jamesc6

Claiming the UMass Amherst acceptance. Got the e-mail this morning. Full funding for 5 years + health care package etc. 
I'm absolutely thrilled. This was my top choice in the US!! Crying lol
 
Edit: AP subfield.

Waitlist at Princeton – Political Theory.

I have just received an email saying I am waitlisted at Princeton. I am also in AP. 

I'm in at Princeton - just received an email

I got an acceptance to PSU but by the sounds of the email, I don’t think they’ve sent out all acceptances yet. 

Longtime lurker first time poster but I'm also claiming a UC Davis admit. The email came at 10pm EST on the dot. I was also waitlisted at Penn State today.
IR Subfield

I've lurked this whole cycle, but I am unbelievably excited to claim a UC Davis admit, though I haven't posted it on the results page yet.  I am honestly in shock.  Davis is my top choice; it's an incredible program.  I will most likely accept.  If I get into Stanford or Berkeley (longshots given my stats, if you ask me), I'll certainly consider them, but I will probably be in Davis in the Fall.
This is my second cycle; I had one admit last cycle at a last choice school but my GRE score were terrible. I was rejected everywhere else. I did some practice tests and saw that I could significantly improve my scores in addition to spending another year honing my app and conducting more research.  It was a big risk, but I wanted to go to a better school and stay in California, so I thought it was worth it.  
I was feeling pretty confident until COVID happened and I saw how hard admissions were going to be.  On top of that, Davis didn't take GRE scores (which were going to make up for a Master's GPA that was quite lower than I wanted it to be as I worked a LOT - 2 or 3 jobs at times - during my master's).  
Still, I put my best foot forward on that application and worked my butt off on the off chance that I'd get in.  I am sure some element of luck played into it.  Congratulations to everyone who even put in an application!  This is a GRUELING process. 
 

I'm sure this forum will explode with the news when berkeley releases decisions

Just wanted to share I got accepted to UCSB (CP) for those of you waiting for a response from them. I had my interview 3 weeks ago

Anyone else here apply to NYU as well?
Think based on past timelines they should also be coming out pretty soon.

Not a PhD acceptance, but I got into a pretty prestigious Masters program at LSE this morning!! I just wanted to share for the sake of spreading positive vibes. I applied in early November, so the wait has been rough. But it was, oh so, worth it! Fingers crossed for other applications rolling in. We got this, y'all!

I would advise against it. As per the FAQ, they have the entirety of February to get back to us.
Princeton:
Q. When are admission decisions announced?
A. Usually February
https://politics.princeton.edu/frequently-asked-questions
Berkeley:
Q: When can I expect to hear a decision on my application?
A: The department will contact you by email no later than March 1, usually by mid-February. The department is authorized only to recommend admission decisions to the Graduate Division Dean, but you will receive a final decision from the Dean's office if you are admitted shortly after you hear from the department.
 
https://polisci.berkeley.edu/graduate-program/applying/frequently-asked-questions#ACAAR

Also taking a break from the forum for the next couple of days. After muting everything, I was actually productive today and I want to keep that going! Congratulations to all those who have received admit decisions today ~ I'll probably pop back in if I get a surprise admission email.  

Claiming an acceptance from UC Santa Cruz!

Based on the email they sent out talking about the timeline that certainly seems to be the case, to quote that email,"  Coming out of this meeting we will then move to stage two in which we schedule phone or Skype interviews with those applicants that remain under consideration. "

Anyone waiting for UC Irvine check your portal! I just checked and had an acceptance letter waiting! Good luck to everyone out there! 

Question for the UVA waitlists -- did the status of your application change on your website? As an IR applicant I'm thinking I probably got a hard pass from the admissions committee, but what do I know.
I know the saying is a watched pot never boils, but good god, the stupid pot is all I'm thinking about. JUST BOIL WATER!!!!!!!

It was a personalized email and they didn’t say— just that they’ll be re-evaluating over the next few months and to let them know if I am no longer interested at any point. 
If I had to guess, the one acceptance posted on the results page in January was probably real and they’re likely taking a much smaller cohort than previous years.
Keeping my fingers crossed as this was my first result ?

