2020-2021 Application Thread

[guest789]

10 minutes ago, BunniesInSpace said:

"professionalization"

Can you give some examples of what professionalization implies?

[PolNerd]

Guys, the waiting is killing me.

When do you all think/guess we will start to hear back from Princeton, Berkeley, and Northwestern? Also, I did some half-ass search and it seems Rice likes to release decisions on Fridays, the third week of February, which is tomorrow. So hoping to at least hear from Rice tomorrow.

[guest789]

41 minutes ago, baby__yoda said:

...your writing sample will be an indicator of your writing abilities. 

In the same vein, it would be great if departments would use the writing sample as an indicator of our quant abilities, if we're applying to a quant field. Get rid of the GRE.

[BrownSugar]

11 minutes ago, PolNerd said:

Guys, the waiting is killing me.

When do you all think/guess we will start to hear back from Princeton, Berkeley, and Northwestern? Also, I did some half-ass search and it seems Rice likes to release decisions on Fridays, the third week of February, which is tomorrow. So hoping to at least hear from Rice tomorrow.

Usually, Princeton seems to release last few days of Jan/start of Feb. I am not sure of the others since I have not applied there and didn’t really research that. 
As for Rice, I assume you meant third week of January? Hahaha if it were February, most of our anxieties would be gone 

[PolNerd]

Just now, BrownSugar said:

Usually, Princeton seems to release last few days of Jan/start of Feb. I am not sure of the others since I have not applied there and didn’t really research that. 
As for Rice, I assume you meant third week of January? Hahaha if it were February, most of our anxieties would be gone 

Haha yes, January. That tells you where my mind is at...

[uncle_socks]

1 hour ago, timeseries said:

Can you give some examples of what professionalization implies?

I'm thinking specifically about things that you do in everyday political science, but if you come from a lower ranked undergrad you might not encounter (where going to a PhD is highly uncommon) :

• how to write a research paper, like how to structure it, how to write like an academic 
• having methods training beyond like very basic OLS or chi-squared tests 
• knowing what to say in the statement of purpose (ie no "I want to change the world through my research" lmao)
• having read political science papers before (lots of undergrads just read textbooks/an occasional monkey cage article for example)
• knowing where the field is, methodologically (ie "causal inference" or "identification strategy" means something to you)
• knowing what the current frontiers of research are in your subfield (and importantly, whether the questions you pose in your SOP are "solved")

[guest789]

5 minutes ago, BunniesInSpace said:

I'm thinking specifically about things that you do in everyday political science, but if you come from a lower ranked undergrad you might not encounter (where going to a PhD is highly uncommon) :

• how to write a research paper, like how to structure it, how to write like an academic 
• having methods training beyond like very basic OLS or chi-squared tests 
• knowing what to say in the statement of purpose (ie no "I want to change the world through my research" lmao)
• having read political science papers before (lots of undergrads just read textbooks/an occasional monkey cage article for example)
• knowing where the field is, methodologically (ie "causal inference" or "identification strategy" means something to you)
• knowing what the current frontiers of research are in your subfield (and importantly, whether the questions you pose in your SOP are "solved")

Thanks. I'm someone who is pretty clued into current poli sci - my writing sample uses causal inference methods - but I know a lot of people aren't. I don't think it does applicants any good to "waste" money by applying if they don't know what top departments are looking for.

Edited January 21, 2021 by timeseries

[gradpumpkin]

How many of you still have "Pending" in the Ohio State portal? I know a lot of acceptances have been posted already, but I felt really confident about my fit/qualifications and had good connections with multiple faculty. Is it time to give up hope?

[BrownSugar]

39 minutes ago, baby__yoda said:

To first-gen and students of color who were not groomed for academia - please don’t feel discouraged or anxious by this if you think you may not be “in the know.” Not everyone is in the business of reproducing existing inequalities in academia and you still have a chance even if you went to a lower-ranked university. 

Thank you for this! As a first gen POC, sometimes I feel like I’m waaaay in over my head, so this was very comforting to read tonight. 

[Mazarin]

3 hours ago, PolNerd said:

Guys, the waiting is killing me.

When do you all think/guess we will start to hear back from Princeton, Berkeley, and Northwestern? Also, I did some half-ass search and it seems Rice likes to release decisions on Fridays, the third week of February, which is tomorrow. So hoping to at least hear from Rice tomorrow.

Regarding tomorrow I'm already in the state that can be summarised as: [heavy breathing]

Perhaps tomorrow during the day I'll be evolving to the state that I call: [heavy breathing plus a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie neither confirming nor denying that I may be watching Frasier reruns]

Such fun! 

