rainydaze

Re: USC, they've had a very good placement record in recent years, even compared to top 20 schools. Particularly in IR. Multiple Belfer post-docs, placements at R1s, and quite a few competitive LACs. They have (a lot) of money and they throw it into funding grad student research and professionalization, and it's made a difference in publication results for grads as well. Source: Have friends in the program who are publishing in IO, JOP, and ISQ.

Just my two cents, but I would be really uncomfortable if I was an admin and one admit gave out my (potentially personal) number to another applicant who hadn't received an acceptance yet. Check the area codes to see if there is one from the right region, you don't need the full number.

Long time lurker, first time poster. How are people feeling about the Berkeley situation? From what I understand no one has claimed those acceptances they said happened through phone call still, right? Does anyone know if they've done acceptances through phone before (I haven't heard of that happening in the past but this is definitely a weird year for everything)? Is there still hope? Am I being The Most™️t (yes)?

I have on UK school outstanding, but it looks like this cycle is over for me. As I decide on whether to re-apply next cycle, I'm realizing it would be helpful to try to get some feedback from the schools that rejected me on whether the main shortcomings of my application were things I can improve on next cycle (GRE, personal statement), or things that cannot be changed at this point, like courses taken in undergrad or grades. Have people been able to get this sort of feedback, and if so, who did you email? Should I attempt to get feedback right away while the decisions are fresh, or is it rude to email while these programs are courting their admitted students? It seems awkward to even ask, but it would genuinely be very helpful for me.

Hey, coming back to this after taking a much needed little break from GradCafe, and this was so nice to read. I need to really think about if I CAN get my quant score up. I took 17 practice tests, hired a private tutor for a few sections, and went through two full test prep books. I can do the math required of a PoliSci PhD program, which is clear in my transcripts. I was scoring a bit better on the practice tests and maybe biffed it a little day of due to some one off factors (my test was scheduled at the epicenter of where the most recent round of California wildfires started, the day after they started) but I was never able to get into "competitive" range. I'm also unemployed right now (a confidence killer), and if I do not get the job I'm interviewing for now I'm concerned that a long period of unemployment on my CV will hurt me for next cycle too. It seems like USC is rapidly expanding the department (they added 7 professors last year, and are still recruiting, based on the job posting I see), and there are a few professors who have half overlaps with my areas of interest, though no one doing almost exactly what I would like to do, and they recently lost their SNA guy to LSE. I would get to stay in my current city, which I enjoy, and end a job search that is starting to become very desperate. I just can't shake the idea of spending 5+ years somewhere that might hurt my academic job prospects.

It came from Benjamin A.T. Graham, director of the doctoral program. It wasn't very personalized, but did have my name. I thought it was very weird that it came through on a Sunday during a holiday weekend!

In at USC (IR) with full funding, specific details to follow. I expected to be happier or relieved at my first acceptance, but after submitting USC as my first application, I've realized it may not be a great fit for me, and I'm extremely concerned about their placement record. Their visiting "weekend" is Sunday night through a Tuesday, which means I may not be able to make it as I possibly start a new job the week before. I'm local, so I'm considering sending an email to ask about whether I can come in to speak with some faculty on their own time. It looks like I will be rejected everywhere else, as I only have Yale, Harvard, and Oxford to hear from. This whole process is so bizarre, and I'm ready for it to be over one way or another. I don't want to "sell myself short" by accepting a program that might be the wrong fit or "lower" than I could get if I had some serious time to improve my quant GRE score. On the other hand, the thought of going through this again, spending so much money on application fees, and putting my life off for another year (I graduated from my Master's program in 2017) is terrifying, and it seems presumptuous to assume I could do any "better" that this year's outcome.

Just got the following email from USC. Did anyone else get it? Or is this a "you're getting rejected and please don't bother us while we release acceptances" email? Am I losing it? Yes. "Dear Prospective Applicant, Thank you for your interest in our program. We are currently finalizing admissions decisions, and we will release admissions decisions early next week. If you do not receive a decision by next week please e-mail us at poir@usc.edu. Thank you for your patience. Sincerely, POIR"

My (absolutely brilliant and wonderful) undergrad advisor went to Irvine for her PoliSci PhD, and it was on my radar for applications this cycle since I have a strong and specific interest in the application of SNA within the discipline, an area in which Irvine has previously had some institutional strength. For what it's worth, when I discussed applying to Irvine this cycle her response really surprised me. She explicitly said that she did not recommend it, since many of her own mentors and long term faculty have left over the past few years in what she described as a "gutting" of the department. This is all just hearsay, and possibly less relevant to CP, but I respect her opinion very much.

Thank you and congrats!! No news for Princeton or Berkeley for me today. This whole process has me missing college admissions where you could log in and get a firm rejection at the same time as all the acceptances.

Does your portal still say "submitted," and was it a personalized acceptance email?

Hello! I'm applying to top International Relations/Politics PhD programs upon the recommendation of my master's dissertation supervisor and undergraduate advisor. Unfortunately, I totally biffed it on my quant GRE, after 6 weeks of non stop studying, and got a 154. My verbal is 169. I've always had a problem performing well on standardized math tests, and the same thing happened with the SAT. My other application materials are all good (3.95 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, independent research with professor from master's program, award winning senior thesis, master's from Cambridge in IR with full scholarship, three great recommenders.) Should I address my poor performance in the quant portion of the GRE in my personal statement by highlighting that I got A's in my undergraduate statistics course, my stats course in my master's program, and in all three of my economics classes in undergrad? What's the standard format for doing this without sounding too pathetic? Is it a terrible idea? My undergrad advisor mentioned this might be a good idea but I can't imagine how it would look when done well.