PoliLurker

PROFILEType of Undergrad Institution: Not sure how to categorize so I'll just say: U. South CarolinaMajor(s)/Minor(s): International studiesUndergrad GPA: 3.94Type of Grad: Georgetown (R1), Masters in International Development (not really poli sci at all, though tangential)Grad GPA: 3.94GRE: 170v/169q/5.5Any Special Courses: lots of math/econ the past few years (mostly after getting my masters): several econometrics courses, calculus1-3 with diffyq, math stats, linear algebra, real analysis (brutal!), intermediate micro/macro econ (I was considering applying to econ programs too, but decided against it in the end)Letters of Recommendation: 2 profs (one econ, one poli sci), 1 supervisor at a research institute (an economist)Teaching Experience: econometrics TA in grad schoolResearch Experience: worked 3+ years at a think tank as an RA, doing some academic research with an economist and some non-academic research; research consultant with the World Bank for a little while (not poli sci though); supported a field experiment in Rwanda for a few months; lead author in a journal (not poli sci or econ); lots of coding experience (Stata and R) Other: long time lurker; served in the Peace Corps (helpful for CP?); short stints at a few other intl development orgs; avid bird watcher RESULTS Acceptances: NYU Waitlists: none Rejections: Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton political economy Pending: Harvard, MIT Going to: prob NYU, maybe Harvard if I get in LESSONS LEARNED Since most of us don't receive feedback from faculty on why we did/didn't get in anywhere, I think it's hard to extract lessons about what was good or bad about our applications. With that said, I think I have a relatively strong quant background, and NYU is known to be a quantier school, so maybe that helped. I'm sure fit matters a lot too, but I also think it's hard to know from the faculty's perspective whether you will be a good fit. Honestly, I think the number one lesson is that there is a ton of randomness and luck. We've seen a bunch of people get into top programs and nowhere else, and super qualified people get in nowhere. With so many qualified applicants and so few slots, there will inevitably be a lot of luck involved. So the main takeaway I think is to apply to lots of programs. And don't get discouraged this year if it didn't work out--just roll the dice again next year (and maybe get some more research/math experience?). Also, feedback from academics on SOPs is huge--they had a lot of advice for me.