Gradhorn

I hope this is the case with some lower ranked schools. Programs that don't fund their students and don't provide them with enough training to get a decent job after graduation aren't respectable IMO. I doubt the top ranked schools will see a lower applicant pool

If I were to go through this process again, I'd ask:
 
To the DGS/Chair:
1.  How many students from your program are currently on the market?  Of those, how many have received academic job offers? (R1 schools are basically done hiring, so while some students will still get VAPs and LAC positions, the best batch of jobs have already been allocated).
2.  What % of your students who have been on the market in the last couple years have rec'd TT jobs?
3.  Do you offer summer funding?
4.  Do you offer paid semesters/years/summers for me to work on my own research?
5.  Can I take dept funding abroad (i.e if I need to do fieldwork?)
6.  How many student/faculty coauthored pieces of come out in the last couple years?
7.  Does the department provide incentives for faculty/student collaboration/coauthoring?
8.  What is the average time to completion? 
 
To the POI(s) you want to work with:
1.  Tell me about your students (or some such question to gauge how well they're able to talk about the students they advise.  Iif they can't say much or just speak in generalities this will give you an idea of how actively involved (or completely not involved) they are with their students.
2.  Are you taking new students? (could be applicable if the POI is pretty old)
 
To the current grad students:
1.  Ask if faculty are helpful/good mentors
2.  Ask how prepared they feel to go on the market
3.  If you have kids, try to track down students with kids to see how well they manage family/student responsibilities in the dept 
4.  Ask if grad students are treated as students or future colleagues by the faculty.  Different depts manage this differently.
5.  Ask if the dept provides opportunities for students to workshop their own work with other students/faculty.
 
Off the top of my head, I'd ask these.  If I think of anything else, I'll add!

When I was pulling together my list of schools I gave my wife veto power over any schools on the list. All the schools on the list had very competitive admissions, so the deal was that anything not vetoed before applications went out was "fair game" for me to accept. As it turned out, my school is 1300 miles away and she received a major promotion at work, so we will be doing a very long distance relationship with flights to each other on alternating weekends. It's not a solution that works for everyone since it is costly to fly that much, but it is something we have done before when I was working in DC for a while and it worked out okay for us.

I did this two years ago with my pals in a bar.  I told everyone I would make my decision in one week.  I was down to two schools, so I put them on the table and grabbed the correct hat when I announced my decision.  For those that couldn't be present that cared to know, I stole LeBron James' quote from "The Decision" to post to Facebook to serve as my public announcement:
 
"In this fall, this is very tough, in this fall I'm going to take my talents to [CITY] and join the [uNIVERSITY] [MASCOT]."

I did this two years ago with my pals in a bar.  I told everyone I would make my decision in one week.  I was down to two schools, so I put them on the table and grabbed the correct hat when I announced my decision.  For those that couldn't be present that cared to know, I stole LeBron James' quote from "The Decision" to post to Facebook to serve as my public announcement:
 
"In this fall, this is very tough, in this fall I'm going to take my talents to [CITY] and join the [uNIVERSITY] [MASCOT]."

I'm really inclined to disagree with this. For a 22-year-old with the uncertain prospects of a social science BA and plenty of time to change course if the present one is unsatisfying, maybe.
 
But I'm a single 30-something with a solid career and some debt left over from a previous round of grad school. I'm sorry, but joining the VAP circuit for four years hoping a liberal arts school in Podunk, Indiana will notice me is not a responsible or realistic way to pursue a good future. If I'm going to have a family, I need to find someone soon and I can't expect to drag her all over the country or subject her to years of separation. I need to think seriously about retirement planning. Etc.
 
Lots of people posting on this board are older and have some reasonable constraints to the dream of studying the questions that animate them. The younger applicants will have fewer parts of the equation to fill in, so there's a lot more uncertainty and flexibility. But you would still do well to engage in the same calculus. Waving away disciplined decision-making because some random interventions make the results impossible to determine is foolish. Use the information you and think about probability.

This thread from last year might be of use:


 
As a side note, one particular factor that I think stands to be weighted more highly than it often is by applicants is the quality of students at the department. Being surrounded by good students means your seminars will go better, private conversations will be more productive, you'll have better opportunities for coauthorship, etc. So keep an eye out for that kind of thing as you go on admit weekends.

I'll chime in another vote from a current grad student for not worrying about contacting profs. If you want to know if your numbers make you competitive, there are admin staff who can answer that. But I can pretty much tell you how an email to my advisor would go. I assume that he'd reply (there's a decent chance he wouldn't, but he's generally no less than polite given the alternatives). His reply would be 2-3 sentences saying that he's glad you are interested and he thinks you should apply (unless there was something in your email that made him think you had zero probability of being selected by the admissions committee). Then, he'd completely forget everything about it because he's not on the admissions committee.

