shavasana

Stanford was: $28,000 x 5 years $3,500 for 2 summers $1,000 yearly "Professional development" funds Health insurance Tuition waiver (As a note, the department doesn't provide funding past year five according to their website...)

This is important too, I will add. (I for example, took 6 months off of school this year...that would look bad to an admission committee.) So I took a paragraph in my SOP to explain that had a medical issue that necessitated that I take a leave of absence but that would return to undergrad and finish in the Spring. In addition, I told my letter writers exactly what was up so that they could address it in the letters as well. So in that instance, I really think that I turned a negative (stopping school for a couple of months) into a positive (I'm determined to get through whatever and exceptionally dedicated to this academic career). [As an endnote, I'm completely fine now ]

I don't. I'm assuming 4 classes total (since that would be 1 per semester...) But it didn't say outright and I haven't been able to find info online. Thank you! I'm really really excited, but now I have an even harder decision in front of me!

This is a really good idea! Something I heard a lot on my first couple of SOP drafts was that I talked too much about what I've ALREADY done and not enough about what I want/plan to do. One advisor told me "They have your vita. They know what you've done. You get one paragraph." That may have been a bit strict, but I think the idea of "promise" in an SOP can really sway an adcom. And by trying to explain what your future work might look like, you are showing them exactly what they're going to invest $350,000+ in.

For everyone in a GWU without funding, I just want to let you know that some just opened up. I declined their offer, so that should help one of you (at least I hope so!) If you were curious, it was a TAship that covered tuition plus provided a $20,000/yr stipend for 5 years plus health insurance.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but Yale's offer looks like this: Guaranteed $27,300 x5 years Option of 6th year at $27,300 through University Dissertation Fellowship Full tuition waiver (Valued at $35,500) Health Insurance (Includes teaching in the 3rd and 4th years)

I would say that sometimes, "fit" from the department's point of view comes down to luck. I've been incredibly lucky to be accepted to a few programs that are absolutely wonderful, one of which was such a shock I still am having trouble believing it. But after speaking with one of my POIs at that school and talking to them about their new projects and such, I saw that I was the ideal person to help with this project and that the relatively new line of inquiry they were following was something that lined up almost perfectly with my SOP (a happy accident if you will). But where will I think I fit? I'll let you know once I visit!

Just wanted to pull this thread to the top in case someone didn't see it! (PM me for Stanford, Chicago, or Yale!!)

Holy shit that was funny. Just sitting here by myself, giggling... Awkwardly, I can claim one of the GWU acceptances. I'm a bit confused, as I had withdrawn my application. But for those on the waitlist for funding there, I will likely decline (although I intend to do a bit of research this weekend first.) Best of luck to everyone else!!!

Congrats! Hopefully I'll see you at the visiting days (April 2-3)! PM me if you want to get on the mailing list for discussion the visit etc. Also, funding info is supposed to come via snail mail...I've been very impatiently waiting since Saturday.

I'll take charge of Yale, Stanford, and Chicago! Just send me a quick PM and I'll set up a little chat/group email! Can't wait to me ya'll!

This is my diversity statement for Yale. I was admitted there, so it couldn't be THAT bad, but I certainly don't think that it was that important in relation to the rest of my application. As both a minority in a dominantly white community and an adopted child, I grew up an anomaly in my community. These differences helped to spur my curiosity in the wider world and my academic and travel pursuits to this day. My interest in my own culture, different from my parents, pushed me to learn about other languages. My interest came not only in the grammatical and syntactical elements of the language, but how people used language in everyday life. After serious study of Arabic and Persian in college, I pushed myself to be immersed in complete language environments in both Amman, Jordan and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. As an adult, an increased interest in my own heritage has led me to begin to study Spanish, which I hope will one day help me with field work and to be a more complete scholar of the world.

Firstly, CONGRATS! Ya'll should celebrate. Secondly, I am now going to obsessively check my email for the next two days.

Thank you! And I'm so sorry I misunderstood your post. I actually took you up on the advice. I withdrew my applications from a couple of schools that I knew that I wouldn't choose over my existing offers of admission. I hope this helps some people get some good news!!

