smug-face

Also claiming an offer from Emory! Also CP, also via email. Great way to start the week! Good luck y'all!

Speaking of Chicago, is anyone here applying to Harris?

Just got an email from NYU's DGS - admitted! Political economy subfield. Over the moon!

Claiming an offer from Rochester in formal theory!

Re NYU, can anyone confirm that they received an email from the DGS?

Around 12:30 EST!

Has anyone received an official email from NYU? I'm trying to figure out if I should still have any hope!

Just got an email from Princeton - waitlisted! Political economy (or economics? I can never keep track, every program seems to have a different name lol).

I had an interview with LSE last week. It's the only program I'm expecting to have to interview for. It was a brief (~25 min) chat, mainly on my research proposal, with some rather in-depth questions. It mostly seemed that they wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about. Everyone was very friendly, lots of smiles.

It's probably my top choice! Very excited to hear back from them...

I'd write a two-line reply thanking the department for the offer and saying that I will communicate my decision before the deadline (which they should have included in the offer).

Sorry didn't mean to freak anyone out -- they just emailed me about my expired English test scores!

I got an admin email from Princeton yesterday so hopefully something's cooking!

Well, yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions -- I saw the new Princeton decisions, stared obsessively at my phone for half an hour, went out for a walk and accepted that I was gonna get rejected, then got home and found out it was probably just a troll! Not bad for a dry run of the probably many rejections that are coming my way!

Does anyone have any insight on Princeton's political economy program? Are admissions usually sent out with the others or is the timing different given that it's half politics, half econ department?

Congrats on everyone who's received an admission this week! I was really hoping to hear back from Emory this week, but it seems like that will have to wait. Not holding my breath for Berkeley either. At least for the next couple days I can chill out, see you all on Monday!

Still haven't heard anything from Emory, fingers crossed! It's honestly hard to know how much of the increase in applications is due to the GRE, but I expect it to play a pretty big role, particularly when it comes to the best-known programs like Yale and MIT. However I would be surprised if even the GRE-required programs didn't see a slight increase in applications. As to score averages, I would expect them to be much higher in GRE-optional programs (selection effect), and pretty much the same in GRE-required ones (assuming no significant effect of the at-home exam on average scores).

I feel you! My strategy was to send all the emails from the domains of the programs to which I've applied to a specific mailbox (I did this with Outlook, but I'm sure any client can do that), not my inbox. So I never get notified for PhD-related emails and I need to check manually!

Yeah OP, I disagree with @Number34-- I think for most people (me included), uncertainty is the main driver of stress. Having a good idea of when one can expect to hear back can be very helpful!

I agree with this. It will definitely make getting an offer harder, but it's unlikely to make it twice as hard. My main worry is that this will significantly delay decisions...

I think you look very strong. You're applying to few, very competitive programs, so it's always going to be a bit of a crapshoot. Lack of GRE shouldn't be an issue given that you have a strong math background. All I can say is that while browsing the grad students pages in various departments I have seen a few people who came from law school, so it is certainly not unheard of. Good luck!

Mine is between 25 and 35 pages (depending on the margins I use). Most schools have some requirements - if not on the department website, the GSAS should specify the page limit. As to your method, honestly there is little point in sweating it too much now, it's not like you have time to write a different sample. Are you applying to do very quant-heavy work? If so a quant sample might have provided a stronger signal of your preparation, but I don't think it will be a determining factor, as long as it is well written and thoughtful. But I'm also applying this year, so take everything I'm saying with a grain of salt...

Depends on the program, but as long as it's political science related, you should be fine (some programs do not even require a political science sample). Check the requirements of the places you're applying to! But my understanding is that the topic of the writing sample is less important than its overall quality

If I had to guess, letters from known names probably carry relatively more weight, and letters from people that are familiar with the program even more so. But I don't think that that itself will be a determining factor.

Yes, you should see it as a strict requirement imo.