ihatedecisions

i agree with what was said previously. to address your question: the process is random insofar that sometimes you strike out not even because your application is bad, but because of bad luck. profs of interest might simply not be on admission committee or not needing any new people, or your competition is too cutthroat this time around. do not feel discourage but also be realistic that there are no guarantees in this process.

I have heard of the cases when T10 did not get into any T20 program. So I think whereas it does not hurt and probably will get you looked at, it does not guarantee anything either. A lot will depend on what you did with your undergrad, which courses you took, whether you TAd/RAd, etc. Regarding your alma mater - if you are in a good standing and have been somehow involved into research activities beyond undergrad scope, you probably will get looked at. However, that probably also does not guarantee anything. But it gives you a very good starting platform in terms of access to resources. Your professors are the ones that are best qualified to advise on how to get into the best program you can. So I would definitely have as many of them as possible to look at my profile and ask them to estimate my chances.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: continental Europe Major(s)/Minor(s): BA in humanities Undergrad GPA: Type of Grad: Europe & US Grad GPA: GRE: V167/Q157/AWA4.5 Any Special Courses: n/a Letters of Recommendation: 2 US profs, 1 European prof, most were probably lukewarm at best Research Experience: none Teaching Experience: none Subfield/Research Interests: CP/IR RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): 2 15-25 ranked US schools ($$ & $$$) and 2 top Canadian schools ($$) Rejections: variety of top 15 schools Going to: idk????? very difficult decision because the job market looks very scary. LESSONS LEARNED: 1. My major %&$! up was that i really underestimated time I would need for GREs and generally for the application. So advice no. 1 - START PREPARING NOW Write up first drafts of your writing sample and SoP and revise, revise, revise. 2. Take additional courses in maths, econ or similar if you can. Especially if you did not take them. This was told to me by a renowned polisci prof. I did not take these courses because of the time limits and personal situation and that might have disqualified me (together with quite weak GRE quant) at some better places 3. "Don't be scared of being a "different" candidate -- it can make you stand out if anything." >> I second this.

Also definitely try for places within 25. If you look at the profiles of the current students or recent graduates at top 25 places, you will see many with not-Ivy undergrads. Pedegree probably matters from CHYMPS for CHYMPS, but I do not think that its abscence is automatically disqualifying.

I would also say that incurring debt is never worth it, especially if you have a choice. I can hardly think of any career that Chicago offer opens that would make it financially sound to risk taking on c. 50k debt.

OSU has cancelled too.

Hay guys, I have a little bit wierd question. So, i have been getting in touch with the programs I was admitted to and whereas the professors are all very responsive, the same cannot be said for the graduate administrators. Sometimes they just do not reply to my emails or take a very long time to do so and generally not really helpful. I was wondering if this is the norm or are these departments just badly run? Especially at my top pick, the admin person's unresponsivness and inability to provide further information is very offputting and I do not know what to think about it.

I agree with the previous posters that if you can you should definitely study more and retake. My quant score was close to 60th percentile whereas verbal was 97th or something like that and I did not get in into any of the top programs. I think quant was one of the reasons why. At the end of the day, you want to go to the best program you can so investing in this might be worth while. My general impression of the role of GRE is that while a bad score can disqualify you, it also will not guarantee your admission if your score is good. Really depends how it interacts with the rest of your package too.

@Dloverstreet what you wrote reads to me more like political science with polecon major. Definitely research PhD programms that have strong faculty in it. Also, there is always an option to take courses in econ/pubpolicy once you are enrolled

yep, i am. i guess they are considering those who they do not want for their phd for their MA???

@Paulcg87 thanks a lot! I am an international and I am considering offers from two US schools (top 25) alongside two top3 Canadian schools. So I am not really sure how the permanent residency in Canada works, that is, if one can get it while being a graduate student, so there is it.

How does it look for Canadians from top 3 programs in the job market in Canada? As abysmal as in the US or a little better

claiming yale rejection. checked the portal randomly & it was there. I guess this is the end of the cycle for me. feel a little disappointed since I did not get in any of my top choices

Same here ?

glad to hear that. I am also waiting on Chicago, but I think it will be a big fat reject