Dwar

USC seems to have...disappeared? The only reasoning I can see behind this is the re-classification of the USC program as either a policy or IR program? Maybe because of the unique cross discipline nature of the graduate department there?

Hey All, Not sure if this has already been talked about, but US-News has recently updated their Political Science rankings for the first time since 2016. While the importance of ranking in actual outcome can be debated until the sun goes down, it is still noteworthy when they update the ranking list. Take a look (link)

So I touched on this in the other thread, but generally the department is more important than the university. The very rare exceptions to this are in the case where the university provides the department with a lot of money to work with. But considering OSU is a pretty wealthy university and Ohio is generally a cheaper state to live in (compared to the East coast), I’d say in your case department beats university hands down. Basically, those people who would be hiring for a PhD position (either inside or outside academia) understand that the department is the important thing and will weigh it above any prestige the university as a whole carries.

I’m going to agree with this advise, talk to faculty during your visit days. Besides the honest advice they provide, it’s a great way to hear the juicy sub-field gossip that only a professor would know, things like which professors are leaving, which ones hate new students, and which programs are misleading with their information. Obviously take all the gossip with a grain of salt, but it is hella fun to hear.

Congrats on the acceptances! In terms of answering your question, OSU definitely has the best departmental reputation and ranking, and that’s much more important than overall school notoriety. In terms of funding, not sure if OSU has released those decisions, but in the past it seems to be in the range of ~25k which is a lot for a public university and will go a VERY long way in Ohio. That’s opposed to the ~20k UMD is offering which is basically just over the poverty line in the DC area. Quality of life is very important and financial security is a MASSIVE part of that. In terms of non academic work, I’m not really that knowledgeable about the PhD market for non academia. While I have spent time in DC (gap year between undergrad and grad), I was mostly in the non-profit sector and not the think tank/research one. BUT, if I had to talk about this one, I’d still say OSU will better prepare you for that. People and organizations in positions to hire PhD’s will know and understand the rankings and the overall view of specific departments and programs. By pretty much every metric OSU is a better program than UMD. That’s not saying UMD is a bad program or anything, it’s a great program and produces quality scholars, but it is less than OSU.

In addition to what was previously stated, you may want to check out this Tax Website as it has a nifty tax calculator. In my experience it’s generally been pretty accurate, give or take a few hundred dollars.

For those who want to learn how to use LateX, I strongly suggest looking into Overleaf. It was how I learned how to use it and it's a great way to use LateX, while still having some semblance of an UI.

Hey Everyone, I know that for many of you all today has just been horrible. But I want to let y'all know that going through the cycle again, while daunting right now, is not bad at all. Take what you've learned from the cycle this year, both the good and the bad, and use it to get a head start on next years applications. I know right now it looks hopeless and horrible, but please remember that you are all a bunch of amazingly smart and talented individuals who will get into academia, one way or another. Going through this cycle more than once (or twice or three times) is actually fairly common. So please don't let this get you all too down! ALSO, 2020 and corona has really messed up the whole admissions process. Honestly on a normal year I bet you all would've been swimming in acceptances right now.

Hey all, I am a current grad student, I've been active on this forum in the past, not so much this year. I just wanted to quickly jump in and say that every year there are trolls who post random schools (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, NW, Columbia). It never makes any sense and is unfortunately just something we all have to live with. The internet is full of bored, lonely, and mean people who have way too much time on their hands. Unfortunately, one of them picked this specific community to troll. They do it every year. On another note, I wish you all the best of luck during this process! It is stressful as hell, I can't imagine what its like doing this during a pandemic. You all are amazingly smart and talented.

Hey, Just wanted to jump in and caution against attending an academic oriented MA degree program that you have to pay for. If you intend to go into academia and attend a PhD program, an academic oriented MA program will not set you significantly apart from your classmates but it will saddle you with a mountain of debt. Debt is the one thing that you do not want when attending a long PhD program or starting off a career in academia (The pay is is not that great even if you can even get a job) For professional MA programs, I suggest you head on over to the Government Affairs page on this site, they'll be better assisted to answer your questions. But a word of warning, in a climate like this, think long and hard about taking on significant debt.

Unfortunately, I think this will be the case with most programs this year.

I suggest you head over to the professional government sub forum. They’ll be better prepared to answer the questions you have about those specific program. Most of the people on this forum mostly deal with political science grad programs, not professional ones.

I Suggest you try your hand at PhD programs now. Your profile seems like it should get you a few admissions. The reason that I suggest going for the PhD as opposed to the MA is mainly because in your PhD program you'll be earning an MA as well. Very few programs allow credits to be transferred from other programs. I'd say an MA also doesn't really put you at a comparative advantage vs someone who doesn't have an MA. Especially if you are looking at more professional MA programs, the academic oriented PhD programs won't view that necessarily as a plus. While I doubt they'll view it as a negative, it won't really be a plus. Also there is that whole cost things. professional MA programs can be expensive AF. With that all being said, I do understand why you'd want to go to a political science program. The main flag with your profile is obviously the lack of political science course work. So if you do go the MA route, try for a local state one. They will provide the required course work to make your case for admissions, without costing a boatload of money.

Penn just announced no new admissions for their arts and sciences college. TBH I think that it's the programs at rich private schools that will mostly feel the squeeze this year and close/reduce admissions. Public schools often will use grad students as cheap labor to teach their freshman/undergrad courses. It's a lot easier for the department to justify new grad students if they provide that service to the University. Meanwhile, private schools will often not require that for every semester for students, with first years often not having to do any teaching.

Wanted to whole heartily agree with this statement and sentiment. A great advisor/mentor can make or break a graduate experience. choosing a poor one because of the institution is a horrible idea. Additionally, i'll echo what you said about quality of life. I think this factor is often overlooked by many applicants. However, many fail to realize how important quality of life really is. If you are someone who loves the city, you'll hate living in rural NY. That will then seep into everything and ultimately negatively affect your whole experience. Additionally, mental health issues are rampant in grad programs and being in an environment that you do not like will only exasperate that issue. I also agree with this section. While I did only work one year, I think it both made me a better applicant and I also think it'll make me a better graduate student. It provided me with the perspective for what a non-academic/grad School life can be. So now I have a reference point going forward. It showed me that this graduate school path is truly the one that I want to be on. Not to mention it allowed me to create a small financial cushion that will allow provide me the financial peace of mind that many grad students are lacking. 10/10 recommend taking a gap year/years to work and figure out if grad school is truly what you want.