icemanyeo

My biggest concerns this year: 1) Will universities permanently move forward with smaller PhD cohorts? I know some schools like Chicago have restructured and are increasing funding to PhD students but significantly reducing cohort size as a university-wide initiative. 2) With less graduate students available to teach introductory courses, does that extra labor fall on the smaller cohorts, will there be more adjunctification, or an increase in teaching loads at research-intensive universities for TT faculty?

This may not console any of you but know that faculty empathize with this year's brutal cycle. Thread from twitter:

I've previously seen people on twitter post about trolling the gradcafe results page for political science.

Korea University and Yonsei are two universities that come to mind. I would also recommend Peking and Tsinghua in China.

Just received an email from the Student Affairs Administrator at Chicago, my application was forwarded to MAPSS instead of CIR!

If anyone is comfortable moving outside the US/CA/EU spectrum, I wanted to recommend the master's degrees in IR/GA/PS offered at some top Korean universities. Most of their applications have yet to open for Fall 2021 and they offer generous scholarships to international students.

I guess I can start the conversation on backups. Nothing is solid but I have several plans in mind: Work: My geographic focus is on Latin America and East Asia; since I'll have my master's, I'm working to see if I could get a part-time lecturer position back home with undergraduates in international relations in diplomacy. I'm also looking at research positions at institutes and think tanks in East Asia depending on how travel pans out in the latter half of 2021 with COVID still raging. My very last backup is political consulting since this is a major election year for several Latin American countries. Study: Looking at programs to improve my language skills in my target regions. I probably won't apply for another master's as that seems redundant. Also looking at MOOC-type courses in coding (R, LateX, Stata). There are a couple programs that have really early admissions schedules for Fall 2022 so I'm looking at starting to craft applications for those as well. I guess the biggest concern right now is income and lodging. I probably can't afford to pay for a regular master's degree from the US or CA right now without any funding, let alone cover living expenses.

I don't remember if I checked that box or not...a CIR acceptance with some form of funding would be manageable!

Sending positive energies to everyone ❤️ we all need it. Don't feed the trolls on this forum, replying to them just keeps them going. I'm really glad to have met such an amazing community, and as the decisions cycle ends, I hope to stay in contact with many of you! You're all very wonderful people, and if the rejections are getting to you, always remember they do not quantify your worth as a human being or as a scholar.

Also @CharmanderGo, this may not console you, but I felt kind of the same way. I didn't graduate from an Ivy for undergrad but went to a SLAC, did my honors thesis, student publications, several conferences, then went on to a prestigious master's. Had great LORs, discussed greatly with them about fit at the schools I applied to, had a great GPA and this cycle still went to the dumpster. Unfortunately, we are not in control of the process. You can check all the boxes on the "average admit profile" sheet, and still not get in. I know it hurts a lot to keep getting rejections. Trust me, I feel the same way. But academic life is paved with rejections: the job market is dismal, rejections to journals and grants will pile on in an academic career, and your papers won't get accepted at certain conferences. My advice is to start getting used to it and build up a healthy coping system now. I've spoken to academics, both now retired and recent graduates starting their first non-TT/TT job; this career is not easy. But if you know in your heart that the ivory tower is where you want to be, make sure your defenses and self-care game are top notch starting now. You'll need it.

Unfortunately this is just an extremely competitive year. I know you can sometimes fall into the trap of obsessing over your stats, but don't do it. As many others have mentioned, I think schools were looking for a much more tighter fit than in previous years. And on top of the pandemic, there are a whole host of other factors at play here. Don't beat yourself up too much.

I would personally just assume so unless otherwise noted.

Thank you ❤️ guess I'm not coming back to the USA this year, oh well. 3 more to go!

3 assumed rejections in one day -- UberEats is gonna hear from me tonight. ?

Congrats! Was it a personalized email or a DGS email?

I've been thinking about this. I would probably not have applied to a couple places if I knew they were taking say 8 people instead of their usual 15-20. (and unfortunately I submitted my applications as soon as I had them done once portals opened so I could focus on MA coursework)

At least for acceptances, that's what I'm thinking. Given that some have already claimed here and not everyone who gets an offer is on Grad Cafe, the ones claiming it here might be what we get from a yield of 8-10 people.

If you have to grieve the rejection just let it all out and move on -- feels pretty liberating.

I wonder how many schools will switch back to requiring the GRE after this cycle, given so many of them were able to admit people without relying on it upfront (my assumption for GRE-optional schools).

I'm assuming average intake will be closer to 8. Not sure about odds of applying to a PhD program -- so many places don't publish internal stats so it might be hard to even estimate.

Not to be the Debbie Downer but there's honestly no solid/guaranteed backup plan possible. 1) Graduate school competition in general has increased due to pandemic, and with most MAs being devoid of funding, it's extra debt (depending on where you go to school) 2) Jobs and Fellowships are also highly competitive. I have friends with similar credentials who have been on the academic research/political consulting/campaigns job market since August who have yet to land anything after several applications.

To everyone receiving rejections right now, I'll share some words of wisdom from one of my favorite songs: "No hay que llorar, que la vida es un carnaval, y las penas se van cantando"

Rejection letters roll off like water on a duck's back when you're listening to Celia Cruz (I was in the middle of a jam session when I got the Princeton email, and it helped ?)

Waiting for the Berkeley rejection letter now...Don't want to stay in decision limbo too long.

Claiming a Princeton rejection via email.