munch22

All good- almost all the articles you had posted said they were edited yesterday (probably based off the provost’s updated comments) so I think that caused some confusion. Definitely think adding those links contributes an important conversation about what is going to happen.

This was in reference to things being more competitive. Nothing you said changes the fact that there will still be fewer spots open to perspective students next year.

That is a journalist extrapolating. Read the provosts update on Cal State Fullerton’s Website on April 22nd: Clarification on fall semester from Provost Pamella Oliver: It is the complete hope of Cal State Fullerton to have traditional instruction in the fall. But like every university in America, we are working through the many unknowns of the current pandemic. There were reports I said that Fullerton is cancelling classes and going fully virtual for the fall. Let me be clear, that is false. What I said is -that we need to prepare for all variables. http://coronavirus.fullerton.edu

I don’t see where it says it is confirmed they will be online in the fall from any quotes from the administration. It appears the journalists have extrapolated that. They are just making plans.

This is going to make this significantly harder. There is nothing you can do about it now, unfortunately, but from the school side I know of multiple top 20 programs considering cutting their cohort size in half (and a few that are considering no graduate students next year, this isn’t definite yet and will probably follow the same path as Duke did this year). The squeeze on departments is more so than just state funding/department financial health- the restriction on elective surgeries for hospitals has but a financial bind on every university with an academic medical center. Next year will be the hardest year for admissions since the recession.

Requesting an extension while waiting for funding is one thing. Requesting it does nothing for the school - think about it. If they grant, all they are doing is increasing the probability you don't go there. Wait until April 15th to accept the offer if you don't hear back. If you hear back from your waitlisted school after April 15th, it is up to you to decide if you want to cut ties/lose the deposit if there is one (this happens occasionally, you wouldn't be the first person to do it). By asking for an extension, you are more or less implying to the school and faculty you were accepted at that they are not your first choice. Not all, but some faculty will take that personally as you thinking they are not a good enough advisor/researcher. It sounds stupid, but that is how a lot of people in this field work. Don't ask for an extension unless you are waiting for funding information.

I know the case of international students has been brought up by faculty in several departments among faculty. At this point so much is unknown though that I don't think any decisions are being made or will be made for a few months.

Honestly I think this year is going to be abnormal. Public schools are facing potential budget cuts that may constrain future classes, so programs may be more conservative this year. Private schools are not immune to this either, as there is a potential future decline in enrollment. Not to mention this has potential implications for the academic job market that may cause more graduate students to stay beyond 5-6 years creating an increase in the amount of money coming out of a department. All this is to say, academia is not immune to everything happening in the world right now. If anything, it is more so susceptible. It is not completely impossible, but I think the odds will be lower then most years for getting off the waitlist.

To be 100% honest, a "minor" in anything doesn't really mean a thing. Don't think one school prioritizes psych over another because it has a minor. All it means is at some point there were faculty there who had a focus in it and created a minor. Institutional norms and rules last a lot longer then faculty who stay there. All top 5's have really strong programs (Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley, Umich - although each program has a different "flavor" of political behavior, so definitely take the time to familiarize yourself with what each faculty member is doing there). Beyond that, Columbia, Duke, UNC, UCLA, Davis, Penn, and Vandy all have top faculty doing cutting edge research in some form of political behavior, although most in the US context. Because your specific area of interest is political behavior in China, it will be important to have a mix of faculty doing authoritarian research with a focus on China along with some faculty who study behavior/psych more broadly. Again, read through each faculty members page because political behavior is a broad term; you want to really understand the different sort of avenues each school has. Go to a school that has a good fit within the type of behavior you want to do, and has faculty to match for your area focus.

