2019-2020 Application Thread

[PoliSciGuy00]

5 hours ago, CooperSly said:

Not a poli sci app, but couldn't find a more relevant thread...Did anyone apply to SIPA or WWS PhD programs? If so, have yall heard back?

A great question.  I also couldn't find a more relevant threat for public policy PhDs.  I applied to WWS, Duke Sanford, and HKS, and haven't heard a peep.  Scrolling through the results of previous years, this doesn't seem to be abnormal.  I think we'd be lucky to hear something by March 1st.  

[PoliSci4FlyGuys]

Any word from Stanford, anyone?

[Romcomulus]

37 minutes ago, e2e4 said:

 

nothing from georgetown or hopkins for me

Just saw that a JHU acceptance was posted. Anyone claiming that? Its super early so I'm suspicious of trolling.

[marthajones]

Just now, Romcomulus said:

Just saw that a JHU acceptance was posted. Anyone claiming that? Its super early so I'm suspicious of trolling.

+1. Anxiously refreshing my e-mail, 'damn trolls.

[Romcomulus]

10 minutes ago, marthajones said:

+1. Anxiously refreshing my e-mail, 'damn trolls.

You and me both. I would be surprised if decisions are actually being released this early. They've done late February like clock work for the last decade.

[kaze_ng]

For those who are still waiting for Pittsburgh, this is the message I just received:

"Thank you for your application and your interest in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Political Science. The committee has completed its review of applications and we regret to inform you that your name is not among those on the list of admitted or waitlisted applicants. We wish you success in your future academic and professional pursuits. To provide some context, we received 98 applications and expect to admit a cohort of 8 students for Fall 2020. Thank you again, and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns."

Finally, some closure. 
 

 

[Dwar]

13 minutes ago, kaze_ng said:

To provide some context, we received 98 applications and expect to admit a cohort of 8 students for Fall 2020

I feel like admissions just gets harder and harder each year

[uncle_socks]

Expect to admit a cohort of 8 does not mean they're accepting 8. Considering yield, they probably admit 2-3 times 8. Admissions are hard, but Pitt isn't admitting only 7%. 

[Richelieu]

32 minutes ago, Dwar said:

I feel like admissions just gets harder and harder each year

I believe it’s mostly because of people applying to 20+ schools. I don’t know what’s wrong with applying to 3 ambitious 3 moderate and 3 safe schools. The greedier the applicants, the harder the application process is.

[Dwar]

4 minutes ago, kemalgider said:

I believe it’s mostly because of people applying to 20+ schools. I don’t know what’s wrong with applying to 3 ambitious 3 moderate and 3 safe schools. The greedier the applicants, the harder the application process is.

I think it's sort of the chicken or the egg. People apply to 20+ schools because they are afraid they wont get in anywhere, because of that schools decrease admissions rates thus prompting people to apply to 20+ schools to increase their odds and so on and so forth. 

[Romcomulus]

3 minutes ago, kemalgider said:

I believe it’s mostly because of people applying to 20+ schools. I don’t know what’s wrong with applying to 3 ambitious 3 moderate and 3 safe schools. The greedier the applicants, the harder the application process is.

I really can't fault anyone for applying to 20+ schools. I applied to ten, but easily would have done more had I thought it was a viable method. Imposter syndrome does funny things to a person. I would call them anxious or cautious, but not greedy. 

[Richelieu]

5 minutes ago, Romcomulus said:

I really can't fault anyone for applying to 20+ schools. I applied to ten, but easily would have done more had I thought it was a viable method. Imposter syndrome does funny things to a person. I would call them anxious or cautious, but not greedy. 

There is a difference between being cautious and self-aware. 

[Dwar]

5 minutes ago, Romcomulus said:

I really can't fault anyone for applying to 20+ schools. I applied to ten, but easily would have done more had I thought it was a viable method. Imposter syndrome does funny things to a person. I would call them anxious or cautious, but not greedy. 

100% agree. I'd also like to add that there is no such thing as a "sure thing" or "safety" in this field for PhD programs. All grad admissions is a massive cluster f*ck and makes absolutely no sense. Sure if someone has good scores then they are more likely to get in, but at the end of the day i'd say no one ever has more then a 50% chance to get in anywhere. So it does kinda make sense when people apply to a lot of programs in an attempt to game the odds. 

[Vivlovelife28]

40 minutes ago, BunniesInSpace said:

Expect to admit a cohort of 8 does not mean they're accepting 8. Considering yield, they probably admit 2-3 times 8. Admissions are hard, but Pitt isn't admitting only 7%. 

Anyone know when is it appropriate to inquire for updates for waitlisted student? And what are the chances to get accepted off the waitlist for Pitts? Thanks. 

[Romcomulus]

Just now, kemalgider said:

There is a difference between being cautious and self-aware. 

