2020-2021 Application Thread

[Theory007]

My sense is that students with pre-covid scores will be seriously considered, and since the GRE is optional many places it's likely that only people who did well who will submit their scores. Basically a high pre-covid score will make you stand out and should, I think, favor you in admissions. There is no good equivalence to the GRE in the rest of the application so I wonder how adcoms are supposed to make good judgements about candidates.

[brickinthewall]

Here is the link - the GRE in the times of COVID discussion is around the 56:40 mark. 

 

[plus]

14 minutes ago, Theory007 said:

My sense is that students with pre-covid scores will be seriously considered, and since the GRE is optional many places it's likely that only people who did well who will submit their scores. Basically a high pre-covid score will make you stand out and should, I think, favor you in admissions. There is no good equivalence to the GRE in the rest of the application so I wonder how adcoms are supposed to make good judgements about candidates.

Although ETS informs admissions whether the test was taken at home or not, I don’t believe that universities will discriminate between pre- and post-covid scores. Other than being unfair to candidates from regions disproportionally impacted by the pandemic, that seems to be too much work for very little benefit.

Edited January 13, 2021 by plus

[BrownSugar]

14 minutes ago, Theory007 said:

My sense is that students with pre-covid scores will be seriously considered, and since the GRE is optional many places it's likely that only people who did well who will submit their scores. Basically a high pre-covid score will make you stand out and should, I think, favor you in admissions. There is no good equivalence to the GRE in the rest of the application so I wonder how adcoms are supposed to make good judgements about candidates.

That last bit is crucial. Most universities across the globe don’t have the GRE or an equivalent requirement so I assume a page will be taken from their books in terms of making judgements? 
 

I for one have applied to universities outside the US as well, and have only gone to universities outside the US thus far, despite being American. So I’m more used to systems without standardized tests. 

Edited January 13, 2021 by BrownSugar

[guest789]

If anyone applies next year and wants another way to torture themselves while waiting for admissions results, may I suggest creating a website and turning on Google Analytics? You can get city-level data.

[funfetti]

2 hours ago, timeseries said:

If anyone applies next year and wants another way to torture themselves while waiting for admissions results, may I suggest creating a website and turning on Google Analytics? You can get city-level data.

Haha, I love it. I'm relieved I didn't think of that because obsessively checking my web traffic is absolutely something I'd do. 

Edited January 14, 2021 by _nutella_

[icemanyeo]

10 hours ago, polisci_gal said:

Ok thoughts on not submitting GRE scores this year? I will disclose that I didn't actually take the GRE ( for various reasons) and thus did not submit scores to any schools. Some of the potential supervisors I spoke with said it really wouldn't hinder an application to not have them, as the scores would just be considered an extra/supplemental document. What do y'all think? Do you think that it is *essential* to submit or not submit? Even though the schools waived the requirement will it hurt an application to not submit them? Why am i second guessing my whole life lol

I did not submit any scores either for this cycle. I noticed that about half of the schools I applied to were GRE-optional but also wouldn't even consider GRE scores as part of an application even when submitted.

[icemanyeo]

9 hours ago, Theory007 said:

There is no good equivalence to the GRE in the rest of the application so I wonder how adcoms are supposed to make good judgements about candidates.

That's one of the reasons why I think there might be a slight delay in the release of results this cycle, because the value of GPA depends on the institution (is there grade inflation or deflation?), there are distinctions in graduate degrees (2-year MA/Mphil vs. MPP) so there's no single metric that can serve as a somewhat "fair" comparison between candidates.

Edited January 14, 2021 by icemanyeo

[brickinthewall]

Anyone claiming the Duke interview? Are there others?

From what I can tell they haven't historically done interviews, but it doesn't seem out of the question this year given their higher-than-expected yield in the 2018-19 cycle and the oddities of this cycle.

[polisci_gal]

Other thing I want to get other applicants input on....How many of y'all reached out to profs/potential supervisors at the schools that you applied to for PhD programs? I connected via e-mail, phone, or zoom with at least 1 professor from each school I applied to,  but I was wondering if its also common to just submit applications without connecting with faculty beforehand? Im only really asking out of curiosity and Also perhaps am second guessing everything about my application process? Lol

Edited January 14, 2021 by polisci_gal

[BrownSugar]

9 minutes ago, polisci_gal said:

Other thing I want to get other applicants input on....How many of y'all reached out to profs/potential supervisors at the schools that you applied to for PhD programs? I connected via e-mail, phone, or zoom with at least 1 professor from each school I applied to,  but I was wondering if its also common to just submit applications without connecting with faculty beforehand? Im only really asking out of curiosity and Also perhaps am second guessing everything about my application process? Lol

In my case I didn’t reach out at all, and all the current PhD students (a lot at top 10) I know never reached out either. 
 

I think reaching out is only a good idea if you have something useful or productive to share/discuss. Don’t overthink it too much! 

[brickinthewall]

3 minutes ago, BrownSugar said:

In my case I didn’t reach out at all, and all the current PhD students (a lot at top 10) I know never reached out either. 
 

I think reaching out is only a good idea if you have something useful or productive to share/discuss. Don’t overthink it too much! 