Add to that: the other admits and current grad students (especially the first years). This is who you are going to be in class with for the next two years. You will be doing problem sets and co-authoring papers papers them. A close relationship with your advisor will mean a 15-30 minute chat every couple of weeks to make sure that everything is going smoothly, but most of your interactions in your department will be with the other grad students. They don't have to be your best friends but they will be your colleagues and peers and will be one of the major factors in your ultimate enjoyment of your program.

If you took an intro stats course, you most likely learned "n>30 good" and the difference between mean, median, and mode. I don't know anything about IR, but if that's a close-to-accurate caricature of your quant experience so far, you need to get comfortable writing more math to be able to handle the graduate work. A lot of getting better at math is just getting comfortable with notational things, and honing your algebraic fluency to the point you can concentrate on the more difficult concepts. To that end, I would get an intermediate stats book (preferably something for engineers where it will be more formal). I would also go through some linear algebra and calculus.

The only way to get over math phobia is exposure. Better to do it now than when your stipend is riding on it.

Dear prospective students,

I know this will sound harsh, but as I now near the end of my PhD program at a top-20 I look back and realize there are lots of things I wish someone had told me. A couple things come to mind:

1. ***You probably won't get a tenure-track job in academia*** You'll likely think right now that you'll be the exception (didn't we all) but the truth is that attrition rates are 50% (on average) in PhD programs for polisci. I'm at a great department, but even here with the people who finish the degree we can't place everyone at TT jobs. Maybe we have 5 people on the market in a given year...all with shiny CVs and glowing letters from top scholars. Of those, 1 person will get a decent job in an urban area. Maybe 1 more will get a job in the middle of nowhere and hate it. 1 more will bounce from Visiting AP jobs and the rest will leave academia (usually not be choice, but because they can't find academic jobs). And this is from a really good dept. If you're in a less stellar dept, you've got even less of a chance.

2. Related to #1, be careful during your prospective student trips. Grad programs lie about placement all the time. Figure out how many people struck out on the market from these schools, not just the few shining starts who placed well. All departments will tell you they're on the up-swing. They're probably lying. Get the hard data before you commit to a program.

3. Nobody will hold your hand in grad school. Frankly, even your advisor will probably not even care if you finish your degree or not. If you're not a self-starter, stay away. This isn't a good business for people who need external motivation.

4. You cannot finish your PhD in 4-5 years. When you go to admit day, programs will promise you 4-5 years of funding. Ask them what average time to completion is and then stand back and be amazed. If the dept isn't willing to support you for 6-7 years, don't go.

Finally, don't take out any loans for a PhD program. This isn't a MA degree and you likely won't make enough money in the future to support much debt.

Maybe not worth much, but wish someone had told me these things...

Good luck!

Both longer posts are good advice. You should have realistic expectations. But I think something of a corrective is in order.

As a 30-something with a decade in a decent professional career under my belt, my response to the "you will not get a tenure track job!" sentiment is:

Meh.

Guess what? By the same logic, you're not going to make partner at Sidley Austin or chief surgical resident at Cedar Sinai or be Daniel Day-Lewis's talent agent or the CEO of Coca-Cola, either. Go to the law school boards, etc., and you'll see traffick in the same sentiments.

There aren't very many jobs at the top. There aren't any top-heavy fields. The market is soft for everyone. These "harsh truths" are about being an adult, not political science. If you value your career and have a legitimate reason to think you have talent, at some point you're going to have to chose between taking the risk and wondering 'what if'. That's not an easy choice, but it's ultimately not one you get to avoid.

I turned my rejections from last year into non-stop entertainment thanks to college sports. In my application season last year all nine of the schools were in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. I was accepted by 2, rejected by 6, and wait listed by 1. I had 2 schools to root for, 6 to root against, and I was ambivalent on the last one. Even better, this football season all nine schools made bowl games. My two acceptance schools won their bowl games and the six that rejected me all lost their bowls.

I have had a few chances to watch my current school play some of my rejectors. Those are fun days.

I turned my rejections from last year into non-stop entertainment thanks to college sports. In my application season last year all nine of the schools were in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. I was accepted by 2, rejected by 6, and wait listed by 1. I had 2 schools to root for, 6 to root against, and I was ambivalent on the last one. Even better, this football season all nine schools made bowl games. My two acceptance schools won their bowl games and the six that rejected me all lost their bowls.

I have had a few chances to watch my current school play some of my rejectors. Those are fun days.

I turned my rejections from last year into non-stop entertainment thanks to college sports. In my application season last year all nine of the schools were in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. I was accepted by 2, rejected by 6, and wait listed by 1. I had 2 schools to root for, 6 to root against, and I was ambivalent on the last one. Even better, this football season all nine schools made bowl games. My two acceptance schools won their bowl games and the six that rejected me all lost their bowls.

