pizzasto83

I've lurked on the forums the entire application cycle and feel like I should give something back for those who will apply next year... PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Top 20 private school Major(s)/Minor(s): International Affairs Undergrad GPA: 3.83 Type of Grad: -- Grad GPA: -- GRE: V163 Q166 AW 5 Any Special Courses: 4 economics, 1 statistics, several graduate seminars Letters of Recommendation: 2 tenured or professors in the Government department; 1 adjunct professor who works at State with overlapping regional focus Research Experience: 2 semesters RA, 1 research internship, standard senior thesis. Teaching Experience: Working as a foreign language teaching methodology trainer in the Peace Corps Subfield/Research Interests: Comparative Other: I've spent 2 years in the region I'd like to focus on with the Peace Corps and am proficient in 3 languages I hope to use for research RESULTS: Acceptances ($$ or no $$): UW Madison ($$), UC Berkeley ($$), Columbia ($$) Waitlists: - Indiana Rejections: Stanford, Michigan, Yale, Harvard, NYU, Princeton, WashU Pending: - Going to: Columbia LESSONS LEARNED: - Think hard about where you want to apply. I wasn't phased at all by 3/6 rejections I received, I think because I realized (during? after?) the application process that these schools didn't have a great fit and weren't in places I wanted to live. Looking back on it, I wish I hadn't wasted the time applying (and I didn't even pay for my apps because of my financial situation as a Peace Corps volunteer) - My letter writers told me my SOP was quite strong, but it was definitely a process -- get a current graduate student to read over it and add notes. Mine was lovely in the sense of its prose until a 1st year read over it and ripped it apart; only after that was I a lot more pointed in describing why I wanted to study at a particular university (address research institutes, pots of money, professors' current projects). I think my SOP was fairly strong, and I’ve been told as much by a number of professors (including one at a program that did not admit me). In terms of crafting a research question, I followed passion and borrowed "buzzwords" taken from scouring faculty/student profiles that aligned with my interests. - I took the GRE 3 years ago after studying for 2 weeks my senior year of college; if you're a senior but aren't sure about applying this year, take the test NOW while you're still in school mode and sit on your nice score until you decide to get serious about applying. SOP: Layout: 1st ¶: Stated my intended program and subfield at X university 2nd ¶: Explained my background in a multidisciplinary undergraduate program for international affairs, and how it led me to believe that my subfield is the best way to approach questions that pique my curiosity 3rd ¶: Breakdown of my undergraduate thesis and the theories I tested 4th ¶: Summarized how my thesis developed over 2.5 years with multiple summer research trips, which has prepared me for graduate-level work 5th ¶: Strength of my language skills 6th ¶: How Peace Corps has challenged beliefs I developed in undergrad and confirmed my love of the region 7th ¶: Proposed a puzzle about the relationship between nation-building and state-building in post-communist contexts 8th ¶: X, Y, Z professors I want to work with at this university and addressing exactly what aspect of their research interests me 9th ¶: Future plans (literally 1 sentence)