shavasana

The GWU visiting day isn't until Monday. Expect comments then [Not from me, but I know that people will probably be going.]

@RWBG I wasn't trying to insult test prep services (I hope it didn't come out like that!). I think my personal opinion is that the GRE is much more general knowledge than say the MCAT or LSAT and is easier material to self-learn. [And for the record Iprobably spent about $150 on Kaplan materials to prep.] I also just thought people should think about this: If you have trouble structuring your time to study for the GRE, how are you going to get through your largely self-structured time in grad school? Just a thought.

And this was published recently: http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/18/so_you_want_to_get_into_a_political_science_phd_program_part_one

Don't pay thousands of dollars for a class. It's honestly a waste of your money. I bought a few books from Kaplan (after survey friends about the best brand) and taught myself the things you need to know. Kaplan has a set of verbal flashcards that work well. There's 500 words, and I think I got 10 questions with those words (out of about 30 questions, that makes a HUGE difference). Yes, it was definitely harder to stay motivated when I had to structure my study schedule...but hey. That's what grad school is about anyway. I went from an initial practice score of 540Q and 600V to 750Q 720V. So you can definitely do it. (You're probably spending a lot on apps, so this is a place where you don't have to break the bank.) Good luck!

First, "Ivy" is an athletic conference. [sorry, joke.] Second, Elliot is really well known. Which PROGRAM do you think is better in the field you intend to work in? (I'm a former MES person myself.) It's really important to pay attention to the reputation of the program in the field you want to go into rather than the reputation of the university as a whole. And from what I know, Harvard uses their MA program to pay for their PhD students, who sometimes have a difficult time getting prof time if they're not really persistent. I know they have great MES resources, though, so it would be a personal choice.

Here's a link that might give you some more information: http://www.gwu.edu/apply/graduateprofessional/costshousingfunding#tuition

Unfunded generally means you have to pay tuition on top of your cost of living expenses. Also, I'm pretty sure that tuition is significantly higher that 4k per year, but you'd have to check the school's website. Keep in mind it's also possible to get outside funding! Good luck!

I'm definitely glad to help! On a note about Jon leaving, I really don't know. His partner (wife?) is in Chicago as well so that's a consideration I'm willing to bet. But if he does move, he's literally one of the most wonderful people to work with I can imagine so pay attention to where he goes. As an advisor, he was unmatched. He helped me learn how to set up a project, gave me TONS of hints, comments, and thoughts, and took a personal interest in my professional development. And I am still an undergrad. I owe a ton of professional success to him, so that's just something people should be aware of. [He's also one of those ridiculously brilliant people whose brains just blow your mind.] Again...sorry for the pro-NU love fest. But really, I was really lucky to have the kind of department and advising I did.

I would highly consider Georgetown, especially since you're looking at government service. Georgetown's programs sometimes get a bad rap in the academic world as being too "policy" (I'm political science now but serious considered MES). It would give you a lot of flexibility and if you can defer, you have the opportunity to do Fulbright AND look for outside grants to get you a bit of funding. Chicago's Near East Studies department is very much NOT modern, but there Mid East Center definitely has more of a modern feel. (And Lisa Wedeen does a TON of work on Syria so that might really be of interest to you.) As for Harvard, I think you should talk to some students in the master's program. Sometimes PhD students have a hard time getting prof time (so I've heard...may be untrue). Getting some perspective from current students would probably help your decision. Good luck! (I lived in Jordan for awhile, and ABSOLUTELY loved it.)

I'd be happy to tell you. I will honestly say that 1) I was definitely shaped by the department I "grew up" in. But that includes the Journalism school at NU. 2) They don't have people doing the kind Middle East work I want to do (although Wendy Pearlman is absolutely awesome). 3) Doing security, I'd be working closely for J.Caverley for the next few years (which I did as an undergrad...wanted to broaden my academic pedigree so to speak.) 4) I've taken quite a few graduate classes at NU already. That influenced me a lot. Just for my BS, I'll have taking IR Theory, Media and Public Opinion, and IPE. So the range of classes still available to me would be less than I'd like. 5) I was advised that applying to one's alma mater isn't really the best plan for future career plans (academic incest so to speak...could look like you couldn't get in without a little help). I hope that helps/clarifies my position!

