2020-2021 Application Thread

[icemanyeo]

4 hours ago, timeseries said:

Is Berkeley your top choice so far?

It's part of my "schools that are an automatic yes if I can afford them" list.

[FinanceMan]

2 hours ago, sjetp said:

For those of us still dreaming about Duke, I'd like to indulge a rather baseless theory with incredibly self-serving reasoning to support it that there may be some hope for us. First of all, we still have no claimants here in the forum. Secondly, using the app by @Clintarius, we can notice that between 2014 and 2019 all acceptances were usually sent on a Monday or a Tuesday except for 2016 when it happened on a Wednesday. 

Reasonable assumption. I am a graduate student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and I was notified of my admissions on Thursday March 26, 2020. It definitely varies from school to school within the university. If it is anything like mine, it’ll be an email saying that an admissions decision is available for viewing in the student portal and then once opened, confetti falls on the screen. Lol

[XXXXbe1]

9 hours ago, StarkDark1 said:

I feel like Monday will be a day when we hear back from several schools.  Feb 1 just sounds like a good time to release decisions

Arizona State University said they will release the result next week.

[ExileOnMainSt]

So how’s everyone’s weekends going?

[BrownSugar]

1 hour ago, ExileOnMainSt said:

So how’s everyone’s weekends going?

Taking my dogs to the doggy spa today, nice treat for them and effective distraction for me! Haha Hope yours is going well!  

[icemanyeo]

1 hour ago, ExileOnMainSt said:

So how’s everyone’s weekends going?

I finished unpacking my stuff this morning! Never thought a new bed would feel this amazing.

[BrownSugar]

7 minutes ago, icemanyeo said:

I finished unpacking my stuff this morning! Never thought a new bed would feel this amazing.

I hope you enjoy your new place!! 

[icemanyeo]

3 minutes ago, BrownSugar said:

I hope you enjoy your new place!! 

Thank you!

I also concur with other posters about this week -- after perusing quite a bit of data from a range of schools, it seems like the fifth full week of the year is usually when a lot of admissions decisions tend to go out, probably because Spring Semester classes are starting/have started.

[Aydemiru]

10 hours ago, FinanceMan said:

Reasonable assumption. I am a graduate student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and I was notified of my admissions on Thursday March 26, 2020. It definitely varies from school to school within the university. If it is anything like mine, it’ll be an email saying that an admissions decision is available for viewing in the student portal and then once opened, confetti falls on the screen. Lol

What a perfect dream, getting into Duke, I would get crazy ?

[Aydemiru]

2 hours ago, ExileOnMainSt said:

So how’s everyone’s weekends going?

Mine is in eating sleeping and netflix triangle ? i want to start to a new series, any suggestions? Might be something like TBBT

[Maguire]

25 minutes ago, Aydemiru said:

Mine is in eating sleeping and netflix triangle ? i want to start to a new series, any suggestions? Might be something like TBBT

Can give a few suggestions based on different streaming services  

Netflix (may be different based on location) - The Politician, The Good Place, Grace & Frankie, The Kominsky Method

Apple TV - Dickinson, The Morning Show, Ted Lasso

Disney Plus - Wandavision (it's so good) 

Also Euphoria is great (HBO) but a bit intense. 

(My weekend is mostly uni work - as is every day these days! - but I give myself a break in the evenings to watch Gilmore Girls or Wandavision & Dickinson when they come out on Fridays.) 

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE THIS WEEK!!! 

Edited January 31, 2021 by scarletwitch

[icemanyeo]

43 minutes ago, Aydemiru said:

Mine is in eating sleeping and netflix triangle ? i want to start to a new series, any suggestions? Might be something like TBBT

I've been watching a broad genre of shows on Netflix since March 2020 due to quarantine -- here are my recommendations for certain types (based on Netflix US and DO) :

Chinese Wuxia: The Untamed, Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain, Ice Fantasy

Asian Fantasy: Bride of Habaek, A Korean Odyssey, The Ghost Bride, The Devil Punisher

Asian Period/Historical Drama: Yanxi Palace, My Country The New Age

Latino Sitcom: Gentefied (if only for the minuscule crumb of Afro-Latin representation)

LGBTQ+: Hollywood, Your Name Engraved Herein, Wish You

Afro Leads: Queen Sono, Lupin

Anime: Kimetsu No Yaiba Demon Slayer (just landed!), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Hunter x Hunter, Blue Exorcist

Western Period/Historical Drama: Bridgerton, The Iron Lady, The Crown

Asian RomCom: Love Alarm, Well-Intended Love, Lovestruck in the City, DoDoSolSolLaLaSol, Love O2O

I'm also rewatching some Latin American telenovelas from my childhood like Maria La Del Barrio, Da Cor Do Pecado, Muñeca Brava, Rubí and Rosalinda.