I think someone in this thread contacted NW and they said results would be out in the week of Feb 15th. 

followed a bunch of POI on twitter back in December, two followed me back within the day and I didn't think much of it (maybe they just follow a bunch of people back, which seems plausible). TODAY, about a month and a half AFTER I followed them, one POI I followed just followed me back. Like I'm trying not to be super optimistic but like they had to go out of their way to find and follow me back at this point. I wanna see this as a very good sign but at the same time willing to accept it means nothing. 
Thats my day so far though, the twitter notification came up in the middle of my workout and the adrenaline/nervousness helped me finish stronger ?

If this is true, it's not okay in my book. People spend their hard earned money paying for these applications. If they know they're not accepting anyone for a particular field, they should state that. 

Claiming an Indiana University admission! I turned away from my email for 5 min and this happened.
Literally a jump-scare for me.

Second @smug-face ! I think a number of universities in the US (as part of the Council of Graduate Schools) have an agreement that you don't have to notify them of your decision prior to April 15 for offers with financial support, so I would check if that's the deadline for your program.

American here, with an LSE MSc. I had similar questions and fortunately I had very blunt professors at LSE who did their PhDs in both the US and UK. Their advice is as follows:
If you want the option of working in the US, the poli sci job market is the most competitive compared to other countries' and a US degree is the best option. It is far more difficult and sometimes impossible to get good positions with a foreign PhD in poli sci. On the other hand, a US PhD is very attractive in the UK/East Asia etc., and would make you as equally competitive in those markets. A UK PhD will limit you in terms of competitiveness and possibly disadvantage you if you seek a job outside the UK/EU. 
As I mentioned, this advice came from professors who got their PhDs from Yale, WashU and UK universities. So I would strongly suggest considering US options if you have them. If not, I see you have accepted UCL's offer, and as the above poster mentioned, it is an EXCELLENT institution. I would merely be aware of the practical limitations and reality of the job market (if you wish to continue in academia outside the UK/EU). You will lack competitiveness in the US with a UCL degree as opposed to a US (particularly R1) degree. That just seems to be a fact. 
 

I’ve been lurking here for quite some time. I do share the anxiety facing most of us right now! Keep your hope and head up! And a big congrats to those who have heard some great news. Seeing that many of us have talked a little bit about themselves, i’d like to share mine too. 
 
Due to my financial condition, I could afford to only apply to four places. I decided to take on a perilous “go hard or go home” route ? and applied to Harvard, Cornell, UTAustin, and UF — all CP.
 
Unfortunately, I assume it’s a no-no for Austin by now as I have heard nothing since some of us here claimed acceptances last week. I intend to focus on specific comparative issues with focus on LatAm and Southeast Asia, so it’s a little bit sad that I didn’t get in there because Austin is quite strong in LatAm politics. Cornell, on the other hand, seems like a good fit and the program itself is very strong in both Southeast Asian and LatAm politics. The POI there is also very nice and gave me several tips on the application (so I really recommend emailing them!). But you know, it’s still Cornell and this year’s going to be hyper competitive for sure... let’s see how it turns out ? I genuinely don’t hope much from Harvard, although the fact that the POI there replied my email with solid responses gives me a slight glimpse of hope ? UF is also such a lovely place and a relatively good fit too. 

One small rant: the time and money we spend on grad school apps are way too much, especially for foreign students whose first language is not English. As a non-US citizen we can’t file for app fees waiver, so that’s around $80-100 per each school you apply to. Plus we have to pay for a standardized English test (TOEFL/IELTS), and that’s additional $180 plus the fees for sending scores to the schools ($20 per each). And of course, the GRE... almost the same exact amount as the English test for foreigners. It’s just quite a lot! I can say with every cent we paid we have every right to be anxious! ?

My (brief) profile: a foreign student doing MA in area studies in a public university in the US. BA from abroad. Currently co-authoring a book with my advisor, under contract with an academic publisher. Was a field journalist for an int’l news agency in Asia and LatAm for three years, plus a couple of years of university-based research experience.