sandmoon

International student here, luckily got into some top-10 programs this cycle. From a non-English speaking country.
My two cents for international students who want to get into top PhD programs in the US but lacking the financial resources to invest in a foreign MA:
1) Go heavy on stats, math, econ, and programming. Do some graduate-level statistics/econometrics and calc 2. Take a few courses that require using Stata, R, Python etc. If you don't have recommenders with good connections in the US to credibly bat for your research potential, taking quantitative courses is a much easier path to signal your skill sets.
2) If there are such opportunities in your school, do a study abroad program (exchange student program). Pick an R1 university in the US (even better, a school you want to get into in the future). Work exceptionally hard in all courses, develop good relationships with professors, and do some research projects there if possible. Ask for recommendations from these professors after the semester. Most R1 professors graduate from top programs, and I assume they have better connections with committees of the programs you are aiming for. Their recommendations help demonstrate your English ability and compare your academic achievement with other students in the US. Admissions committees will get a better sense of what kind of student you are.
3) Be really careful when drafting research plan in your SoP. Read political science journals widely, especially APSR, AJPS, and JOP. What topics are people working on? Which methods do they use? Topics (and methods) the mainstream US scholars care about nowadays may be very different from the paradigm in your home country. Definitely don't write on a topic you are completely unexcited about, but you are going to be expected to do this kind of research when you start graduate school. If this is not for you, a PhD in the US might not be a good idea.
On top of everything, keep in mind that the admission process is a signaling game. We all need credible proofs for our abilities (and fitness with the program).
I got a lot of helpful advice from this forum, so I really hope my experience can help!

No offense to those who noted their country of origin on the results page, I just wanted to point out that at most of the top programs, at least half (?) of the students got their bachelor's degrees from non-US institutions, many from non-English-speaking places. Definitely possible to get into a top US program from foreign universities.

Is there a way to filter the search so that we don't see the LSE results? I feel like I know way too much the various departments at LSE than any other school on the planet lol.
There was another comment about how "uk grads" like to put that in the comment section. I thought that was funny too.

Is there a way to filter the search so that we don't see the LSE results? I feel like I know way too much the various departments at LSE than any other school on the planet lol.
There was another comment about how "uk grads" like to put that in the comment section. I thought that was funny too.

Do something like "-london" 

Is there a way to filter the search so that we don't see the LSE results? I feel like I know way too much the various departments at LSE than any other school on the planet lol.
There was another comment about how "uk grads" like to put that in the comment section. I thought that was funny too.

Is there a way to filter the search so that we don't see the LSE results? I feel like I know way too much the various departments at LSE than any other school on the planet lol.
There was another comment about how "uk grads" like to put that in the comment section. I thought that was funny too.

Just got the email from Harvard FYI

I'm convinced it's because some of them are in league with the devil. 

I’m not sure if this is helpful for those reapplying but I’m really realizing the importance of connections. The two schools I got into both have professors who were in my recommender’s cohort, one he went to for undergrad, and I got waitlisted where my other recommender went. Don’t be afraid to ask your recommenders or other mentors to reach out to their colleagues when you apply! Emailing professors at schools yourself won’t carry as much weight as a colleague telling them to keep an eye out for your application. And it may not hurt to consider where your professors have connections when deciding where to apply. This isn’t to say that this matters MUCH but it might matter ENOUGH when admissions committees are looking through hundreds of stellar apps and trying to decide between two great students. Obviously don’t apply somewhere that’s not a good fit just because your thesis director knows the DGS.

Last cycle was unsuccessful for me. I ended up taking a gap year and am currently working on a research paper independently and submitted it to present at conference. Also, I studied and retook the GRE, since I knew it could stand to improve that, and doing some intensive sorting of schools to apply to the next round. Trying to get work failed for me as well, even with a Master's in hand, but luckily my spouse was able to support me focusing on improving me applications. Things worked out this year to be accepted to multiple programs, so I guess something in there worked. My suggestion is to soul search on what you need to do and get creative on ways to do research.

claiming a Yale acceptance!
I thought its' a rejection because it was a generic email to check the portal.
Assuming a Harvard rejection I'm finally done!!! Thanks to everyone on this forum who made January and February less stressful. Best of luck to y'all.

Really appreciate schools that send out all decisions all at once. It's not that hard!!!

claiming a Yale acceptance!
I thought its' a rejection because it was a generic email to check the portal.
Assuming a Harvard rejection I'm finally done!!! Thanks to everyone on this forum who made January and February less stressful. Best of luck to y'all.

Really appreciate schools that send out all decisions all at once. It's not that hard!!!

claiming a Yale acceptance!
I thought its' a rejection because it was a generic email to check the portal.
Assuming a Harvard rejection I'm finally done!!! Thanks to everyone on this forum who made January and February less stressful. Best of luck to y'all.

claiming a Yale acceptance!
I thought its' a rejection because it was a generic email to check the portal.
Assuming a Harvard rejection I'm finally done!!! Thanks to everyone on this forum who made January and February less stressful. Best of luck to y'all.

claiming a Yale acceptance!
I thought its' a rejection because it was a generic email to check the portal.
Assuming a Harvard rejection I'm finally done!!! Thanks to everyone on this forum who made January and February less stressful. Best of luck to y'all.

claiming a Yale acceptance!
I thought its' a rejection because it was a generic email to check the portal.
Assuming a Harvard rejection I'm finally done!!! Thanks to everyone on this forum who made January and February less stressful. Best of luck to y'all.

Thank you!! Best of luck making that very difficult decision come April 15th!

Yes—I figured it would be more useful to people scrolling through political science results rather than putting it under government. 

so ready to be done with the process! best of luck to you and to everyone who applied to columbia/harvard/yale!

Northwestern is officially my least favorite department! They've been dragging this out for how long? A month?

Northwestern is officially my least favorite department! They've been dragging this out for how long? A month?

I'm not the one on the results page, so idk what's happening there. The email I got has me as a recipient and the DGS cc'ed. I would guess that the emails are still being sent out alphabetically or by subfield. DON'T LOSE HOPE!! No news = you're still in play!