jjiffy

My understanding is that OSU departments give out admissions decisions prior to guaranteeing funding packages. A university-wide funding body then determines funding packages among accepted candidates. Source: 2 cycles ago I was accepted at OSU but funding fell through a month later when the department couldn't secure my funding. This was during COVID so I chalk my case up to disruptions from that. I'm sure you will be fine and congrats on an outstanding acceptance.

PROFILE:Type of Undergrad Institution: Top 50ish private uni with a big poli sci program and IR policy school. Major(s)/Minor(s): International Affairs with History MinorUndergrad GPA: 3.72Type of Grad: UChicago CIR. Currently a student here so I applied to PhDs before the end of the 1st quarter here. Grad GPA: 3.92 (but most schools didnt have my grad GPA as apps were due before grades were posted)GRE: 168v/160q/5.5wAny Special Courses: Lots of general IR courses and an IR research seminar. Did an independent study of the IR/Security PhD field seminar with a professor. Research Methods and Intro to Stats. Overall very weak quant training. At Chicago, I did a PhD Qual methods/Research design course and the first course in their quant sequence. Letters of Recommendation: All three of my letters were from people at my undergrad institution who I had known for years and built very strong relationships with. One was a full professor who is very famous in the field and was my thesis advisor. The second is a well known associate professor who oversaw my independent study. The final was a nontenured non-poli sci instructional faculty/admin who oversaw my undergraduate research program. Teaching/Research Experience: I have no TA experience and only recently started working as an RA. In undergrad, I was part of a two year research fellowship/program thing designed for people wanting to get PhDs/fulbrights/etc. I did independent research under my faculty advisor which culminated in my thesis as part of that program. I won some grant awards for it, presented it at a few internal symposium/conferences and had it published in the program's yearly journal (so not really a *real* publication). I also did a separate undergrad research seminar as a Junior. At Chicago, I am doing thesis work and have been an RA for a very well known faculty member. Other: It should be noted that I applied with only a few months of Chicago under my belt so I probably didn't reap the full benefits of it. I opted to apply this cycle just to see if it would work out and figured I could always apply next year if this year didn't go well. Even though my only undergrad quant class was a stats class where I got a C+, I was able to talk about my new quant training in my SOP. I am decently proficient in R and LaTeX, which I put on my CV. So even though I had a poor quant background, I was able to show that I was very excited to learn more and taking concrete steps towards being proficient with the method. RESULTS:Acceptances: Berkeley, UVA, GW, DukeRejections: Stanford, Columbia, MIT, OSU, UW Madison, UChicago, UCSDPending: noneAttending: TBDLESSONS LEARNED: 1. My SOP read almost like a research proposal. I had more of my background in it in early drafts, and one of my advisors told me to make it much more about my research interests. She pointed out that adcomms want to be presented with an interesting question, shown that you can effectively frame it, and show that you have at least some inkling about how you could possibly solve it. PhDs are an intellectual pursuit, so let them see how you think and nobody would hold it against me if I didn't write my dissertation on the topic. I was afraid to do this strategy because thought I could seem too locked in to a topic, but I think it paid off to put research focus and the ability to frame a good question front and center. SOP Structure: The opening paragraph started with a big question, showed how our current answers were insufficient, and then the argued why the question is an important one to answer. Second paragraph was like a really condensed lit review to give background. Third paragraph laid out my hunches/potential causal mechanisms. Fourth was about my preliminary analysis (its related to my thesis), a current challenge, and ways to get around it for future studies. The fifth paragraph was more about other methods I would like to use/learn as well as some background about myself. Sixth paragraph was importance of the research/who the audience would be. Final paragraph was about program fit. Came out to ~1200 words. Overall, I talked very very little about myself and it read more like a research proposal. I cannot stress how critical multiple iterations and many rounds of feedback (especially from knowledgeable faculty) are for a good SOP. The SOP goal was to, as one of my advisors said, "catch their attention in the opening paragraph and convince them in the first few sentences that you’re a serious scholar asking important academic questions." 2. Yeah I knew early on that I wanted to do a PhD so do everything you can to build out a good resume and research agenda. BUILD CONNECTIONS WITH FACULTY. Also even if you don't want to do quant research, I think it pays to demonstrate at least familiarity with it. 3. MOST IMPORTANTLY!!! I got a bunch of rejects last year. I applied again after finishing my undergrad thesis, starting a masters, reading a lot more, and learning some quant methods. Now I have 4 acceptances to some great schools. If you struck out this year, do not give up hope! 4. Fit is important. Rankings are also important. As I am finding out with faculty meetings now, you get a much better sense of fit *once you have been accepted.* So apply to a diverse group of schools but also include well ranked ones you might not expect to be as great of a fit. They might surprise you once you get to talk to faculty. Also don't apply to a school to work with only one person.

A day I never thought I'd live to see. Sorry to hear but still congrats on the rest of your cycle and good luck on those last two!

MIT rejection email here too. I figure Stanford is also a reject so this wraps up my cycle. Receiving the Berkeley acceptance a few weeks ago gave me hope heading into Columbia, Stanford, and MIT so I am a little bummed. But also I have 4 offers I am very grateful for. Overall a successful cycle!

Yeah my fingers are super crossed for you. Receiving all these waitlists is kind of bizarre and I really hope you get an admit soon.

Greater chance because people who get into higher ranked schools are unlikely to attend GU. Princeton, as a top department, knows that it is the top choice for many of its admits and few will turn down the offer. Some of those people may also hold GU admits. GU is a great place, but less likely that it is the first choice for many of the people they admit.

The flex continues! Congrats and I am in awe.

No email from Columbia. I thought I was a strong fit but hh well. The real pain is seeing @LatinAmericanFootball pull ahead from me with Princeton and Columbia lmao (actually congrats though!)

Seeing the news of Princeton’s stipend and knowing what Berkeley’s is, I know what I’d pick

You have summoned me! Its honestly so tough to say. I have acceptances from top 10 and <30 programs, with rejects from great schools like UCSD and and Chicago. I also thought I had strong fits at those two places with potentially weaker fits at some of the highly ranked places, so I am just accepting that I can't divine the intentions of the adcomms. I do think there is a chance that if you are a decent but not stellar fit, and a strong applicant, a good but not amazing place will reject you on the assumption that you are unlikely to accept their offer. Maybe that is the case with me and Madison tbh.

Amazing! Congrats!!!

Also got an email from Berkeley! Over the moon!

Yeah with everybody making a hullabaloo about Princeton upping their stipend to 46k or whatever, I just don't believe that Yale 69k figure...among other reasons.

I'm in Chicago right now...you lucked out. Take the sunshine at SD

Yep, rejected from Chicago here too. I'm beginning to think the way I ordered my signature is prophetic...