21 minutes ago, scarletwitch said:

Can give a few suggestions based on different streaming services  

Netflix (may be different based on location) - The Politician, The Good Place, Grace & Frankie, The Kominsky Method

Apple TV - Dickinson, The Morning Show, Ted Lasso

Disney Plus - Wandavision (it's so good) 

Also Euphoria is great (HBO) but a bit intense. 

Second "The Good Place" and "The Politician"!

Edited January 31, 2021 by icemanyeo

[ExileOnMainSt]

Speaking of Latin America, I finally finished Love in the time of Cholera today. Really stunning book!

[afjackie]

On 1/30/2021 at 1:43 AM, civallday said:

Yeah I sent in all my applications to US schools way before the December/January deadline since I was planning on meeting the early bird deadline for IHEID anyway. It has been a challenging three months to say the least ?

At IHEID, I hope to work with Stephanie Hofmann or Keith Krause. At Northwestern, Ian Hurd or Marina Henke. And you?

I can imagine! Unfortunately most of the programs in the US don't have rolling admissions decisions, so they don't even start looking at applications until after the deadline has passed ? 

At IHEID, I also am hoping to work with Keith Krause but also Lisa Prugl - I'm planning to look at bottom-up peace formation efforts in Africa while also critiquing colonialist and patriarchal tendencies of top-down liberal peacebuilding (with a focus on critical and feminist analyses). At Northwestern I'm hoping to work with Will Reno. Good luck to you on both and let me know if you wind up going to either. I hope you get some news soon!

[afjackie]

23 hours ago, TheorySqueez said:

Hi everyone,

 

New to the forum but a semi- long time reader; I have a question for those of you from the US.

 

I have been offered (and have now accepted) a 4-year funded doctoral scholarship at UCL. However, I am worrying that going to UCL may make it harder to work in the US post-graduation because it is relatively unknown to academics in the States.

 

My question is: how well known/well regarded is UCL in the US? How does it stack up in the imagination compared to schools there (Compared to Ivies/R1 etc.)? Finding good answers on this is difficult, so thought I would put the feelers out on here.

Also happy to give the following:

Acceptances from LSE, UCL, and Warwick (all Politics/Political Science – just in case anyone was wondering).

Hi there! I agree with BrownSugar, but with one caveat. I also am applying to a variety of UK and US schools (as well as Geneva), and thought long and hard and sought a LOT of advice from current professors and PhDs on the pros and cons. Even a few of the UK professors I interviewed with mentioned the downfalls of getting a UK PhD if I wanted to get a university position in the US, so the disadvantage is real. However, everyone I spoke with also said that if you get a UK PhD and then do a prestigious post-doc in the US, you will at that point be considered at the same level of competitiveness as those with US PhDs. 

As for UCL, I agree that it isn't as well known as a few of the other UK schools, but I don't think it will make that big of a difference in the long run, particularly if it is a really good fit. Seriously political science academics and professionals know it is a great school and program. 

So bottom-line, it depends on your career aspirations. I think you can make UCL work regardless, but if you might want a uni job in the US, you need to plan for a competitive post-doc in the US after your PhD (or a US PhD if you have that option). If you want to work in the US but say, at a research institute not a university, I think the UK v. US degree doesn't make that big of a difference. 

Not sure if that is helpful, but that is my two cents based on the advise I have received and my experience in the U.S. working at a large policy/research think tank. Good luck!  

[raabs]

First time poster: 

How does the process work if I have received an official offer but I want to wait to see what offers/funding I get from other schools? Do I just wait and not reply to the official offer or..?

Sorry if this is a rookie question. 

[smug-face]

11 minutes ago, raabs said:

First time poster: 

How does the process work if I have received an official offer but I want to wait to see what offers/funding I get from other schools? Do I just wait and not reply to the official offer or..?

Sorry if this is a rookie question. 

I'd write a two-line reply thanking the department for the offer and saying that I will communicate my decision before the deadline (which they should have included in the offer). 

[icemanyeo]

40 minutes ago, raabs said:

First time poster: 

How does the process work if I have received an official offer but I want to wait to see what offers/funding I get from other schools? Do I just wait and not reply to the official offer or..?

Sorry if this is a rookie question. 

Second @smug-face ! I think a number of universities in the US (as part of the Council of Graduate Schools) have an agreement that you don't have to notify them of your decision prior to April 15 for offers with financial support, so I would check if that's the deadline for your program.

[BrownSugar]

2 hours ago, afjackie said:

Even a few of the UK professors I interviewed with mentioned the downfalls of getting a UK PhD if I wanted to get a university position in the US, so the disadvantage is real. However, everyone I spoke with also said that if you get a UK PhD and then do a prestigious post-doc in the US, you will at that point be considered at the same level of competitiveness as those with US PhDs. 

