ssppiikkeerr

PROFILE: (American Politics)Type of Undergrad Institution: Large state public university in the SouthMajor(s)/Minor(s): Political Science/HistoryUndergrad GPA: 3.72Type of Grad: Large state public university in the SouthGrad GPA: 3.93GRE: 155V/154Q/5.0AW (only submitted to 4 schools that required it)Any Special Courses: Math up through calculus in undergrad. Full stats sequence in MA program. Lots of coursework relevant to my field of interest. Letters of Recommendation: In total I have five letter writers that I alternated between schools. Four associate profs, one full. All were considered strong.Teaching Experience: None. Other: RA'd quite consistently since Junior year. Awarded a research fellowship for my MA program that included working in a "post-doc" type of research position. APSA Conference presentation. Pi Sigma Alpha Conference presentation. Two papers in publication (both under review). Lots of generic leadership roles in undergrad, as well as many graduate school bootcamps attended (like many). Also, I am an URM. RESULTS Acceptances: UCLA, USC, UCSD, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwestern, OSU, Princeton, MSU Waitlists: None Rejections: Michigan, Stanford Pending: Harvard (presumed rejection) Going to: Princeton LESSONS LEARNED 1.) This cycle was unprecedented. I feel as though many got into schools they least expected. Others none at all. Some of us few got in to many. The cycle was exceptionally unpredictable and to be honest, I am not sure if there is one "golden ticket" package that gets you into graduate school anymore. 2.) GRE is not as important (at least this cycle). To all but four schools I did not submitted my GRE. They didn't require it so I didn't submit it. To be honest, not submitting didn't seem to affect my cycle much at all - plus I got into half of the schools that required it. This area was my biggest weak point and was a real concern of mine going into this. Overall though, it just didn't seem to matter all that much. 3.) Reach out to faculty. I did at all but one school, and I was rejected from that school. Every school I was admitted to I had extensive conversations with faculty and students who I thought matched my interests. Not only did it provide a personal connection, but it also allowed me to really tailor my personal statements to their specific research interests. 4.) Personal statements are of upmost importance. Write them. Have someone review (preferably a faculty member you trust). And then rewrite. I cannot stress enough how important my personal statements were in this process. Tailor them to each school you are applying to. Write for the purpose of selling yourself and the department as a link that mutually benefit each other. 5.) Everyone is different. I learned this through my own experience this cycle. We can spend all day comparing ourselves to previous people across forums, but in reality, each of us are unique and that plays a role in admissions. Just be yourself! Don't try to imitate other people's successes - be the best version of yourself. I admitted my flaws, displayed them brightly, and was still a successful applicant. I think in hindsight, being flawed actually shows that you are willing to be taught, which is one of the single most important aspects of graduate school. I hope this helps. After three years of being a lurker and an active participant on this forum, I believe today is the day I finally say goodbye (at least for now). I have been so thankful for everyone's guidance and support. Congratulations to everyone and I look forward to seeing many of you at conferences and in the profession!

Lol no, not at all. That’s how this whole thing works.

Claiming a Michigan rejection. Admittedly it stings a bit less in hindsight but still, was in competition for my top spot - I thought it was a great fit. Either way, I couldn’t be happier with my cycle and will be going to Princeton now that my admissions season has effectively come to a close (still waiting on a few but was predominantly waiting on Michigan or Princeton). I’ll be declining other school’s offers over the next few weeks, so hopefully this helps open up the waitlist!

All of the schools that I have been accepted to thus far, with the exception of UCLA, have been non-GRE requiring schools. I didn't even send in my scores to most of the schools on my list. I was accepted into UCLA, and received an interview with Vanderbilt, however, with exceptionally low GRE scores - by their standards - (V156/Q155/W 5.0). I just personally think this cycle came down to so many different factors that GRE scores, whether high or low, were just one weak factor in a plethora of other reasons.

Congrats to all of those who have been admitted to Michigan, WUSTL, UCLA, and others over the last few days!

I can confirm a UCLA admission from late last night! Also a Vanderbilt interview that I had yesterday (which was very informal and lead to a nice conversation). The silence from Michigan on my part is ominous, and I assume a rejection at this point. On that note, I wanted to let you know that I have started to let certain schools (I don't feel comfortable saying which) know that I will no longer be considering them - which has been more difficult of a process than I thought. Hopefully, though, this means some of you great scholars will be getting off the waitlist with enough time to make your own informed decisions.

Thank you! And I’m in AP.

I just got the email. In at Princeton as well!! I’m in shock really!

Thank you! I’m just honored to be considered at some really great schools. Yes, I will be. I have been sort of creating a plan/ranking of my current admits. To be honest, I’m just waiting on a few more schools that we should hear back from within the next two weeks to make a final decision. I’m also scheduling a meeting with my current professors to deliberate between some options. Short answer though is yes, I will be here soon.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed! I’m happy with the cycle I’m having and just honored to be considered at some really great schools. ?

My status portal didn’t change. But the email from the DGS seemed individual and somewhat personal, compared to other emails I’ve received. May be sending them out individually.

Got an MSU acceptance letter from the DGS with an initial offer! No news from UCSD (rejection or acceptance), so curious about that. Either way, strange time of the day for them to issue decisions period. It's still early in Cali, so I'll attempt to keep any pending decision from them out of my mind today so I don't anxiously refresh my email more than I do already. Congratulations to those receiving offers! To those who haven't, @icemanyeo said it best: "...rejections are not a statement about who you are as an applicant." We all have worked so hard to craft these applications and put ourselves out there to get scrutinized and labeled with an artificial "decision." You are not just any particular acceptance or rejection. I know it's likely hypocritical coming from someone who has been admitted to a few places, but I'm just trying to spread positivity as much as possible - especially during a pandemic. You are all great and I cannot wait to have you all as colleagues one day!

Accepted, Pending Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, OSU, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Northwestern, UCLA, USC, UCSD, MSU Notably it seems the school's I've been admitted to so far did not require or accept the GRE. May not be the case when all is said and done, but an interesting trend nonetheless.

Mainly because departments that still require the GRE will likely still have a similar (if not slightly higher) amount of applicants. Departments that waived them will utilize different factors to speed up the process. Also, I think departments have an incentive to issue on time or slightly earlier admissions this year to provide potential graduate students with more time to facilitate moving during a pandemic - especially international students. I'm not saying this will apply for every department (or even any of them at all). But if the admissions decisions that we've seen on the results page are an honest indication, it seems that many departments are moving on time or even slightly earlier.

Ah. Maybe the GPS program is under a different admissions review period than the political science program specifically. Regardless, I'm sorry for your rejection notification! I wish you the best going forward! ?