2018-2019 Application Thread

[CactiCactus]

4 minutes ago, upsy said:

Just heard from UChicago with funding info.

Same. I'm stunned and delighted!

[cpmethods]

Could you guys tell what stipend did uchicago offer?

[eggsalad14]

NYU with funding info just received 

Edit: Not complete information on funding (it comes with the official offer later) but they do mention a stipend amount. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by eggsalad14

[IRSquirrel]

29 minutes ago, upsy said:

Just heard from UChicago with funding info.

 

24 minutes ago, CactiCactus said:

Same. I'm stunned and delighted!

Congrats to you! did the email mention anything about the size of next year's IR/CP cohort?

[Mallarme]

11 minutes ago, eggsalad14 said:

NYU with funding info just received 

Edit: Not complete information on funding (it comes with the official offer later) but they do mention a stipend amount. 

Was this a personal email?

[Mallarme]

12 minutes ago, eggsalad14 said:

NYU with funding info just received 

Edit: Not complete information on funding (it comes with the official offer later) but they do mention a stipend amount. 

Also, congratulations!

[eggsalad14]

Just now, Mallarme said:

Was this a personal email?

Not at all 

[Mallarme]

12 minutes ago, eggsalad14 said:

NYU with funding info just received 

Edit: Not complete information on funding (it comes with the official offer later) but they do mention a stipend amount. 

Also, congratulations!

[trinityshot]

NYU acceptance with stipend amount. American/methods

[POC]

2 minutes ago, trinityshot said:

NYU acceptance with stipend amount. American/methods

Congratulations! Did this email come from POI, DGS, or GSAS?

[trinityshot]

1 minute ago, POC said:

Congratulations! Did this email come from POI, DGS, or GSAS?

DGS but it's a generic email

[POC]

1 minute ago, trinityshot said:

DGS but it's a generic email

Got it. Thanks for the info

[acmnny]

45 minutes ago, eggsalad14 said:

NYU with funding info just received 

Edit: Not complete information on funding (it comes with the official offer later) but they do mention a stipend amount. 

As fun/torturous as it's been following along with this process with you all, I think this is the end of the line for me. 

I'm a CP applicant. Applied to 11 schools. Been rejected—or, for NYU and Chicago, presumably rejected—from all five I've heard from so far (Wisconsin [despite interview], Berkeley, Princeton, NYU, Chicago). At this point I'm assuming I'll be rejected from my remaining five schools as well (Minnesota, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Stanford). 

Honestly, despite the fact that I've told myself all along that this process is a complete crapshoot, I'm still a bit stunned. I graduated summa cum laude from a top two U.S. liberal arts school, have two years' think tank experience, a publication, and great recommendations from my school and work. GRE was 164V/166Q/5.0. Good luck to everyone else. I sincerely wouldn't wish what I'm feeling right now on any of you. 

[Chronicoverthinker]

10 minutes ago, acmnny said:

As fun/torturous as it's been following along with this process with you all, I think this is the end of the line for me. 

I'm a CP applicant. Applied to 11 schools. Been rejected—or, for NYU and Chicago, presumably rejected—from all five I've heard from so far (Wisconsin [despite interview], Berkeley, Princeton, NYU, Chicago). At this point I'm assuming I'll be rejected from my remaining five schools as well (Minnesota, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Stanford). 

Honestly, despite the fact that I've told myself all along that this process is a complete crapshoot, I'm still a bit stunned. I graduated summa cum laude from a top two U.S. liberal arts school, have two years' think tank experience, a publication, and great recommendations from my school and work. GRE was 164V/166Q/5.0. Good luck to everyone else. I sincerely wouldn't wish what I'm feeling right now on any of you. 

Almost identical situation. Same schools, same rejections. 

[Pillcopata]

9 minutes ago, acmnny said:

As fun/torturous as it's been following along with this process with you all, I think this is the end of the line for me. 

I'm a CP applicant. Applied to 11 schools. Been rejected—or, for NYU and Chicago, presumably rejected—from all five I've heard from so far (Wisconsin [despite interview], Berkeley, Princeton, NYU, Chicago). At this point I'm assuming I'll be rejected from my remaining five schools as well (Minnesota, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Stanford). 

