JordanJames

Yeah, it's my new favorite bar. (Undrafted, drugged or not, you missed out on the most delicious $4 Yuengling pitchers south of the Mason-Dixon) Honestly, I haven't really looked very hard, but most of what I've seen has been between $600-$650. And considering the fact that most utilities are included, it has a w/d, and it's so close to campus without being in one of the large undergrad housing complexes, I thought it was a pretty good deal. I guess I should start looking for apartments on different websites (I won't be able to go down to Tally until August).

There will be poli sci softball, flag football and basketball teams next year. I went to 1 bar there (undrafted flaked on us), and pitchers (real pitchers, not the mini rip off pitchers) were $4 and there was free pizza (it was the worst pizza I've ever had, but still). I'm pretty sure it was the cheapest place in the area, but that was a clear indicator that our stipends will go a long way down there. Anyways, I found a great 1 bedroom place near campus (on the FSU bus line) for rent on Craigs List, but unfortunately the owner doesn't rent to smokers. The place is $650 a month, has a washer/dryer, and all utilities sans electricity are included in the rent. Email her and she'll send you pics. http://tallahassee.craigslist.org/apa/660974824.html

Next April you may get angry at me for saying this, but having graduated from a good school with a very good GPA, I'm certain you'll get in somewhere. Just write an (impersonal) personal statement that clearly demonstrates your research interests, do reasonably well on the GRE (especially the quantitative section, which is pretty easy), apply to some backup schools, and get good letters of recommendation and you will get in somewhere. You may not get into 1 of your top choices (I'm not saying you won't, I'm just saying you may not), but you'll get in somewhere. Don't worry too much about your lack of research experience, the majority of undergraduates who have research experience were doing data entry and grammer checks, or wrote senior theses that will look like dog crap to them after their first year of grad school. I definently didn't reach the pinnacle of graduate application success this year, but I was accepted at a few schools and will be in a political science program next year that I'm very happy with despite not having very much research experience. I have no publications, never tried to publish anything, never wrote a senior thesis, and was an RA for 3 months where I wrote summaries of NAFTA arbitrations and did some editing for a textbook (not very useful or substantive research); and, I know people with even less research experience who were accepted by some very good schools. So, I think if you apply to 7-9 schools that have a number of professors doing research in your area of interest , you'll most likely get in somewhere (and if you kill the GRE, get strong LORs, and write a good personal statement, you'll most likely get in at a very good school). Anyways, I don't think any of us know very much about the admissions process, although I do know a lot more about it now than I did when I submitted my applications. N.B. You can also try to gain some research experience now, if it's at all possible.

I'm looking for an apartment within walking distance of the department, but I'm having trouble finding anything that isn't a privately-owned undergrad dorm. I have a problem with making it to bus stops on time, and I don't believe I'll have a car while I'm there, so I have to find something within walking distance of campus. Normally I wouldn't even mind an undergrad atmosphere in my apartment building and god knows I love beer pong, but I'd imagine these spring break resorts they call student housing would encourage outrageous behavior from 19 year olds and keep me from sleeping most nights.

Good luck finding that in South Bend. I'd suggest that you start lowering you standards right now. I remember when I moved to the South for undergrad being angry that I couldn't find a decent pizza place anywhere. One day I was complaining while I split a pie from Domino's with some people, and my friend finally got annoyed with me. "Pizza is like sex, even when it's bad it's good; so chill out and just eat the god damned pizza," he said. Cliche? Yes, but from that point on I was fine with ordering Domino's, and I'm pretty sure I never complained again. Anyways, I think you should mentally transition from MVC to the ND Trough, or you will be pretty unhappy your first year of grad school. As for me, I could be married or single when I start school next year, so I can't even begin to think about this sort of thing. Also, this issue goes both ways, and I'm pretty sure many women going to grad school are worried about the same thing. If the pairing up thing is true, it's pretty scary considering there are about 10-20 people in each first year cohort in a department at most schools.

UCR- I was accepted about 5 weeks ago but I'm most likely going to turn down their offer. I'll be visiting the other school on the 30th and I'll know after that. UCR's visit day is April 11th, but I'm not going to visit unless I decide I don't want to go to the other school. Also, this would indicate that all their acceptances have been sent out, but you may be on some kind of rolling waitlist. I don't know whether my declining their offer would change anything for you because I was offerred a fellowship (which I think doesn't get factored into their departmental budget), but if I do decline, I hope you get my spot. I'll try to make my decision as soon as possible so that I don't hold up an offer to you or anyone else. I'm guessing I'll know by April 2 whether I'll be going to UCR or not. Good luck

Me sorry, no understand wordz. Please picture draw for me.

