aargauer

Irrelevant sidebar: I wanted to go to UMN badly (comparative / social policy - Jane Gingrich), and never considered UCLA. They blew me off. I was never rejected, never accepted. I received an email stating that I was under consideration after they had already sent out acceptances (I apparently failed to upload something). I called mid-to-late February and was told I would hear soon. Nothing. I then called (left voicemails), emailed (no responses), etc. Absolutely nothing. Gave up. Bizarre! Just my own thoughts and observations -- entirely irrelevant I suppose. I write this because I am amazed that they could be so obnoxious / callous. Am no longer interested, and am going elsewhere. It should reflect poorly upon them.

I turned down a funded PhD at UMass and was going to go to LSE for an MSc, but was accepted from the waitlist at another program here in the States (Brandeis). I had decided to go to LSE, so I did make a similar decision (despite needing to take out loans) before the situation change. I suggest searching for the *negative* comments from Brits in to ask a similar question (re UMass vs. LSE).

Related sidebar: What does "Your application is under review" mean when, according to the results page, they've already announced a number of acceptances and rejections?! Unofficial wait list? Kind of confused, and do not want to get my hopes up.

In addition to applying to PhD programs, I was planning on applying to policy research and think tank positions. That was very much on my mind as a fall back, although I would prefer to study further and teach. However, policy / think tank work would certainly be nice. My brother has worked in Congress, the Senate, and on K Street, but was rejected two years in a row from LSE (and he studied abroad there as an undergraduate!)... So I was rather shocked to get in like this. To make the PhD path "more direct" if I choose to attend LSE, I plan on applying to Max Planck in Cologne (which would probably have been my first choice, if it accepted individuals without advanced degrees in the field) and the ETH (the PhD program at the MA program to which I linked above; I also have a guaranteed reference from someone who researched and taught there for fifteen years) in Switzerland in addition to American programs. I would not mind remaining in Central Europe, but universities there are not necessarily in the best of shape (particularly in Germany; I know, as I follow things as much as I can in Die Zeit, SZ, and FAZ).

I should add that I regret listening to this particular professor once before. I was admitted to this program and almost went five years ago, but decided that it would be "useless." Little did I know what the ETH's reputation was outside of Switzerland, inside of Europe itself (Americans do not know it)...

GPA: 3.61/4.0 (almost a 4.0 my last year; GPA dragged down by my freshman year and exclusion of year abroad... A+ on my senior thesis) GRE: 98th percentile V; 87th percentile M; 5.0 W (I use percentiles as I retook the GRE to improve my math score and the grading changed) Interest: Comparative (Social Policy to be even more exact); the MSc is in Social Policy. I studied abroad at Oxford for a year, and, as I said, speak fluent German (and a smattering of Swiss German, which I understand) Debt: None at the moment I left law school because I did not want to be a lawyer. I was married and felt that an academic career would be incompatible with the marriage (to a non-American then still at university in Switzerland); meanwhile, the marriage fell apart during the first year! Ridiculous, I know. I applied extremely late because I was so resigned, but still got in where I had wanted to go. I then waited until the last day to send the deposit, as I already knew it was a gigantic mistake. I did have an A+ in the legal research and writing course; I withdrew before final exams, so I do not have many other grades on the transcript (but did middle out with Bs during the first round of exams / midterms as I was rather indifferent to even being there). If my favorite professor had not been so adamantly opposed to me applying to UMass in the first place, I would not have these doubts. However, the fear of completing a PhD and finding myself unemployable / at a distinct disadvantage is something I find rather disconcerting. UMass also only guaranteed *three* years of funding. Given my interests, the lack of a social policy specialist is also a major strike against the program. I will be discussing a lot of what I've posted here with the department when I visit, and am going to be spending a lot more time weighing things. Comments here are really helpful, so I appreciate you guys responding a lot. Thanks!

I have been trolling here and in the results section for a number of weeks now, and feel like I could use some of your collective advice. Many of you seem rather knowledgeable, and, to be honest, I would appreciate almost any input at this point in time (even if you're not). Having followed the admissions, and read the latest UMN post here, I am going to guess that I will be rejected from three of the four PhD programs from which I have yet to hear... That being the case, I feel as if I am in a bit of a corner and am really torn. This round I have been accepted to an MSc program at LSE and to the PhD program at UMass Amherst (I did not post in results). The UMass admit included money, and quite a few emails. However, when I was applying to programs, my favorite undergraduate professor went so far as to discourage me from even considering it. She stated that my resume would land in the trash, without any consideration, because it was from UMass... It has me rather worreid about career prospects (despite speculation elsewhere here about the expansion of the UMass department and the possibility of it rising). That being the case, I am considering taking out substantial loans and going to LSE, with the explicit hope of gaining admission to a better program in the 2013 round of admissions. LSE would also make it possible for me to apply to programs in Germany, e.g., Max Planck in Cologne, and Switzerland, e.g., the ETH Zürich. I am really confused and torn. Would the *chance* of gaining admission to a better program be worth taking out the $20,000+ in loans? Or should I accept the offer I have and remain debt free? I am older than most -- in my late 20s -- and do not have much "professional" experience I presume to be applicable to most admissions committees (other than two years in Switzerland and fluent German; I will guess that dropping out of a T20 law school counts against me). My references have insisted that I belong in a top program, but I have personally been skeptical about my odds of gaining admission given where I presently am in life (and rightly so it would seem). Would the MSc from LSE boost my chances the next time around? Would it be worth the money?