Honestly, despite the fact that I've told myself all along that this process is a complete crapshoot, I'm still a bit stunned. I graduated summa cum laude from a top two U.S. liberal arts school, have two years' think tank experience, a publication, and great recommendations from my school and work. GRE was 164V/166Q/5.0. Good luck to everyone else. I sincerely wouldn't wish what I'm feeling right now on any of you. 

1

<333 i know this framing has limited value right now, but try to remember how idiosyncratic this process is. take it easy, wait out the other schools, and treat yourself in the meantime. 

[oats]

1 hour ago, acmnny said:

As fun/torturous as it's been following along with this process with you all, I think this is the end of the line for me. 

I'm a CP applicant. Applied to 11 schools. Been rejected—or, for NYU and Chicago, presumably rejected—from all five I've heard from so far (Wisconsin [despite interview], Berkeley, Princeton, NYU, Chicago). At this point I'm assuming I'll be rejected from my remaining five schools as well (Minnesota, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Stanford). 

Honestly, despite the fact that I've told myself all along that this process is a complete crapshoot, I'm still a bit stunned. I graduated summa cum laude from a top two U.S. liberal arts school, have two years' think tank experience, a publication, and great recommendations from my school and work. GRE was 164V/166Q/5.0. Good luck to everyone else. I sincerely wouldn't wish what I'm feeling right now on any of you. 

What's your math background? A lot of schools are looking for linear algebra and 3 semesters of calculus. Obviously it's not a required minimum, but it's a significant edge with the current state of the discipline. Too many students don't realize how important math is to their application and often end up in this unfortunate circumstance.

[scdaaljobe]

Just now, oats said:

What's your math background? A lot of schools are looking for linear algebra and 3 semesters of calculus. Obviously it's not a required minimum, but it's a significant edge with the current state of the discipline. Too many students don't realize how important math is to their application and often end up in this unfortunate circumstance.

I'm in the same boat as acmnny and have a minor in statistics along with the linear algebra and a year of calculus. I'm still holding out hope for my remaining schools though, not ready to have to face possibility of not going to grad school this year i guess. 

[IcedCovfefe]

12 minutes ago, oats said:

What's your math background? A lot of schools are looking for linear algebra and 3 semesters of calculus. Obviously it's not a required minimum, but it's a significant edge with the current state of the discipline. Too many students don't realize how important math is to their application and often end up in this unfortunate circumstance.

I think this is a bit of an overstatement and possibly subfield dependent (more important for American, perhaps).  Having a strong math background is definitely an advantage and I agree that linear algebra and calc iii can make someone a stronger applicant.  However, I think all of us here are putting too much weight on easily observable things like GPA, GRE, and which classes we’ve taken, while SOP, letters, and writing sample are really doing the heavy lifting.  I know of quite a few people who don’t have that kind of math background who are doing extremely well this cycle. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by IcedCovfefe

[eggsalad14]

1 hour ago, acmnny said:

As fun/torturous as it's been following along with this process with you all, I think this is the end of the line for me. 

I'm a CP applicant. Applied to 11 schools. Been rejected—or, for NYU and Chicago, presumably rejected—from all five I've heard from so far (Wisconsin [despite interview], Berkeley, Princeton, NYU, Chicago). At this point I'm assuming I'll be rejected from my remaining five schools as well (Minnesota, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Stanford). 

Honestly, despite the fact that I've told myself all along that this process is a complete crapshoot, I'm still a bit stunned. I graduated summa cum laude from a top two U.S. liberal arts school, have two years' think tank experience, a publication, and great recommendations from my school and work. GRE was 164V/166Q/5.0. Good luck to everyone else. I sincerely wouldn't wish what I'm feeling right now on any of you. 

 

1 hour ago, Chronicoverthinker said:

Almost identical situation. Same schools, same rejections. 

I'm sending love to you guys right now. This process is crazy and most definitely not fair. @acmnny your scores are almost identical to mine and you probably have a higher GPA from what is definitely a more prestigious undergrad.

I'm sure that even if (and this is a big if here, because we're only through half your schools) you don't get in somewhere this cycle, you'll be able to do well next cycle if you network with professors and perhaps rethink the SOP. There's so little information going into the process about what to expect, and I hate that aspect of it. 

