Henley

Type of Undergrad Institution: Top liberal arts college Majors/Minors: Political Science Undergrad GPA: 3.7 Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 168V 167Q 4.5A Any Special Courses: One methods course Letters of Recommendation: Academic and thesis advisors, and two other professors who knew me well. Research Experience: Undergrad thesis and conference presentation Teaching Experience: TA'd as an undergrad, and lots of private tutoring work Subfield/Research Interests: Public opinion / political behavior Other: A few years of work experience, including some data and managerial duties RESULTS: Acceptances ($$ or no $$): 2 US News top-30 ($$$), top-10 (MA, no $) Waitlists: N/A Rejections: 2 top-10, 3 top-20 Pending: top-50 Going to: One of the ~30th-ranked options LESSONS LEARNED: By most measures, I underperformed this cycle, although my two offers came with very generous ($30K+, fellowship year) packages. My friends in the enrollment industry say this not an uncommon result. Elite, high-demand programs can be picky, and rule out candidates on one or two blemishes, but in the next tier down, the review becomes more about "on-paper" qualifications. And so, the tippety-top programs took a pass, while the second-tier programs (saw my GRE, and) have been very enthusiastic about getting me to enroll. So, what blemishes might those top programs have found? Here is what I would advise future students: - If you're still in undergrad: 1) Take quant courses if you have the chops for it. This holds true for both the private sector and PhD apps. I'm very happy with my station in life, but with a stronger stats toolbox, I'd be qualified for some high-paying jobs, and would probably have more PhD offers. 2) Chase perfection in at least a few courses, and ask those professors for a recommendation. Coursework was always secondary for me. My lack of seriousness was part of the growth process, and I'm not saying everyone should be a bookworm, but try to give one or two classes your A effort. - Start early. I decided to pursue this path about one month before applications were due. My SoP was well-written, but I did not have time to fully flesh out my research question. Instead, I reviewed some of the literature, and asked a series of relevant questions. This probably wasn't a bad approach, but this is your one opportunity to make an impression: a better SoP may have dug into methodology, or evaluated competing interpretations. Similarly, the time crunch forced me to use an undergrad paper as my writing sample. It was solid work for an undergrad paper, but not nearly focused enough to be publishable. - Think carefully about who you ask for a recommendation. I only knew a few professors well enough to ask, and one was rather idiosyncratic. I will never know, but I suspect that his letter was weirdly written in such a way that reviewers may have mistook it for being less-than-positive. For what it's worth, I sensed this danger, and somewhat arbitrarily did not send his letter to the schools where I was eventually accepted. (Again, it's impossible to know and tease out causation, but it's worth noting.) That's my admissions advice. Being very pragmatic, I also want to share my thoughts about attending a non-elite program. (Not that my options are bad... in fact, I'm quite happy with them.) Effectively: it depends on your goal. Openings for tenure-track political science jobs have decreased 15% this decade. And it'll be another 5-7 years before we're on the job market. If you can only imagine yourself at an R1 institution, or in a major city, then attending a program outside of the top 5/10/20 (or whatever) strikes me as quite risky. Even outside of those parameters, it will be important to keep an eye out during our first two years. If the market continues to contract, students at high-prestige programs may begin to compete more earnestly for R2/LAC jobs. For us little guys, that means a tighter pinch in two ways: 1) fewer jobs altogether, and 2) more sharks in the water. If there are signs of this, you might consider transferring later. But, there are reasons not to despair. As colleges become more sensitive to diversity, many provosts and search committees are starting to push back against prestige as a heuristic. (You don't necessarily have to be a URM to benefit from this.) Also, you're getting paid to earn a very impressive degree with a marketable skill set. It's a circuitous path back into industry, but this is not time wasted, especially if you see grad school as something you want to do in the first place. Those are my two cents, based on reading a lot and talking to some people in the know. But it's all speculation. Enjoy the last few months before our programs begin. I hope it's a wild and wonderful ride for everyone.