Senochka

Yeah, but they also said that their cohort sizes tend to be bigger compared to other schools, if memory serves, I remember the number was somewhere between 30-60. So that's 5-10% percent acceptance rate, which is on the higher side considering NW's ranking. Their data is somewhat generic so I couldn't make out what was the acceptance rate for previous cohorts for specific programs, but the overall acceptance rate for The Graduate School is 18%, which, again, can be considered to be on the higher side. So, hang in there and hope for the best. By the way, I share your anxiety, I wish I were a bear or something and went into a hibernation period only to wake up when this is all done.

If you apply early, you generally receive some promotional e-mails until the deadline, then it is radio silence till the decisions for most schools. In a previous cycle, a Northwestern representative told me that they typically receive around 600 applications, so I guess the review process might take a little longer than your average school. Don't worry if you don't hear back from them for some time, especially since NW is kinda known for its slow, painful, and late, oh so late decision rollout process. Holds true for most schools in the top 30.

I'm CP too, it's subfield by subfield then, this fills me with a transient sense of relief hoping good news is on the way for both of us, thank you so much for your reply.

@anonymousvultureThank you so much for your input, I guess I will hope and wait till Friday, and if no email arrives by the end of the business day on 20th, will assume that a rejection is on the way. @PolGradHi, a fellow applicant from Turkey here. As a veteran of the U.S. higher ed. system, I would say that submitting a GRE score is always in the best interest of any international applicant. Although most Turkish universities use a 4.0 scale, how, say, a 3.5 from METU or Boğaziçi compares to a 3.5 at NW, a Big Ten school, or highly ranked LAC is not always known to committee members. In that case, relying on GRE scores in order to evaluate applicants by standardized parameters that are somewhat context-independent is wise. So, unless your friend's application is exceptionally strong in any other aspect (publications, related and reputable work experience etc.), s/he should be cautiously optimistic about his/her prospects. Added to that the current visa crisis in Turkey, schools that want a diverse student body might seek to fill those seats from another part of the globe that proves to be less burdensome when it comes to F-1 sponsorships, and might turn to students who provide he aforementioned data, a GRE score, for straightforward comparison. I don't mean to sound harsh or anything by the way, I am in a similar situation, and this is how I see my prospects as well. Since I am a disabled applicant and taking the GRE with accommodations as an int'l student is notoriously hard, although I am expecting my scores to be quite competitive for top 50 and somewhat competitive for top 30, they didn't make the cut in terms of the deadlines, and I believe my chances will be slim because of that. Having said that, a sound evaluation requires a full story, maybe your friend has qualities that will motivate committees to look beyond theGRE, maybe his/her interests will resonate so well with those of a faculty member and s/he will advocate for your friend, I don't know. My evaluations rely on assumptions inspired by my experience and might not hold true for anyone else besides myself. Best of luck to both of you.

Has anyone else applied to or heard from UIUC? I see one acceptance on the results page, the director of grad. admissions told me that all decisions would likely be out by the end of the month, and I am trying to figure out whether all acceptances are sent, and we have only one person here who applied or is accepted or the decision rollout works more like a process at UIUC. Thanks in advance for any replies that might come.

@LuxluxI was meaning to write to you but forgot my password. I also did not hear back from Vandy but I did not pay the fee so maybe I am seen as not worthy of a rejection haha, but many claimed acceptances and waitlists already so I am guessing we are expecting rejections. However, all the activity I see hereconcerning Vanderbilt was either CP or AP, so maybe you can still hope for good news.

Hi, A quick poll: do you see any merit in applying to MAPSS or other master's programs of that sort around this time? Would I have any chance with funding? A question: Do you think the race for predoctoral fellowships and residential RA positions will be as tough as PhD admissions this year? Like many of you, I am so tired and sick of the process that I really do not want to move a finger unless there is a reasonable prospect of return in what I will do, on the other hand, I feel hopeless, restless and like I have to do something before the end. Any thoughts are much appreciated.

Hey, can an LSE applicant tell me what does (MPhil/PhD) attached to the names of some but not all programs? Does it simply mean that the department offers an MPhil for those who don't have one and a PhD/DPhil for those who already hold a postgrad degree, or, does it imply an enroute master's embedded within a PhD? Does it mean an automatic entry/acceptance into the PhD once the master's is completed or is it something not indicative of anything? Thanks in advance.

