means that waitlists might move after the deadline (but I doubt it'll take longer than a week). I do know that Yale filled all their seats already and no one got off the waitlist.

I thought I'd share some interesting info about wait lists that I learned after emailing one of my schools (though I'm not sure if this is the same across schools). It sounds like the decision and ability to pull from the waitlist depends less on the program or department, and more on the grad school. So, for instance if someone declines a seat in the Poli Sci department, the open spot doesn't necessarily go to another Poli Sci person on the waitlist; it's up to the graduate school's discretion. They may shift the open spot to, say, Anthro or Econ or another program in the same graduate school instead. I had no idea that they did it like this (and it's probably not too comforting) but I thought it would be good to share. Regardless, best of luck to everyone still waiting!

Oh thanks for this info! A day or two turnaround to decide sounds tough. Good luck to you too!

Congrats guys on accepting offers By the way, have any of y'all who chose to stay on wait lists heard any movement on wait lists? It's getting close to the deadline...

Your profile sounds pretty strong - if you're concerned about your research experience, see if you can find a summer research job after graduation or extended work with a professor before you apply. It takes some perseverance, but some professors are happy to have some help in the summer months (though be careful you aren't spending too much money just to do this, since most gigs like this are not paid). Also, your LORs don't need to come from professors with research interests that are close to yours or even people in the same subfield (none of mine were, and some were not even in the same department), but they should come from professors who know you well beyond the classroom (office hours are good!) and can speak to your strengths and promise as a scholar. Good luck!

Hi! I spoke to a number of Public Policy PhD students during my application process (I had considered it at a time), and my impression from those conversations was that programs are rather competitive - if mostly because most are quite small - and quant skills are important to demonstrate. There are more econ majors in Public Policy programs than I had expected, so I'd try to bump up your quant GRE score in particular, and verbal skills can be improved pretty dramatically by studying the vocabulary that is tested on the exam. You might also try reaching out to current students in programs that you applied to if their contact info is online and they are willing to talk, or a possible better option is to reach out to the affiliated MPP programs to ask for introductions to their PhD students and offer pointers as well. Good luck!

Agree with @StrengthandHonor - you should consider an MPP or MPA. You might also want to look into Harvard Kennedy School's MPA/ID program, which is more academic than the MPP but still focuses on applied knowledge.

Congrats on your acceptances! What do you hope to do with your degree? You may want to speak with folks in the field with this question. My take is that Syracuse is well-recognized as a leader in pub administration, while Brown is not so much. But you really should check with more knowledgable people.

Same. Got an offer for fully-funded MAPSS, but I don't quite understand what this program is.

Yeah I was surprised it was so small. I don't know what that means for this year's cohort though. I can say that the student I talked to seemed to be very happy with the program

Still waiting for the official UChicago response, but wanted to share some intel I got from a student there - the cohort size has gotten much smaller in recent years (15 people in 2011 vs. 8 people in 2016) and there has been a lot of turnover in faculty. The student mentioned that there is a major hiring shift going on. I don't know the specifics, but I thought I would share in case it might be helpful to anyone (i.e. if you are attending, make sure your POI isn't about to leave!).

@Stillhereism congrats!!

Official Penn acceptance letter arrived today (in the online portal) - I know someone was asking about this on the results board.

I'm also still waiting for Chicago to tell me that I got rejected...(I opted not to be considered for the MA). But I am so unwilling to email and solicit that rejection directly lol

I would agree with @VMcJ - Cornell is a very reputable program, if you don't mind living in Ithaca. There's also no guarantee what will happen after you get your MA, since the variables all change for each cycle (who applies, how competitive the round is, whether funding gets cut for programs, etc.). I actually know someone who turned down a PhD to do a Master's at his ideal institution, hoping to get into the PhD program afterwards, and was unfortunately not accepted to the PhD at his Master's institution. The only thing that would convince me to recommend the MA offer is 1) if it is fully funded (cost of living in NYC is extremely high), 2) if you think you can gain some substantial training in it and some career clarity, and 3) if you would be happy with an MA if you were not accepted into your preferred PhD program in the following cycle.

I hate that I am constantly refreshing it! But fingers crossed for all of us.

I made an assumption, since the joint program has Soc and Gov as part of the Committee. But to be honest, I have no idea if that translates to the GSAS departments in notifying us. So I don't want to give any false impressions.

Omg I know. From the looks of the results board (taken with a grain of salt), it looks like Sociology has started informing their rejects. Hopefully that means Harvard Gov might be coming soon with news.

@Bibica They emailed me with a notification of the wait-list. I think the joint programs came out earlier. Still no word from the GSAS department though.

@HermioneWannabe My other waitlist is at Harvard (in the joint program with Government and Social Policy). I applied at AP but my subfield is a bit nebulous, mostly focused on social policy and corporate political actors. What about you? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all of us!!

@HermioneWannabe It's awesome you have an acceptance that you're happy with! I saw earlier that you're thinking of going to Columbia - I worked there for a summer with poli sci profs, and it was great. It's a beautiful place to study. And yes, an answer is better than radio silence, for sure. I'm just really really hoping that I get off one of my waitlists, both are at my dream schools.

@HermioneWannabe I just got waitlisted at Yale too. Second waitlist...this is killing me! But glad it's not a rejection, at least. Fingers crossed, and sending so much love to whoever has an offer and decides to go elsewhere

Can I just say thank you to all the folks who are making calls to the departments and then updating us? Y'all are awesome.

@The0ry ah ok, mine was a notification that I have been "offered a place on the program waiting list" so I'm guessing it is an official waiting list. I just need the paper letter, but I'll probably call if I don't see it after the end of this week. And if only they left off the "waiting list" part... Good luck with Brown!!