Sure, good scores and grades will get you look at, but adcoms are all looking for things to ding you with. Too many Ardent writing samples? You better hope your application isn't at the end of the pile. Professor who you really want to work with leaving but hasn't made it public yet but it's an open secret within the department? Too bad. Please remember that so much of this is random and that results are in no way a reflection of your worth. Results, once you pass some gre/GPA threshold, are made based on secretive department needs and personal biases (whether they're positive or negative). 

[at281]

Given that the NYU acceptance emails were generic (according to eggsalad14) and 4 NYU posts on the Gradcafe are one after another, is it safe to assume that the one and the only batch of offers has already been made?

[eggsalad14]

24 minutes ago, oats said:

What's your math background? A lot of schools are looking for linear algebra and 3 semesters of calculus. Obviously it's not a required minimum, but it's a significant edge with the current state of the discipline. Too many students don't realize how important math is to their application and often end up in this unfortunate circumstance.

 

21 minutes ago, scdaaljobe said:

I'm in the same boat as acmnny and have a minor in statistics along with the linear algebra and a year of calculus. I'm still holding out hope for my remaining schools though, not ready to have to face possibility of not going to grad school this year i guess. 

 

12 minutes ago, IcedCovfefe said:

I think this is a bit of an overstatement and possibly subfield dependent (more important for American, perhaps).  Having a strong math background is definitely an advantage and I agree that linear algebra and calc iii can make someone a stronger applicant.  However, I think all of us here are putting too much weight on easily observable things like GPA, GRE, and which classes we’ve taken, while SOP, letters, and writing sample are really doing the heavy lifting.  I know of quite a few people who don’t have that kind of math background who are doing extremely well this cycle. 

Fwiw I do have a strong math background and the cycle has been treating me well so far. But I think it's hard to pin it as a result of the math in and of itself. What we for some reason never talk about is that the math background is a good signal of "I know that social science is quantitative now, and I'm making a two year commitment early enough to show that I have wanted to be a social scientist for a long time." There is almost nothing you need in calc 2 and 3 to be successful in political science outside of methods. Linear algebra? Maybe cool in theory because it's applicable to regression but NO ONE does regressions by hand. Personally I didn't even know political science was as quantitative as it is until like a year ago, I just got lucky that I liked numbers and wanted to have employment options if I didn't end up doing grad school. 

 

I don't think taking a lot of math is necessarily a better move than doing research, or excelling in grad courses, or networking with professors. Sure I'm doing well in this cycle, but I have a friend who I'm pretty sure hasn't touched math since high school who is doing pretty well too. 

[IcedCovfefe]

Just now, eggsalad14 said:

 

 

Fwiw I do have a strong math background and the cycle has been treating me well so far. But I think it's hard to pin it as a result of the math in and of itself. What we for some reason never talk about is that the math background is a good signal of "I know that social science is quantitative now, and I'm making a two year commitment early enough to show that I have wanted to be a social scientist for a long time." There is almost nothing you need in calc 2 and 3 to be successful in political science outside of methods. Linear algebra? Maybe cool in theory because it's applicable to regression but NO ONE does regressions by hand. Personally I didn't even know political science was as quantitative as it is until like a year ago, I just got lucky that I liked numbers and wanted to have employment options if I didn't end up doing grad school. 

 

I don't think taking a lot of math is necessarily a better move than doing research, or excelling in grad courses, or networking with professors. Sure I'm doing well in this cycle, but I have a friend who I'm pretty sure hasn't touched math since high school who is doing pretty well too. 

Exactly.  I think a strong math background signals that you could be successful in a methods sequence (which they’ll likely make you take in house anyway), but you don’t need calc 3 to achieve that.  So maybe it’s helpful, but in no way determinative. 

[Theory007]

Have any of the recent accepts been for theory?

[nietzsche's moustache]

3 minutes ago, Theory007 said:

Have any of the recent accepts been for theory?

UChicago Theory acceptance here. 

[Theory007]

1 minute ago, nietzsche's moustache said:

UChicago Theory acceptance here. 

Congratulations! did not apply there myself