2020-2021 Application Thread

[HolyGinger]

Thanks!

[nivy25]

I got into UT Austin off their waitlist! Heard from them this morning (IR). I am DELIGHTED! And I will be accepting the offer  

I have also contacted Rice to ask them to take my name off their waitlist, so hopefully it might help someone there  

[MessiCat]

Hello application thread 20-21 ?

Long time lurker here - just wanted to thank everybody for the useful info they put over here - and a big congrats to all those accepted to a program ?

Not sure this is the right thread - just wanted to know if anybody here is familiar with the pre-phd track in politics at NYU (or in that sense, any other pre-doc in poli sci)? If so I would like to get some advice in DM. Thanks! (and have a great weekend :))

[polisci_gal]

21 hours ago, nivy25 said:

I got into UT Austin off their waitlist! Heard from them this morning (IR). I am DELIGHTED! And I will be accepting the offer  

I have also contacted Rice to ask them to take my name off their waitlist, so hopefully it might help someone there  

Congrats @nivy25 !! Well deserved

[uncle_socks]

On 4/6/2021 at 9:18 AM, loiewo said:

Have anyone heard anything after accepting an offer? I accepted an offer and it's been radio silence since. I guess I expected them to reach out in some way but haven't heard anything about a visit day or anything like that.

yeah this is normal. if you've already accepted the offer, it is unlikely there will be a visit day. it's very likely that you'll hear from admin once 4/15 has passed (or maybe a little bit later) once the cohort is settled, and they'll give everyone each other's emails and tell you what to expect. 

[FuyuhikoSomeno]

14 hours ago, MessiCat said:

Hello application thread 20-21 ?

Long time lurker here - just wanted to thank everybody for the useful info they put over here - and a big congrats to all those accepted to a program ?

Not sure this is the right thread - just wanted to know if anybody here is familiar with the pre-phd track in politics at NYU (or in that sense, any other pre-doc in poli sci)? If so I would like to get some advice in DM. Thanks! (and have a great weekend :))

Do you mean masters programs that prepare you for PhD applications or pre-doc RAships/fellowships? Regarding the former, there are lots of discussions in this forum on several famous MA programs including Chicago's MAPSS/CIR and Duke's MA. Regarding the latter: there are lots of such pipeline programs in economics but few in political science. If you study political economy and/or are a quant person, you may consider Econ pre-doc programs, but they are not always friendly to students without a degree in Econ/math/stats/CS. You may find the following links useful:

Princeton Politics Department's pre-doc program: https://politics.princeton.edu/graduate/emerging-scholars-program

Princeton's ESOC Pre-doctoral Fellowship for Data-Driven Research: https://esoc.princeton.edu/about-us/job-opportunities

Stanford GSB's pre-doc program: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/research-fellows They have previously admitted  a few students from political science, not economics, to work with GSB's political economics group.

Stanford SIEPR's pre-doc program: https://siepr.stanford.edu/people/predoctoral-researchers Andy Hall in the political science department has recruited several full-time RAs through this program in recent years. Apply if you are an Americanist!

A list of pre-doc opportunities for (economists): https://www.nber.org/career-resources/research-assistant-positions-not-nber

Also see Twitter@econ_ra

Edited April 10, 2021 by FuyuhikoSomeno

[nivy25]

9 hours ago, polisci_gal said:

Congrats @nivy25 !! Well deserved

Thank you  

[MessiCat]

8 hours ago, FuyuhikoSomeno said:

Do you mean masters programs that prepare you for PhD applications or pre-doc RAships/fellowships? Regarding the former, there are lots of discussions in this forum on several famous MA programs including Chicago's MAPSS/CIR and Duke's MA. Regarding the latter: there are lots of such pipeline programs in economics but few in political science. If you study political economy and/or are a quant person, you may consider Econ pre-doc programs, but they are not always friendly to students without a degree in Econ/math/stats/CS. You may find the following links useful:

Princeton Politics Department's pre-doc program: https://politics.princeton.edu/graduate/emerging-scholars-program

Princeton's ESOC Pre-doctoral Fellowship for Data-Driven Research: https://esoc.princeton.edu/about-us/job-opportunities

Stanford GSB's pre-doc program: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/research-fellows They have previously admitted  a few students from political science, not economics, to work with GSB's political economics group.

Stanford SIEPR's pre-doc program: https://siepr.stanford.edu/people/predoctoral-researchers Andy Hall in the political science department has recruited several full-time RAs through this program in recent years. Apply if you are an Americanist!

A list of pre-doc opportunities for (economists): https://www.nber.org/career-resources/research-assistant-positions-not-nber

Also see Twitter@econ_ra

Thanks! that's very helpful (and yes, the one in poli sci - NYU is a masters program)

[StarkDark1]

On 4/9/2021 at 4:58 PM, nivy25 said:

I got into UT Austin off their waitlist! Heard from them this morning (IR). I am DELIGHTED! And I will be accepting the offer  

I have also contacted Rice to ask them to take my name off their waitlist, so hopefully it might help someone there  

Congrats!  So happy for you!  I know how tough it's been waiting all this time.  Glad it all worked out.  ?

Edited April 13, 2021 by StarkDark1

[nivy25]

3 minutes ago, StarkDark1 said:

Congrats!  So happy for you!  I know how tough it's been waiting all this time.  Glad it all worked out.  ?

Thank you so much! 
this is the kindest community ever and I can’t wait to interact with some of you’ll in the coming years.

[skullkid]

Just passing by to say thank you guys for the community that came together on this forum for this cycle. If you look at other programs in gradcafe, I would definitely say that we are one of the most active communities and a very positive and healthy one.

