decisions1234

Thanks so much! I will definitely look into that. Applying for on campus housing first!

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts college Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science/Philosophy double major Undergrad GPA: 3.5 Type of Grad: Top university in the UK Grad GPA: Equivalent of about a 3.7 GRE: V160/Q153/AWA5.0 Any Special Courses: n/a Letters of Recommendation: Three professors that know me very well Research Experience: Three theses in my undergrad. Master's thesis. Teaching Experience: n/a Subfield/Research Interests: Political Theory Other: Minor subfield IR RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): The Ohio State University, Brandeis University ($$), The University of British Columbia ($$) Waitlists: Rejections: Brown, Northwestern, Berkeley, Irvine, UChicago, Toronto, Johns Hopkins Pending: Going to: University of British Columbia LESSONS LEARNED: 1. Fit!!!!! 2. Find something to distract you during the waiting stage. It is long and you might not hear back until the very end. Don't check your email (or grad cafe) a million times a day. 3. Put a lot of work into your SOP. It matters more than GRE scores/past grades. Also, tailor each SOP to the school you are applying to.

Declining offers is difficult...

Anyone know the placement record of UBC?

Anybody have advice on where to look for rankings? I know that people seem to like the NRC rankings but, unless I am wrong, they haven't been updated since 2010.

Anybody know when it is usual for schools to start making their decisions about waitlists? I'm on a few waitlists lol

Where did you decline?

Just wondering for those of you who have said that they are waitlisted for funding at Ohio state, how do you know? I haven't heard anything from Ohio State about funding but I am really hoping to be fully funded. OSU is one of my top choices.

Congrats!

Acceptance?

Okay. Thank you! It is nice of you to come back to grad cafe to share your wisdom.

Isn't academic purgatory fun? Also, what field of study are you?

Another wave of Northwestern rejections! Why do the do it in clusters like this??? (I wasn't one of these, does this mean that I should be optimistic? No clue.)

I am waitlisted but I have not been contacted for an interview. I guess if they want to accept me off the waitlist then they might contact me for an interview first?

Northwestern is weird because I keep hearing that they keep everyone in the dark, but it also seems like they have already released a ton of rejections. I guess they inform some people very quickly, but then make some people wait for a long time. (I am one of the ones waiting...)