ArcierePrudente

Okay, that's a fair point. Isn't it equally fatalistic, though, to assume that the overall value of your abilities can be reflected within the outcome of a single situation and/or externality? (Getting into grad school, regardless of how much influence you have in the process, is indeed an external and relatively static event.) ...Can we play for a bit? I haven't done so for a while. It's hard to read into tone online, so I want to emphasize that I'm not trying to be patronizing or 'win' an argument. And I dig conversations about chance, so have at it. Obviously if someone writes a horrible statement of purpose, gets wretched grades, or doesn't apply themselves well, they won't likely net positive results when applying for a PhD. So it isn't as though applicants themselves play no role in this process. However, in the same way that it's fatalistic to assume the outcome of your admission is entirely up to contingencies like budgeting, LOR writers, etc., it's just as fatalistic to assume that the enduring worth of your abilities can be gauged entirely by one outcome measure (acceptance or rejection) from the application process (part of which, like it or not, is contingent upon externalities). So I won't question your assertion that your abilities do play a role in whether or not you get into grad school, but I will question your assertion that whether or not you get into grad school is a verification or invalidation of your abilities writ large.

That's a very easy and understandable way to think... but it's really more a verification of your research, test scores, and LOR writers' abilities to perfectly align with your chosen departments' active faculty, their own research focus, and overall budget this year. I say this now, having applied to several late-decision schools, my favorite one of which has not yet released acceptances. So we'll see how I feel in a few days' to a couple weeks' time. But I wanted to give you--both of us--some perspective here.

So we are assuming somebody paid the troll toll on today's Chicago result(s), then?

Echoed. I've just barred myself from accessing my personal email account until I can figure out when/how to check (might wait for Social Thought to announce before checking).

Another UChicago theory kid who dabbles in political theology over here! (More as an outgrowth of Machiavelli studies, though.) Waiting with you in solidarity... Hoping good things for both of us

It's very much appreciated.

Sounds entirely plausible, but more out of curiosity (since you've posted a couple insider tidbits about UChicago), are you getting this from one source in particular?

Still nothing. But I, too, would be wary of trolls. Good thinking, @arctic_ice! Although there do seem to have been fewer this year...

Hey. From one Trojan undergrad to another, fight on, all right? This can be tough--rooting for you.

- Has anyone said 'avocado toast' yet? (Probably.) Or anything avocado-related. Including guacamole. - The Beatles (not hate, perhaps, but strongly dislike) - Lavender-scented miscellanea - Siri/Alexa/predictive typing/robots that think they know my life

Thanks for everyone's commiseration/feedback. Last week was a series of false starts for me (my top school is running late this year, which seems to be the trend for several universities), but I'm expecting to see the results board light up tomorrow or the day after. I applied to two programs within the same school, so what I might do is wait until both release their admissions offers and then check my personal account. They shouldn't be more than a few days to a week apart.

This actually raises an issue on my end (especially since I was the one harping on the primacy of faculty fit not too long ago). I alluded to this in a prior profile eval, but: within my top program, one of my POIs (and recommenders) is on leave this year, but remains local and maintains a strong on-campus presence/relationship within the department. Another POI is going on leave next year but will be back and taking students the year after that. I wouldn't be shocked if the third POI is thinking about going emeritus soon, but I haven't heard anything to this effect from them or any other faculty directly, so it doesn't appear terribly imminent. So no one's leaving or has left for good, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable if the first POI was actually on the adcomm or the second POI was going to be around next year. Am I doomed?

I take your point and agree to a large extent (full disclosure: I did NOT apply to Princeton), but we can reasonably assume the majority of applicants on Princeton's 'top 50' list have what is, on paper, a rock solid application. This includes all the criteria that you list above. After that, it does really boil down to fit and a host of other particularities relevant only to the current application cycle. So I think we all agree with you, but even after all of the facets above are accounted for, there's quite a lot of chance.

