Barry B. Benson

You are probably right. I originally thought that they had canceled them last year due to financial woes (which would be heightened due to covid), but if they did it as a result of previous overenrollment then it makes sense that they won't cancel them this year

https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/graduate-admissions "In a collective effort with all departments in the Social Sciences and Humanities in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Columbia University, the Department of Political Science has decided to pause its Ph.D. admission cycle for one year. Applications will not be accepted in Fall 2020 (for study that would otherwise begin in Fall 2021). While the department institutes this pause reluctantly, it does so as part of its response to the global pandemic that has created tremendous uncertainty across many dimensions of academic life, from teaching to research to employment prospects for new scholars. The pause in Ph.D. admissions will enable the department to focus on the needs of its current Ph.D. students and fulfill its obligations despite the formidable challenges and disruptions created by Covid-19. The Ph.D. program remains integral to the vibrancy of the department and it looks forward to the contributions to knowledge that current and future students will make to the discipline of political science. The department invites students who are interested in pursuing their graduate work in political science at Columbia to apply for admission to its Master's program in Fall 2020 for study to begin in Fall 2021 or to submit an application when Ph.D. admissions resume in Fall 2021 for study to begin in Fall 2022" Kind of sad, as I wanted to apply there this year. I had heard that they were discussing whether to close admissions this year or admit half-sized cohorts for two years. So, to my knowledge it is Columbia and Brown that are not accepting applications this cycle. Who knows which department will be next; maybe Duke?

Yeah I agree that the system could be easily gamed, or at least it is safe to say that it is easier to cheat with than the test center version. I am aware of the selectivity of the graduate programs I'm interested in (<10% in normal times), and I actually agree that it is likely that the GRE will play a lesser role this year (only one of the programs I'll be applying has not made the test optional, which is a pretty telling sign). I was curious in the first place as to where you got that info, but I now understand that it was simply your intuition (which you are entitled to! and which I think is generally sound). Good luck!

Yeah I agree that cheating will probably be a major issue. I actually took the at-home version of the test, and I think they were as thorough as they could be given the circumstances. ID, a panoramic view of the room, under the desk, only a whiteboard allowed for the quant excercises, nothing stuck to your screen, but that was pretty much it. I have seen most universities make it optional, but I would not see that as a sign that they suspect most scores will be fraudulent (if they did, they would not accept them altogether probably); rather, I think it is they recognizing the fact that some people will not be able to take it this year. However, I can assure you there is no indication in my score report that I took it at home (other than the date maybe?). They even say so in ETS's webpage (https://www.ets.org/s/cv/gre/at-home/faq/): "Q: Will there be an indication on my score report that I took the test at home? A: No. Your GRE score report will not indicate that you took the test at home." (This makes sense as ETS has the incentive to entice people into taking the test, and they know that departments will look down on at-home tests.) I think that this year's scores will be downplayed a bit, but again, I am not sure of it.

Are you absolutely certain about this? The score report is exactly identical between the at-home and at-center versions, so in principle they would have no way of knowing this. I guess the committees could judge score reports according to the date, but test centers have continued working across the globe (I do not know about the US though). They would have to check the specific date and place you took the test, and check if there was some sort of lockdown that closed down test centers (which seems counterintuitive, as the whole thing about the GRE scores is that they are an easy and fast way of weeding out people. If you have any insider knowledge to back up your claims I would greatly appreciate it

Thanks a lot for your reply! I will definitely consider your advice.

I know this has been posted ad nauseam in the past, but my particular situation has a twist. So I'm planning to apply to grad school in december (if departments don't cancel it altogether due to covid), and I'm at a crossroads. I think I'll apply to about 8 departments in the US, all of which ask for three LoRs. Initially I took for granted that I was going to ask three of the profs I've worked with while an undergrad for a recommendation, as they know me pretty well and I like them. BUT, this semester I'll be working with a new professor, who is kind of like the 'rockstar' of my department (he's pretty well known in his field, which coincides somewhat with what I'd like to study in grad school). Now, the twist: he was a visiting professor last year in my top choice, and has coauthored with a professor that I wish be my future advisor in my second choice. This is especially a pretty huge deal in my case, as my undergraduate studies are not in the US. Now, the thing is that I don't actually like him (not to get into too much detail, but he's kind of a dunce), but all in all I would be willing to ask him for one if needed. I think he likes what I've done until now, and could write a pretty decent recommendation come November. However, the other three professors know me much better, as I've worked with them for quite a while (thesis advisee, research assistant, teaching assistant, and even confidant). As I see it, I have four options: a) just stick with the three I have, but risk wondering what would have been if I'd asked the rockstar. b) replace the (relatively) lesser known of the three with the rockstar, but wonder if the letter he wrote me was actually good. c) stick with the three for 6/8 applications, and replace the (relatively) lesser known one with the rockstar for the two specific applications for which his recommendation could give me an edge (which might not work, as he'll probably ask me why I'm only applying for two amazing departments, and I will have to explain my plan, which might anger him; and also, it would not bode well for the other prof., as she'll probably find out eventually.) d) stick with the three I have, and try to get the rockstar to put in a good word for me in the admission comitee in those two departments (I like this option the most, but I doubt its feasible.) So, strangers, what do you think I should do? Did you go (or are you going) through something similar? Have you ever heard of 'extra-official' recommendations?

