2020-2021 Application Thread

[guest789]

I think the March release date sounds like a CYA thing just in case they say they'll be out in January but they actually don't release them until mid February - all notifications will definitely be out by March, including rejections. Doesn't Northwestern stagger rejections anyway?

Edited January 25, 2021 by timeseries

[uncle_socks]

34 minutes ago, timeseries said:

I think the March release date sounds like a CYA thing just in case they say they'll be out in January but they actually don't release them until mid February - all notifications will definitely be out by March, including rejections. Doesn't Northwestern stagger rejections anyway?

Unless anything has changed, I think this is right. Based on older patterns, this is probably what happens. Northwestern and NYU get into this mess every year where they admit WAAAAYY before they reject and they're super vague about timelines. 

[ir_guy]

53 minutes ago, StarkDark1 said:

The beginning of March?  Most years Northwestern sends out admits by the last week of January.  Did they say that they are sending them in March this year because of COVID?

No words of COVID so not sure why. But i think the important thing is to stay safe and sane in this age of uncertainty and not overthink this whole process. This is what i learned in a short period of time with the help of very passionate trolls. As much as i see they are more eager in what they do than me wanting to get accepted.

[icemanyeo]

3 hours ago, scarletwitch said:

For US and international political analysis, follow my former boss Brian Klaas on Twitter. I was his research assistant this summer and consultant on his new book. He’s particularly astute on matters related to authoritarianism and election rigging.

Done!

[Rachmaninoffovich]

To those waiting for Wisconsin, do not despair. People were posting acceptances over a two day period. Just hang tight and keep waiting; if anything, the cycle is still young. 

[icemanyeo]

I am sitting here, hoping for some Berkeley and Princeton decisions to come out this week.

[icemanyeo]

Funny aside: I've been spending some of my time (and theory) analyzing Attack on Titan, if there are any other anime fans on this forum.

[Lurker929]

Claiming an admit to UW-Madison IR subfield, looks like a personalized (insert first name here) mass email. I'm sure more decisions to come - hang in there!!

[iamlia]

Hi everyone!

I've been checking this thread lately hoping to get some hope and information because I'm getting really anxious. Congrats to those admitted to some of your desired programs!
I'm an international applicant and although I recently did an MA at NYU I'm still not entirely familiar with the US Ph.D. system, so I only applied to three programs which I thought might be a good fit (poli sci, Govt. and Sociology). Seeing that everyone here has applied to so many schools has made me extra anxious and nervous, but I guess now it's done there is no point in worrying...

I was just wondering if anyone has applied to CUNY or have any information as to when decisions might come out, or if there might be any information regarding applications this year. 

Thanks in advance and best of luck to everyone!!!

[Aydemiru]

Well I applied to tons of universities, really a looot. I havent heard from any of them yet. No email no acceptance or rejection no interview invitation. Nothing! Should I be worried?

[StarkDark1]

Just now, Aydemiru said:

Well I applied to tons of universities, really a looot. I havent heard from any of them yet. No email no acceptance or rejection no interview invitation. Nothing! Should I be worried?

I'm in the same boat.  Applied 12 unis and no word back yet...  

[Aydemiru]

8 minutes ago, Lurker929 said:

Claiming an admit to UW-Madison IR subfield, looks like a personalized (insert first name here) mass email. I'm sure more decisions to come - hang in there!!

Congrats! When exactly did you get the e-mail? I am wondering if we should not be waiting after working hours

[BrownSugar]

7 minutes ago, Aydemiru said:

Well I applied to tons of universities, really a looot. I havent heard from any of them yet. No email no acceptance or rejection no interview invitation. Nothing! Should I be worried?

I’ve applied to 11, only heard from one and it’s one in the UK. Don’t worry. It is still early in the game. 

[Lurker929]

9 minutes ago, Aydemiru said:

Congrats! When exactly did you get the e-mail? I am wondering if we should not be waiting after working hours

I received the email around 2:00 PM Mountain time and when I checked the results page here there were already several people reporting admission. 

[OttoTheOrange]

6 hours ago, icemanyeo said:

Truth be told, I am becoming less optimistic as the days pass by. Both the job market and the graduate school app cycle are a bloodbath this year, so there's no reliable "backup" plan to graduate school if you aren't already employed.

I'm feeling this too! I lost my job in the spring and it's been impossible to find anything new since. I had already started my applications for this admission cycle at that point, so I was planning on applying regardless. However, I won't pretend like I have a solid backup plan should I receive all rejections this cycle- there just aren't many options out there! It's difficult to stay optimistic or calm when there's so much on the line for so many of us. Here's to hoping for the best! 

[gbheron]

If UIUC sent out some acceptances a week or two ago and I have heard nothing, is it safe to assume a rejection by now? Feels like it's going that way but it's so hard not being totally able to give up on it

[smug-face]

Well, yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions -- I saw the new Princeton decisions, stared obsessively at my phone for half an hour, went out for a walk and accepted that I was gonna get rejected, then got home and found out it was probably just a troll! Not bad for a dry run of the probably many rejections that are coming my way!

[AHD]

Did anybody get in to Wisconsin without an interview? I'm just wondering if to finally give up hope for Madison this year...

Edited January 26, 2021 by AmiadHD
typo

[icemanyeo]

3 hours ago, smug-face said:

Well, yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions -- I saw the new Princeton decisions, stared obsessively at my phone for half an hour, went out for a walk and accepted that I was gonna get rejected, then got home and found out it was probably just a troll! Not bad for a dry run of the probably many rejections that are coming my way!

Conspiracy Theory: Someone is lurking on the sub and posting fake decisions just so they can rile us up and watch from the sidelines as we panic. ?

All jokes aside, this is truly a year like no other, especially for PhD applications, so try not to beat yourself up too much. I'm learning to do that myself as well.

[til1996]

BTW, has anyone claimed the Georgetown Government interview from the results page last week? 

[theheights11]

Hi all, has anyone heard from Cambridge (UK)? I had read they would be conducting interviews this week for their Politics and International Studies (POLIS) PhD...

[polisciphdhopeful]

Nothing about their PhD, but I did get rejected from their polis MA last week.

[AHD]

11 minutes ago, theheights11 said:

Hi all, has anyone heard from Cambridge (UK)? I had read they would be conducting interviews this week for their Politics and International Studies (POLIS) PhD...

I can claim one of the rejections (from the politics PhD) in the results thread. Got it very quickly after I submitted but I wasn't a good fit anyway. So they started looking at the application files and I think they send out interviews on a rolling basis. If you didn't get a rejection its a good sign, they sent out multiple rejections to their PhD program already.

[cheetah]

2 hours ago, til1996 said:

BTW, has anyone claimed the Georgetown Government interview from the results page last week? 

Applied to ggt too (ir) but got no interview invitations ;( nor did i receive any update/interview from Duke

[Lurker929]

So a bit of a distraction from all the acceptance talk, but I wanted to add that when my spouse was in graduate school at the University of Maryland she did not receive department funding, but was able to secure a graduate assistantship that covered the majority of her tuition, housing (she managed a fraternity house) and provided a stipend. I mention this because several of her colleagues were pursing PhDs and used this opportunity to make up the difference. Just wanted to put this out there--even if you don't get department funding there are still options if you get accepted!