2021-2022 Application Thread

[modesteffect]

20 hours ago, Avocado_town said:

In my case, I'd say that both schools have put their effort to try to convince me to choose them. Particularly, I've had meetings with faculty/POIs, talked to graduate students and recived several emails from both departments. I'd say that one of them has been more eager to be in touch with me (e.g., more grad students from one of the schools have sent me emails). Also, both schools invited me to their virtual visit events (one of which has not yet taken place).

Having that in mind, I'd be worried if I didn't get attention from those schools (maybe not that level of attention, but I'd say that lack of attention on their part would be worrisome). In general terms, I'd say that if you get an offer from a school, that school really wants to have you in their program. 

Did you contact POIs? nobody contact me. thinking if I should be more active

[CapTipps]

2 minutes ago, modesteffect said:

Did you contact POIs? nobody contact me. thinking if I should be more active

They should be doing this. However, no problem if you want to contact them, but maybe talk with the DGS and say something like "I am really looking forward to meeting with Prof. X and Prof. X, would it be possible for you to try to arrange that for me?". But I would wait 1 week or so after admission to do that, maybe they are still instructing POIs, idk

[pbspoon]

2 hours ago, kmccorm2 said:

 

I've also found this to be true, the older we are, I guess the less likely it is we'll get into schools which is very frustrating. One of the programs that I got into is T50, and I'm wondering if it's even worth it to pursue, since eventually I would like to be a professor at an undergraduate institution (vs. for example, going into policy/politics). But I can't imagine doing this again for the 4th time!

Yeah, three is already a ton of work and stress. Best of luck with your decision!

Edited b/c I just saw your signature: I also have a JD! You think that would help.... I do wonder if they see lower JD GPAs and don't understand law school curves, though, since it seems like grad school grades are super inflated.

Edited March 3, 2022 by pbspoon

[Avocado_town]

15 minutes ago, modesteffect said:

Did you contact POIs? nobody contact me. thinking if I should be more active

In one school, my POI sent me an email first (I had previously talked to another professor). In the other, one of my POIs was also director of grad admissions, so s/he sent me an email first (I had also talked to another professor first). Then s/he put me in touch with my other POI. I never took the initiative in the sense of sending a POI an email before they sent me one. 

Have you not received any email from faculty/staff?

Edited March 3, 2022 by Avocado_town

[Avocado_town]

8 minutes ago, CapTipps said:

They should be doing this. However, no problem if you want to contact them, but maybe talk with the DGS and say something like "I am really looking forward to meeting with Prof. X and Prof. X, would it be possible for you to try to arrange that for me?". But I would wait 1 week or so after admission to do that, maybe they are still instructing POIs, idk

I second this. I'd recommed you to talk to the DGS first. 

[modesteffect]

2 minutes ago, Avocado_town said:

In one school, my POI sent me an email first (I had previously talked to another professor). In the other, one of my POIs was also director of grad admissions, so she sent me an email first (I had also talked to another professor first). Then she put me in touch with my other POI. I never took the initiative in the sense of sending a POI an email before they sent me one. 

Have you not received any email from faculty/staff?

I see, thanks for the info! I only got notif either one poi who didnt talk many or from dgs/portal.

[Quriosity]

Saw in the results that someone had a rejection from Georgetown--anyone claiming this? And if so, how were you notified? I've still got nothing from them.

[midd1324]

Rejected from everywhere and won't be reapplying next year - congrats to everyone who got a program they loved, and best of luck to those putting themselves out there for the next cycle. 

A piece of advice if anyone is considering doing a masters instead if they were blocked out of PhD programs - be very careful, and don't take out any loans to do it. While my Columbia MA helped get me to New York, and I met some incredible individuals, I'm no stuck with a non-terminal degree with loans to pay off, and strong performance in the program didn't help my application. It's 100% the biggest regret of my life, and will hang over me financially a bit for decades to come (lol). Just wanted to give my story with the hopes that some avoid this fate! 

[swanronson]

Hi friends!!! For anyone who is also still waiting on UCLA, I emailed them asking about a projected timeline and received the following response:

“The department have started sending out admission decisions in waves, and hope to finish sending letters in around 2-3 weeks.”

[Hazel C]

1 hour ago, midd1324 said:

Rejected from everywhere and won't be reapplying next year - congrats to everyone who got a program they loved, and best of luck to those putting themselves out there for the next cycle. 

A piece of advice if anyone is considering doing a masters instead if they were blocked out of PhD programs - be very careful, and don't take out any loans to do it. While my Columbia MA helped get me to New York, and I met some incredible individuals, I'm no stuck with a non-terminal degree with loans to pay off, and strong performance in the program didn't help my application. It's 100% the biggest regret of my life, and will hang over me financially a bit for decades to come (lol). Just wanted to give my story with the hopes that some avoid this fate! 

I received all rejections, and I am considering a masters with loan, even though I got an offer from a masters with generous funding(ranking is lower than the no funding one). But your advice made me think about it again deeply. Thanks! And good luck for your another path! 

[Steven_Walls_1991]

On 3/2/2022 at 7:34 PM, polyglotaspiring said:

Has anyone who hasn't heard from NYU yet reached out to them? It's the last school on my list, and I just want the cycle to be over...

Given that we are in March, it seems unlikely to hear good news. I guess few spots were opened (last year's cohort is higher than previous years). This would be consistent with the only two posts in the grad cafe. Let's hope I am wrong. 

[Steven_Walls_1991]

6 hours ago, Hazel C said:

I received all rejections, and I am considering a masters with loan, even though I got an offer from a masters with generous funding(ranking is lower than the no funding one). But your advice made me think about it again deeply. Thanks! And good luck for your another path! 