Hey all! My cycle isn't actually done, but close enough to done for me to at least post this before I forget. I included my SOP from one school, but the school name is removed. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Top 15 Major(s)/Minor(s): Journalism, Political Science Undergrad GPA: 3.778/4.000 Type of Grad: n/a Grad GPA: n/a GRE: 750Q 720V 5.0W Any Special Courses: Graduate seminars in IR Theory, Media and Communication Letters of Recommendation: Tenured IR professor, Tenure-track IR/Security asst. professor, Tenured ME History prof (Tel Aviv Uni) Research Experience: Senior honors thesis Teaching Experience: none Subfield/Research Interests: IR Theory, Security Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Media and Public Opinion RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): Stanford ($$), Chicago ($$), Yale ($$) Waitlists: Duke Rejections: Columbia, WashU Pending: Harvard, Georgetown Going to: No Idea Yet My commitment to [insert school here] doctoral program is due to both its strength in my research interests as well as its reputation in the academic community. I am most interested in media and international relations with an emphasis on transnational security issues. I hope to continue to delve deeper into how media influences the international structure and security policies of individual states during my time at [insert school here]. My academic concentration in both Journalism and Political Science have thoroughly prepared me to conduct research in Middle Eastern media. My primary major gave me practical and real experience in how media is created and excellent interview skills which will help greatly in future research. And my major in Political Science allowed me to explore many aspects of the discipline through both breadth classes and seminars. As an undergraduate, my interest in international relations was solidified during a graduate seminar on International Relations Theory with Professor X. My seminar papers focused on issues of norms and international security dilemmas from the perspective of less powerful states and what consequences decisions of these states have on the international structure and Great Power decision making. A seminar with Professor Y deepened my knowledge of public opinion and media literature as well as methodology. Although the seminar was focused on American politics, I was encouraged to explore my interest in non-Western media for my seminar paper. The paper focused on the used of private security companies in current conflicts in the Middle East, and I am currently editing the paper for potential publication in a scholarly journal. My senior honors thesis, supervised by Professor Z, focused on Middle Eastern public opinion of the American use of private security companies in the Iraq war. I was able to analyze media discourse about similar incidents of violence against civilians committed by American military forces and private security contractors in 2007 using sources in both English and Arabic. I concluded that Middle Eastern media sources create a narrative of abuse against Iraqi civilians by private military contractors. This lies in contrast to coverage of instances of violence against civilians committed by American soldiers, which are treated as isolated incidents. My paper suggests that the extensive use of private contractors, therefore, undermines the American counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq. The paper was nominated for High Honors in my department and the work was supported by an Undergraduate Research Grant from Q University. My language skills make me a rare candidate for a political science program. In addition to bi-lingual research for my thesis, I have undertaken extensive language preparation in Persian (Farsi). Four years of Modern Standard Arabic and three years of Classical Persian at Q University were supplemented with in-country language experience in both Jordan and Tajikistan. My travels have allowed me to gain not only reading and writing ability in my target languages, but an ability to communicate orally which will be an asset in my current field work. My study of Persian was supported by a Critical Language Scholarship from the Council of Overseas American Research Centers. During my final quarter of coursework, I plan to strengthen knowledge and skills in preparation for [insert school here]’s doctoral program. I will participate in a graduate seminar with Professor Will Reno on conflict and international development and strengthen my skills in quantitative analysis through a course centered on learned the statistical package R. My course load will also include a class giving an overview of the American magazine industry to prepare me for work experience in the spring. During spring 2012 I will gain real world knowledge that will serve as the beginning of field work training for my eventual doctoral dissertation. As an editorial intern at Qatar Today, a leading business and political publication in Doha, I will gain first-hand knowledge of the process of media formation in the Middle East. The location and nature of my work will allow me to form professional connections that may assist me in further scholarly work. My primary research interest is in Middle Eastern media and public opinion regarding transnational security issues. I am also interested in how the interplay of public opinion and media affects state decision making in the region and the international community as a whole. Specifically, I would like to investigate the changing nature of the media environment in the Middle East and what relationship this has to security polities implemented by the United States and regional actors such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. A few scholars have examined the rise of media giants such as Al-Jazeera, but because of the recent genesis of a relatively free press in the region little work has been published about the intersection of media and public opinion in the Middle East. I aim to adapt current methods of media and public opinion analysis used to study Western media to more fully understand the changing face and influence of media in this strategically important region. In addition to my academic interests, I am deeply involved on campus. During my tenure as managing editor of Northwestern’s campus magazine, it was named the Best Student Magazine in American by the Society of Professional Journalists. My interest in politics and media overlapped when I helped to found weekly publication Politics & Policy which provided undergraduate students an opportunity to provide commentary on political phenomena and engage in in-depth research on topics ranging from defense procurement to Latin American economic policy. I also served as Captain of the women’s rugby team, which strengthened my teaching and coaching skills over four years. My commitment to both teaching and research have deeply informed my choice of a doctoral program. Both my experience tutoring fellow students in language as well as coaching have affirmed my desire to become a professor. My previous coursework and work experience have uniquely qualified me to continue my studies of Middle Eastern media and the effect it has on state decision making. I look forward to continuing my work and education at [insert school here].

