Shawn Sun

Anyone on the UTA waitlist?

Hi Comrade, Thanks for your thoughtful advice. I really appreciate it. I'll reach out to professors and grad students at both schools as you suggested. Cheers, Shawn

Hi comrades, Hope your PhD applications are going well! I recently received offers from PSU and TAMU. While I intuitively prefer PSU, I want to make a more informed decision through a thorough comparison. Any advice on how to evaluate the two? A bit about me: I studied IR and Econ for undergrad and IR for my master's, both outside the US. My main interest in political economy——topics like economic statecraft, business lobbying, FDI, etc——though I know research interests can evolve. I also hope to strengthen my quant skills in grad school. For what I've gathered, PSU has stronger placements, more stipends, and ranks higher in IR (17), CP (25), and Methods (15), while TAMU has a higher overall PoliSci ranking (28 vs PSU's 34) and is stronger in AP (21). Would love to hear your thoughts——any input would be greatly appreciated! Best, Shawn