According to the UMich site, "Due to the current public health crisis, the Political Science Department will not require the GRE for consideration for admission to the Fall 2021 term. If we choose to reinstate this requirement for Fall 2022 and onward, it will be noted here for that admissions cycle and within the Rackham application system." Shouldn't this be considered to fall under the optional category? Also, Berkeley is saying that "GRE scores will be considered supplemental materials and not used in the formal evaulation process for the 2021 application cycle," which I find very strange. Why would they accept the scores if they are not going to be used in the formal evaluation process? Does it just mean that they are not going to openly talk about them, but allow members of the committee to review them? Wierd.

This response is quite odd. I think I omitted the "I've read" part in "...every paper I've read that studies...", and for that I get a whole lecture on the importance of nuance. I apologize profusely for my mistake, professor. Many thanks, I will try to be more rigorous when writing on online forums in a language that is not mine. Anyway. Another odd response. While I completely agree that one should always keep in mind the dire state in which our discipline is (at least in relation to the job prospects), I find it troubling that someone would take the liberty to comment this way on other people's choices. As @DrGonzzo said, we know nothing of what other people in this forum have taken into account when they made the decision to pursue a graduate degree in polisci. I would bet that most people here know exactly how bad the situation is (not that you provided any new info on that, mind you), and still think it is worthwhile. Your recommendation is noted, but I particularly could care less about the American academic market. I intend to come back home when I finish my degree (if I manage to get admitted), and I think my odds of getting hired at my undergraduate alma mater with a US degree are pretty good. Anyways. Thank you for being one of the few here who posted a relevant reply. Could you share which departments have waived their fees? I'd be interesting in checking them out hahaaha. I think you make valid points, especially regarding the unusually-low activity in this forum. If GC resembles real life, then it could mean that people are holding out this year. But, and I forgot to mention this in the original post, a key factor that might diminish demand even more is deferrals. I think they will be a substantially higher amount of people deferring their admissions to fall 2021, which should impact the admission process this year.

I do not know if this is still relevant, but I used the 5 lb (ugh, imperial system) book to prepare for the quantitative section of the GRE, and it was by FAR the best available resource. I found it even better than the official ETS GRE guide. So many exercises! I did not check out the verbal part of it, so I cannot give any feedback on that (but, like you, I have heard it is not as good). In contrast, Magoosh and Kaplan = toilet. And please, do not buy any of these books. The price of the test + score reports are already too high. There are other ways of getting them (*wink*)