You absolutely can ask for more money, especially if it is a potential hang up for you on deciding one school over another. Just make sure to be respectful about it. You don't necessarily have to mention the other offer. Something like "One thing I am a little worried about is the stipend amount. Is there any way to secure additional funding from the department or the university". This way you are putting it out there without directly asking and coming off as just trying to squeeze the department for as much as possible. Because grad stipends are low. You don't need to use a competing offer to increase your stipend amount. As mentioned above though, do your homework on the school: Go to phdstipends.com and see the following 1) how does my stipend at X school compare with stipend at Y school? 2) Do students in the political science department (search for your school and then sort by major) receive different amounts or is everyone on the same stipend? This will give you an idea of what the actual difference is, and whether or not it is likely for you to get more money. In the same vein, make sure to consider conference money as well.

Sanford is the public policy school at Duke which is accepting students.

For those still waiting on rejections/decisions from schools that have already seen accepted students, there a few important things to keep in mind throughout this process: 1) Some schools have priority deadlines for schools to submit nominations for university wide fellowships (that alleviate the burden of cost on the department). As a result, at some schools (I don't know for all schools where this is the case, but there are a few I know this is the case) leading to a small number of students to be accepted earlier then the rest of the group, hence the appearance of acceptances coming in "batches". 2) Remember admissions committees are composed to faculty from the department who make admissions decisions. In most cases, the admissions committee then forwards on decisions to the graduate school for an official decision. In some cases (public schools in seems in many cases), the process to release admissions decisions takes a while. Schools know that to recruit the best students, it is better to be early to tell students they are accepted. This is why many people will be accepted through an email from faculty and then receive an official acceptance around the same time rejections go out. All of this is to say don't stress too much if some students were accepted to somewhere that was your dream school, and don't be frustrated waiting for a rejection. In time, you will have an answer from all of the schools, so try not to read into everything too much to make these two months the least stressful possible. Further, remember most people on here only know what has been posted on the forum in the past. Be hesitant of their word (including mine, I can only speak to the experience of my current school and others I was accepted at)!

Keep in mind faculty are the ones reviewing applications. These professors have other things (research, teaching, etc) they are devoting their time to than reading applications.

You always have to remember admissions committees are dealing with limited information when they read your file. There are only so many things they can judge you as an applicant on. At the end of the day, the GRE is the only thing every candidate can be compared across. You should know that for most professors, they do not view the GRE as the end all be all on your application. Right or wrong, for most it is a proxy for your ability to put the effort in to do something you are required to do so. Again, right or wrong (not necessarily my opinion) many view low scores as someone who was not willing to put in the time or effort achieve high scores. As Theory007 mentioned, the GRE gives applicants from not as prestigious institutions the opportunity to demonstrate they are capable and belong in top grad programs. It will sound harsh, but until something else comes around/drastic changes occur, the GRE for the most part is not going anywhere. So for future applicants and those thinking of reapplying, take the time and study, get your scores to at least 160+ for top 20s at a minimum. There are tons of free resources online and ways to practice. Not doing so just signals to some (again, not necessarily my opinion) that you aren't willing to put the work in to get into grad school, and that that will carry over if you were to be a part of their program.

Current grad student here - I used gradcafe when I was applying and found it to be beneficial (yes this is a new profile to protect my identity and what school I attend). I wanted to put forth some advice that does not get said often on here - no matter what you are asking on here, take people's advice with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, you are getting advice from people on here who could be profs, grad students, or those with even less experience then you have. You do not know how good someone's advice could be. You don't know if someone else knows what they are talking about or not. Ask questions, take advice, but just like wikipedia make sure gradcafe is not your only source of information. Reach out to current grad students you know, your professors, and crowd source questions you have on things that are beneficial for you in this process. In my few years of grad school, if I learned anything it is the fact that every program is so different. For admissions, some want different things than others, some will be ok with a bad grade or a bad GRE score while others will not. Often on here, I see things posted by perspective students that they claim are facts which I know to be true at some programs but are not at others. Just because it happened once at one school does not mean that is why or how it is happening at another school. Use gradcafe but do your due diligence when you have questions or are looking information. Your professors are your best source of information. Good luck with application season, don't stress out too much once you submit apps, and have a great holidays.