horololo

I'm not sure if everyone considers a university around 20 a top university (you know, people might say that only CHYMPS are the top universities etc etc) But in my case, my college GPA is under 3.5 and I made it to a top 20. Other than that, I really agree with Theory007.

I think it might depend on universities. In my university, it is so.

In my case, if classes go online I won't be able to enter the US even if I have an F1 visa, which means my TA/RA stipend is not safe either. This is an advice for international students who might be reading this: get an external scholarship/funding source if possible, like Fulbright and etc. I've been told numerous times that whether an international applicant had an external funding or not was one of the critical factors of some university's admission decisions. It'll be even more so this year due to the situation.

Having classes online is my worst scenario! That'll make us miss the opportunity to interact with faculty and peer students for a while, which is a big part of graduate life

had it been the original offline visit, I guess we would have met! I am extremely worried about the situation, too. I live in Asia, so I am worried that the visa process just may not proceed or something..

It's moved to online sessions now, and we can take a glimpse at least :)!

I wanna point out one thing: your research interest may change during your doctoral program. Actually, it is very likely, or so have I been told. Therefore, even if the 'present' research fit is better with UCI, your future research interest may fit better with IU. I also think that making a decision that might define the rest of your life on the basis of your current research interest may not be so fair. I wouldn't expect myself to be really knowledgeable about what I want to research for the rest of my life when I have just got my BA or MA.

I just checked the portal of UChicago and found out that i've been offered admission to MAPSS with Phoenix Research Scholarship. If you're wondering if you got admission to this program maybe you should check your portal!

the department of political science at duke university basically announced that they are not admitting new students this year and returned the application fee..

If you're a theory applicant, I would recommend you to start your writing sample ASAP and put maximum effort to it. I'm not sure about other subfields because some people say that the admission committees do not read writing samples. At the same time, for theory applicants, I heard that they DO read the writing samples. In other departments such as English literature or philosophy, they put on much weight on the writing samples, or so have I been told. They often work on it for a full year! I think it was the weakest part in my application. For SOP, I would start as early as possible like in January or something and individualize it for each top choice program. Research fit matters perhaps the most, and I would try to write it according to each program's POI's research interests and stuffs. Of course, this is time consuming, so you might want to do this for your top choice programs only... Also, to learn about each POI's research interests, don't just read the description on the department website. Try to read some of their works such as books, book chapters, or articles. I hadn't known that my research fit aligns VERY well with the program I got an offer from before interview because I only looked into the profiles on the department website! It was as if I wrote my SOP after reading his work (which is not the case of course, and that's why it was even more surprising and amazing to me).

I believe not. There was no mention of any funding.

For anyone who's waiting for BC, it seems that they send out their decisions one by one or something. I got rejected by BC for PhD and offered admission for MA instead. (yes that posting on the result page is mine)

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: One of the best universities in an Asian country, but most probably unknown to admission committees. Major(s)/Minor(s): Political science Undergrad GPA: 3.41 Type of Grad: Same as undergrad Grad GPA: 4.31/4.5 (it's perhaps 4.0 in 4.0 scale, since I have only A or A+) GRE: V168/Q157/AWA4.0 & v162/q165/4.0. I submitted both. Any Special Courses: Letters of Recommendation: MA degree advisor, two professors from my MA thesis committee (one is a philosophy professor), someone from work. Everyone tried their best to write a strong LOR for me. I am so grateful for their efforts. Research Experience: only my MA thesis Teaching Experience: almost a year during my MA Subfield/Research Interests: theory Other: I have abt 3? years of work experience, not directly related to my study but it bears implications RESULTS: I'll finish this section when I get all my results. Acceptances($$ or no $$): UW Madison $$ Waitlists: Rejections: Pending: Going to: LESSONS LEARNED: 1. Like needanoffersobad said, taking and finishing GRE ASAP is essential. 2. Start your SOP ASAP!! It takes so much time! Have it read by your professors! And if you're a theory major, perhaps you should start your writing sample ASAP and put in maximum efforts as well. 3. Research fit seems to be almost everything. My SOP was sort of a high-risk & high-return strategy. It worked well for me, look at my college GPA. Your research interest should be specific but not too narrow, and balancing this is, yes, so difficult. In my case, it was very narrow, and it worked out well with UW-Madison. Being rejected by many others with lower rankings atm. I'll also add other stuffs later.

Chicago sent out a rejection already? Just saw a posting at the results page

It might be a bummer to tell you this at this point, but my college GPA is below 3.5 and I got admission from a top 20 school. I think the research fit was the most important thing in my case