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PROFILE:Type of Undergrad Institution: An international university Major(s)/Minor(s): EconUndergrad GPA: 3.7+Type of Grad: Political Science MA program in the USGrad GPA: 3.9+GRE: 170Q, 158V, 4.5AWAny Special Courses: lots of math/stats/econometrics courses, also took substantive IR coursesLetters of Recommendation: all three are from tenured political science professors well-known in the fieldTeaching/Research Experience: 2 RAs but not in the US, no publication, 1 conference presentationOther: IR/Methods subfield. 0 work experience, started MA straight out of undergradRESULTS:Acceptances: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, UCSD, Duke, NYU, UW-Madison, UT-Austin, Ohio StateRejections: MITPending: Upenn (not likely to wait)Attending: Not sure yetLESSONS LEARNED: 1. Similar to what others have said, my SOP is completely focused on research questions, including what I have already done+ what other questions I would like to answer+how I would approach these questions. It was only in the last two paragraphs that I mentioned the training I received and whom I would like to work with. 2. Don't worry too much about the application process and how it works, just try to do good research, and the professors can tell from your materials. I don't know what others think, but I personally don't think applying for a Political Science PhD program is a strategic thing. This means crafting materials, building up profile, getting good stats is not the best way to increase one's chances. Work hard to do good research and write "real" research papers. This kind of connects with your future paths in the PhD program and even afterwards: I didn't do anything specific for the application, I simply showed what I had done so far to the committee. (I wrote my SOP in 2 days, and my WS is a paper I had been working on for a while) 3. Try your best to write a writing sample that is a serious research paper. Don't just put together a paper that shows your ideas and skills; just write a paper that you think is potentially publishable (which means: interesting research question, contributes to the existing literature, and uses appropriate research methods). Ask yourself if the paper is worth reading for a professor in the field, or is it just a random essay. In fact, if you are going to pursue a PhD, you should write every paper with the aim of publication. I didn't publish anything, and I didn't do a lot of RAs, but I had two good papers which my professors told me both are publishable and that one of them had a good chance of getting published in a top journal. When talking with my POIs after getting admitted, they all mentioned that they liked my writing sample (one of them even asked me where I plan to publish it). 4. Find letter writers who can speak about your potentials as a scholar, not just ones that you have taken courses with. 5. The application process is not as random as people may think, but I guess fit really matters. Apply to a handful of schools, but only apply to those that you are interested in attending. I didn't get a lot of rejections, and I think this is because I just didn't apply to schools where there isn't anyone I can work with (for instance, I didn't apply to Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, etc. because the fit is bad) 6. Something I was also wondering while I applied was whether reaching out to POIs before applying is helpful. But I decided not to contact anyone, and it seems that it doesn't hurt. Good luck!!

Congrats on your cycle as well! You've got Berkeley!

Also MIT rejection email here! It was a bad fit so I'm not really surprised. Congrats to those who got in!

I'm not sure. My only guess is that different subfields are being contacted separately (I 'm in IR)

Also claiming Harvard acceptance! Just received a call from my POI. I already thought I was rejected since it came so late...

Oh I didn't reach out to them, I just received the email.

I got the same email. It's an email from the DGS today, which mentioned that details will be sent later this week.

In at NYU! Just received an email with funding details from the DGS

Thanks! I will definitely share after the cycle is over (although I think it is actually over since Princeton is my dream program). I have learned so much from this forum although I tend to be quiet most of the time... Just to share some background info: BA from an international university and MA in Polisci in the US. I am in IR/methods subfield with a focus on IPE. I honestly think GRE, TOEFL and GPA do not matter as much as people say they do, but I think solid research experience really matters (and professors can really tell from your writing sample and SOP). I was actually hoping for 1-2 acceptances before applying, but the results turned out to be better than what I expected. The cycle is far from over yet, and I am sure you will all get good news soon!

Also claiming Princeton acceptance!!

Thanks! About Yale-I was saying that perhaps if no one claims rejection by the end of the day then the acceptances are probably trolls (since they came out together last year).

Idk but Yale acceptances and rejections came out on the same day last year

It's not the funding package, but an email from the department with an attached offer letter.

Also NYU I think

Weird. Nothing changed in my portal