jce8491
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Posts posted by jce8491
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On 4/4/2024 at 12:14 AM, m82a said:
How's everybody on here feeling about where they're ending up/going after this application cycle?
Disappointed but undeterred. I applied to a relatively short list of top programs and struck out. It was my first cycle, and I learned a lot. Over the past few weeks, I've talked with people from the political science world and know where I went wrong. I was expressing my research interests and fit from an attorney POV, rather than a political science perspective. From talking to political scientists, I've gotten great advice on how to speak the right language when conveying my interests and on books and articles to read to enhance my fluency. (I've also received advice on how to better determine which programs fit with my interests.)
If I apply again next cycle, that advice will be invaluable. And I am leaning towards giving it another go. I will also have gone from zero publications to at least two publications. (I have two forthcoming pieces and anticipate publishing more between now and November/December). That should make my application stronger. All this to say, I'm not letting a little rejection stop me from continuing to pursue this.
- ThucydidesLatte, m82a, barthestow and 1 other
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On 3/13/2024 at 12:08 AM, LWitt said:
I have learned some things about the JSP application process that makes me very concerned. Please contact me if you think that you should have been accepted. '
I think I had the background and credentials to be accepted, but I think I screwed up my statement of purpose. That said, I'd be interested in hearing what your concerns are. Very sorry to hear you did not get in either!
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Received Harvard rejection, as expected. That's it for me. 0 for 8 lol. On the plus side, I know what went wrong and how to fix it. Might take a shot again next year. Might skip the PhD, as it's not strictly necessary. While this was disappointing, I'm grateful to have a career I enjoy that pays the bills.
Best of luck to all of you who were accepted to programs! You earned it. To those who aren't, keep your head up. It's a tough process. Don't let rejection deter you from pursuing your dreams. It's a temporary setback and may prove to be a blessing in disguise.
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25 minutes ago, ThucydidesLatte said:
Claiming UCSB rejection.
0a/0w/9r/8p
Great fit. Research and teaching experience, a perfect 4.0 MA GPA. One paper published.
This admission season has been brutal. I'm really sad.💔You're not alone. I'm about to get my final rejection. On the bright side, you still have eight pending.
I'm not deterred by the rejections. I know where I went wrong. I am confident I can fix it if I apply again in the future. And I'm finally making time to publish. So I'll be exploring my options in the next few months to decide how I want to approach things next fall.
Even if I'm disappointed with how it all panned out, I feel blessed in life and am happy to continue with my current job. Academia will be there when it's my time. Failure is temporary and breeds success. 🙂
- vadis and polisci119
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7 minutes ago, london_boy said:
Same, claiming a Yale rejection, congrats to all those admitted!
Same here. Received an email directing me to the portal. Congrats to the folks who made it in!
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Received a rejection from Stanford a couple hours ago, FWIW.
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16 minutes ago, Yuyu Jiang said:
Hi, has anyone received an email about the updated status of the application tonight?
Yep. Rejection in the portal. Expected after the calls went out last week. At least they moved quickly with the rejections. Might apply next year. Might just skip the PhD and go on the market without it. Will have a lot to think about over the next few months.
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Nothing on my end. Think I'm at the point of giving up hope. Best of luck to those who made it. It seems like a great program, and I'm very jealous. Looking like this year will be a bust for me, so I'll keep doing what I'm doing and see if I want to apply again in the future. I hope I'm wrong and that those of you who are still waiting get some good news!
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1 hour ago, TransientSpoon said:
Claiming an acceptance! Got a phone call around noon PST and then an email from the professor who called immediately after. They said funding details along with more formal communication will follow sometime soon.
Congrats! I have no doubt it was well deserved.
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2 hours ago, vadis said:
I will turn 33 in the fall during the first semester of my PhD. I finished my master's almost a decade ago. This whole application process has been pretty brutal in terms of making me feel old. I'm trying to just own the fact that I already teach political science at community college and have professional experience in the field- I'll leave being young and promising to the kiddos 😅
My spouse finished his PhD last year at 41. Time is going to pass anyway, might as well have the degree at the end of it.
25 minutes ago, linze said:I will be turning 35 by the beginning of the program. I have a masters and a JD; worked in politics and international organizations. Since I completed high school I wanted to pursue a career as a scholar in law/political science, but life got in the middle (mom got sick and the bill was huge; needed to contribute financially with my family). I am at a point where sometimes I got the voice saying I’m too old for this; but at the same time I am enjoying the fact I will be able to do something I have been postponing for a long time. Also, the programs I got into are willing to recognize previous coursework to some extent to hopefully it will be somewhere between 4-5 years to complete the program. ☺️
I feel all of this lol. I will turn 33 this summer, and this process has definitely made me feel old.
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2 hours ago, Prospero said:
Does anyone know when it's safe to assume that you've just been rejected?
There are a few places (UT Austin, Princeton) who've already released results, but for which my portal still says "Pending" or "In Review".
Is it even worth reaching out, or is better to wait for the actual rejection update?
I'd give Princeton until the end of the week. They generally send rejections out within three or four days of acceptances based on past years. I didn't get an acceptance, so I'm assuming a rejection from them until told otherwise.
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6 minutes ago, m123456 said:
I wouldn't count yourself out just yet! The person implied with POI that it would be the professor they would work under, but past years it seems like the Associate Dean called all of the accepted applicants on the same day. I would be surprised if they would call everyone on a weekend date too. We never know until we see the result! You got this!
