mrsweasley

Do you mind my asking how you know you've been waitlisted? My portal still just says "under review" so I thought I might be waitlisted, given they haven't rejected me. Could be wrong though.

Cheers, you're a huge help! I'm going to save all of your info should I ever pursue a PhD later. Appreciate the very lengthy response. I haven't received a response from Toronto anyway, and the York deadline to accept is tomorrow, so I believe I'll accept York.

I really appreciate your answer! Your points are very fair. I haven't heard from UT and honestly yeah I'm considering getting a PhD at some point and going into academia. I'm not particularly interested in government, and like you I'd also want my options open for working abroad. Reasons I was leaning towards York were: They give funding (huge bonus, and I've heard UT is famous for not really giving any) I get to choose a specialization. For me, comparative politics, which has always been my main area of interest I get to do a thesis, which I want to do in case I choose to pursue a PhD. UT MA doesn't offer this, which I find a little odd. I like the areas of expertise and topics of the professors and the courses (more leftist, lots of courses on capitalism, neoliberalism, etc.). The political leanings and academic environment of York appeal to me for this reason Seems a little bit more "intimate" or easier to have interactions with professors. I've read you can get quite lost in the massive UT Political faculty. Also, I do work very hard and I think I would succeed at UT, but it also does have the reputation of being hard for no reason; and If I'm going to give me 110% and still not get the best grades, I'd be shooting myself in the foot for a PhD. UT was originally my desired choice and the others were backups, but I just feel like there's a lot stacked up against it and one of the only things going for it is reputation and ranking. Honestly it's hard these days, I feel like people are divided on the issue of whether this matters or not. If you don't mind me asking, where did you go for your MA? Thank you so much!

Does anyone here know anything about the McMaster Political Science program / the faculty in general? I'm pretty set on York now from what I've heard about it in terms of faculty but nothing from Mac, and no info online. I don't think that's their area of specialty...

Hey all, I decided to check my YorkU file today and saw I got admitted into the MA in Political Science. No email yet and I also can't see my admission letter on the portal yet. But yay! It's nice they're sending them out kind of early.

Cool, we're pretty much in the same boat then! I'm also stressing about the competitiveness of my application. Word on the last-minute panic. I thought applying to 3 would be fine, and now I'm like .... is this enough? Will I get into even one program? And yes I have the same feeling towards York! Really unsure which I'm swinging towards though ATM. I'm unsure on York's funding, will look into that. Good luck to you!

Hey all! I haven’t seen a thread like this that is specific to Canada so thought I’d start one. I’ve applied to York, McMaster and UofT for 2020 admission to an MA in polisci. I hope this is an okay number of apps, I know some do a lot more. I’ve also got a few questions if anybody would be able to answer! How are the programs/depts at these unis, how do they compare to each other? York entices me due to it’s supposed left-wing nature but UofT is obviously much more prestigious. I’m unsure as to the quality of the specific programs, I find it’s hard to find info on this type of thing. Also anyone know about the competitiveness of admissions for the programs? What determines admission (ex is a really good GPA in my final year + distinction enough to raise my chances?)

Hey there! Probably a bit late to be helpful but I’ll reply anyway. I applied to the same program. I was confused too because there was definitely a line on the website that said for an MA in Polisci, recommendation letters had to be mailed in. But turns out that once I was sent the email to complete my application, I had to put in my professor’s emails and the request for a letter was subsequently emailed out to them for electronic submission (one of my profs/references told me so). So it looks like they’re doing it entirely that way.