PSApplicant12

Thanks, this is great info. I wasn't able to make the campus visit, did any other folks go? I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts.

I think this chain is great. In my opinion, the PhD admissions competition is far too heavily skewed towards those with prior knowledge of the "inside baseball" aspects of academia. I don't believe that inside knowledge is necessarily correlated with other attributes that would make one a promising scholar. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: large public state school Major(s)/Minor(s): International Affairs Undergrad GPA: 3.98 Type of Grad: International Policy MA, top 5 University Grad GPA: 3.95 GRE: 168V 169Q 5.5AW Any Special Courses: Standard MA courses in methods and IR Letters of Recommendation: Undergrad mentor (Honors Program Director), well known senior professor from MA program, tenured professor from MA program Research Experience: A few RAships Teaching Experience: 2 TAships in undergrad and MA program Work experience: 2 years in USG Subfield/Research Interests: IR, conflict/security RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): UCSD, Duke, Princeton, Georgetown, George Washington (all $$) Rejections: Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Berkeley Going to: undecided My advice: Take the time to research what schools expect in an SOP, particularly in regards to describing a specific program of research you could undertake. In my opinion, this is almost always a farce - if your interests and research plans don't evolve significantly during grad school, you're probably not getting much benefit out of a grad program - but it's necessary nonetheless, and you won't be expected to stick to what you write. The one significant change I would make if I could go back would be to be more specific in this area, rather than listing my general research interests and the types of research questions I want to pursue. I'm in the camp that thinks "fit" is relatively overrated as an admissions component, partly for the evolution in interests described above and partly because I think top programs simply want to target the most promising scholars rather than students whose specific micro-interests align with existing professors. I do acknolwedge there is a minimum "fit" requirement, but I suspect it's lower than is commonly claimed in this forum. Fit is probably more important if you are not among the strongest applicants. My SOP: I want to study at University X’s Department of Political Science to prepare for a career as a political science professor at a research university. If admitted, I plan to pursue International Relations my primary sub-field and focus specifically on the strategic logic that drives state behavior in conflict situations. As someone who has been a researcher and practitioner of international security politics, my professional and academic background provides an excellent foundation for further growth at University X and future success as a political scientist. My academic interest in international security started as an undergraduate, when I began learning the basic tools of political science. Like other students, my initial conception of political science “research” was more akin to basic policy advocacy: selectively piecing together various sources in support of a predetermined argument. As my coursework progressed, I employed increasingly advanced methods in course papers and independent research projects. As a junior, I [description of research and data collection method], identified key patterns, and received an undergraduate research award for my paper on XXXXXX. After college I entered a graduate program to expand my quantitative skills and gain access to a wider range of scholarship. For my graduate program’s capstone research project, I [lengthy description of research method, supporting theory, hypothesis, and conclusions]. University X’s extensive methodological expertise and commitment to interdisciplinary research make it an ideal place to further hone my research skills. In addition to my academic background, I’ve gained work experience over the last two years – including in the [uSG office relevant to my research interests] – that has prepared me for University X’s doctoral program in two ways. First, having been a direct practitioner of international relations, I will be able to ground many subjects I plan to study in personal experience. Covering XXXXX issues at the [uSG office], I observe [several examples of how my work experience is related to core IR scholarly debates]. My work provides a unique vantage point for evaluating theories I hope to further examine at University X – not only major international relations paradigms of state behavior, but also theoretical frameworks related to XXXXX and XXXXX. By understanding how international politics functions in practice, I can give concrete meaning to abstract theories, generate interesting research ideas, and dismiss naïve assumptions about the foreign policy process. These skills will make me a more effective researcher and scholar. Second, my work experience has underscored the difference between policy work and political science as an academic discipline. In the U.S. government, foreign policy is often dominated by external constraints – namely, the need to react quickly to international crises and the challenge of coordinating a complex interagency process. Deep reflection and long-term thinking are rare luxuries. As a result, the practice of foreign policy is often completely bereft of fundamental elements of political science scholarship: consciously identifying gaps in current knowledge, searching across disciplines for relevant analytical frameworks, developing new models and hypotheses, and submitting them to empirical scrutiny. After recognizing these core differences, I realized that my interests and abilities are best suited to an academic career in political science. If admitted to University X, I plan to build on my previous experience by concentrating in IR, with Methodology as a second field. In broad terms, I plan to investigate the strategic logic that drives the behavior of states and other actors in conflict situations. I also want to examine how that logic can be altered by the introduction of third parties and by variation in the institutional environment. Political scientists have already made important advances in this area of inquiry. Scholars have extensively studied the strategic calculus that can lead states to war, for example; they have also examined variables that influence that calculus, like the structure of a state’s political system or the global balance of power. However, scholars have paid comparatively less attention to [general area of research]. For example, I have long been interested in [specific area of research]. [List of research questions I would like to examine]. These questions deserve closer scrutiny. Scholars like XXXXXX and XXXXXX have investigated the [scholarly contributions to specific research area], and XXXXX has proposed models of [related research]. However, few lines of research [proposed focus of my research]. I plan to contribute to this body of work using the research, modeling, and data analysis skills I hope to learn at University X. Considering these goals, University X is an ideal fit for my research agenda and educational objectives. The Department of Political Science houses world-class political scientists in the field of international conflict and security, including XXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX. XXXX in particular has recently conducted interesting research on [link to my proposed area of research]. I would hope to study under and receive guidance from each of these scholars during my time at University X. Since I want to leverage my time in graduate school to learn the broadest possible range of methodological tools, I also appreciate University X’s expertise in formal and quantitative methods. Within the Department, XXXXX has significant experience applying [relevant methodology] to political science problems, and XXXXX has used [other methodology] to examine rational explanations of conflict. More broadly, the [relevant course sequences and certifications at University X] are ideal resources to gain experience and expertise in quantitative research methods. Beyond these factors, I am attracted to the Department’s emphasis on student-faculty collaboration, the flexibility to take courses in a range of disciplines, and the ability to attend and participate in the [research colloquium program]. I also hope to leverage University X’s research institutes and consortiums, like the XXXXX, to gain exposure to a broad range of fields and research projects. For all of these reasons, University X is at the top of my list for graduate study. I believe my experience and academic preparation have prepared me well for the Ph.D. program, and I would value the opportunity to study at the Department of Political Science.

I think for a lot of schools, the posted word count is not a hard ceiling. I contacted one school about the limit, and they indicated it was more of a general guideline. In any case, I went significantly over the 500 word limit and was accepted.

IR, focus on conflict/security.

I'm one of the Georgetown admits. Got a call Sunday afternoon.

Rejected from Yale too...

Can also confirm a Princeton admit. Email from the DGS at 2:30 EST.