C seems to be the best bet. I'm going to transition away from the GradCafe to Eharmony soon to find my sugar mama. Unlike you though, I haven't given up on professional sports. I'm hoping Bobby Bowden spots my skills on the flag football field, offers me a scholarship, turns me into an All American Safety and I get drafted in the Second Round (I'm trying to be realistic) by the Bears. If I don't find my sugar mama and Bobby Bowden doesn't have the recruiting acumen to recognize my talent, I'm going to become a professional poker and backgammon player while entering hot dog, egg and wing eating competitions on the side.

lol, well actually, according to the Realist there are only 18 top 25 schools, and UIUC isn't on the list. To be a top 25 school your school must be in the top 25 of all rankings. I'm going to FSU and they were ranked 22 on Chingos placement rankings, but they also fail to make the list. Thus, we are both screwed and it doesn't matter whether we go to Illinois or Phoenix Online, none of us will get a tenure track job anywhere. Don't pay attention to the placement records which show Illinois placing students at Brown, Tennessee, Texas, Washington & Lee and Georgia among others in recent years. THERE IS NO WAY YOU WILL FIND WORK ANYWHERE. Is there truth in what the OP said? Yes. But are some of the generalizations he has made and his list of top schools infallible? No.

True, also it is the New School that he frequently visits. More importantly, that scene in Good Will Hunting is great (cliche, but I don't even care). But, I'd like to point out that there are more pathetic figures in that scene than the long haired loser. I would rather be that guy than 1 of the 3 stereotypical Harvard dorks standing behind him. That's why I'm giving MVC's response to Realist a 9.5/10. Had you compared him to a member of the Harvard posse, it might have merited a 10. Good job though. Realist, I agree with almost everything you have said on this board, but your pessimism is getting quite annoying. I think everybody here realizes (at least by now) that it's harder to get a tenure track position when you go to a school that is below the top 25 (whatever that is) or that transferring is harder in grad school than in undergrad. But many of us don't aim to go to a school outside of the top 25 and do mediocre work, we are striving for excellence. If we don't achieve it, there will be a place in academia for us somewhere lower down the ladder, and for many of us that's better than taking a 9-5, working in a law firm or becoming a stock broker. For those that enter a PhD program and would like to transfer but are unable to do so, at least they have the opportunity to obtain their PhD at the institution they entered, prove themselves through their work and find a job somewhere. I don't believe that those of us who obtain a PhD from a lower school will end up on some street corner begging for change because our school was ranked 30 or 40 or 50. I don't want to offend you and I don't think you're trying to be malicious, but I think it would help us a lot more to know what to do when we're in grad school (what conferences we should aim to present at, what topics are hot, etc.) instead of concentrating on how terrible our job prospects are if we're not at one of the 18 schools that are top 25 schools.

No, I started drinking an hour ago. Also, I think Columbia has a late MA deadline, so you might want to check them out.

Congrats!!!

I'm very worried about my visit. I've been in contact with 2 people who will also be visiting the school who have been contacted by a few professors asking them to work for them and I haven't been contacted yet. I don't know if/how to broach the subject and who I should even talk to about this. I have an idea of who I'd probably work with, but I haven't spoken to anybody about this (I didn't email any professors before I applied). I also hate networking and can be somewhat introverted in these kinds of situations, so I'm worried that I might find a way to ruin my chances of working with the professors I have in mind. So, MVC, I don't know how I'm going to approach my visit, but I'm willing to bet that once I get there I'll grab a diet coke and remain as anonymous as possible as I sip on my tasty zero calorie beverage of choice.

While applying to PhD programs, I also applied for a couple of tenure track academic positions abroad (I'm a J.D.). I have a telephone interview on Wed. with a business school and was wondering whether anybody has any advise. This is my first interview for an academic position, and I don't really know what to expect. The university is accredited in America, the vast majority of professors in the department are American business school PhDs or law school grads, and the school is run virtually like any other university in America. Also, lets assume I'm offered the position. I've been accepted by a political science program that ranks between 25-40 in the couple of rankings I've looked at, and it is a program that I really like. Should I just get my PhD now or should I take the position and reapply a year or 2 later for a PhD in poli sci, and will the faculty position teaching business law classes in a business school help boost my application for poli sci PhD programs? Would I be able to use this position to begin my career in academia and find a job elsewhere (in another department or school), or might this be a dead end (it is an average university in the Middle East)? I'm afraid that I can only go so far with just a taught doctorate, and that I won't be able to end up researching (having the research actually published) and teaching the subjects I'm most interested in. Also, the job is in a city that I have always dreamed of living in, but I always thought that it would be where I ended my career. My end goal is to produce valuable, original and respected research that contributes to the areas of democratization, comparative constitutional law and formal theory. Any thoughts?