If you want to improve your competitiveness for the next application cycle, I would suggest applying for a quant MA. Econ or maybe an MPP with strong quant courses. If you want to do it anyway, be aware of faculty interest in MA students and RA opportunities. Also, please, assess whether the department staff cares about the MA students. A must is to talk with current grad students. But I agree with the former observation about thinking twice about doing a MA in pol sci without funding. An MA in pol sci at a fancy university does not imply better application outcomes in the future. Talk with grad student (ideally those from the MA) and faculty members.

[Longhairedvato]

15 hours ago, Eliza1820 said:

I feel the same, but getting into Duke is fantastic! I think it's really hard to apply to grad school after working for several years. I applied to nine schools, up and down the rankings based on fit more than reputation, and got a weird mix of responses. If you're only going to get into one school, at least it's a really good one

Not sure if I could non traditional (over 30/5 years removed since I finished school (last got my MA). But I went with the same strategy of fit and up and down the rankings with also weird. It decent results. 

[SanC]

Hello, I was wondering if there's anyone who hasn't heard from McGill yet. I see a few result submissions on the page but I am yet to receive an update. Not sure what to expect. 

Also, anyone heard anything from the JHU SAIS PhD program?

[ballofstress]

I know this isn't a super popular school on here, but has anyone heard from Kansas? It is the end of the timeline they gave me. 

[ballofstress]

1 hour ago, ballofstress said:

I know this isn't a super popular school on here, but has anyone heard from Kansas? It is the end of the timeline they gave me. 

Nevermind, I just heard back and have been accepted. 

[PoliSci_PhDgal]

What's taking NYU so long to send rejections (I'm assuming) lol. I emailed them in case others waiting wanted to know - they gave a generic response saying you'll find more info on admission decisions timeline on our website. LOL.

[uncle_socks]

2 hours ago, PoliSci_PhDgal said:

What's taking NYU so long to send rejections (I'm assuming) lol. I emailed them in case others waiting wanted to know - they gave a generic response saying you'll find more info on admission decisions timeline on our website. LOL.

idk if they're doing it this year, but the following is definitely true of prior years. everyone who gets rejected gets thrown back into the MA admissions pool, so what's taking them so long is doing MA admissions. 

[Avocado_town]

2 hours ago, PoliSci_PhDgal said:

What's taking NYU so long to send rejections (I'm assuming) lol. I emailed them in case others waiting wanted to know - they gave a generic response saying you'll find more info on admission decisions timeline on our website. LOL.

Thanks for emailing them! In any case, I assumed a rejection (which means my cycle is over). I checked here and they seem to take a really long time to send rejections. In 2020 and 2029, for example, they sent rejections like 5 or 6 weeks after acceptances. 

[sbidyanta]

With a presumed rejection from USC and an unfunded acceptance from University of Kansas, my cycle has come to an end. I have decided to accept the offer from University of Cincinnati, and I'm so excited to move to a whole new country, meet new people and begin the long journey towards a PhD.

 

It's been such a great pleasure keeping the vigil with you guys here. For those of you who have received offers, congratulations! For those who haven't yet, keep up the hope till the very end. And for those who have received all rejection, just remember that this is not the end of the road. As one of my favourite songs goes, At the end of the storm, there's a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark. 

 

This is probably going to be my last post on this Forum. Although it would most likely not be possible, I do hope to keep in touch with you guys. For those of you who feel comfortable adding me on LinkedIn, send me a message! For everyone else, I hope we meet again some day! Best of luck, and have an awesome life!

[PoliSci_PhDgal]

18 hours ago, Avocado_town said:

Thanks for emailing them! In any case, I assumed a rejection (which means my cycle is over). I checked here and they seem to take a really long time to send rejections. In 2020 and 2029, for example, they sent rejections like 5 or 6 weeks after acceptances. 

Yes, you're absolutely correct. I remember applying last year as well - and they sent a rejection in April (very late) cause I think they forwarded my application to the MA pool (like @uncle_socks mentioned) and then rejected me from the masters too LOL. Although, if I remember correctly - I remember not checking the MA option in my application this year. But in any case, I'm done with my cycle too

 

 

[Avocado_town]

5 hours ago, PoliSci_PhDgal said:

Yes, you're absolutely correct. I remember applying last year as well - and they sent a rejection in April (very late) cause I think they forwarded my application to the MA pool (like @uncle_socks mentioned) and then rejected me from the masters too LOL. Although, if I remember correctly - I remember not checking the MA option in my application this year. But in any case, I'm done with my cycle too

 

 

April is way too late haha. I didn't remember about the MA option so I don't know if I checked it.

[Hazel C]

Hi guys. Just wondering, have Georgetown/Pittsburgh/Northeastern released the rejections? 

Haven't listened any, assuming rejections, but wanna make sure.. 

[Tiago Chan]

Hello, @PoliSci_PhDgal. Will you accept UCSB? I am on their waitlist.

[PoliticalScience_Msta]

18 hours ago, Hazel C said:

Hi guys. Just wondering, have Georgetown/Pittsburgh/Northeastern released the rejections? 

Haven't listened any, assuming rejections, but wanna make sure.. 

I recently received an email saying I was on Georgetown's waitlist, but still no official update on the portal. It seems like Georgetown is still processing applications from what I can tell. 

Since we are entering March, I'd ask everyone to decline offers if you don't intend to accept in order to give those on the waitlist a chance to accept. I recently started doing that for schools I have definitively ruled out.  Good luck everyone.