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polisciallday

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  1. Re: PhD Programs Your undergrad GPA is a bit worrisome, but your GRE scores are quite stellar and should make up for the GPA issue. That said, I have no idea if admissions committees remove candidates from their pool on the basis of GRE scores first or GPA (if they even do so). What it comes down to, however, is submitting a strong SOP with a clear research agenda and solid LORs (preferably from faculty that folks in the program you are applying to can recognize). Don't bother about MAs. Apply straight to PhDs. I think you have a solid shot.
  2. Your GRE seems decent for anywhere between ranked 15-40 schools. That said, you definitely stand to gain if you do bump them higher. Re: academic jobs: I think other than getting into a program that has good fit and ranks somewhat highly, it might be a tad premature since the goal right now is getting into a program in general. I would recommend focusing on writing a strong, compelling SOP in addition to securing recommendations from faculty who would be able to speak to your intellectual ability and methodological skills. Both your minor in statistics and the statistics courses you have taken in the past are desirable and competitive at any program. Feel free to PM about narrowing down specific POI's on your research interests and comparative regions of interest. Hope this helped.
  3. I preface this by saying that my reply will neither answer your questions about NUS or NTU nor how their programs are perceived. I will, however, address the possibility of venturing into a PhD program in the future and I hope this response will help inform your decision. I noticed that the location of your post is from Maryland, so I gather you might be located within the United States. This response might be appropriate if so. My response comes with two caveats (1) I can only speak from the POV of applying to programs within the US, and (2) If you did your undergraduate degree outside of the US, you should consult with a faculty member at your institution who knows the American system well to get more advice. I can't help you there. If you are concerned over the cost of attending graduate school and are certain that you would like to pursue a PhD, then I highly recommend just applying directly to a PhD program, skipping the MA/MPP process. I had the same concerns a year ago when I was trying to figure out which type of programs to apply to. At that time, I consulted with my undergrad thesis advisor and she recommended that I go straight into a PhD program if that was my end goal. I recommend the same to you. It'll save you a ton of money as most (if not all) programs fully fund their PhD students. You should expect to get some form of stipend in exchange for TA or RA duties, and maybe even a fellowship should you get accepted. If you get accepted but don't get full funding, this might be a red flag. That said, should you get funding, it'll typically cover your living expenses for the duration of your course of study. If you decide to do a PhD after your masters, the PhD program might or might not accept credit from your masters. They might even require you to complete the masters program that comes together with the PhD. This makes for an even longer graduate school time commitment (MA + PhD years). Typically, you'll be able to earn the masters along the way on your PhD journey; and if you decide that the PhD life isn't for you, you are always welcome to leave after obtaining your masters (for free)! Your other option would be applying to a masters program first. It's typically expensive. Some programs provide partial funding, which might help alleviate the financial burden. However, unless your undergraduate GPA isn't strong enough, I would recommend applying directly to PhD programs if your goal is to not spend as much. All in all, doing a masters prior to your PhD is not only a financial cost but also a time cost. Contrary to what I just mentioned, a reason you might want to consider the MA program before applying to PhD programs is ranking. Top PhD programs tend to have stronger job placement records. As a result, a solid MA program prior to the PhD might give you an "in" to a higher ranked program due to a number of reasons (recommenders from your MA program knowing people on the application committee, some exposure to/traceable record of graduate coursework, etc.) as compared to applying straight out of undergrad. This is not to say that people don't get into top programs out of their undergraduate studies. A lot do, and if that person happens to be you in the next application cycle, then more power to you. To attempt to at least touch on the Singapore bit: While faculty at the program I am currently at know faculty at NUS and NTU, other programs might not. Someone else more knowledgeable on this forum might be able to help you with that. I hope this helped to clear the air a bit about cost.
  4. Yeah... Just got my rejection. Quite disappointed because the fit was excellent - or so I thought. Alas, it wasn't to be.
  5. Same. If anyone has questions on cost of living in Austin, feel free to PM me.
  6. Just out of curiosity, was your POI MacLachlan?
  7. I wouldn't be too sure. You might be on some form of a wait list if you haven't heard from schools that have already released admissions decisions. You can also consider calling or emailing the department to find out.
  8. I agree with @PE_Methods on this one. I wouldn't worry just yet. I spoke with someone on faculty this morning who mentioned that most schools that haven't informed you when other applicants have heard back are also waiting to hear back from accepted applicants to make sure they can fill their classes. So once the big names (CHYMPS + other T10 programs) release their admissions results + funding, you should begin to hear from most of your programs. And IF you don't hear back then, I would be skeptical.
  9. I got my letter via email on February 06, last Tuesday.
  10. For those visiting UT, I just asked the coordinator and was told that there isn't a dress code for the Texas visiting days.
  11. The link to the thread in my previous post has an answer to this, kind of. It has details on the OP's experience with students that get wait listed at his/her/their institution and the number that make it off the wait list in his/her/their experience. It's the post by the OP on March 17, 2013 at the end of page 2.
  12. 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:
  13. Since every school's adcomm has slightly differing points they look for in an application, it might be that Davis places higher stock in your writing sample than other institutions. I'd say it could still go either way. Keep your chin up, don't count your rejections before they come because you never know for sure till you know for sure. Good luck for the rest of your applications!
  14. Looks to me like the adcomm made notes and the coordinator sent you their reasons out of a generic list that fit the notes they made. But then again, admissions are always idiosyncratic and I would take it with a grain of salt.
  15. Same. Kinda expected though, but disappointing nonetheless.
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