Profile eval (formal theory, comparative)?

[smug-face]

Hey all, I thought I would add my profile mainly for posterity's sake, but also to look for feedback (mainly hoping for reassurance, but would mostly benefit from heads-ups!). I've also very much enjoyed looking at people's profiles over the years so I thought I'd do my part now that the dreaded application season has finally come!

• Undergrad: Italian university (GPA around 3.9 on a 4.0 scale);
• Grad: MPhil at Oxford (comparative politics);
• Main interests: "pure" formal theory, with some comparative politics in the mix;
• GRE: 164V/170Q/5.0AWA (planning to send also to GRE-optional programs);
• Research experience: masters thesis, plus worked as an RA at Oxford and as an undergrad on several projects (both formal theory and voting behavior);
• Writing sample: a formal model I wrote pretty much specifically for this application round, haven't received any feedback from professors but I think it's relatively strong;
• Schools: Stanford GSB, Chicago Harris, Yale, Princeton, NYU, Emory, Rochester, Berkeley, LSE.

I feel like I'm applying broadly enough, although it's certainly an ambitious list. I am mainly worried that this year will be incredibly tight, but I'm also trying not to overthink things too much.

[guest789]

The only thing you haven't addressed is whether you have the math background for GSB and Harris. Formal theory is a niche subfield too, so I don't know whether departments are actively seeking students in that area. I'm sure you know that there are very few jobs in formal theory (in general, not just this year). 

A lot will depend on how good your other documents - writing sample, SOP, LORs - are. They'll certainly be read, but if you have a letter that essentially says "I don't really know this person well in a research sense, but they did well in my class" that's not a good sign.

Basically there is very little information or reassurance we can give you - clearly you're not going to be eliminated right away, but no one has any idea what the process looks like after that point.

EDIT: Regarding your list - I think it's good to be ambitious. It's a tough field we're entering and hierarchy absolutely 100% matters. I only applied to top 10 departments as I don't see any point in leaving my nice-enough job (but it's not my passion) to do a PhD program that often has worse off outcomes than the top programs. If this strategy fails in March, well... I have a good fallback in data science.

Edited December 5, 2020 by timeseries

[smug-face]

7 hours ago, timeseries said:

The only thing you haven't addressed is whether you have the math background for GSB and Harris. Formal theory is a niche subfield too, so I don't know whether departments are actively seeking students in that area. I'm sure you know that there are very few jobs in formal theory (in general, not just this year). 

A lot will depend on how good your other documents - writing sample, SOP, LORs - are. They'll certainly be read, but if you have a letter that essentially says "I don't really know this person well in a research sense, but they did well in my class" that's not a good sign.

Thanks, those are all very fair points. I do not have a huge math background but I think I have a good reason (I simply could not have taken any more classed than I did, the Italian curriculum is very rigid); none of those programs strictly require a lot of math so I hope it won't be a disqualifying factor (though I am aware that they are very long shots).

My LORs are from well-known professors who in turn know me quite well.

I am aware that the market is very tight, though places like Rochester and NYU are quite specialized in formal theory so I hope they are looking for some students in that area!

[terefere]

What was your undergrad in? Many applicants with interest in formal theory will come from an econ or math background. Not having those does not disqualify you in any way, but I would imagine schools want to think you can handle the coursework. I think your GRE and choice of writing sample (+ LORs, hopefully) signals that. Your choice of schools looks reasonable, but if you were looking to add more, I would add Chicago Polisci, Stanford Polisci, Columbia and maybe even Caltech. 

[smug-face]

 

4 minutes ago, terefere said:

What was your undergrad in? Many applicants with interest in formal theory will come from an econ or math background. Not having those does not disqualify you in any way, but I would imagine schools want to think you can handle the coursework. I think your GRE and choice of writing sample (+ LORs, hopefully) signals that. Your choice of schools looks reasonable, but if you were looking to add more, I would add Chicago Polisci, Stanford Polisci, Columbia and maybe even Caltech. 

My undergrad was in political science, but I mainly did quantitative work and took a few courses in econ and methods, including math. Two of my letters come from formal theory professors. Unfortunately Columbia isn't taking applications this year!

[Theory007]

Have you thought about OSU and UCSD? I think you can do formal theory both of those places.

[Clintarius]

1 hour ago, Theory007 said:

Have you thought about OSU and UCSD? I think you can do formal theory both of those places.

I would also add UCSD, I think they've been investing in the formal theory part of their curriculum and faculty.

[Sad Politics]

I just wanted to add that maybe you should check out Penn State as a safer quant-oriented option. However, your profile seems to be very good, so I don't know if you will be interested in going there. As a fellow European applicant, it sucks that there are no good quant-oriented programs in Europe. I still plan to apply to a couple of European programs (Oxford, European University Institute, maybe CEU) just as an "insurance" in case I don't get admitted into any good American program.  Perhaps you should consider doing the same. 

[smug-face]

Thank you all for the great suggestions! As things currently stand I do not plan to apply to any more schools this round, but if I were to have to reapply next year, I will definitely keep these in mind.