scared_phd

Same. It is just a heads up email with details to come later.

Got funding offer from OSU (something called Distinguished University Fellowship). Sharing because somebody asked about it on the forum recently.

I read the @sloth_girl's profile and I couldn't agree more on everything she said. I wish I found her post before I applied. If I had to do it again, I will take so many pointers from that post and I am sure it will increase my chances. So @LatinAmericanFootball, thank you for sharing such a wonderful resource which is comprehensive enough for almost everything we would want to say. That being said, I just want to stress how important revising one's SOP is. In my case, I submitted a very well revised SOP when I applied last year and didn't make it mostly due to weaknesses in other parts of my application. Going into the new cycle, I thought I had my SOP on lock and I couldn't have been more wrong. The SOP I thought was good enough and was reviewed so many times last cycle was reviewed multiple times again this cycle which got it in such a great shape that I felt confident submitting it. I was also lucky enough to have a super involved advisor who helped me review it in both cycles. His comments helped me shape my SOP into a mature writing by someone who seems amply ready for grad school. I also had it reviewed by my other advisor whose different insights added more to its nuance. I would mostly advise against getting your SOP reviewed by someone who is not in the field (unless it is a focused review on grammar and wording as @sloth_girlmentioned in her post). The professors who helped me review my SOP were so knowledgeable about what matters and doesn't to be included in a SOP, things someone who is not involved in the field wouldn't know (I didn't!).

Claiming an acceptance at Georgetown! Email from the professors that interviewed me stating that I got recommended for admission. A good way to end a brutal week marred by rejections.

Yea, I got mine too. This has been a very bad week for me after a very good end of January.

I received an email about a Q&A session and some info on visit days a few minutes ago. Nothing about virtual tour dates or the program being full though.

Is it generally frowned upon to reach out to a program coordinator to ask about the timeline of application decisions? I have had previous contact with said program coordinator but I don't know if it is appropriate or considered bad to reach out to them regarding this? Let me know what you guys think.

I think I saw a few of those but not a lot.

Claiming one of those UMich and Princeton rejections. Tough way to start arguably one the most important weeks in the cycle. Hoping for some positive news in the rest of the week. Chin up everybody!

Lolll. Guess I will cross GU off my list. I told them all the better offers I have.

I actually do. If you are not a perfect fit for their program and your application is stellar, they might decide to reject you because their offer might not mean much to you at the end of the day. Or they could simply think you are a much more capable applicant and can easily get offers at much higher ranked places. I think @jjiffyis a good example. @jjiffyLet us know your thoughts man!

Yes, I would say GU is definitely top 30 and even top 20 for some subfields. The rankings do play a part in admission decisions and recruitment efforts by departments. If GU realizes you have a chance in other top 20 programs or better yet, top 10 programs, they will try to recruit you actively. It is also important to mention that faculty are very much aware of the rankings and that students will choose a higher ranked program if they get an offer (provided that it is good fit).

I think an interview is always a good sign. Especially for programs that are not high ranked, it might be more of a good news because their intention might be actively recruiting you.

I had an interview at Georgetown a couple of weeks ago. I don't even know if I should call it an interview; it was soo chill. It was more a chance for me to ask questions and get advice rather than an evaluation of my files. I had a chat with the field chair of my subfield and one other faculty who were so forward and honest in answering all my questions. The call lasted about an hour and we barely spent 10 minutes with me answering their questions. It was all about my questions, my options and them giving me advice on how to make the best decision on where to go. My advice is don't worry about it and prepare as many questions as you can because the answers they gave me were very helpful.

Yesss good luck everyone!! Major decision week coming up. Primarily I expect UMich, Princeton and NYU and to some extent, MIT and UNC. Also, potentially Stanford, WUSTL, UCLA, Georgetown, and Cornell. Pheeww ?

Last year, I applied as a senior in undergrad and got rejected from all the programs I applied to. It was devastating! What really helped me was deciding that I really want to do a PhD and taking positive steps that will enhance my application for the next cycle. What I did first was secure a research job after graduation. I was able to get in on a project led by an econ professor at my institution and that really helped. The project is a large, research effort that involves fieldwork and a collaboration with big organizations like the World Bank. That really made my CV look better. It is also important to mention that my involvement in the project signals a willingness and a desire to learn research methods I was not familiar with like survey research, RCT, and generally, research that involves fieldwork. That really complemented my relative strengths on data analysis, regressions, text analysis and so on which they could observe from my CV, transcript and writing sample. The other thing I did is edit and enhance my SOP substantially. I can't stress enough how important this is and how hard I worked on it to make it better. I removed and added a lot of stuff that the SOP that looked well last cycle became really really good for the current cycle. It had to go through multiple revisions and feedback from my mentors and recommenders really helped. But, the biggest improvement I made was on my writing sample. I used a senior thesis I wrote for graduation at my undergrad institution. Last cycle, by the December deadline, the thesis was barely a large research proposal. By the time I graduated, it was very developed and looked entirely different. The data analysis was complete, the plots, graphs and figures were all in a good shape. To make it the best writing sample it could be, I asked for more feedback on it after I graduated (around October, November last year) and that really helped reorganize it better and make the writing more nuanced. Given most of the project was done in 2021, after last cycle's deadlines had already passed, it looked significantly different. In one of my interviews, the POI who interviewed me indicated that he was most impressed by the writing sample. It is the biggest improvement on my application from last year and it really has paid off. I would recommend working on your files as much as you could to get them into the best shape they could be in. If you think you would benefit from a more involved research experience, that would also really help and make your CV better for a PhD applicant. Hope this helps!

@jjiffy@LatinAmericanFootball@zoooxuWould you mind sharing your Berkeley funding package? Just trying to see if it is a standard package or a personalized one, which indicates some leeway for bargaining.

Thanks!! I am still pretty much shook!

@LatinAmericanFootball@jjiffy@zoooxu I was trying to sleep when I decided to check the forum one last time and saw your posts. I refreshed my email and there was nothing. Berkeley is one of my top schools, probably number one, and I was devastated. Like I felt my heart sink literally. And, because of a reason I really can't explain, I decided to check my spam folder and there it was. I got innn!!! Damn you Gmail! I am sooo happy right now.

It riles people up on the forum. Last time, when the Berkeley troll was operating on the results page, we were all super anxious. I really thought the acceptances were out cuz there were like 7 or 8 really believable claims by the end.

Friday is ending (at least where I am) and it's way too quite. I guess this week is going to be a very slow one ?

Yes, I received that email too. I have heard the GPS school is very good and their master's programs are nice as well. If you are considering a master's program, I recommend you reply to the email and ask for more information.

That's hilarious lol, sorry guys. Interestingly, I am admitted to OSU but haven't received the emails...quite the mix up I imagine.

Also, when I say T-20, I specifically refer to the CP rankings on USNews. They can be markedly different for other subfields. I don't know if people usually refer to the general poli sci rankings when they talk about top 20 schools.

I primarily use USNews