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Zahar Berkut

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Everything posted by Zahar Berkut

  1. WOW thanks for inquiring and sharing! Also, I can't believe nobody followed up that Descartes joke with him shrugging and saying, "I drink, therefore I am."
  2. I truly wish you luck with the wait-list. Remember, people DO consistently get accepted from them!
  3. Looks like UCLA is still notifying, which would be consistent with prior posts here.
  4. It's never as bad as you think it is. Think of it this way, they needed to extract this information no matter what, and you were able to do so directly. And I agree with the others that "very interested" is a very positive signal.
  5. 3a. Number per cohort with tenure track placement in US within two years 3b. Attrition rate per cohort (3bi: common reasons for attrition) 3c. Share of placement history by subfield 3d. Placement history for POI's advisees 3e. Typical career paths of those who either attrition early or take non-TT position 7. Rate and volume of graduate debt, if any (and reasons why, if present) 8. Teaching loads and schedule A few programs participate in the Honest Graduate Numbers initiative, which is a great step in the right direction, but you still need to do some research and counting to figure out the precise trajectory per person of any cohort even for those schools. For schools that don't, I might even ask why they don't make more detailed placement information easily accessible.
  6. Definitely a troll-- how could they reject a Student Government President?
  7. Having just turned 26, I appreciate hearing that. But yes, my research interests now (and subfield) are very different than what they would have been had I applied straight from undergrad. Most importantly, though, I would not have felt confident or comfortable going through a program having wondered what I might have done elsewhere. I'm going in clear-eyed, no reservations. None I haven't thoroughly considered, anyhow. That said, there are plenty of advantages applying directly or within a year of finishing your bachelor's. You'll be under 30 when you finish, for one thing, and you'll be "fresher" on being a student. And you're really no worse off than if you decide academia's not for you in the end, just less familiar with the world outside academia. It's a personal call, ultimately.
  8. Huge congrats! It must be such a relief to know you're already in a strong position!
  9. Honestly, I'd be surprised if anyone didn't have these kinds of doubts. The admissions process itself complicates things further. On the one hand, it's extremely competitive, and it's always possible to find a past acceptance with better qualifications in some way. On the other hand, there's such a large element to randomness, with some years shutting people out simply because of department dynamics and greater need for some specialization. So without further information from programs, it's hard to say why exactly someone might be accepted or not in any given year, and that leads to hyper-focusing on perceived weaknesses or inadequacies. And quite a few of those who are accepted deal with the impostor syndrome after beginning their program for similar reasons. I also haven't shared my final list of schools, despite the anonymity of the internet, but I still think that most people here understand this about the process, and the rare few who might still act judgmentally despite knowing how admissions work don't really deserve to be listened to. And yes, life always goes on even when it doesn't fit the initial plan!
  10. Very useful! Did you run numbers on average time between semester start date and notification dates?
  11. It's possible, though perhaps unlikely, that UCLA could notify at the end of this week as well.
  12. I checked no-- but maybe it doesn't matter for simple recruitment emails? In any case, thanks for the vote of confidence.
  13. I got a spam email from Columbia's MA in quantitative social science. I'd have ignored it as just another blast email, but it came from the program via a list-serv they set up, rather than the typical Princeton Review stuff, and the generic body claims I was "identified" as a potential candidate. Should I view that as indicative of anything?
  14. Sounds pretty competitive to me! I think you'll have more acceptances coming your way, and at least you can start breathing a little easier.
  15. Huge congrats to the OSU and FSU admits, and for those waiting on those schools, remember, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
  16. I have no objections to incorporating methodology pioneered by economists into political science, so long as people properly value it and its limits and do not abandon qualitative inquiry or theorizing. I mainly wanted to suggest that there's a problem with the undergraduate political science major if it's lagging so far behind the actual discipline of study, perhaps reflecting rapid changes or fierce divisions in the field. I must also point out that quite a few would-be economists flee to political science departments because of the extent to which economics has become an esoteric discipline that values narrow formal-theorizing and modeling over attacking big, enduring questions. I'd like to see political scientists bring some balance to the Force. (I also think that disciplines should be abolished, with all social scientists enrolling in a core methodological sequence before specializing in some area of study.) Oh, and in response to Gnome, I don't actually know any theorists who do political-theory-as-formal-theory, but I'm told they exist... so I'm sure that's a tiny segment. I'd be curious to learn more about it, though.
  17. Political theory is the exception, and a math minor can only help and never hurt-- especially if you did "theoretical" math. That means you could engage with the segment of theorists who use formal theory to convey arguments, if that's of any interest to you.
  18. I'm glad you mentioned this, because I've also noticed that heavily quantitative majors like economics, math/statistics, and natural science/engineering are often valued above a major in the actual field of political science. I realize that the discipline is in a very turbulent place methodologically, and many undergrad political science programs do not provide anything like the training needed for a graduate program, but one would still think that most polisci grad students had already majored in it before entering a graduate program. Thoughts?
  19. Thank you for this, I hadn't even noticed that on their status page. Another question-- does anything display for you under the "Other required application materials" section (under "verify credentials"), like personal statement or writing sample? Nothing is listed there for me, so please ease my sudden anxieties.
  20. Going from intellectual history to political theory is absolutely doable. It's important that you show a set of research interests in your personal statement that reflect familiarity with the debates and questions driving your area of political theory, and that you understand what political theory is about in general. Different departments might have theorists whose perspective on theory differ radically, so you should know what approach you prefer when selecting departments. But overall, I think it's much easier to cross between those two fields than many others.
  21. The January 10 results update from Michigan State (citing informal email from POI) may be our first reported acceptance of the season. Surprising given the January 2 deadline on their website, but I find it believable.
  22. I'll bump your question in the hopes of someone joining you here in this application cycle. East European/Eurasian Studies programs tend to attract a very small group-- hence why this is still the only thread since 2011-- but usually at least a few people in any given cycle visit GradCafe. Those look like solid programs you're applying to. What are your interests/goals?
  23. I do not expect your background in finance to cause you problems given your research interests. If you write a strong personal statement that shows you understand what political science does and how your background and interests fit into the discipline, you should be fine. The usual rules for fit and targeting relevant faculty apply, perhaps more strongly for you given your specific area of political economy.
  24. I've seen British D.Phil's occasionally sitting on American political science faculties, but almost never another European doctorate. I think it has a lot to do with methodological styles and networks, since you're less likely to spend a lot of time interacting with US professors before applying to a US department, and immersing yourself among the people driving those discourses. I also believe that European faculties often publish in different journals, which also makes a huge difference. But someone correct me if I'm off-base here. And welcome!
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