plus

Princeton doesn’t release results in January. Check the past gradcafe threads, the January admissions are trolls.

In Latin America: FGV-EBAPE (Brazil) has a great public policy MA and is accepting applications for a few more days. I believe UFMG and UnB, also in Brazil, should begin their admissions season soon. https://ebape.fgv.br/en/programs/msc-phd/administration/enrollment-and-selection-process/information http://ppgcp.fafich.ufmg.br/selecaodocs.php http://ipol.unb.br/galeria-imagens/processo-seletivo-mestrado-e-doutorado

168V or 168Q? If V, perhaps it would be worth retaking the GRE if you are aiming at top 10 programs, since it would be slightly lower than Duke's average scores*. Overall, your profile seems really competitive on paper, but the admissions process is very noisy. If your SoP & writing sample are solid, I believe you have a good shot . https://gradschool.duke.edu/about/statistics/political-science-phd-admissions-and-enrollment-statistics

I would just do a RA or pre-doc and apply directly to a PhD.

I would just do a RA for a well-published political scientist in one of those universities. I don’t think you necessarily need another MA.

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Large public university (Latin America). Major(s)/Minor(s): Law Undergrad GPA: 3.54 Type of Grad: Law Grad GPA: 3.9 GRE: 169/164/4 Any Special Courses: Quantitative Methods for Political Science (graduate); Comparative Politics (graduate). Letters of Recommendation: 3 political science professors I worked with at my university. Teaching Experience: TAed for the graduate class "Data Science for Legal Research". Research Experience: Undergraduate and graduate thesis, multiple RAs during undergrad and grad. Other: Paper accepted at IPSA, editor of university's law review, 1st place at undergraduate admissions exam, two research fellowships, programming experience with Python and R, public interest legal work related to political science. RESULTS (PhD) Acceptances: Michigan ($$$), Duke ($$$), UT Austin ($$), Rice ($$) Waitlists: WUSTL Rejections: Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, UCSD, Berkeley, Yale, NYU, MIT Going to: Michigan or Duke LESSONS LEARNED 1. Do well on the GRE, especially if you don't come from a traditional/quantitative background. Yes, they say it's optional, but if you are an unorthodox candidate you should do it. It's an opportunity to signal some quantitative competence and general knowledge of English. 2. Cast your net wide. You never know where you are going to get in, it's a very noisy and obscure process. I was rejected by some schools where I had very, very promising talks with faculty. At the same time, I was accepted at places where I almost didn't apply because I thought I had no chance. 3. Do a Master's degree if you can. Even if it's not at a top school, it signals that you want to pursue an academic career. It also gives you time to RA for professors in your desired field. 4. Really spend time on your SOP. I suggest the following structure, that I learned by reading other successful SOPs: 1 introductory paragraph listing each research interests; 1 paragraph per research interest, detailing what work you have done on each one; 1 concluding paragraph explaining why you want to go to that university in particular. 5. Learn computer programming. You can get wonderful research opportunities just by offering to write code. I recommend the book "Hands-On Programming with R", by Garrett Grolemund. The online version is free. 6. Focus on your strengths, particularly if you aren't already a political scientist. Explain why your background makes you uniquely qualified to do the work you want to do. As a Latin American lawyer, I got into programs with strong judicial politics and/or Latin American politics groups. I would have a much tougher time if I wanted to specialize in American Politics. 7. Accept that you can't really control the outcome. Luck plays a HUGE role in the admissions process. If I had to apply again next year, I would probably get into an entirely different set of schools. EDIT: If you need help with some aspect of your application, please feel free to send me a private message :)!

Based on your description, Duke seems to be the better option (or perhaps Chicago/Toronto, if it happens to be much cheaper). Where have you seen the placements from Duke masters'?

You got full tuition and stipend for the MA? As an international? Amazing!

You should consider the fact that the median MAPSS PhD placement is around the same rank as UT Austin: In Political Science, 16 of 19 MAPSS applicants (84%) have funded offers. They include admits at UChicago (5), Notre Dame, UPenn, UCLA, Cornell, Ohio State, Texas-Austin, Oxford, UIC, South Carolina, Toronto, Wisconsin-Madison, Boston College, Florida, NYU, Vanderbilt, UVA, Indiana-Bloomington, Yale, Georgia, UC-Davis, UC-Santa Cruz, Kentucky, and Florida State. https://mapss.uchicago.edu/past-phd-placements-political-science

+ 1. Congratulations to everyone accepted, all 8 of you!

Perhaps in other years. I doubt many had something like 4 or 5 CHYMPS offers. EDIT: I had two "top" offers, one CHYMPS and one T10.

This predoctoral fellowship might be of interest to applicants looking for alternatives :)). https://research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/12427/predoctoral-research-specialst/job The Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC) is seeking applicants for its Pre-Doctoral Fellowship for Data-Driven Research. Participants are hired as predoctoral research specialists on a full-time, benefits-eligible basis for 12-24 months. This program provides an opportunity for recent undergraduates from historically underrepresented groups to gain real-world experience that will prepare them for careers in public service and PhD study in Public Affairs, with a focus on security-related issues.

Email to check portal

Claiming a rejection at Stanford! Cycle is almost over!

Claiming a rejection at Yale :))! Congrats to anyone accepted.