This is a great point. If you make certain choices after completing a UK PhD, you can make up for it not being an American one or at least complement/supplement it with post-doc or fellowship positions at US universities. 

[guest789]

6 minutes ago, BrownSugar said:

This is a great point. If you make certain choices after completing a UK PhD, you can make up for it not being an American one or at least complement/supplement it with post-doc or fellowship positions at US universities. 

Do you have any names of people who have done this, at the top of your head? I'm curious because I'm from the UK and was told that a UK degree works for the UK and other countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, maybe Canada but all three still have a US bias), but the US is really where you want to be as it has the most global mobility. Preferably junior folks, I don't know if PS rockstars like Pippa Norris represent the average PhD graduate (plus she did it ~40 years ago). 

ETA: I'm also guessing it might be subfield dependent - theory, in particular, might draw from the UK more than, say, American Politics.

Edited January 31, 2021 by timeseries

[BrownSugar]

17 minutes ago, timeseries said:

Do you have any names of people who have done this, at the top of your head? I'm curious because I'm from the UK and was told that a UK degree works for the UK and other countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, maybe Canada but all three still have a US bias), but the US is really where you want to be as it has the most global mobility. Preferably junior folks, I don't know if PS rockstars like Pippa Norris represent the average PhD graduate (plus she did it ~40 years ago). 

ETA: I'm also guessing it might be subfield dependent - theory, in particular, might draw from the UK more than, say, American Politics.

I actually don’t explicitly know anyone. What I said in my last two posts was merely what my professors directly told me when I asked them if I should pursue my PhD in the US, UK or EU, and they didn’t mention any particular scholars. I took them for their word. Like I said in my former post, I’d certainly recommend someone doing a US PhD over doing a UK one followed by a US post-doc but it’s a valid route nonetheless. 
Perhaps @afjackieknows someone? 
 

Edit: I want to point out that I advocate the US PhD more strongly NOT because I think it is “better” but merely because I know it allows for the most career flexibility and growth in practice. I myself have applied for a couple EU PhDs just in case the US didn’t work out because I wanted to have more options to be able to accept an offer in my first cycle, rather than trying again just to be in the US. 

Edited January 31, 2021 by BrownSugar

[afjackie]

21 minutes ago, BrownSugar said:

I actually don’t explicitly know anyone. What I said in my last two posts was merely what my professors directly told me when I asked them if I should pursue my PhD in the US, UK or EU, and they didn’t mention any particular scholars. I took them for their word. Like I said in my former post, I’d certainly recommend someone doing a US PhD over doing a UK one followed by a US post-doc but it’s a valid route nonetheless. 
Perhaps @afjackieknows someone? 
 

Edit: I want to point out that I advocate the US PhD more strongly NOT because I think it is “better” but merely because I know it allows for the most career flexibility and growth in practice. I myself have applied for a couple EU PhDs just in case the US didn’t work out because I wanted to have more options to be able to accept an offer in my first cycle, rather than trying again just to be in the US. 

 

32 minutes ago, timeseries said:

Do you have any names of people who have done this, at the top of your head? I'm curious because I'm from the UK and was told that a UK degree works for the UK and other countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, maybe Canada but all three still have a US bias), but the US is really where you want to be as it has the most global mobility. Preferably junior folks, I don't know if PS rockstars like Pippa Norris represent the average PhD graduate (plus she did it ~40 years ago). 

ETA: I'm also guessing it might be subfield dependent - theory, in particular, might draw from the UK more than, say, American Politics.

There are a TON of UK PhDs where I work (major US policy/research think tank), but to be honest I'm having trouble thinking of any who did the UK PhD, US fellowship/post-doc, then US tenure track if that is what you are looking to do. I swear I've met some before, but I'm really struggling to come up with names. Mostly, it is what everyone told me over the last year (both US and UK PhDs) when I asked about the relative advantages and disadvantages. I'll keep thinking on it, though, and let you know if I can come up with any names of faculty at US unis who did this! 

BrownSugar is definitely correct, though, that US PhDs allow for more career flexibility. I'm not necessarily looking to go tenure track, so I've decided I'm willing to take a UK PhD that is a good fit over a US PhD that isn't. But if all things were equal on fit and funding between a US and UK PhD option I think I'd opt for the US PhD just to give myself that greater flexibility. 

[StarkDark1]

Good luck tomorrow everyone!  

[BrownSugar]

1 minute ago, StarkDark1 said:

Good luck tomorrow everyone!  

Good luck to you as well!! I genuinely want nothing but the best for you guys  

[ExileOnMainSt]

Best of luck everyone!