saltlakecity2012

Just in case anyone's wondering, I just got contacted by Brown - they're looking to make decisions soon. If I hear any more info I'll let you guys know. Other than that, I'm calling this cycle for myself. Sad about Columbia and Yale, and also sad about Berkeley although no one has put up any semi-official info on them yet. More importantly, I'm incredibly grateful for all the help and support this forum has provided over the past few months, and I'm really excited to meet some of you guys during visiting days and in September! Best of luck to any still waiting!

I recently had to do something similar. I agree with what has been stated above - try to identify the most valuable contributions of the text, and only then mention your concerns. Try to keep your concerns as closely related to the content you consider worthwhile as possible so it doesn't seem you're simply bashing in a general way. Edit: Also, dear Columbia, Berkeley, and Yale - please just reject me already if this is how it's going to be. I need to book plane tickets!

I'm guessing the Columbia admits were via an email blast? Huge congrats to all who got one!

Congrats on the Columbia admit(s)!

Whoever got into Minnesota and posted their excitement about Sikkink - that's awesome. She's amazing - I used some of her transnational advocacy network literature w Keck for my undergrad thesis.

This weekend is going to be long - I can just tell. I'm going to try to occupy myself with activities that don't include computers, or being anywhere near them. We shall see how that goes... And congrats to Carousel and other acceptees!

Oh my god. I saw Columbia and Stanford GSB up there and almost had a heart attack (probably my 4th almost heart attack in the past 3 weeks). I'm assuming the Stanford GSB one is a typo, as it was listed as Politics/Poli Sci rather than Pol Econ? Also, dear Columbia acceptee, do come out of the woodwork and share your joy so the rest of us can stop shaking our fists at the trolls... please? Edit: guess I'll chalk that one up to the trolls, then.

Congrats! That's awesome, and good to know. Since my dirty laundry has been publicly aired already (many thanks, by the way, to the people who protested the "why did she change her username" thread), I'll give a slightly less vague answer than "comp pol". I'm interested in sovereignty and how it plays into the efficacy of international institutions - my region and field of interest lie in Eurasia and the energy trade. I'm specifically interested in sovereignty as exhibited by a subset of post-colonial resource-rich states, and how the impact of various external actors and structures on that sovereignty plays into that subset's policy preferences and subsequent representation of those policy preferences in international institutions. Edit: grantman, I'm still pulling for you. An earlier poster said it best - your attitude on this forum is nothing short of fabulous and inspiring. I am certain you will go on to do great things. Remember The Realist's post stating that the best political scientists are nice? You've got that one in the bag!

Yeah, I know I'm not getting over $3-400 reimbursed - I'm just assuming that with 3 weeks notice, a ticket would be priced closer to $200 from some areas, whereas with 2 days notice it could shoot up to the max allowable reimbursement. I guess since they're intending to feed, teach, and shelter us for the next 5 years they're not too worried about a few thousand dollars. Wish I could say the same.

Yeah... as someone who has been through one of these back and forth situations, I would recommend moving on, to something more productive, such as... Isn't it weird that certain schools don't expect to announce their results until late this month given that some schools have their visiting weekends in early March? I for one am not looking forward to making travel plans for March even with my existing set of options. Since schools reimburse for travel fare, it seems counterproductive for them, too... the longer they wait, the more expensive tickets are for their admitted students, and the more they have to reimburse. Whatevz. Frustration.

I would guess, given the humanities/social sciences faculty response to the mandated interviews that they will most likely be used to confirm already decided upon acceptances, or to differentiate between similarly qualified candidates in the later rounds of the process. That's what I would do, at least, if I were required to interview applicants and didn't want to... I'd go about my decision-making process and then tack interviews on as needed towards the end of the thing. Obviously I am not a Yale political science ad com member, though, so my thinking may be pretty useless. Any other thoughts?

There are plenty of people with scores like that in the applicant pools, and not all of them get into the final round. As has been stated before on another thread, GRE scores will get you through the first round of cuts but are unlikely to do anything after that, and schools go through multiple refining rounds. You might not hear about it, but there are more than a few people on this forum with scores between 1550-1600.

Just called. Janet Newhall was unavailable, so I spoke to the graduate student advisor (Bette Evans). She doesn't have anything to do with the admissions process, but she said she overheard that decisions are going out, and that they expect to be done with the entire notification process by the end of February. So this gels with I believe our 2 claimed acceptances so far this cycle - I suppose they could be done already, but I have no idea.

I'm dying for Berkeley, Columbia, and Yale. Columbia has been very consistent with its results over the years - 18th/19th. So I'm assuming we'll hear Monday (acceptances), but clearly all bets are off this cycle. Berkeley seems to be taking its sweet time - perhaps they're struggling with funding issues in the UC system. Yale - I have nothing to say about Yale other than this is somewhat ridiculous. If they're going to introduce a new interview policy, they should have addressed it in the writeup of the application process. But obviously this is just me bitching... I was surprised by the lack of news this week, though. Madness.

