conflict_resolutioner

My two cents. 1. whether there is a departmental ideal for the kind of doctoral students they hope to produce 2. departmental averages for time to completion 3. recent placements for students 4. what departmental/university resources there are for someone with your intellectual interests (including research grants. important if you do experimental works) 5. what is distinct or unusual in the way their program is structured, or in their departmental culture. (what makes their program differ from their peer) 6. (if applicable) (ask very politely and cautiously) any flexibility in matching funded offers from other programs. If so, any materials you may submit to help with the process Good chat with the director! Let us know how it goes.

Also claiming Columbia acceptance. IR subfield. No information about campus visit, but hope that they provide details soon, as I am traveling internationally. Also happy lunar new year everyone. Wish you all a prosperous, joyful and healthy Year of the Dragon!

also claiming USC acceptance. IR subfield. Email from Graduate School.

Hi, international applicant here. I don't think domestic and international applicants differ too much in terms of their motivations. We all choose and apply to schools that we deem is best for our development and, perhaps more importantly, would lead us to good jobs in the future. That being said, what land you a good job can be different in the domestic and international market. For example, a strange phenomenon that I have witnessed in the East Asian market (could be just my perception, potentially anecdotal): a job applicant from a lower ranked American program might be more appealing to the hiring committee than one from a higher ranked program in East Asia. In a hypothetical scenario, I could imagine, all things equal, a USC graduate (great program btw) could compete on a same level with a graduate from the top 3 schools in the region (which rank 10th - 30th internationally, higher than USC). In short, there seems to be a predilection for graduates from American universities in other parts of the world, in terms of hiring. Therefore, I would say some international applicants might be more willing to go for R2 or even R3 schools because they believe they are still highly employable back home. Just my two cents. Disclaimer: still a student and it could very well be the case that I don't know what I am talking about.

hey my friend, they clearly saw something in you, considering they specifically picked you out of over 200-300 apps. It’s no accident, enjoy the moment!

claiming acceptances from OSU and Brown too! IR subfield. I am physically shaking. This is my 3rd cycle, having applied in 2018 and 2020. Not easy at all, at least for me. But I can finally sleep well.

Well I am in East Asia, so it is 4pm here. They probably scheduled it to be sent in CA in day time though

Just officially received rejection from UCSD. Accepted: 0 Waitlisted: 0 Rejected: UCSD Pending: 11

Hopefully, it means a waitlist. I am an international applicant, but I haven't got my rejection yet as well.

I haven't heard anything either (IR). Probably just AP for now.

Thank you so much. Yes, I was surprised too. I submitted my application on 15 Dec, and it took them only two weeks to send out interview invitations. I wouldn't be too worried if I were you. Interview invitation itself does not provide any good information. There are too many reasons that a school does or does not interview a candidate. It could be that they have doubts regarding an applicant, so they want to meet him/her (I know this is especially true for international students (e.g. Chinese) whose English proficiency might be a concern). Or it could be that they are genuinely interested in a certain candidate and trying to decide to pull the trigger or not. Sometimes, a department chooses not to interview someone because the application materials are sufficient for it to know he/she is the right person. So, I wouldn't read too much into it, as I said. To answer your question, I was interviewed by the designated IR faculty in the admission committee of this year rotation (whom I did not mention in the SOP).

Hey folks, wish you all luck in the coming months. I am in IR and have applied to 13 schools this cycle. Had a virtual interview with Brown last week. I think it went well, but I wouldn't read too much into it until I get some actual news.