I don't think that applies here. The admissions process is so subjective. We can see applicants with 340+ GRE scores strike out at the top ten while someone with sub par GRE and GPA gets into multiple top tens. I'm not going to fault someone for trying to secure their future, regardless of wether I get in anywhere or not. Admissions is such that it now makes sense to apply to 20+ schools.

2 minutes ago, Dwar said:

100% agree. I'd also like to add that there is no such thing as a "sure thing" or "safety" in this field for PhD programs. All grad admissions is a massive cluster f*ck and makes absolutely no sense. Sure if someone has good scores then they are more likely to get in, but at the end of the day i'd say no one ever has more then a 50% chance to get in anywhere. So it does kinda make sense when people apply to a lot of programs in an attempt to game the odds. 

100% this. In all honesty when you're applying to these schools in an attempt to start your career, you can't really afford to worry about the side effects of where and how many places you apply to. I get that people want to blame others, but this is the name of the game.

[ihatedecisions]

1 minute ago, Romcomulus said:

I don't think that applies here. The admissions process is so subjective. We can see applicants with 340+ GRE scores strike out at the top ten while someone with sub par GRE and GPA gets into multiple top tens. I'm not going to fault someone for trying to secure their future, regardless of wether I get in anywhere or not. Admissions is such that it now makes sense to apply to 20+ schools.

100% this. In all honesty when you're applying to these schools in an attempt to start your career, you can't really afford to worry about the side effects of where and how many places you apply to. I get that people want to blame others, but this is the name of the game.

I second this. 

I feel like it is also not really fair to insinuate that people overdo it with applications to somebody's harm. When I was applying, my profs straight up told me I had a very, very low chance of getting into anywhere. So yeah, I did go all in and I am not sorry if somebody feels like I might have "stolen" their spot by applying broadly. Also, schools do not admit top 20 or whatever applicants. Very often people with top profiles do not get offer because a school understands that they are quite likely to get into some chymp and do not even bother offering. 

[captmarvel]

Ultimately, the number of schools people apply to doesn't impact others because every person can only pick one school. So whether someone applies to 10 or 20 schools, they are still only taking up one spot. The cohort sizes are the same. The only consequence of people applying to more schools is schools utilizing waitlists more. That's frustrating, obviously, but it isn't really that harmful.

[Romcomulus]

If the posts are true, It seems that JHU is sending out at least a few decisions. 

[Artifex_Archer]

I second [or whatever iteration we're on now] @captmarvel , @ihatedecisions , @Romcomulus, and @Dwar. No one 'takes anyone's spot,' as far as I'm concerned. [I know that phrase was used facetiously, so I'm not putting words in anyone's mouth here—no one actually made that accusation. But I think sometimes the idea lingers. It does for me, sometimes, if I'm being honest.]

I don't think lower acceptance rates have much to do with less-committed applicants edging more-committed applicants out. Cohort size is contingent on funding, departmental politics, etc., and no matter what, you always have more people who 'deserve' to get in than spots available. If a less-committed applicant gets admitted and decides not to attend, presumably, the applicant at the top of the waiting list will be admitted in their stead. And compatibility does go a long way—so even if you have perfect marks and scores on paper, that's no guarantee of admission anywhere, especially if you're applying to 20 schools and polish off a series or two of 'cookie-cutter' apps.

Re: selecting schools and being 'greedy' vs. 'cautious'—In general, I think applicants should pay special attention to what schools really stand out to them in terms of compatibility, which involves a number of material and immaterial factors. What schools, were you to obtain a PhD there, would be a 'better' choice than remaining in your current situation? Reach out to faculty, read their work [if you haven't already], ask questions, trawl these forums and see what people are saying about the schools you're considering. All that good stuff. In general, abiding by ranking alone is a fool's errand, although if you intend to go on the job market I wouldn't discount it entirely. There's the caveat, however, that ranking can shift quite a bit over a period of five or more years.

 

[ihatedecisions]

Also, it is quite unclear how many of those 400+ applicants to schools like Michigan could really ever be competitive. Rising number of application probably also have something to do with rising popularity of doing PhD, in general, so it might be that more random people apply. However, it means that even if a school would get 399 bad applications and 1 good, it does not have to result in 20 offers. I do not think that schools would admit people just to fill the spots (or so I hope, at least, but, I guess, people might also say that if u admit less people you might miss out on funding for the following years). 

[allben]

Anyone here claiming the Michigan admit on the results page?

[Mixedmethodsisa4letterword]

Just now, allben said:

Anyone here claiming the Michigan admit on the results page?

Called the department today. Will be sending out acceptances tomorrow or early next week. 

[allben]

Just now, Mixedmethodsisa4letterword said:

Called the department today. Will be sending out acceptances tomorrow or early next week. 

Thank you for the info! 

[Hopefulpolisciboop]

I’m claiming one of the JHU acceptances from earlier! I got an email from the department with funding info included 

[uchenyy]

12 minutes ago, Mixedmethodsisa4letterword said:

Called the department today. Will be sending out acceptances tomorrow or early next week. 

Anyone claiming the Michigan rejections?