2020-2021 Application Thread

[BrownSugar]

13 minutes ago, EstherBritoAbrio said:

Thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely look to publish more and get feedback of the statements. If it were ok, how did you generally determine fit? In Europe we don't have much a tradition of that. I generally looked for them being in a similar area (conflict studies, ethnic politics, etc.) but think I maybe was too general. 

For me, when I thought about fit for the statement, I looked to see if there were professors conducting research / have published / conduct any form of work in the specific areas and methodologies I am interested in, and also whether or not they’d be at the department when I would potentially be entering. 

There were other important aspects for ‘fit’ for me personally but these were things I looked at when deciding where to apply and how to tailor my statement. 

Edit: fit is becoming increasingly more important in Europe as well, particularly for the more competitive and higher ranked universities. So don’t take it for granted. I’ve lived and studied in Europe myself. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by BrownSugar

[XXXXbe1]

Just now, CompIR2021 said:

Hello,

Does anyone know how waitlisting works for PhD programs? I have been waitlisted from a few schools and I am curious.

To be more specific, do most people wait until the deadline to make a decision (opening up waitlisted seats) or do people make decisions faster/as they hear back from their target school? I know it varies person-to-person but if anyone has been through this process before or has some insight from professors, I would greatly appreciate their experience.

Thanks!

Different school have different length of waitlist.

They get people off waitlist based on two aspects: 1) how close is your research interest is compared to the one declined his/her offer. 2) Your order in the waitlist.

The thing you could do to increase the probability is to contact your POI, showing the strong strong strong willingness to join their program, if your POI is willing to help you, your order can be moved up a little bit.

[Nihankg]

19 minutes ago, iamlia said:

Hi! I got an interview request this week. I didn't know they were doing interviews. Wishing you the best of luck!!

Was there any information about or did they imply that they are conducting interviews on rolling basis or at once? Thank you!

[mmads]

19 minutes ago, iamlia said:

Hi! I got an interview request this week. I didn't know they were doing interviews. Wishing you the best of luck!!

I think that's a common theme this year, admissions processes going slightly differently. What's your subfield (if you don't mind me asking)? Hope your interview goes well!

[StarkDark1]

21 minutes ago, nivy25 said:

this process sucks. the professors’ tweets are right. it really is their loss. they’re missing out on people who could succeed and work hard and shape their fields in so many significant ways. there’s way too many applicants, and very little spots. 

It's rough.  One of the programs I'm waitlisted at has only two theory spots (two!) out of an applicant pool of 600.  I'm guessing there were around 100 theory applicants, so that's like a 2 or 3% acceptance rate.

Edited February 18, 2021 by StarkDark1

[XXXXbe1]

4 minutes ago, StarkDark1 said:

It's rough.  One of the programs I'm waitlisted at has only two theory spots (two!) out of an applicant pool of 600.  I'm guessing there were around 100 theory applicants, so that's like a 2 or 3% acceptance rate.  Nuts.  

Mentioned an even more tough thing - Some students deferred their offer last year to this round due to COVID, they will automatically occupy some spots.

Edited February 18, 2021 by XXXXbe1

[mmads]

8 minutes ago, XXXXbe1 said:

Mentioned an even more tough thing - Some students deferred their offer last year to this round due to COVID, they will automatically occupy some spots.

 

12 minutes ago, StarkDark1 said:

It's rough.  One of the programs I'm waitlisted at has only two theory spots (two!) out of an applicant pool of 600.  I'm guessing there were around 100 theory applicants, so that's like a 2 or 3% acceptance rate.

I took a pretty large break between undergrad and grad, ironically because I graduated from college pretty soon after the economic fallout of 2008, and I thought admissions would be too competitive ?. In all fairness, it sort of worked out because I would be ended up pursuing a very different kind of research than I am invested in now but definitely didn't work out how I envisioned.

Edited February 18, 2021 by mmads

[Mad Scientist Malfrost]

I will likely get to see some of the Cornell admits over Zoom according to the professor I'm in a class with during admit days. I'm looking forward to "meeting" some of you all over Zoom in like..4 weeks! 

[rash_sulganni]

Claiming Syracuse "short waitlist". Mail came in a few hours ago. Had no prior interview

[StarkDark1]

Me, waiting for notifications from PhD programs!

[mmads]

2 minutes ago, StarkDark1 said:

Me, waiting for notifications from PhD programs!

This is me but with all my semi-ignored actual work I have to do piling up around me...

