StarkDark1

Echoing this. This community made the stress and anxiety tolerable. Best of luck to people applying next year!

Claiming a rejection from Boston (finally!).

Congrats! So happy for you! I know how tough it's been waiting all this time. Glad it all worked out. ?

I applied to UBC and haven't received an admission or a rejection. I emailed the program, and they told me that although it's not impossible they will send out more acceptances, it's very unlikely. Apparently they sent out most of their acceptances in one earlier wave. We must be on some type of unofficial wait list.

PROFILE:Type of Undergrad Institution: R2 private university Major(s)/Minor(s): Political scienceUndergrad GPA: 3.98Type of Grad: R2 public universityGrad GPA: 3.95GRE: 165V/155Q/5.0VAny Special Courses:Letters of Recommendation: 3 profs (1 independent study supervisor, 1 MA thesis supervisor, 1 professor from my MA). Teaching Experience: 2 terms of TAing.Other: RESULTS: Acceptances: UC Irvine ($), UC Santa Cruz ($), UMass Amherst ($) Rejections: Northwestern, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, UVA, Pending: Michigan (unlikely), UBC (unlikely), York, BU, Boulder Going to: I'll never tell ? 1. It definitely helps to reach out to professors beforehand. I reached out to faculty for all 3 of the the programs I was admitted to. It signals interest, and in a competitive year like this one, it's an additional boost to your application. 2. Start your SOP early. I started mine 2 or 3 months before the deadlines, although some start even earlier. My first and last paragraph were the same for all programs, but the contents were tailored to specific programs. I wouldn't advise writing a generic SOP. Adcoms can spot it in a mile away, and it won't do your application any favors. Demonstrate interest by talking about your interests and how they fit with that of the program. 3. Make sure your SOP delves into specific research questions and puzzles, instead of just outlining the work of others. During the last cycle, I made the mistake of spending 2 or 3 paragraphs outlining a professor's research, and then spending 2 or 3 sentences vaguely connecting it to my interests. Needless to say, I wasn't successful that year. The professors already know their own research, and I didn't need to provide a long summary of their work to demonstrate interest. This year I devoted the bulk of my SOP (3 or 4 paragraphs or so) to fleshing out my own research question, and then I linked it with the profs' interests briefly. If I was a prof, I think this is what I'd want to see. They want to see that you can think for yourself and ask probing questions to research. 4. I'm glad I did an MA, because I had a solid writing sample to attach to my application. Definitely important to pick a good writing sample. 5. Make sure that the programs you are applying to are strong in your sub-field. I applied to Michigan, for example, mainly because of its prestige. But I realized after being on the wait that it is not so strong in theory. My acceptances can compete with Michigan in theory, even though they may not have the same overall rank. 6. This has been an exceptionally tough year, so I just feel glad that I've either been accepted or wait listed at more than half the programs I applied to. In the end, it was never-wracking, but I am happy with my results! And this community has been wonderful.

Congrats!

Wait listed at Michigan, UBC, BU, and Boulder! I'm mainly curious about Michigan though... If I get in, I will enroll in a heartbeat. The wait is killing me. ?

If any of the theory admits to Michigan are planning on declining, please do so soon! On the waitlist. Michigan would be a dream. Love the program. And aside from that, my partner lives nearby. ?

The DGS isn't supposed to push applicants to make a decision before April 15th. That's the whole point of all these programs having a deadline of April 15th.

I was able to log in to MyFile, but there is no update on my application status...

Just declined UCSC. Hope someone will hear good news soon.

Congrats! Are you a domestic Canadian applicant or international? I heard York is only accepting 1 international student.

Anyone got into York or UBC?

If you're talking about York-- I emailed them recently, and they told me they hope to get back to international applicants in the next few weeks.

Just wanted to say I've enjoyed being on this forum. Thank you all for being so supportive! This place has been a haven amid all the stress and anxiety. I'm still waiting on a couple of programs I'm interested in (Michigan and UBC). I also have a UCI acceptance, so at this point I know I'll be going to one of these 3 schools. It might take a month to hear back from the waitlist though, so I'll be bowing out. Best of luck to everyone!

Does anyone know how UBC compares with BU and UC Irvine? UBC is a top Canadian school but I'm not sure how it translates to a US context.

+1

What bites about being on waitlists is that you know that during a normal year, you might have been accepted. One POI even told me that in a personal email. ?

I'm waiting for Cornell too (theory). I don't think Cornell has an official waitlist, so I'm assuming I've either been rejected or placed on an unofficial waitlist.

A program I'm waitlisted for has asked me about my other offers. Does it enhance your standing that you have offers already, or does it just make them less likely to admit you?

+1

Is it likely that Cornell has sent out all the acceptances?

Another week ends! What are y'all planning on reading this weekend?

Out of curiosity what things did you hear?

Does anyone know what purpose is served by having an unofficial waitlist? I was trying to think from the perspective of an admissions committee. The only reason I could come up with is that they rarely draw on the waitlist and don't want to give people false hope.