RE: Chicago I had it from both Mearsheimer and Pape (who are both lovely and interesting to talk to, in my opinion) that they are very very seriously looking for more IR people, but likely the first hire would be an IR Theory guy, not necessarily security. It may have largely to do with departmental politics, but I got the sense that IR people were really really happy there despite having the small amount of IR faculty. But I have to say that I was very very impressed with Chicago's faculty. They've done a ton of hiring on comparative in the last few years, and people are doing really interesting things. Faculty tend to do a lot more qual methods (Lisa Wedeen and post-modern ethnography, etc.) but it seems quant training is definitely there if one wants it. But grad students made it clear that you didn't want to be there if you wanted to do formal theory. Just a heads up. For me, a positive of the visit was talking with profs when they weren't selling the program. A lot of them pushing me on my research ideas, and gave me a TON of ideas that I'd never thought of. So when they say "Chicago is about your ideas" you really should take that very seriously. On a culture note, all of the grad students said that the department really doesn't have a hierarchy system. One told me about an argument he got into with JJM that was actually encouraged. Profs expected to be pushed on their ideas by their students, which I would consider a plus of the program. A couple of other profs talked about the weaknesses of the program. It's definitely a sink or swim type of place, completely dependent on the student. From what I heard, profs were completely and totally available if you work hard/put in the time. If they perceive that you're slacking, you're just not gonna get that much attention. That really would also apply to coursework. They DON'T have a set curriculum, so you have the opportunity to take classes with a ton of faculty, but at the same time you can get lost if you don't engage with faculty. Final thought: Even the grad student admitted (and seemed proud of) the fact that their department was "idiosyncratic" or "eccentric" (they said "weird" but I'll stick with my terms). The people there generally seemed to be doing sort of off the wall stuff, which may appeal to some people.

I'm just agreeing. Hendrik is awesome. ...and Will Reno is so much cooler than I could ever hope to be. [Doesn't hurt that these guys are also incredibly available and helpful.]

I'm going to assume that most Harvard deals are the same. I have a good friend at Harvard who definitely does NOT have to stay at Harvard during the summer and that she has used that money towards language programs overseas.

Already posted this, but here goes: Declined GWU (IR) with funding (TAship)

There are other threads on this topic. You should be able to find lots of helpful advice!

Who loves MIT Open Courseware?! ME! I literally re-learned calc in a couple of weeks with this! I use it inconjunction with my old calc book from high school.

I have to say I don't think it matters THAT much. I haven't taken MATH since high school (a couple of semesters of calc). 1 qual methods Poli Sci class and a basic stats class in undergrad. That's it. I would say that a high GRE score is a least a partial signal. I don't think my relatively small math/stats/quant background held me back. and I study media, which is a giant large-N data set. I even said in my SOP that I wanted to do multi-method work. Edited: for accidentally calling my SOP a POS...Freudian slip?

@grantman I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the Kaplan book series (and flashcards) they sell for GRE verbal. I am loathe to pay into the testing system, but I can say from personal experience that those flash cards took my verbal GRE score from 510 to 720. The practice books they have (they have ones just for verbal) are also a wonderful resource.

I have thought the same thing! And I'll be honest, I was surprised I didn't get into Columbia (going into the cycle I thought that was where I had a really good fit AND one of my LORs taught there for a decade). But in the end, I'm just so excited to have the options I do. Now, I'm driving myself nuts comparing programs. I have multiple spreadsheets. ...and they're color coded. [if you can't tell, if you looked up the definition of Type A in the dictionary, you'd see my picture. haha ]

I'm under the impression that this matters substantially less in the social sciences than in the hard sciences. I'm sure it can't hurt to have a prof that is interested in your work in the department, but I don't think that it will get you in on its own merits. (I say that because I didn't have contact with really anyone in the department while applying, but my cycle went well regardless.) Edited for inability to type.

Wonderful wonderful wonderful! Congratulations!

This is specifically dedicated to my dear friend. He knows who he is and is probably lurking around on this thread. It's just extra happiness of the cute animal variety for the rest of you. yay panda!

I have one question that my best friend told me to look out for that I never considered: Are the grad students in these departments happy? Now, I realized that parts of grad school suck. But it is something to consider whether the students find the program interesting, engaging and worth their while.

Apologies to everyone for that overflow of NU Poli Sci enthusiasm. Clearly, I have loved my time here. Anyone who wants specifics about certain profs is free to PM me!

I'd definitely be able to answer questions. (Full disclosure: I'm IR/Comp with a Middle East focus) I haven't really worked with any of the Americanists or theory people, but I can honestly say that I think that the biggest plus of the department is the availability of the faculty. As an UNDERGRAD I never had any trouble getting meetings with pretty much any professor I thought might have valuable input for my thesis. For IR, Hendrick Spruyt is just awesome. I'm a bit biased as he wrote one of my LORs, but I LOVED LOVED LOVED his IR Theory class (without a doubt my favorite class I've ever taken.) For security, Jon Caverley is really awesome and so smart (one of those people with just loads of information floating around in his brain). Will Reno, aside from being a cool person, is incredibly knowledgable about anything conflict and really well connected. Wendy Pearlman has really successfully studied Israel without making any serious enemies (as far as I know) which is pretty impressive in my book. [These are people I've personally worked with, but I've also heard that the Hurds are wonderful.] I've found that there aren't a HUGE number of courses offered at the grad level in Poli Sci every quarter, but that the department really emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to looking at things, which I would definitely argue was a strength of the program. It's common to have media studies, African American studies, Econ, etc. people in seminars which I think really enhances the pluralism of ideas during discussion. (And for the record, all of the Poli Sci grads I know at NU are awesome. Not crazy competitive like some places...)