gradcafe71

Hi OP. Current PhD student here. I was in this position during my application season. Several people have answered your second question, but not your first, so here's my best shot: Unless you have outside funding (think NSF), Michigan gives every admitted student a standard package. OSU's funding structure is a bit different. Unless it's changed in the past few years, the graduate school makes the funding decisions then sends them to the dept. If the graduate school thinks you are a competitive candidate, then, you'll likely receive a better offer than others in your admitted cohort. This, obviously, has its benefits and drawbacks. Additionally, the cost of living is pretty different between Columbus and Ann Arbor, so you'll have to take that into account as well if you find yourself in the position of making a decision between both places. So the answer is, really, that it depends on what you receive from Ohio State if the funding offer is better. Feel free to message me if you have any additional questions.

These are great points. I've heard about similar issues with the newer Macbook Pros, which is annoying because I am also most comfortable with Apple products having used them for so many years. Given the issues I've had with my older Macbook Pro, and the issues my friends are having, I think it might be worth acclimating to a new system. I'll definitely take a look into your other suggestions. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone! I'm starting a doctoral program in political science in the fall in a more quantitatively rigorous program, and am looking to buy a new computer. What computers (preferably laptops) have you used and what software do you run on it regularly? Thanks!

For me, it was the results page on this website. Someone else (thank you, kind stranger) had checked the application submission page, and directed us there. There was an informal email that followed, about 6 hours later, and a formal email a few days afterwards. From what I can tell, there seems to be two fairly normal possibilities with admissions notifications: you either find out on the application portal first, then an email following a few hours later, or the exact opposite. That being said, it makes it a bit difficult to give you a straightforward answer. You might consider searching the results page to see if anyone left comments about how they were notified in the past few years from the institution you applied for if you think it might ease your mind a bit. Personally, I wouldn't fret if you haven't heard anything yet. It's still really early in the admission cycle. I'm not counting on hearing back from any of my other schools for at least another two weeks. (1a/0w/0r/4p)

I also did not post mine to the board, but I interviewed with my POI at OSU last week as well. Mine told me that we should begin hearing decisions within a week and a half.

You're correct. Some of the data is extraneous. The original paper was 54 pages, so it's come a long way (currently at 27). I've managed to remove several pages of data that, while interesting, veered from the main argument of the paper. My primary issue is that there are several appendices in this paper that present vital information, but take up multiple pages. I'm hesitant to remove them or attempt to present the same information in a different format. I also can't cut the lit review much more for the reason you stated.

Excellent point. I've become so attached to the paper as a whole that I'm finding this process to be particularly more painful. But I'll keep at it. Thanks so much!

Anyone currently working on writing samples? Just seeking advice on how to edit a writing sample from 34 pages to 20 pages, considering 9 pages of my writing sample includes data that can't be removed. Any suggestions? Good luck everyone!