Hello everyone! A little bit of background. I'm new here (well, I saw this forum a couple years back, but I only just created my account) and in the process of applying to a polisci phd in the US. I'm an international student, and as of yet I've taken the GRE and the TOEFL, plus my writing sample is pretty much done, so I'm like halfway there I think (I only need to write the SOPs and talk to some faculty about my LORs). I know the application process hasn't started, so do not think of this thread as dedicated to the fall 2021 admission process. I just wanted to hear your thoughts on what you'll think happen December through February, and how you think it'll be impacted by the ongoing pandemic. I was surprised that there wasn't a thread like this already in the polisci forum (the only one I found was that uncertainty thread, but it was dedicated to the fall 2020 cycle and only for international students), so I'll start :) Supply: I think this is the most straightforward category, so I'll start with it. I think it is pretty much obvious less offers will be handed out, for two reasons. First, universities will have less resources to work with (less undergrad enrollment, less grants, etcetera), so GSASs will probably force departments to decrease the incoming cohorts. And second, departments will know that people will not likely pass on their offers (due to economic uncertainty), and as the yield will be higher, to even achieve their normal cohort goals they would need to make substantially less offers (and, again, they will want a smaller number of grad students this year). I don't know by how much the supply of offers will decrease, but if I had to guess I'd say if they normally hand out like 30-4 offers, they'll lower it to like 15-7. Ouch. I thought that some departments might cancell their admission processes this year altoghether (as Princeton's Sociology department did), but as of yet I haven't seen any instances of this. If you know any departments that will, please do point them out. Demand: Now this is a bit trickier. In principle, it should be simple: economic crisis -> more people want to enter grad school. However, this is not a regular crisis, so therefore common wisdom might not hold up. First, it does not seem so clear as to when this crisis will be over. I think I'm not alone in that I originally thought this was going to be over by May. Now it is clear that it will not be over until there is a vaccine, and who knows when that'll be done. So people might not want to even think of applying before this crisis is over, which could hold domestic demand steady. Second, every paper that studies grad school enrollment and economic crises centers around MBAs and other MAs, rather than PhDs. I think that it is not unreasonable to expect an increase in the demand for those types of degrees. But a 6 year PhD in political science is not something that someone does in the middle of their careers (in contrast to something like MAPSS and QMSS, which I expect to experience an increase in demand). So, I think that domestic demand might increase a bit, but not too much. In contrast, I do think that international demand will decrease. First, this whole situation will probably instill a bit of fear on every international applicant (even myself, buy I remain unmoved in my resolve to go to gradschool), and a whole lot of uncertainty in the process (for example, who knows when you'll be able to get a visa?). And second, there is the whole Tr*mp variable. I have read that international applications have not taken too much of a hit in the midst of the most anti-foreigner administration in recent american history, but the uncertainty around the election might just do it. Even if he looses (which I so want), we might not be sure until the period in which applications close. Therefore, I think international applicants will decrease significantly. GREs: I'm lucky enough that I could still afford to pay for the GRE, and that I have a suitable environment to take it at home. I don't think everyone will be so lucky. I think it is likely that most programs will make it optional this year (I think UPenn and Chicago have already announced this for their polisci applicants, if someone knows of another case please point it out), but this will generate a pretty unjust situation. A first group in principle will not be affected (people who took it before this crisis), but the rest will. I think that taking it at home makes the test significantly easier (I'm sure my scores should have not been this high), which of course benefits people who a) can still afford to spend like US$300 in the test + score reports, b) live in tranquil residential areas, and c) have a reliable internet connection. People that do not satisfy one of those criteria will not be able to take the test, and therefore choose not to include it on their applications. I am sure that no matter how much universities say that they'll consider every application regardless of score, there will certainly be a bias towards people that hand in a good score. This will benefit the first and second group (but, as the latter will tend to have a better score, the people who took it before the crisis will also be affected). All in all, I expect an significant increase in the median incoming GRE score, both as a result of more selective processes and of the new at-home format. Funding offers: Difficult to predict, but I think they will stay the same, at least for good departments. I think that T20 depts will prefer to make less offers, than to get a rep for being stingy. Middling depts might make more offers without funding, but I'm not sure. Public universities might decrease funding packages for all grad students, but I'm not sure about this either (they will probably fire some of the adjunct faculty or increase undergrad tuition before). Duration: I think the lenght of the decision process will increase significantly. I think we won't hear the final offers until like late march, rather than mid february. Please feel free to disagree, but I think the selection committees will still be stuck at home, which will make coordination between profs and bureaucrats slower. Departments: I think T10 departments will be affected negatively by all of this, as they won't be able to admit all of the grad students they need to (in the future, there will not be enough TAs and RAs to satisfy internal demand, which might be good for MA students!). I do not think their incoming cohorts will be better (except for GRE scores, as mentioned above), as they are already so selective that I do not see how their students could get even more competitive. On the other side, the rest of the T20, and especially the T40, will be significantly benefited by all of this. As more of the 'best applicants' will be available (due to smaller cohorts in T10 departments), their cohorts will be significantly more competitive. Yes, they will have less incoming students; but they will make up for this with a much better incoming cohort (and the prestige that comes with it!) Feel free to disagree about this. Summary: we're doomed hahahah. The thing is, I'm not even sure how long these changes will last. Therefore, I think it is unwise to postpone our applications until next year. Less offers this year will mean that a lot of demand will build up, which will definitely impact subsequent years. I think only in like 5 years, things will get back to normal. That's it! Sorry for the length, but I sorted out my own thoughts while I was writing it. What do you think? Feel free to add your own category :)