Fortunately, I will be attending a program next year, and I am very happy. The cycle was brutal; it is obvious that many people were not accepted even though they could surely be great scholars. I think that with so few slots to fill, budget restrictions, and more applications, those who, by effort or privilege (or a combination of both) were in a better position, are the ones that got prioritized.

This is not especial to the pandemic or to the discipline. Since programs make a huge investment in students, the natural behavior is to look not only for promising candidates but also for people who are less "noisy" about their information and qualifications. In other words, I think that committees are not only trying to look for high potential candidates but also for less risky candidates. That means that people with well-known recommenders or graduates of well-known programs (Bachelors or Masters) tend to fare better. As I said, this is only normal, but I think it was a more pervasive factor in the context of this cycle. 

So, for people that didn't have that but were outstanding students or had good "local" recommendations (I am thinking especially about people outside the US or Europe) and a good research experience track, the battle was more uphill. In my opinion, if you are passionate about politics and research but you did not get accepted, it makes sense to try again. Doing more RAships, working on research, trying to land small publications, maybe improving other parts of your application should be the way to go.

[poliscipls]

Howdy, hi there, hey. It's me. Ya girl. Back at it again crying and begging for someone to decline their UGA offer. Pls. Pls. Pls. 

[cbsag123]

Should we expect to hear about waitlist status today?

[StarkDark1]

Claiming a rejection from Boston (finally!).  

Edited April 15, 2021 by StarkDark1

[Theory007]

10 hours ago, cbsag123 said:

Should we expect to hear about waitlist status today?

Yes! It's not absolutely certain that you will, but I'd reach out tomorrow if you did not.

[TheorySqueez]

Hi all!

 

So, I need some advice.

I was given a fully funded PhD offer at a good London university, which I accepted back in January (along with signing a contract confirming my acceptance).

 

I have now been given full funding at a very prestigious Oxbridge college for a DPhil. Of course, I want to accept Oxbridge – will the fact that I have already accepted an offer somehow void my current offer/mean I can't take it? Can I reject my old offer now and accept my new one?

 

I am seriously anxious about this and could do with some objective opinions!

 

[Theory007]

4 hours ago, TheorySqueez said:

Hi all!

 

So, I need some advice.

I was given a fully funded PhD offer at a good London university, which I accepted back in January (along with signing a contract confirming my acceptance).

 

I have now been given full funding at a very prestigious Oxbridge college for a DPhil. Of course, I want to accept Oxbridge – will the fact that I have already accepted an offer somehow void my current offer/mean I can't take it? Can I reject my old offer now and accept my new one?

 

I am seriously anxious about this and could do with some objective opinions!

 

I stand by what I said in this post earlier on a closely related topic. In short, you should stay with the original offer because that program has turned applicants down because you had signed a contract verifying that you'd be studying there.

 

[uncle_socks]

On 4/18/2021 at 11:27 AM, TheorySqueez said:

Hi all!

 

So, I need some advice.

I was given a fully funded PhD offer at a good London university, which I accepted back in January (along with signing a contract confirming my acceptance).

 

I have now been given full funding at a very prestigious Oxbridge college for a DPhil. Of course, I want to accept Oxbridge – will the fact that I have already accepted an offer somehow void my current offer/mean I can't take it? Can I reject my old offer now and accept my new one?

 

I am seriously anxious about this and could do with some objective opinions!

 

eh i disagree with the above. you only get one shot at a phd. you need to do what is best for you. this happens all the time when people get late offers at better places, especially when initial schools make you sign stuff so early. i'm sure you won't be the first or the last to reneg with the london school. they won't be super happy, but they're not going to sue you. 

[AHD]

On 4/18/2021 at 9:27 PM, TheorySqueez said:

Hi all!

 

So, I need some advice.

I was given a fully funded PhD offer at a good London university, which I accepted back in January (along with signing a contract confirming my acceptance).

 

I have now been given full funding at a very prestigious Oxbridge college for a DPhil. Of course, I want to accept Oxbridge – will the fact that I have already accepted an offer somehow void my current offer/mean I can't take it? Can I reject my old offer now and accept my new one?

 

I am seriously anxious about this and could do with some objective opinions!

 

What Theory007 is saying is totally true for American universities, but in the UK I understand it is much more common to go back on accepting an offer and it happens all the time. It is even a right by law and you could turn back on your Oxford offer even a week before the course starts. So I say go for it, the London university will understand and give funding to somebody who was accepted without it.

[TheorySqueez]

Thanks for all the views guys, it is a difficult one. I think, despite the valid points from Theory007, I am going to go for Oxbridge. I decided that, at the end of the day, I need to do what is best for my progression, and what I feel comfortable with. Wishing everyone all the best with their endeavours!

 

 

[Theory007]

On 2/24/2021 at 3:30 PM, bigfishtheory said:

Claiming an acceptance at MIT! Comparative politics. Email came about 3.5 hr ago. 

Are you applying again this year or did you go to MIT?

[clairella222]

On 1/30/2021 at 6:35 AM, insightfulramblings said:

I just got an email invitation to the Pre-admissions welcome event at Northeastern! 

Hello, a belated congratulation on all your acceptance last year!  I have also just received an invitation to NEU's pre-admission event (virtual) and I'm so excited! I didn't think I would heard back from any school until February. Would you mind sharing what should I expect from this event? It seemed casual but could also be an interview in disguise lol. Many thanks for your sharing in advance! 

[MIAMia237]

Have you been admitted to CIR? I was referred to CIR this year too. I want to know the likelihood of being rejected by CIR as a referred Ph.D. application.