[mypolisciguy]

2 hours ago, BunniesInSpace said:

I'm thinking specifically about things that you do in everyday political science, but if you come from a lower ranked undergrad you might not encounter (where going to a PhD is highly uncommon) :

• how to write a research paper, like how to structure it, how to write like an academic 

In my humble opinion, this is the only thing from your list that really matters. Professionalization (in this context) is the degree to which you can show that you can operate and function in a scholarly community. Knowing how to do multilevel models, survey experiments, or RDDs, and thinking that it is the predominant approach to studying politics, doesn't make you any more professionalized. Being able to present and publish original research does, however.

Edited January 22, 2021 by mypolisciguy

[guest789]

13 minutes ago, mypolisciguy said:

In my humble opinion, this is the only thing from your list that really matters. Professionalization (in this context) is the degree to which you can show that you can operate and function in a scholarly community. Knowing how to do multilevel models, survey experiments, or RDDs, and thinking that it is the predominant approach to studying politics, doesn't make you any more professionalized. Being able to present and publish original research does, however.

I don't think they are saying people can't get in without these characteristics - they can. Clearly knowing causal inference, etc. isn't a prerequisite. There are, however, some people who get into all CHYMPS and who are "recruited" for lack of better word because their applications are stellar. Nearly all applicants - probably even most people who are accepted! - do not have 100% stellar applications, but they do have one or two things that stand out. However, I think the ones who get into all must have a higher degree of professionalization - the odds are stacked against them otherwise.

(This is also just my opinion - and FWIW I am also an applicant (with zero acceptances so far) so take what I say with a big grain of salt. I should note that I just want to get into one school and do not think I'm in the group I described in the preceding paragraph at all.)

[uncle_socks]

23 minutes ago, mypolisciguy said:

In my humble opinion, this is the only thing from your list that really matters. Professionalization (in this context) is the degree to which you can show that you can operate and function in a scholarly community. Knowing how to do multilevel models, survey experiments, or RDDs, and thinking that it is the predominant approach to studying politics, doesn't make you any more professionalized. Being able to present and publish original research does, however.

It certainly makes you seem professionalized to certain departments though, many of whom have (maybe unfairly) certain ideas about what legitimate, worthwhile research is. Trying to apply to NYU or Chicago Harris or something by declaring that you want to do 100% qualitative methods to study public opinion or something and it's clear that the applicant doesn't have a clear grasp of what political science (at that department) inherently is. That said, most applicants won't do something that egregious. 

 

I certainly did not know what causal inference and whatever was before starting in my program and now that I think about it, a lot of my application components were cringe. And that was fine. But I was at a disadvantage. I'm just saying there are a bunch of these ways that people (predominantly ones from privileged schools/people who have always known that they wanted to get a polisci phd) signal "hey I'm ~~~~qualified~~~~" for programs (let alone, the most competitive ones), not that they are necessary nor sufficient conditions for admissions. 

Edited January 22, 2021 by BunniesInSpace

[mypolisciguy]

I don't disagree with the above; and I do agree that there are myriad indirect ways to signal to ADCOMs that you know what you are getting into. However, I would say - contrary to popular belief - there's only one thing that really separates the great apps from the good ones: the ability to frame research questions and go about answering them in a cohesive and structured manner. The only real places to do this effectively is your SOP and writing sample, both of which heavily rely on your ability to write. 300-500+ people apply to these top programs, there's dozens and dozens with perfectly fine applications. There's comparatively fewer with legitimate writing samples and properly framed puzzles.

[nivy25]

5 hours ago, gradpumpkin said:

How many of you still have "Pending" in the Ohio State portal? I know a lot of acceptances have been posted already, but I felt really confident about my fit/qualifications and had good connections with multiple faculty. Is it time to give up hope?

Mine’s still pending and I really believe I had a good chance with Ohio. Guess we’ll find out soon enough. 

[diptyque]

6 hours ago, baby__yoda said:

To first-gen and students of color who were not groomed for academia - please don’t feel discouraged or anxious by this if you think you may not be “in the know.” I’m not saying these things aren’t taken into consideration, but there are other cues in your application that signal whether you’d be a successful PhD student besides whether you know casual inference and are heavily quant. There are professors and grad students rooting for you to succeed and get into top programs. Not everyone is in the business of reproducing existing inequalities in academia and you still have a chance even if you went to a lower-ranked university. 

First-gen here. I want to echo this. Also, do not forget that some professors - undoubtedly some on the adcom - are first-gens themselves.

