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Doorkeeper

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  1. Ways to get into top political theory programs: 1) For Princeton, get a master's degree from Oxford or Cambridge (maybe LSE) 2) For Harvard, see above, or get to know Harvard political theory faculty, or have top political theorists at other schools recommending you. 3) For Yale, appeal to Benhabib's faction within the department. Also see above. 4) For Chicago, be crit/straussian oriented. Also see (2). No idea about Hopkins. These don't apply to the next tier of Berkeley, Northwestern, and Duke. You'll probably have a shot at this tier without anything else. As you didn't major in political theory, and so your recommenders probably will not be all theorists who are well-known in the field, if your goal is to get into a top theory program above all else, then I would recommend further training in some capacity (Oxbridge masters, MAPSS at Chicago, or something else that is similar. Perhaps be an RA for a theorist at a top school, if that is possible)
  2. I'm so happy for everyone who is still hearing wonderful news! I just submitted my acceptance to attend yesterday and it feels exhilarating. For those whose cycles worked out well, congratulations! For those of you whose cycles didn't work out, I know it's difficult, but please keep your head up and focus on improving your application! This is my second cycle. My first first one I was pretty much shut out, and now I'm going to Harvard. Good things do happen!
  3. I assume a few people are like me and still have not heard anything from UCLA, right? It seems like from past years that they hold onto people down to the wire on an informal waitlist of sorts.
  4. You're get a lot of info here about the PhD, so I'll just say a few words about the JD. Employment has only gotten difficult for those who do not attend a top 6-10 law school. The kids coming out of Harvard and Columbia Law are still getting job offers by the handful. This being said, it's much easier to get a job from the start at a biglaw firm than it is getting a job that you may actually desire and want to work at (e.g. government, non-profits, policy think tanks, etc). These jobs are definitely still attainable, but you have to work a bit harder. As a corollary, I would not recommend law school to anyone who does not either: (i) get into a top 6-10 school, and/or (ii) get significant scholarship to attend. The kids at Georgetown, Vanderbilt, USC, Emory Law schools are struggling to get jobs, and it's a really shitty position to be in $200,000 debt and not have a job lined up. However, law schools mainly care about two things: undergraduate GPA and LSAT score. If you have a good undergraduate GPA (think above 3.50 for top 6-10, above 3.70 for top 3-4), then there is no reason why you cannot get a high LSAT score (think above a 169). It is a test that you can master if you just put in the time and effort to study it. All of this being said, do not get a JD unless you actually want to be a lawyer. Unless you go to maybe Harvard, Yale, or Stanford law schools, your options outside of law are limited.
  5. You really need to improve that quant score since you're not a theory candidate. All I have to say is that it's ok applying multiple cycles - I applied to 3 different cycles and it wasn't until my third cycle that I made real progress. Spend the year making progress to improve your file, especially whatever weaknesses you may have in your application. Also, having multiple LORs from people outside of political science might not be a wise move. I know that many top schools pay particular notice to applications that have LORs from professors that they know and/or respect in Political Science - there's a much lesser likelihood of that occurring with your file if you have 2 recommenders from Economics (unless those two recommenders are people that are well known to political scientists).
  6. You definitely need to get the JD if you want to have a realistic chance of placing into a law school as an Assistant Professor. Although there are some law faculty with only a PhD in a cognate discipline, they normally lateral over when they're already senior and well-established in their respective discipline. Basically the JD/PhD gives you access to two different job markets (Political Science and Law) when you're young, as opposed to only one market. Law teaching has a number of benefits over teaching in a Political Science department, including: i) at least double the pay, ii) less course load during the year, iii) easier tenure standards, and iv) increased research support. This being said, the JD adds another 2 years to your timeline if you did a joint JD/PhD, so I would think carefully as to whether you actually want to get a full legal education, as opposed to simply cross registering for a few classes.
  7. This thread is in a death spiral. Can somebody just put it out of its misery, old yeller style?
  8. Definitely toss out Columbia. It's not worth 70k. Chicago is a valid option here, especially if there are faculty at Chicago that work in areas that you are interested in working in during your graduate studies. Instead of going after a masters program, I would say that you should try to find a research position at a university that would allow you to work closely with Political Scientists - perhaps as a research assistant or fellow at some university institute. At my university, I know a few of these that hire people with BAs and/or MAs for two-year periods, and many of them are able to attain a recommendation from a (or multiple) big name professor(s) when they apply during their second year.
  9. if you actually look put together, then how am I supposed to pick out the quanties at the Campus Visit? haha.
  10. I'm thinking button down and chinos/khakis. Maybe a blazer if there are any fancy events (receptions, dinner with professor, etc).
  11. Thank you! I applied to the department multiple times - so sometimes persistence can pay off!
  12. Two Harvard results have been posted. One of them has to be a troll because Thom Wall never calls people to notify them of their acceptance. But the other one? Can somebody claim that one? Sometimes POIs will informally call, but most are notified via email.
  13. Historically, UCLA does rolling acceptances and rejections at random points from Feb until April. Notice that someone just posted an acceptance today on the results page. I assume that they admit their first round, reject the definite nos in early to mid-March, and then begin to make additional acceptances and rejections as they get a better sense of who is accepting or declining their offer. It's kind of like a conditional waitlist.
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