HCE

I’m not sure if this will be helpful for anyone, but for what it’s worth right now I’m working a job that I didn’t even know was a possible area of work when I graduated undergrad several years ago. By taking some risks, investing in some key relationships, following up on opportunities, and being lucky I’ve been able to find work that’s incredibly personally fulfilling and intellectually stimulating. These experiences might have made my application stronger, and I think they’ll make me a better political scientist. All this also probably makes this application process a bit less stressful than it might have otherwise been. Sorry for being a bit vague, but this is all to say that there are many amazing things going on in the world! If you’re striking out with apps, you might find something else that you’d never dreamed of even as you set your sights on eventually reapplying. I’ve been surprised by how things have turned out for me and many of my friends - many of us have found a lot of fulfillment doing things that we couldn’t have predicted straight out of undergrad or even a year or two out of undergrad.

I was emailed by a POI a few days ago. Also claiming a Stanford rejection email.

I doubt anyone here would have a reliable answer to that. I think staying positive is the best move!

Claim another Princeton admit, CP as well.

No, they didn't give details on that.

I was waitlisted at Berkeley via a nice email from faculty. Email mentioned that they admitted an unusually small cohort this year.