I see many posters writing authoritatively about what will be the most crucial element(s) of the application or what makes a stellar application. Based on what? Second-hand anecdotal evidence? A "logical" deduction of scattered and unverified information across Gradcafe and Reddit? Your intuition? A professor once told you?

While it is true that SOP's, WS's, LOR's and grades all matter in some way,  I think it is important to emphasize that adcom members have some agency and aren't just ticking off boxes like robots. One of the reasons why we are all waiting for such a long time is because picking out the right candidates requires considerable deliberation based on the sum of variables that constitute your application.

As _baby__yoda said, there are many cues that can signal graduate school success. The combination of those cues will be unique for every candidate. Maybe your GPA is low, but you have 4 competitive scholarships. Maybe you have only taken two quant classes in undergrad, but you worked as a data scientist for 3 years. Maybe your background is not in political science, but you published in a top political science journal. 

And then, say if you have made it into the "promising applicants pool," much will come down to luck (an element we routinely underestimate in daily life) -- it is truly a crapshoot.   

Rooting for all of you.

[icemanyeo]

14 hours ago, PolNerd said:

Guys, the waiting is killing me.

When do you all think/guess we will start to hear back from Princeton, Berkeley, and Northwestern? Also, I did some half-ass search and it seems Rice likes to release decisions on Fridays, the third week of February, which is tomorrow. So hoping to at least hear from Rice tomorrow.

I think early to mid February, but that's just speculation.

[icemanyeo]

12 hours ago, baby__yoda said:

To first-gen and students of color who were not groomed for academia - please don’t feel discouraged or anxious by this if you think you may not be “in the know.” I’m not saying these things aren’t taken into consideration, but there are other cues in your application that signal whether you’d be a successful PhD student besides whether you know casual inference and are heavily quant. There are professors and grad students rooting for you to succeed and get into top programs. Not everyone is in the business of reproducing existing inequalities in academia and you still have a chance even if you went to a lower-ranked university. 

Thank you for sharing this, as I think I and many others can suffer from impostor syndrome. Just a few words can help ease that.

[icemanyeo]

I wonder if most schools send out emails to announce decisions, emails to check the application portal, or you just have to check the application portal with no warning. I've been religiously combing through my email and the app portals everyday ?.

[BrownSugar]

22 minutes ago, icemanyeo said:

I wonder if most schools send out emails to announce decisions, emails to check the application portal, or you just have to check the application portal with no warning. I've been religiously combing through my email and the app portals everyday ?.

It’s the same thing I’ve been wondering. I refresh my email way too many times, but somehow have managed to restrain myself from checking the portals often. I’ve even started painting again (a hobby from high school) to distract myself, and leaving my phone in a different part of my house. Definitely recommend doing something similar if you have the time! 

[mypolisciguy]

25 minutes ago, icemanyeo said:

I wonder if most schools send out emails to announce decisions, emails to check the application portal, or you just have to check the application portal with no warning. I've been religiously combing through my email and the app portals everyday ?.

From past cycles it appears to be most commonly the former.

[Clintarius]

1 hour ago, icemanyeo said:

I wonder if most schools send out emails to announce decisions, emails to check the application portal, or you just have to check the application portal with no warning. I've been religiously combing through my email and the app portals everyday ?.

Last year every decision came as an email (which either would let you know of the decision directly or would have you check the portal). I don't know of any scenario in which people find out by checking the application portals without having received an email first. This didn't prevent me from constantly checking the portals unprompted though 

[icemanyeo]

29 minutes ago, Clintarius said:

Last year every decision came as an email (which either would let you know of the decision directly or would have you check the portal). I don't know of any scenario in which people find out by checking the application portals without having received an email first. This didn't prevent me from constantly checking the portals unprompted though 

Me right now with Rice...I was expecting them to release admissions decisions this morning but I guess it's still early in the South.

[Richelieu]

1 hour ago, Clintarius said:

Last year every decision came as an email (which either would let you know of the decision directly or would have you check the portal). I don't know of any scenario in which people find out by checking the application portals without having received an email first. This didn't prevent me from constantly checking the portals unprompted though 

This year the OSU updated the decisions (for admits I believe) on the portal and have not sent an email yet. 
 

And as far as the Gradcafe results show, it was the case last year, too.

Edited January 22, 2021 by Richelieu20

[polisci_gal]

17 hours ago, PolNerd said:

Guys, the waiting is killing me.

SAME. I know we're all in the same boat. It still feels like each day is soooo long waiting to see if you got an e-mail or not. I know it's still too early to be panicking as a lot of programs will probably send out admissions in February, but i can't help myself from refreshing all day

Edited January 22, 2021 by polisci_gal