[poliscihopeful2021]

54 minutes ago, EstherBritoAbrio said:

Hello! Thank you so much. I had a 160 on GRE quant, and I had the feeling it was a too low. I did business in undergrad (statistics, econometrics, math, etc - but didn't really highlight it), and didn't do much quant after that. Would getting online certificates in statistics or some form of coding be valuable then? Or would I likely need more than that? Im so sorry for asking all these questions, Im just a bit lost on how to move forward. I thought that maybe politics wouldn't require much math, but I think I was way off. 

Hi @EstherBritoAbrio I would recommend reading Cyrus Samii's blog - he has advise for students interested in the NYU PhD: https://cyrussamii.com/?page_id=2121. Here's what I thought was particularly important advise to consider before applying:

"I consider NYU’s political science PhD program to be a “boutique” program for those wishing to specialize in quantitative social science, and in particular applied statistics/econometrics and game theory. This has two implications. First, if that kind of specialization doesn’t appeal to you, then you should consider another program. Second, our admissions committee is typically looking for people with academic backgrounds that clearly indicate that they would thrive in our highly quant-oriented program. Many of our admits have studied in fields like economics, math, statistics, computer science, etc., as well as political science and related fields."

NYU has recently gained a reputation for being one of the most quantitatively rigorous Poli Sci graduate programs, which signals well on the job market too. The other program I can think of that's probably as strong/stronger is Stanford. Here's what I think worked for me in my NYU application - I did a very quantitatively strong public policy master's at a top-5 US school, and took advanced statistics/econ/game theory. Grades in these sorts of courses and quant GRE scores matter a lot for NYU, from what I understand. Happy to chat more over DMs.

 

[poliscihopeful2021]

29 minutes ago, Mad Scientist Malfrost said:

I will likely get to see some of the Cornell admits over Zoom according to the professor I'm in a class with during admit days. I'm looking forward to "meeting" some of you all over Zoom in like..4 weeks! 

Have they sent out all the Cornell acceptances? Didn't see any CP claims here.

[StarkDark1]

Just now, poliscihopeful2021 said:

Have they sent out all the Cornell acceptances? Didn't see any CP claims here.

Wondering the same thing

[ThucydidesLatte]

17 minutes ago, StarkDark1 said:

Me, waiting for notifications from PhD programs!

lmao, this is me

 

[StarkDark1]

ThucyidesLatte I'll be declining at UMass.   

You inspired me to create my own version though...  

Edited February 18, 2021 by StarkDark1

[ThucydidesLatte]

1 minute ago, StarkDark1 said:

ThucyidesLatte I'll decline UMass if I'm accepted off the waitlist.   

You inspired me to create my own version though...  

?

[Mad Scientist Malfrost]

23 minutes ago, poliscihopeful2021 said:

Have they sent out all the Cornell acceptances? Didn't see any CP claims here.

I couldn't tell you since I didn't ask. Sorry :( 

[heyheyheyheyhey]

Hey. Just curious... what’s the split on Python vs. R here? I have done a fair bit of Python but recently took up R for a new research job. 

[gougou]

3 minutes ago, heyheyheyheyhey said:

Hey. Just curious... what’s the split on Python vs. R here? I have done a fair bit of Python but recently took up R for a new research job. 

Seriously, R only good for stats, but python could do nearly everything.

[poliscihopeful2021]

1 hour ago, Mad Scientist Malfrost said:

I couldn't tell you since I didn't ask. Sorry

No worries! Hoping Cornell is still announcing decisions.

[verschiedene]

3 minutes ago, poliscihopeful2021 said:

No worries! Hoping Cornell is still announcing decisions.

I've only seen on this thread that a couple of people have received personalized admissions from their POIs, so I think they might still be in the process of submitting recommended admits to DGS before sending out official letters? Could just be my wishful thinking tho

[gradinho]

34 minutes ago, heyheyheyheyhey said:

Hey. Just curious... what’s the split on Python vs. R here? I have done a fair bit of Python but recently took up R for a new research job. 

I can use R if I have to, but I’ll use Python when possible.

Not that R is worse, it’s just that I have much more experience with Python. 

[iamlia]

2 hours ago, Nihankg said:

Was there any information about or did they imply that they are conducting interviews on rolling basis or at once? Thank you!

Sorry I have no idea! They only asked me to provide time slots. Hope you get yours soon!! 

[iamlia]

2 hours ago, mmads said:

I think that's a common theme this year, admissions processes going slightly differently. What's your subfield (if you don't mind me asking)? Hope your interview goes well!

Thank you! It's IR. Wishing you the best of luck!