Viking

A couple profs said it's for administrative purposes (i.e. to see which schools students consider to be peer schools). One prof told me he glances at it to see if an applicant's research interests align with the list of schools. The prof said this helps him figure out whether you were serious enough about applications to determine which ones were good fits.

E-mail from faculty yesterday and then a grad coordinator follow-up e-mail today regarding the recruitment weekend.

American. I didn't expect this after being dinged by Duke and UMich. Guess it shows that decisions at other schools aren't highly predictive.

Just received an acceptance e-mail from a professor at Princeton. Extremely excited.

Would you mind sharing the funding package they offered? You mentioned the same deal as before, but I couldn't find what others reported. Also, mine was lower than other schools, so I'm curious if it's the same for everyone.

I checked my UCSD messaging tab and found an acceptance. Subfield is American. No e-mail or other notification, so I guess that will come later. UCSD's funding package was guaranteed for five years and between 16 and 17k. Also got into UCLA last night but on the waitlist for funding.

Oxford publishes a series called Handbooks of Political Science. There's a different collection for each of the major subfields. They provide good overviews.

Stipends are taxed, but since it's only 15k, your effective tax rate will be zero.

All the schools in Peterson have around a 10% acceptance rate. From Brown and UPenn up to Yale and Harvard, there are no more than a couple points of variation in the acceptance rate. Apparently, self-selection is acting as the first cut. That's really surprising. If you look at the top 50 undergrads, there is a huge spread in acceptance rates. But that doesn't hold true for poli sci departments.

I was under the impression there isn't much travel (aside from conferences) in political science. Is there a significant amount of research-related travel? Is it limited to comparative folks?

Apparently, once we're admitted, professors are going to be calling us up to discuss their schools. What are some good questions to ask that prospective students might not think of but are actually really important to know?

If you're looking for a good browser game for work and like RPGs, this is it: http://www.dragonagejourneys.com/ It's pretty much Dragon Age Lite. Definitely the most in-depth flash game ever created.

Came around noon EST for me.

Thanks. I'm American Politics. I'm in the institutions camp, and I want to study Congress primarily.

In at Washington University in St. Louis. E-mail came today. $20,000 stipend first year. Assistantship of about 16 hours per week in future years. Pretty relieved and excited after the Duke ding. Letter says they are aiming for a class size under 10.

Good to know. Also what does POI stand for? "Professor of Interest" is the only thing I can come up with.

For admit weekends, do schools pay for your transportation and hotel?

Congratulations. Glad to hear it.

To renew hope that Stanford is still giving out acceptances? Seems like a pretty solid trolling agenda.

I applied to Columbia, too and haven't heard anything.

Any more Stanford offers go out today? Wondering if they're finished already.

Legal action is rarely the best course of action. By the time legal expenses are paid, he'll be unlikely to make any money back. The university will also file motions that delay the process. OP will spend 2 years of his life fighting for no reason. As a repeat player, the university has more incentive to win this case than the OP does. Perhaps more importantly, a lawsuit will only get the OP a bad reputation in the field.

The above-poster is right. Just call your credit card company and say the charge is an incorrect, duplicate charge. The credit card company will waive the charge unless the school disputes the bill. Considering the school has no reason to charge you twice, it has no grounds on which to dispute the second charge.

The above post is misleading as it makes reneging seem scary and illegal. Schools will not hold you to your commitment if you want to go elsewhere. You'll lose your deposit, but that's about it. Just let them know as soon as you know for sure. Also, they could certainly sue you for tuition, but they would likely lose. Even if winning were certain, no school would ever do this. Think about the bad publicity that would accrue to the school, not to mention the legal fees incurred would exceed any recovery they get from you. Also, the profs will not blacklist you. Some academics may be petty, but they neither have the time nor care about the decisions prospective students make before even arriving at school.

JudPolitics nailed it. Since you're doing grad school --> law school, the letters are fine. If you were doing the reverse, that probably wouldn't hold true. Law schools just want to see if you can get two profs to say you're a good person and student. Grad schools want a bit more out of their letters.