Same here! I also talked with current PhD students as to get a sense of their departments and anything quirky that could be useful to know. To any future applicants out there, this was also very useful for my applications, as they'd recently been through the process and therefore could help a lot with really detail-oriented application questions that professors or my advisors may not have been as equipped to answer.

[icemanyeo]

8 hours ago, polisci_gal said:

Other thing I want to get other applicants input on....How many of y'all reached out to profs/potential supervisors at the schools that you applied to for PhD programs? I connected via e-mail, phone, or zoom with at least 1 professor from each school I applied to,  but I was wondering if its also common to just submit applications without connecting with faculty beforehand? Im only really asking out of curiosity and Also perhaps am second guessing everything about my application process? Lol

One of the professors at a school I applied to was a LinkedIn contact of mine, so I reached out through that platform, but otherwise did not contact other professors. I think it's very common for people to submit without connecting to professors, at least in the US, since most programs don't require having an advisor selected when you enroll in the program. Don't let the stress eat you too much, I can definitely relate to your anxieties.

8 hours ago, BrownSugar said:

I think reaching out is only a good idea if you have something useful or productive to share/discuss. Don’t overthink it too much! 

I agree. The only professor I reached out to was because our interests highly overlapped. Especially with the difficulties that come with COVID and the awful schedules/dynamics for faculty, I figured they were already overwhelmed and "superficial" contact with me wouldn't matter.

[BrownSugar]

I just got my first decision - a rejection. Not feeling as badly as I thought, but a bit of a sour note to start off ? 

 

Edit - it’s a uni in the UK (only one I applied to there)

Edited January 15, 2021 by BrownSugar

[Sad Politics]

9 minutes ago, semiotic_mess said:

Edit: So sorry, wrong forum!

No problem, thanks for telling us. I hope your interview went well

Edited January 15, 2021 by Sad Politics

[NeedaMormon]

Just an update, Madison has just asked me to interview with them! This is the first response I've gotten so far, and now I am scared out of my mind.

[polisci_gal]

23 minutes ago, NeedaMormon said:

Just an update, Madison has just asked me to interview with them! This is the first response I've gotten so far, and now I am scared out of my mind.

You've got this!!! You're going to do amazing. Best of luck and hope you get in !!

[nivy25]

1 hour ago, NeedaMormon said:

Just an update, Madison has just asked me to interview with them! This is the first response I've gotten so far, and now I am scared out of my mind.

Congrats! I’ve been obsessively checking my email and the Madison application portal since I saw that people are getting interviews! 
Did you get an email about it today?

Also, if you can, please let us know how it goes, and what kinds of question they ask you! I’m sure a lot other people (including me) would find such information super helpful! 
Good luck!!

[ovejal]

1 hour ago, NeedaMormon said:

Just an update, Madison has just asked me to interview with them! This is the first response I've gotten so far, and now I am scared out of my mind.

Same here! Nervous but this seems like a good sign!

[NeedaMormon]

4 minutes ago, nivy25 said:

Congrats! I’ve been obsessively checking my email and the Madison application portal since I saw that people are getting interviews! 
Did you get an email about it today?

Also, if you can, please let us know how it goes, and what kinds of question they ask you! I’m sure a lot other people (including me) would find such information super helpful! 
Good luck!!

I received an email today about it. I know the interview will be about 15 min either next Tuesday or Wednesday over Zoom. Now I need to make sure I pick the best spot in my apartment for this.

 

Anybody have tips on preparing for an interview? I assume being specific about my research interests is very important, along with being myself.

 

I'll be sure to let y'all know about the specific questions they ask me!

[polisci_gal]

15 minutes ago, NeedaMormon said:

Anybody have tips on preparing for an interview?

I watch a lot of this girls youtube videos (shes a PhD at Yale), and she just put one out on PhD interviews....might be helpful? *Disclaimer I did not watch the whole thing lol*

 

[Sad Politics]

Hi everyone. I had an issue with two applications and I am freaking out a bit about it. I submitted two applications close to the deadline. Even though I had sent my test scores several weeks in advance, my test scores appeared as not received and they were matched to my file until a day or two after the deadline. When a university says that "test scores must be received by the deadline", does that mean that the scores have to be matched to the application by the deadline, or does it mean that they have to be received by the office of graduate admissions by the deadline?  

[loiewo]

2 hours ago, NeedaMormon said:

I received an email today about it. I know the interview will be about 15 min either next Tuesday or Wednesday over Zoom. Now I need to make sure I pick the best spot in my apartment for this.

 

Anybody have tips on preparing for an interview? I assume being specific about my research interests is very important, along with being myself.

 

I'll be sure to let y'all know about the specific questions they ask me!

Congrats and good luck!  Curious to know whether they mentioned if they’re interviewing everyone or just some people? 

[NeedaMormon]

2 minutes ago, loiewo said:

Congrats and good luck!  Curious to know whether they mentioned if they’re interviewing everyone or just some people? 

There was no mention of interviewing other people, just that they wanted to interview me.

[gingerantelope]

Hi all! I've been lurking on here until I had something to report. I'm also claiming a Wisconsin-Madison interview. Good luck to all of the other interviewees and applicants!