Wow - I went out for 20 minutes and when I came back, the board had blown up and 2 more pages had been added to this thread. Poor bored troller... his/her life must really suck. I'm downvoting the Yale results, too. Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) in case you're curious.

I suggest making a list of all the ways in which you are awesome (such as, for example, the victory you helped land in intramural soccer in 10th grade, the really cute guy/girl who kept calling you that one time, your ability to cook amazing juevos rancheros, your kick-ass library - anything cool as long as it's unrelated to your "qualifications" as an applicant to the programs you're waiting to hear from). Write the list out on a piece of paper, and then turn the piece of paper into a hat. Wear the hat of your awesomeness while checking emails. Edit: if you don't have any privacy in the cubicle, perhaps just visualize the hat.

Yeah - one of my parents keeps telling me I should be a member of the Senate within 10 years. I continue to respond with, "but I hate politicians, and no one in their right mind would ever vote for me," but the point doesn't seem to come across too clearly

That's amazing!!! Congratulations!!!

I would suggest that you pick 2-3 professors whose work is pertinent to your own and do the following: 1. ask for the contact information of some of their current advisees - if possible, in different stages of their studies - and get in touch with them either while you're there or via email. ASK THE STUDENTS if there's anything they would have wanted to know about the program that no one told them 2. ask them about their current projects, what phases they're at, and what (if anything) their students do to engage in their research 3. ask for some publications that were co-authored with students (probably just ask the point of contact for your subfield on that one) 4. ask about the department's success in bringing in research grants, and which projects are likely to bring students on board in the next year or so (obviously this won't be too relevant to you, as you won't have much of an opportunity to do things like that until after your first year or so, but it might give you an idea of how carefully the professors consider their students' research as well as their own) 5. ask about what the department prides itself on regarding the candidates it puts onto the market I definitely share the goals PickMe! mentioned, but the livability of the environment is also really important to me. If you're choosing from a couple of or several similarly ranked schools, consider whether or not you'd be happy living in that environment for the next 5-7 years. Does the area offer the opportunity to engage in things (other than research ) that you love to do? I've definitely heard that happier grad students are more productive grad students. I think for me, personally, that's a big factor. Of course the questions to ask students that will give you an idea of whether or not you can be happy at that school will vary from person to person, but maybe just asking the current students to run you through what their lives look like holistically would be a good idea.

I can't believe Yale is making us wait until the end of next week - I hope that means rejections by the end of next week, not more of this trickling out interviews and decisions. I just want to know where I stand so I can start making plans for the next five years of my life Edit: and grantman, I'm crossing all available digits for you!

Inspector Morse is fabulous. Also, swisschocolate, both of my parents are professors at a top 10 school, and academia is a pretty popular pursuit in my extended family. I would say that helped me significantly in my undergraduate applications, and one of my parents was particularly helpful with providing comments on my SOP this fall, but despite the fact that both of my parents are social scientists and that we actually are interested in simliar things, I don't know how much direct influence they had. I would say that the ways I think they helped me the most are through taking me with them when they traveled, introducing me to certain ideas and ways of thinking early on, and always telling me that I can do anything I set my mind to. There are definite downsides, however - insane pressure to conform to the traditional family path, a lack of visible alternative options for careers, and more insane pressure to excel in every way possible. I was also that weird kid who spent most of my time with middle-aged social scientists rather than other children...

Yes, pulling for news from Berkeley, although it seems that we may be waiting a while on that one. Columbia should be Friday, I'm guessing. Sigh. Re: Yale - thanks for the info. Yeah, it's very weird that no one else has posted being contacted by them... I'm going to optimistically take that to mean that I'm still in the running. Why not? Congrats to the admits, which I am choosing to accept as non-troll! And to those still waiting on results, it seems that the end is in sight, so hang on!

I lived in NYC for many years. It is absolutely possible to live on that amount of money (especially since you could earn more through TAing). It would probably be a culture shock for someone who's never lived in a densely populated urban area before, but if you're a fast learner and creative (which you probably would be since you got into NYU ) it's absolutely doable. One thing about NYU - it is not possible to live anywhere near the campus for that amount of money unless you share an apartment with several people. Brooklyn is a great option for NYU students - relatively close and really fun, although prices are rising there, too. If anyone wants any more specific info on NYC, please feel free to PM me.

Blatantly false.

Thanks I'm also curious about the Yale situation - someone posted earlier that they don't believe Yale has to interview all acceptees. Is this a hunch, or is there some info to back this up? I would be surprised if only 2 Grad Cafe users were accepted to Yale this year, but so far that seems to be the only feedback we're getting from the department.