Congratulations to the Princeton admits!

I agree that once you know that you will not be going somewhere you should inform them, but I don't think one should feel guilty for holding on to multiple offers. In my case, I have 3 offers and have been corresponding with POIs and grad students, but I couldn't imagine making a decision before visiting (I'm incredibly overwhelmed and grateful to even have an option!) So I would say out of courtesy decline as soon as you have an answer, but I'm trying not to feel pressured into making a decision before I'm ready.

Info from a POI. I assume it will be in the official letter, but I'm still watching the mailbox.

Update for those of you who haven't heard from Columbia. DGS says if you haven't gotten an email yet, you're not accepted and they're already notified the wait list. So you know, we can all be in the same boat.

PSU - Feb 24-27 UT - March 1-2 CU-Boulder - March 1-3 Northwestern - March 1-3 UC Irvine - March 1-3 USC-POIR March 4-6 UC Davis - March 7-9 UChicago - March 8-9 UWashington March 8-9 UCLA - March 8-10 Cornell - March 12-13 MIT March 13-14 UNC - March 15-17 Michigan - March 15-17 UVA - March 16-17 UC Berkeley - March 18-19 Duke - March 18-20 Wisconsin - March 22-24 NYU - March 23 UPenn - March 23 WUSTL - March 23-24 Rochester - March 25-27 Minnesota -March 26 Columbia - March 27-29 OSU - March 29-31 FSU - March 29th-31st Yale is supposed to be April 1-3. Stanford - April 9-10

I haven't actually heard from Georgetown or GWU, so that's not really an option yet. I was thinking of the fact that I had been granted admission to three wonderful programs and would regretfully have to decline two offers.

Hey all! I know this thread is a little early, but (much to my surprise) I'm going to have to decline some offers this year. I'm not sure the protocol for this. Obviously, I plan on being gracious and thankful for the opportunity and conveying these sentiments, I'm not sure who is the appropriate person to email/call/send a carrier pigeon when the time comes. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

UT March 1-2 UC Irvine March 1-3 UChicago March 8-9 UCLA March 8-10 Michigan March 15-17 Wisconsin March 22-24 WUSTL - Mar 23-24 Rochester March 25-27 Minnesota March 26 FSU March 29th-31st Stanford April 9-10

Congrats to everyone on the Columbia acceptances!! Sunday Funday! *cue personal freak out and obsessive email checking*

Hey! I'm also interested in terrorism, so I definitely understand your fascination. I'm not sure if you'd like my advice, but I'll give you something I think would make you an even better candidate. As people have said before, your interests seem to encompass almost all aspects of terrorism studies. While that's wonderful that you're interested in a lot of things, putting that in an admissions essay might not be the best idea. Instead, you want to focus on 1 or 2 really specific questions or topics you want to work with in grad school. I offer this because it's the criticism of my SOP that I heard for the first three drafts. My initial interests went from "Middle Eastern media and how it relates to terrorism" to "the growing Middle Eastern media market's effect on state decision-making in regards to transnational security issues especially terrorist networks". The specificity helps to set you apart from the other 400 people applying for your spot. I know that advice was hammered into me by my advisors, and I think it really helped my application.