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Hello! I was wait listed for Columbia's Environmental Science and Policy MPA program (in SIPA), and I was wondering if anyone could give insight as to when usually would be the last day to receive a final decision for somebody on the wait list. Or when might the decision deadline be for accepted students? The thing about this one year program is that it starts in early summer, so trying to find examples from other conventional 2-year programs that start in the fall hasn't been helpful. I really don't know the details of how the wait list works (other than the concept of getting an offer when somebody turns theirs down), so I'm trying to become more informed so as to stress out less. Also if anyone has any clue as to how many people from the wait list usually receive and admissions offer for this program, that would also be appreciated! Thanks!

I am currently researching the the prospect of getting a PhD in Political Science. My research interests are in american and comparative politics, specifically institutions and institutional analysis. My research interests align most with scholars such as Barry Weingast, Gary Cox, Douglas North, Elinor Ostrom, and Robert H Bates. Obviously, I would want to get into a top 10-20 PhD program. However, I have a checkered educational past. I went to undergrad at a top research university, majored in history and minored in political science, and got a 3.4. I then went to get a dual degree JD/MBA. I hated law school and did poorly, and got a 2.7. In business school I did better and got a 3.5. It wasn't until after graduating law school that I realized I truly didn't want to be an attorney, and that my passions were in political science, research, ideas, and teaching. I have almost no math experience, as I took no math in undergrad. The only math experience I have is in business school, where I took a single stats course and a corporate accounting course. I still have yet to take my GRE. I have read in these forums that you need to have taken quite a bit of quant classes in order to be competitive in top schools. Currently working as a research assistant for a scholar at a right leaning think tank (not sure if this would hurt me advertising this on my resume) Based on the above info: 1) Should I pursue a terminal masters program in political science or a public policy degree in order to make up for my deficiency in math courses, lower GPA, as well as to try and get research experience with political science professors so I can get good letters of rec? 2) The only people I could get a letter of rec from are the dean of my business school, an econ professor from my business school, and one of my law professors who I'm very close with. Are these sufficient, or should I pursue a masters so I can build relationships with professors in poli sci to get letters of rec from them? 3) If getting a masters is not a good idea, is there anything else I can do to bolster my resume (besides the obvious getting high GRE scores)? I spoke to a current PhD poli sci student at UCLA and he told me he didn't think it was necessary to get a masters. Thoughts?

Hey all, I am looking to see how likely I am to get into the following schools with the following criteria. I feel like I am fitting in somewhere around the average requirements of most applicants at these schools, with maybe a slightly lower GPA. GPA: 3.3 from a small liberal arts school in Ohio GRE: 161 V and 159 Q with 5.0 Analytical Writing Experience: 3 campaign cycles as an intern/volunteer (since '08), 3 campaign cycles as a paid staff in field management and data analytics; 1 year in nonprofit fundraising; 3 months interning with a lobbying firm in D.C.; Only 2 years of work experience after completing my undergrad (I took a semester off to work on the 2012 Presidential campaign) and volunteered/interned throughout college on various local, state, and national races in digital and organizing related work. I am applying/have applied to the following schools: Duke Sanford (MPP), Chicago Harris (MPP), Syracuse Maxwell (MPP), UT-Austin (MPA), Georgetown McCourt (MPP), NYU Wagner (MPA), OSU John Glenn (MPA), USC Price (MPA), IU SPEA (MPA). Thanks!