Bosox

I'm gonna echo what the previous comments have relayed. Don't get me wrong I struggle heavily with math and quant as well, and I took the exam 3 times solely because of quant. The advice I received from professors and other grad students was that the GRE exists basically as a threshold. So, no applicant will be admitted definitively just because of their GRE scores, but on the flip side, their package will indeed likely be thrown out if the scores don't break a department-set figure which often sits at least within the 155-158 range I would guess. For me, I enrolled in a Magoosh package that had a bevy of practice exams and problems with specific short clips catered to each problem. Finally, are there no tangible options for you to apply to schools within the UK? In my case, I found several professors at UK politics and IR/IS departments who literally did not care at all about the GRE score. I hope this helps!!!

Sorry for the late read; totally missed the notification here. I received an offer from UChicago (IR), and I did my best to politely inform the two schools that I was extremely grateful for their time and consideration of my application, but that I had decided to decline my offer/ask for my name to be taken off the waiting list. Both schools came back with very cordial responses that they appreciated the early notification and that they wished me the best in my future graduate studies. Hope this helps!

Hi, everyone! A long lurker to the forum and results page. I've notified the University of Minnesota that I'll be declining my offer and the University of Virginia that I'd like to be taken off of the waiting list (IR for both). Hope this helps substantively and intangibly for those in the waiting game. Hang in there!

Hi, has anyone else been in contact with Georgetown? I'm on the waitlist, and the Department said they'd provide an update ASAP, but I was wondering if any Gradcafe users have declined offers to Georgetown. Thanks!!

Hi everyone! I've been following the thread for a while now, but commenting here for the first time. I just got a wait-listing from the Government Department at Georgetown (I applied for IR), and although very cliche, I hope I could ask any of you who received acceptances but plan on attending other institutions to please inform Georgetown that you won't be attending. Georgetown is my dream school and the only thing close of a chance for me in this cycle so I'd really appreciate any help! I hope you all stay safe in this hectic period of time!

This is probably echoing the comments made above, but I strongly recommend taking the UMN PhD offer as well. Of course, I can understand your interest in learning from some of the top scholars at Chicago to boost your CV for the next cycle, but even with 50% aid you'd be incurring the following according to the website. "A one-half tuition award, on the other hand, puts your total costs for 2018-19 between $48,919 and $52,919 (depending on whether you choose to live with a roommate). If staying through August, you should add $4,300 to $5,667 to your total costs." That's $60K at worst and 48K at best. If you don't find your experience at UMN all that enjoyable or fruitful, you can exit after one year for other opportunities with the first year of stipend, or as noted above, take the MA after two years. Of course, the choice is fully up to you, but if I were you, I'd go to Minnesota! Last, but not least, congrats on the admissions offers you have!