@nivy25 Hi, I was admitted to a dual master's program at MIIS two years ago. As you may already know, it's more than half a century old and was previously called the Monterey Institute. It was about to go defunct until Middlebury College came to its rescue and turned it into the grad school of the College. When Iapplied, the school was being restructured around this goal. For me, part of the allure was the variety of dual degree options. They promised a truly multidisciplinary education, and since Middlebury is really strong in languages, foreign language training programs were abundant. In this restructuring phase they were also really generous with aid. I got 42k which then was raised to 48k annually. There seemed to be a lot of veterans and soldiers from NATO missions within the student body which made me think an emphasis on diplomacy would be apparent in the curriculum and that would positively affect the domestic students' job prospects if they were to decide that the academia is not their scene. My biggest concerns were the location (Monterey is unreasonably, inexplicably, insanely expensive, definitely not a typical college town.) and the faculty. Some professors came over from Middlebury to teach whereas some were career professionals. The names incited some promise but the overall faculty could not yet be described as robust. My humble advice is, give a shot if the aid is still that good, if options and opportunities to enrich your experience and add value to your degree are abundant, if they are delivering on their promise to grow and solidify their student and alumni networks, and IF you can meet the cost of living in Monterey. Best of luck with everything.

@ovejaland @Richelieu, Thank you both! Also thanks for the kind wishes. I wish the best of luck and everything to you both.

@ovejalHi, congrats on the UF admit and your other offers. Would you mind telling me when did you submit your app? Nothing new on my portal, so I thought it's either a rejection or they are moving slowly starting with earlier submissions. .

Has anyone applied to and heard anything back from Brandeis?

@polisci_galThank you so much for the input. I have nothing against studying in Canada. I stuck to higher middle to middle range US universities just because I am already familiar with the US HE system. I'd really rather apply to Canadian master's programs than to apply to those schools with later deadlines.

@IndeedThanks for the quickest reply in the world. The problem seems to be more about me than the fee, then. Now I will settle into my chair and wait for my rejection I guess. @smug-faceHi, namely, I would like to study conspiracy theories and modern mythmaking. Looking at the Jan. 6 insurrection, at the Hill, theyse theoriesdo not seem wholly detached from the discussions both within the poli. sci. academia and the civic sphere. I believe English scholars are interested in the topic because these theories are narratives. But I am more interested in the practical implications or consequences of the tendency to create and engage with these theories There is Eric Oliver at UChicago, but I saw no chance, Cynthia Wang is more on the organizational behavior and management Elise Wang is in English at Duke, Alice Warvşcj şs comm faculty at UNC Chapel Hill. Basically, the experts are all over the place. You are so right about recommenders, but I don't think a reluctantly written letter would do much good. Thank you both for your insight.

Long time observer, first time poster here. I Have a question for the sincere and good people of thegradcafe. Every input is much appreciated. I am an int'l student on a really, really tight budget. I previously applied to master's programs and received acceptances with good funding (Heller, MIIS, LSE). But I still had to pay a small portion of the tuition 1/4 - 1/5 and for living expenses. In my case, taking out a significant loan would lead me to a disastrous ending if I could not find a place on the already saturated US job market. I would need to return to my home country and due to the parity, it would take me a lifetime to pay the loan even if I survived on very little. Doing a master's at my home country proved to be unfeasible as well because all decent universities demand attendance which would be an issue since I work full time and cannot/could not leave my job So I applied only to five schools. From two of them, I already received rejections. (Turns out my topic is studied by comm and English departments more often than it is studied within polsci. This could be used to my advantage since I have a BA in English but I really really want to do political science.Long story short, alignment issues.) Anyways, this was to provide some context and to shield myself from the classical "What a whiner, duh." reaction. Main story, I applied to Vandy but could not pay the fee at the time. Later, I e-mailed the Graduate School to say that I was definitely going to pay the fee and asked them not to penalize my application based on that. They directed me to the department. Same thing, no answer. Meanwhile, the additional documents I submitted a while ago has not been processed meaning that they probably saw that the fee was missing and did not look into the direction of my app. again. Only now I am somewhat capable of paying the fee but everyone here seems so sure that Vandy contacted all the students it intends to admit. The question is, should I still submit the fee? Would they look into my app then? But wouldn't it be joining the race at the finish line? I founnd two lower ranked schools with Feb. 15 deadlines. Should I give them a shot instead or would I be setting myself on a track to hell by applying to these schools? This is my first and last PhD cycle. I am financially, physically, and psychologically exhausted from the previous master's cycles. My family and my professors are tired. I will not even be able to find recommenders. There are financially more capable, better prepared people out there who will ask for letters and why bother with me instead of helping them, right? At least they have reasonable shots at good places. This is so long, and for that, I profusely apologize. What should I do now? Any suggestions? P.S. When I started on the process, fee waiver deadlines have already passed. I could not start earlier because I was tackling a health problem and in fact I am three days out of surgery.