Snarky jokes about legacy and money aside (others will make better ones than I can), so much of this boils down to faculty fit; whether the research of your most compatible faculty member happens to align with your own; whether they aren't working on a new book that will take them in a somewhat different direction; whether they'll be taking new students over the next 1-2 years; whether they even have a say on the adcomm to begin with that particular year... the list goes on. PhD applicants are smart enough that if there were a hard and fast rubric for what it takes to get into Princeton, a lot of you all would have figured it out by this point. It's probably not always fair, but it's also definitely not you.

First, the example sentence itself could be improved upon. I would change "As part of our new store opening we are giving away a limited discount"—which doesn't really make sense; how do you give away a discount?—to "as part of our new store opening, we are offering a limited-time discount on select items." The term "give away" implies that something will be free; a "discount" implies that it has a price, but it is a reduced price. "Within" would not work very well in the example you provide, unless you specified a particular time frame, in which case it would work perfectly (e.g., "within the first five days of our new store opening, we are offering a limited-time discount on select items"). "Included" is also a bit awkward. A better alternative would be "during," as in "During our new store opening, we are offering a limited-time discount on select items." So would "for," quite honestly—"For our new store opening, we are offering a limited-time..." As would "To celebrate our new store opening..."

I know this topic is mad old, but I want to echo the thoughts on intermittent fasting, even for those not trying to lose weight. I sort of stumbled upon it during my MA because I was so busy and anxious--both of which make me forget to eat anyhow--and it freed up so much time and, oddly, gave me a lot more energy and endurance with workouts. (Again, I'm not even preaching this as weight loss advice per se, because everyone's body wants to be at a different place weight-wise. By eating more consistently throughout the day on weekends, you can maintain your weight rather than continuously lose.) I'm also vegetarian/mostly vegan, and eat very little soy or grain, both of which can exacerbate hormonal fluctuations leading to cravings and fatigue. But I'm not a doctor--just a theory nerd

Factoring in the time difference, possibly. Schools have been late this year, haven’t they?

As did I... I’m not even checking my personal email until seeing the first acceptance posted, just to be prepared. I may even wait until after the Social Thought posts start coming in...

Yeah, based on the results forum, either UoC's poli-sci PhD only decided to admit the South Korean student this year, or it's a somehow erroneous report, or this ^ February 2 looks like it's been a hot day for them in years past, though, and doing a final conference/admit email blast on a Friday makes sense. So I'd say they're getting ready to release.

I had a Facebook friend allude to checking GradCafe obsessively, and far be it from me to miss out on the chance to develop a new compulsion. I looked into it, realized it was basically WebMD for graduate students, and have never looked back.

Or ask to attach a resume and then make you effectively re-write your resume in the "Work Experience" section... I want so badly just to type "see attached," but of course I'm too desperate for approval and validation.

I feel like the lone voice for Chicago's MAPH on this thread -- essentially it's the same as MAPSS, or it can be, depending on the classes that you take. (Everyone always thought I was MAPSS because I don't think there was a single MAPHer in any of the courses—outside first quarter core—that I took.) So MAPH is another great one to look into, especially if you veer towards the interdisciplinary side of things.

I see you're in Canada so this may be tricky to do outdoors... But I find that the cliché advice about exercise increasing your energy is so very, very true. On days when I'm exhausted, feel like doing absolutely nothing with my body or my brain, and force myself to go for a run or do some vinyasa yoga or whatnot anyway, I leave the gym/studio feeling like the day just started over (in a good way). It's also usually a pretty rad confidence boost. As for vitamins, a good B-complex is always a great place to start. And massage/foam roll—you'd be surprised how much myofascial release can do. It happens to everyone, though. Hope you're not beating yourself up about it.

As a Chicago applicant, this makes me feel much better. I'm also pretty good at math, but when you lock me in a fluorescent-lit cubicle farm for 6 hours, throw a thousand 'not-to-scale' isosceles triangles in my face, and tell me I forfeit my score if I get up to use the bathroom outside of a predetermined window, I'll call my 156 a victory, thanks.