ArcierePrudente

I don't know about your GRE score but here is some useful information about the average quant score for some of the doctoral programs over:
UCSD: 162
Chicago: 158
Wisconsin–Madison: 159
George Washington: 157
Vanderbilt: 155
Iowa: 157
Binghamton: 155
Washington University in St. Louis: 162
Notre Dame: 158

I got into Maryland
Holy shit I thought I was going to strike out. I'm so freaking happy right now. I actually don't have to go back to Japan now to do PhD work.

And that's my cue to not check my email until Social Thought follows suit. I don't want to risk two emotional rollercoasters. Congrats to those who did brave their inboxes and saw something good! 

And that's my cue to not check my email until Social Thought follows suit. I don't want to risk two emotional rollercoasters. Congrats to those who did brave their inboxes and saw something good! 

And that's my cue to not check my email until Social Thought follows suit. I don't want to risk two emotional rollercoasters. Congrats to those who did brave their inboxes and saw something good! 

LSE acceptance!

Strange. I applied to ND as a theory student as well. Haven't heard anything from them yet.

To anyone with the:
To date, no decision has been made on your application.
Please note that most decisions on graduate admissions for fall term are made in the months of March and April and therefore you should not anticipate a decision much before that time period.
for UCLA it doesn't necessarily mean it's a waitlist or rejection. Had that notice as my decision until today but just received a letter of acceptance!

Well, I guess I spoke too soon. Just got accepted to UCLA. I'm visibly shaking in shock. 
3a / 3r / 0w / 7p
 

Actually it's five here, mate :/

I want to say yes (we should) and no (you aren't), but we live in a world where Donald Trump is President, the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and an actress showed up to an awards show wearing a $300 shirt that said 'Poverty is Sexism.' So at this point, I'm willing to entertain the most absurd outcome for just about anything. 
 
Kidding-not-kidding aside, inexplicable waiting times are sort of par for the course in academia, so you can think of this as training, if that makes it any better. I have some Stoic meditations that really help during times like these. 
 
Social Thought tends to release admission decisions later than Poli-Sci (I think the earliest they've released has actually been the 9th), so I'm less confused about their timeline this year. That said, I've deliberately not reached out to anyone since applying, and am keeping my distance from my personal email account. At this point I'm liable to over-analyze any communication I have with anyone there, and that helps no one. 

Alexandria is really wonderful -- it has a little bit of everything: Old Town, Carlyle, Del Ray, parks, water, and city life. Depending on how active you are, everything is pretty much within walking distance (which is rare considering the standard DMV sprawl!). If you know where to look, cost of living is also decent, and your neighbors will probably be pretty respectful/quiet, seeing as there are a lot of military and government workers who reside there (in addition to several academics). Certain parts of Arlington are also pretty rad. 

I want to say yes (we should) and no (you aren't), but we live in a world where Donald Trump is President, the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and an actress showed up to an awards show wearing a $300 shirt that said 'Poverty is Sexism.' So at this point, I'm willing to entertain the most absurd outcome for just about anything. 
 
Kidding-not-kidding aside, inexplicable waiting times are sort of par for the course in academia, so you can think of this as training, if that makes it any better. I have some Stoic meditations that really help during times like these. 
 
Social Thought tends to release admission decisions later than Poli-Sci (I think the earliest they've released has actually been the 9th), so I'm less confused about their timeline this year. That said, I've deliberately not reached out to anyone since applying, and am keeping my distance from my personal email account. At this point I'm liable to over-analyze any communication I have with anyone there, and that helps no one. 

The OP of that post also wrote another thread that might answer a lot of the questions people here seem to be asking. I wish I had chanced upon this prior to application season, tbh. Here's the link for anyone interested: 
 

I am on an admissions committee this year. Two things. First, you are an EXTREMELY impressive bunch. It was a pleasure to read through the applications. I was floored. You're much, much more accomplished than I was when I applied. Second, it is completely true that in the end so much of this process is random. There are so many outrageously talented applicants we're making wild guesses about who will be a good fit in our program. These guesses are often way off base. If you're feeling dejected at not getting in, I get it. (I got rejected from nearly every program I applied to and I remember the feeling well.) Try to remember that it is NOT a reflection of your self worth, smarts, or ability to succeed. I know that's easier said than done, but I can tell you from the inside, it's true.

