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diter91

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Posts posted by diter91

    Taking Classes Pass/Fail

    in Political Science Forum

    Posted

    21 hours ago, cbsag123 said:

    I see. I have another question: At my university, they offer two different intro classes, a standard one and an easier one for people that aren't as good at math. Will admission officers know which stats course is the "regular" one? My university is a fairly big, well known university.

    I think that the only reason you should be taking courses in mathematics is for your interest. Put differently, you should not take these courses in order to make your grad application look stronger. If you want to learn more about statistics and probability, but you are unsure of your ability, take the first. If you are more ambitious and willing to put in work for the sole sake of knowledge, take the more advanced one.

    Again, I don't regret venturing into the Mathematics department. But I did so knowing that I was doing it for its intrinsic, not instrumental, value.

    Taking Classes Pass/Fail

    in Political Science Forum

    Posted

    I took all the methods courses that my psci department offered, and wanted to do more. I took statistics and probability courses in the mathematics department, credit/no credit. Having done well in my methods courses, I didn't think it would matter one way or another to adcomm. I'm happy I did so. I learned a ton and it didn't seem to hurt me a bit.

    MA in PolSci - Which school?

    in Political Science Forum

    Posted · Edited by diter91

    Choose whichever program that's offering to fund you.

    If you have more than one funded offer, I agree with @MrsPhD that your goal should be to get strong letters of recommendation. I went to a smaller department to do a one-year MA for this reason and I have no regrets. 

    If none offering you money (assuming money matters in your case), I would consider doing another round of applications.

    2017-18 Cycle Profiles and Advice Thread

    in Political Science Forum

    Posted · Edited by diter91

    2 hours ago, mcm1 said:

    PROFILE:
    Type of Undergrad Institution: Public state university in the US
    Major(s)/Minor(s): International Studies
    Undergrad GPA: 3.7
    Type of Grad: MA International Relations, top European university
    Grad GPA: 4.0
    GRE: 165V, 160Q, 5.5W
    Any Special Courses: A few methodology courses
    Letters of Recommendation: 2 tenured professors and one visiting assistant professor
    Research Experience: 2 research internships in Middle East think tanks, plus research assistant for 2 years in undergrad
    Teaching Experience: none
    Subfield/Research Interests: International relations of the Middle East, US foreign policy in the Middle East
    Other: Book chapter publication, multiple conference papers, a few published op-eds

    RESULTS:
    Acceptances($$ or no $$): None
    Waitlists: GWU
    Rejections: Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Chicago, Rice, Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State
    Pending: Georgetown
    Going to: Nowhere. Wasn't accepted.

     

    LESSONS LEARNED:

     This is my second cycle applications, and my second cycle of only getting rejections. Figured since I've read almost all of these threads without ever hearing from anyone who was totally rejected I ought to pitch in my experience.

    My first cycle I applied to five universities straight out of my BA, which I believed was the main reason I was rejected everywhere. I tried applying more broadly (11 this time around), upped my GRE from 316 to 325, got in a publication and finished an MA. Thought that would put me at least in the competitive field. Was I still too ambitious? Apparently.

    Recently at conferences, I met with some professors from the programs that I applied to after I got my rejections. Heard a variety of potential reasons I was rejected ranging from the fact that one of my POIs hasn't had a grad student in years (why don't they publish these things online?), but nothing concrete. Should I have emailed them beforehand? Probably, but I've heard so much conflicting information on the wisdom of bothering POIs as a prospective that I didn't take the risk.

    I do have a fairly specialized field that I work in, and all my published work has specifically focused on my sub-sub-subfield. There's no big US university that is specifically tailored to what I want to work on, so I'm not sure how much that killed my chances.

    Anyway, the main lesson is that I have learned zero lessons because I've only received ambiguous signals from anyone I have asked. I'm going to do a third round of applications next cycle (I'll bankrupt myself applying to 20+ this time if I have to), and be less ambitious in the rankings I guess.

    SOP:

    I think mine was fairly standard, around 500 words. Most was the same for each application, with a "fit" section at the end where I tried to tie my work in with some of the papers that my POIs had written recently. Given the results I got, it must suck though.

    Thanks for sharing your experience. Have you considered applying to suitable programs outside the US? Or programs outside US News t-25 that may have faculty interested in the things you are interested in? The parts of your application that you have highlighted are strong (gpa, gre, experience). I don't know what your research interests are, but I would consider going where people have similar interests. Or change your research interests if you want to apply to the same schools.

    Washington, DC and Maryland suburbs

    in City Guide

    Posted · Edited by diter91

     Looking for neighborhood recommendations in or around Washington, DC. It would involve moving there with my partner for 5 or 6 years, so I'd like to invest some time in getting to know the different neighborhoods. I'm lucky to have a partner that has her CPA and works in the financial industry, so we are looking to buy some real estate to live in as a short-term investment.

    Any insight on the different neighborhoods surrounding Washington, DC would be greatly appreciated!

    2017-2018 Application Cycle

    in Political Science Forum

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, toad1 said:

    Not to get back to that tedious conversation on rankings, but I was just wondering if anyone has an opinion on the hierarchy within CHYMPS? My current understanding is that it could be sorted into tier 1: HPS and tier 2: CYM. (And also C being Berkeley - not Columbia).. I could be completely wrong though. Any thoughts?

    Please no. Create a new thread.

    2017-2018 Application Cycle

    in Political Science Forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Clytemnahstra said:

    Yeah -- I applied to Toronto and McGill. I get the sense that both won't respond until the end of Feb if not early March. They both accepted apps until Jan. 15th

     

    1 hour ago, arctic_ice said:

    I applied to UBC and McGill.
    No news from these schools.

     

    Where are they on your list? I'm finding it difficult to compare them with American schools

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