I have had a few chances to watch my current school play some of my rejectors. Those are fun days.

I turned my rejections from last year into non-stop entertainment thanks to college sports. In my application season last year all nine of the schools were in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. I was accepted by 2, rejected by 6, and wait listed by 1. I had 2 schools to root for, 6 to root against, and I was ambivalent on the last one. Even better, this football season all nine schools made bowl games. My two acceptance schools won their bowl games and the six that rejected me all lost their bowls.

I have had a few chances to watch my current school play some of my rejectors. Those are fun days.

This may be fine if you're talking about your college sweetheart, but if you're married, this is terrible advice. If your spouse is really unhappy, then you will be too. And a miserable home life is not very conducive to succeeding in a graduate program. I'm not saying that spousal issues should be your first or only concern, but they do make a difference.

I read a lot on these boards people suggesting that Austin isn't like the rest of Texas, but in my two trips there I have loved that Austin is bohemian but it's also very Texan.

This is based on experience from six rushes. Any example or issue I raise is from an actual event.

(1) Don't be a jerk. I can tell you this because I am, in fact, a jerk.

(2) Business casual is fine. If you want to add a blazer to your shirt and slacks, that's cool, but don't be a jerk about it. No shiny Ed Hardy shirts.

(3) Ask if you can sit in a class or two. If you do, don't be a jerk in class. You're there to observe, not to interrupt. If the professor asks you a question or something, go ahead and participate, but don't be a jerk about it.

An example on (3). Last year, we had a guy sit in our (highly technical) dynamic modeling class. He happened to sit in the dryest, hardest lecture of the year. So the professor proves a theorem on the board that has us all panting and trembling, and he writes out "for all" on the board in doing so. During break, the prospective student rocks up to the professor and is alike "Hey, why did you write out 'for all' instead of using the upside-down A? That would have been more rigorous.'" Don't be like that. That's jerky.

(4) If you are a jerk when you are drunk, then do not drink too much. If you are fun when you are drunk (but not a fun jerk---there are fun jerks out there), wait until the faculty are gone and then rock the f**k out.

(5) You can ask professors if they're happy at Department X, but don't be a jerk about it. Don't ask if they have a mortgage or anything. That's jerky. If they're unhappy, they'll say so in code. Don't press.

(6) Don't be a jerk on academic grounds. Don't talk down to people. Don't tell people they *need* to read a paper or a book. Don't talk about your own research unless asked. Don't say you published unless it's a real journal. Like, a real journal.

(7) Ask the students the hard questions, but don't be a jerk about it. Ask about their research to get a sense of the training. Don't feign being impressed, but don't get too critical. Ask what they're happy about, what they're unhappy about. Be discriminating-seeming but not critical.

(8) Don't be a jerk about other schools you're considering. Not everything you see at Department X reminds you of something you might see on your pending visit at Department Y. You don't have to rattle off your list all the live-long day; that's jerky. You came to visit and learn more about Department X, so stick to that.

(9) Don't be a jerk about stipends just yet. If you want to ask for more, visit day isn't the day to do it. That's really jerky.

(10) Don't be a jerk with the other visitors. Don't probe them constantly. Don't seem indifferent. If you go to Department X, then these people will be your all-nighter buddies during problem sets; your comp stress empathizers; your idea-bouncers. Don't get that off on the wrong foot.

(11) Seem like somebody that faculty and grad students will want to work with. The best way to do that is to avoid being a jerk.

And no, your offer won't be revoked if you're a jerk. But impressions matter. They matter with potential advisors, with other grad cohortmates you might coauthor with, with older grad students that might offer well-timed advice. You may think you've made it (and you have, and your achievements should be celebrated), but you'll be a lowly first-year soon enough. It's going to be a lot of fun, and you might as well get the experience off on the right foot.

Considering the typical salary of an assistant professor, I'd say a five year old Honda Civic.

Considering the typical salary of an assistant professor, I'd say a five year old Honda Civic.

Considering the typical salary of an assistant professor, I'd say a five year old Honda Civic.

This features prominently on the "Things That Didn't Happen in the GradCafe Acceptances Thread My Year" list. Kids these days with their rock and roll music and their newfangled hairdos. It all started getting worse when they stopped say "sir" and "ma'am."

A. You'd have to spend 5+ years at Duke; yikes!
B. Big Ten basketball is far better than the ACC or the SEC.
C. See (A)
D. Be grateful that it's Feb 1 and you are in at a great school. Plus Madison is by far the superior town!

I read a lot on these boards people suggesting that Austin isn't like the rest of Texas, but in my two trips there I have loved that Austin is bohemian but it's also very Texan.