CairoKid

What about UW Seattle?! Hold out hope!

In regards to the QMSS program (which I am now considering), what are typical funding packages? Looking at past acceptances in the results survey, and looking at Columbia's website, proved unhelpful for the most part. Does it end up being a fairly costly Master's? Or do they give good funding packages?

Ah, thanks for your input, everyone. I've just seen a lot of talk of these research methods courses and work in quant methods/stats. I took Calc freshman year, plus micro and macroeconomics. But I have no research methods courses or math courses beyond that. Wasn't sure how much that mattered. I did get a 720Q on the GRE, so I'm obviously not completely lacking in quant abilities. Should I take any of these courses before I reapply (if that ends up being the case)? Edit: Or just make it more explicit of my intentions to explore training in those fields once in grad school, as ohsnap mentioned?

Comparative people, then. Is it necessary to have that background prior to a PhD?

Did everyone getting accepted to all these wonderful schools have a background in Stats/Quant Methods/Research Methods/etc.?? I wonder if that's part of what's holding me back.

Please tell me it's not UW Seattle! I want to hear from them...

ivy league

tropical paradise

I'm with you on that one. Wish it was even earlier than that.

Oh, no! I just did a bit of random research, and may have concluded that my POI at Washington is no longer there - or is at least not super available, as he now may be teaching elsewhere. I emailed him to be certain, but Washington was the place I had the best shot at (it was the best fit and my adviser went there). If he is gone, I have a much lower chance of getting accepted. =/ Edit: Ohmygoddd. And he already emailed me back. Literally 10 minutes after I sent the email. And it was the nicest email ever; however it was very disappointing as he is in fact no longer going to be teaching full-time at UW. =( But he did offer to share ideas and stay in contact!! Unfortunately, this probably means a rejection from UW; but I am ecstatic that my POI turned out to be such a nice guy and potentially a future contact. Bittersweet.

Now that I think about it, you're right. While Turkey is always notorious slow to respond, I otherwise have no idea how late they respond without funding issues. I could do some research, but then again, it may vary drastically by year. Edit: Yeah, after doing a brief Google search, I just have no idea and am too lazy at this hour to try to speculate. hah

I think it was a forum on GradCafe (or at least some place like it) that was a bunch of Turkey ETA finalists talking about stuff waiting for their decisions. This was last year. I think they all found out whether they got the grant around June 9th or so. If Turkey follows their previous trends, it's likely you'll be back before you hear anything from Turkey. However, I don't want to tell you you'll certainly be fine, and then have you find out you're accepted while you're abroad. Unless someone else has more concrete advice, I would suggest maybe contacting Fulbright to let them know you're considering the Costa Rica option and are concerned about completing medical forms in a timely fashion. See what they suggest.

I would just like to let it be known that despite my unsuccessful run so far, I have received so much support and helpful information from this forum that I am aiming to get into a top 20 - perhaps even top 10 - PhD program next cycle. =P I don't know how realistic that is, but I do think I have worked tremendously hard and have had a lot of great experiences that make me an attractive candidate. I just need to boost my Verbal GRE a bit (which I'm getting help to control my anxiety and obsessive thoughts), and need to better articulate my purpose for graduate study in my SOP (which I've already made a ton of revisions to). When I get my fabulously fully funded offers to top tier programs next year, I'll be sure to thank "all the little people" (just kidding, you guys and gals are great!) for my successes. =)

Additionally, has anyone been in contact with Washington Seattle? I'm curious if they're done offers, as I mentioned earlier on this board. I've thought about calling them myself, but I don't know how I would handle hearing a rejection via phone. hah

To you and grantman, I've been rejected everywhere thus far. Definitely in good company. Particularly disheartening when your significant other gets into a bunch of programs and complains about having to decide between programs, whereas you're sitting there with no options at all. =(

Thank you! You did a wonderful job of articulating your interests and purpose for graduate study so concisely. Much better than the vague nonsense I put together. Congratulations on all of your acceptances!

Got my official rejection from Chicago. No consolation Master's or anything. Yayyy...?

Again, wish I would have disregarded the advice given to me. If only I had joined GradCafe sooner and asked all of these questions BEFORE making mistakes. =P

Damn. I was advised against going over it by too much by my professors. Wish I had ignored their advice. Like I keep saying lately, "Next time."

The Berkeley rejection letter was so nice! I wish my rejection letters would have been so sweet and reassuring. I don't think I'd even be sad if Berkeley had rejected me given that letter.

Saw some Chicago rejections out there. Who's exciting to get theirs?? This girl. =P My adviser told me I wouldn't want to go there anyway because they're all elitists. I'll just agree with him to cover my sorrows. haha

If anyone has an example of a POS that had a length requirement (such as Georgetown's 500 word limit or Washington Seattle's 350-500 word limit), could you please post is as a sample? Several of my programs required such short statements, and I found it very difficult to utilize such little space wisely. I think I ended up cutting out a lot of useful information and fear that it's the reason I probably seem like I lack any sort of focus on what I want to do in grad school. The samples posted so far are all so very long.

On another note, does anyone know if Washington - Seattle is done with offers? It seems like a lot of people heard back already, but previous cycles show a few offers of admission in the beginning-mid March, weeks after the first admits showed up. It's been my favorite option this whole time, so I hope there are still admits to be made.

I know a Master's could definitely be useful and prepare me for a PhD. I just know it's not likely that I can afford a Master's if I can't get full funding, or at least most of tuition covered. That's part of my worry. I suppose there is still hope for some of the schools left. I'm just being especially pessimistic because my boyfriend keeps getting accepted places, and it's hard to not feel like a failure in comparison.

Wow. I just read over the posts on "". I'm so impressed with the SOPs posted! They're so much better than the ones I consulted on other boards last fall. Granted, those people apparently got into very good schools. But the ones from this season... they just seem so focused and well articulated. I can definitely see how my SOP came off as far less impressive. I have a lot of work to do. haha