Hey -- while it's unfortunately pretty normal to feel directionless (and worse) in the event of total rejection (I want to make sure to normalize that piece), I also want to echo that if you're truly feeling like your life won't be worth living if you aren't admitted to a PhD program at the end of this particular cycle, it's really worth talking about with someone, face-to-face. 
 
This can be heartbreaking. And I believe you that a lot of shit has gone wrong in your life, and none of us knows your story or how that contributed to the feelings that you're having right now. You have triumphed, though, taking all that pain into account--you got an MA, you did research, you worked, and you put your heart into something that mattered so deeply to you with no guarantee of any type of reward. That's bold, and that indicates a real sense of meaning and power in spite of the dread and stagnation that you're feeling right now. No one can take that away from you. 
 
Do feel free to vent. And please be as good to yourself as you can right now. 

Hey -- while it's unfortunately pretty normal to feel directionless (and worse) in the event of total rejection (I want to make sure to normalize that piece), I also want to echo that if you're truly feeling like your life won't be worth living if you aren't admitted to a PhD program at the end of this particular cycle, it's really worth talking about with someone, face-to-face. 
 
This can be heartbreaking. And I believe you that a lot of shit has gone wrong in your life, and none of us knows your story or how that contributed to the feelings that you're having right now. You have triumphed, though, taking all that pain into account--you got an MA, you did research, you worked, and you put your heart into something that mattered so deeply to you with no guarantee of any type of reward. That's bold, and that indicates a real sense of meaning and power in spite of the dread and stagnation that you're feeling right now. No one can take that away from you. 
 
Do feel free to vent. And please be as good to yourself as you can right now. 

Hey man I'm really sorry to hear you're feeling this way. Setting aside the applications for a moment (which I recognize is very hard to do), the way you are feeling right now merits seeking professional help. Have you ever seen a doctor about the way you're feeling? If you haven't, it can take a while to get that set up, so consider reaching out to the suicide hotline or using their free web chat. 
I'm going to quote @toad1's post from the other day, because I thought it was excellent:
I've noticed that some people on this board have expressed some thoughts of depression after still not hearing back from any schools. Without sugarcoating anything, I'd like to remind you that it's not over until each school has rejected you. Each and every school reviews applicants with different eyes, and different eyes have a knack for seeing different things. Don't let one or even a few schools discourage your prospects at other places.

But in the case you don't get into any schools, please acknowledge that in the grand scheme of life, your story is not over here--far from it. Where one door closes another opens, so make sure you're looking for that next door too or you could miss it.
I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now, but please do not let this be the end of your story. The skills that you have earned, even if they may not have been recognized by some admissions committee somehwere (and let's take a moment to recognize the huge, huge levels of randomness that feed into all this) can be useful in so many different ways elsewhere in life and you still are a valuable member of our world. Perhaps your role to contribute is in a different way, and there's nothing wrong with that  The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

For all of us looking for motivations/confidence boost:
https://www.princeton.edu/~joha/Johannes_Haushofer_CV_of_Failures.pdf
https://twitter.com/mwalibali/status/960882000163897345
 

It seems that way. No one will claim it. Plus, two seems low. Unless something something stagger something something. No idea. Just given when they have notified in the past, it is getting on in time. If the above poster is right about the decisions being made and it just being a matter of the grad college sending them out--then I imagine we'd see something by the end of the week. 

It's very much appreciated. 

Fight On! Good luck to you as well. I don't really see it as a competition and hope the best for you. All I want at this point is even one school that wants me. 
Going back to South Korea and doing military service for two years is an incredibly shitty alternative.

I want to say congrats, but more than that, I want to say: go charge your phone.

Oh, I definitely agree. I'm just more or less clarifying to Komina and to a great many other anxious posters here not to go and call it quits if they didn't get an interview or haven't heard back at this point. Admissions is a long process, and it's not as clear at the doctoral level as it is for the undergraduate level. A lot of people are pessimistic (for perfectly valid reasons), but I think it's good to have an open mind and not let it weigh themselves down too much. To be honest, part of the reason I lurked for so long was because I felt a lot of people here were really negative and only saw the flaws in their applications rather than the strengths. 
After all, if the Eagles were able to win the Super Bowl, then anyone can get into any program. 

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.