deutsch1997bw

This. I was on the waitlist at a very prestigious graduate program last year (top 10), but I was rejected from all of the top 25 and beyond programs I applied to. It's very random.

When did you find out that you had been placed on the waitlist? I was wait-listed at my top program last year. I found out about this on February 15. I sent a follow-up email regarding the waitlist approximately one month later, in which I mentioned that this program was my top choice. Waiting really sucks, but give it time. I hope everything works out for you!

I was on the waitlist for CP at UNC last year, and I did not find out about my status until April 14. I, too, was told that, based on previous years, I had a good chance of being admitted. I was ultimately not accepted.

I was asked to describe my current research. That was the easy part. The difficult question was: "Why political science?". I was not expecting that question. Isn't it obvious why I'm applying to graduate school in political science and not, for example, anthropology?

I wouldn't do anything. Waiting sucks, but it is what it is. And I write this as someone who was in a similar situation last year. Sending an email to the program asking about your status might signal to the admissions committee, among other things, that you don't have enough patience and therefore aren't mature enough to enter a graduate program. Good luck!

I had an interview with UW-Madison around that time last year and, if I recall correctly, I heard back approximately 1.5-2 weeks later. I was told by one of the professors that interviewed me that they would take three weeks to make decisions after interviews, though.

Hopefully today we'll hear something. The waiting game is preventing me from concentrating on ~200 pages of reading that I need to complete by tomorrow!

I think we'll find out either today (so sometime in the next two hours) or tomorrow.

Does anyone know what time of day we should find out (i.e., morning, afternoon, etc.)?

I read something about this on the CLS Applicants FB page. My understanding is that the shutdown will not affect when decisions are released. Hopefully we find out sometime this week. In previous years, decisions have been announced (primarily) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

January 12, I believe.

I was interviewed by the admissions committee at UW-Madison last cycle.

I had this issue with one of my letter writers last cycle. All of the institutions I contacted regarding the late letters were fine with it.

Michigan, Ohio State, and Minnesota come to mind...

When I applied to programs in Fall 2017, I was wait-listed at UNC-Chapel Hill (#11) and interviewed at UW-Madison (#14 or something like that). My GRE Q score was substantially lower than yours. I had really strong LORs (one d my letter writers was a fairly well-known methodologist) research experience, and conference presentations. So, in other words, other aspects of your application can make up for weak GRE scores.

You have an otherwise pretty excellent profile. I wouldn't be too concerned.

I presented at MPSA in April. I was still an undergraduate at that point. Undergraduates are only allowed to do poster, not oral, presentations. It was a fine experience, though, and I'd recommend it to anyone. I found that many well-known academics do peruse the posters, which is nice.

Thanks for the responses. The program I will be doing this summer involves five hours of in-class study M-F, plus afternoon/evening language activities. I will also have a tutor. My goal, as @Glasperlenspieler notes, is to achieve C1, but, of course, I would like to become completely fluent.

In preparation for a Political Science PhD program, I will be attending an MA program in Russian and East European Studies. Although I applied to PhD programs this past application cycle, I was ultimately unsuccessful. One of my primary goals for the MA program is to really develop my Russian language skills, which, at this point, are non-existent. Because of the intense nature of the program, I will have the equivalent of five years of language training by August 2020, including potentially time spent in Russia. I plan to matriculate to the PhD program that same year. My question is this: Will this amount of language training be sufficient to conduct field research as a PhD student? Note that my plan is to do 1.5 more years of language training at the beginning of my PhD program.

I'll be attending the MA in Russian and East European Studies program. I'll be using the program as a stepping stone to a PhD in political science.

FSU. In terms of placement, FSU is the way to go. Also, FSU's methods training is pretty top-notch.

Has anyone been accepted off of the waitlist at UNC for CP?

I could be wrong, but I think Columbia is quite strong in IPE.

I don't think that's necessary, unless you would really like to study in Europe. There are some really fine MA programs in European Studies in the US. Are you interested in Western or Central/Eastern Europe? If the latter, there are several really strong programs in the US (e.g., Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Indiana, Wisconsin, etc.).

If it's free, then it certainly wouldn't hurt. But, I'm not sure that it would help you get into a PhD program. Then again, if the certificate provides you with opportunities to research and develop connections with professors, it could be of some help.