I appreciate the optimism! I got rejected by three programs today, two of which I felt were really good fits. So it's been a rough day. I hope you're right on this. My other outstanding applications all felt like worse fits (from equally competitive programs) than the ones that rejected me---except JSP, which also feels like a strong fit. So this was the last bit of hope I was holding out. I'll hold on to it a bit longer.
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Well, assuming that's accurate, that seems to be bad news for the rest of us.
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18 minutes ago, london_boy said:
Received a UChicago rejection (in the portal), congrats to all those who have been accepted!
Same. Been a tough day. I'm at least getting results. Better than the uncertainty.
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Rejection from Michigan. Disappointed, but that's how it goes.
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1 hour ago, lezz said:
Any other ones claiming Princeton? 🥺
I didn't get anything, so I'll be expecting a rejection soon lol. Congrats to those who got in!
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1 hour ago, Maverickz said:
Because it's pure luck that would make you to be considered for admission as an international students.
Some of us in preparation for this graduate school admission based on bad exchange rate, million or thousands of our local currency are invested in this struggle without assurance of admission, and you don't want us to opt for safety schools??
International applicants do divide their applications into three tiers; tops schools, moderate schools and Low schools. If top and moderate schools mess you up and low school offer you admission, the best thing you can do for your progress is to attend the program, at that moment that's the only school that can resonate with your research interest. IMO, progress is progress.
The standard over there in US is high compare to developing countries. Imagine comparing three publications from asia/africa with a publication in US, as an admission committee who would you consider?
In our world here, Be it R1 or R2 in US, We believed every institution was established with good standards. So, no problem in finding jobs at home.
No, as I said in my post, I wasn't commenting on whether you should or shouldn't apply to "safety schools." I was asking an earnest question. You and others answered it. The international market isn't as snobbish when it comes to American universities as the American market is.
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On 2/3/2024 at 2:54 AM, Maverickz said:
I think majority of applicants that opted for high ranking schools are domestic student. IMO, Safety schools to me are R2 schools.
Purely out of curiosity (no judgment here), why apply to "safety schools"? I have to assume if you're applying, you're willing to go there. Do folks just need a PhD from a reputable American university to succeed on the international market? Is the hope to gain status in America with the PhD? I just know that hearing from professors how competitive the American academic market influenced my choice in programs, so I'm wondering if international applicants have a different perspective because they have different objectives.
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12 minutes ago, Polisci882 said:
Out of curiosity, when you all were creating your list of PhD programs to apply to, did you all include “safety” schools on your list? I use that term loosely, because I don’t really think there are safety schools in PhD admissions. It’s all fairly competitive. I’m just curious because it seems most posts on gradcafe tend to be about the same ~30 or so schools, but there are many more universities that offer PhD programs that don’t get posted about as much. It seems we are all vying for spots at a few very name-brand institutions.
No. I only applied to highly ranked programs. I'm trying to transition to academia and already have an established career. So my feeling was that if this doesn't pan out for me, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.
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Another week with no results. Hopefully, I'll finally hear from some programs next week. Until the past two days, it wasn't much of a distraction, but I spent way too much time checking my email today. It doesn't help with my concentration that I'm having to wade through the tedious (but necessary) parts of my job until late next week. ☹️
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13 minutes ago, fizzan said:
Like most time this happens - post 2008, during COVID etc - it's bc the economy is bad and people are going back to school
At least in America, the economy isn't bad, though. Unemployment is quite low. From what I read on Reddit, it seems like more people are applying because the system is more accessible to both domestic and international students now.
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48 minutes ago, garmit said:
I would not take the two Chicago acceptances seriously until someone claims them. This feels like the Princeton posts, where some (potential) trolls try and freak us out. Admittedly, prospective grad students might be the most neurotic group I've ever been apart of, so its working.
It's possible they're real. This is the time of the year when Chicago admits people. I've taken the approach of assuming that every application will be a rejection until I've heard otherwise, so I'm not going to sweat it either way. But you might be right. It could well be a troll.
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44 minutes ago, london_boy said:
Anyone here who heard back from UChicago? I'm not sure if the posts on the main site are true if no one is claiming here.
I haven't. But I'm expecting a rejection from them. Feel like my fit there isn't great, at least comparatively speaking.
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23 hours ago, LWitt said:
Unfortunately, I am an expert on this particular topic. Based on past experiences (and talking to past admittees on here and on campus) - the first acceptances are by telephone probably by next week. As some accepted applicants turn Berkeley down (maybe after a few days of thinking time) there appears to be at least a small second round to fill spots that might get you to mid February. All the rest of us are turned down rather unceremoniously by email essentially on the last day February (thanks for your application fee....). Contacting the department about status is useless even if you have been in the no pile for weeks. My read is that if you don't hear by next friday - you should assume your chances are very low.
Sorry to hear it didn't go your way last year. Hopefully, things are different this year! I was also pegging next Friday as the day after reading threads from past years. The wait has been so difficult.
- curtsyingking and LWitt
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2023-2024 Application Thread
in Political Science Forum
Posted
Nobody can give you odds. It's an idiosyncratic process. Are you finished? No. Your cumulative GPA will make it harder for you, but you can overcome it. The key for you is writing a killer statement of purpose and finding programs with professors who match with your research interests and are taking students. Publishing will also help you. I'll also say that getting into a PhD program directly out of undergrad is not easy. If it doesn't go your way the first time, you can pursue a Masters (if financially possible) or spend time working and try to publish or gain relevant experience to bolster your application.