polisciapp Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 This might be a good place to also post stats for posterity. I have not made my decision yet, so I will withhold that info until the appropriate time.
silencio1982 Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 I'm going to Johns Hopkins. Woohoo!! edited- other schools i applied to posted in the undergrad stats thread.
thestarter Posted March 21, 2008 Posted March 21, 2008 stuck between UT-Austin and Indiana Bloomington :? I never thought making your final decision would be as difficult as the whole application process and waiting for the results
flyingwalrus Posted March 21, 2008 Posted March 21, 2008 stuck between UT-Austin and Indiana Bloomington :? I never thought making your final decision would be as difficult as the whole application process and waiting for the results What's your field of interest?
alanapsci Posted March 21, 2008 Posted March 21, 2008 You always make me smile Missingvandycandy! :mrgreen: Thanks! I am going to the University of Connecticut... Go Huskies! Advisor: Lyle Scruggs, Chair of Methodology and Comparative Politics (happy since I asked for him on my SOP) Temperature... feaking cold! I guess this placement serves me well since I bombed the GRE's. Overall, I had hoped to get into a little higher up the ladder school but this should serve me well. I plan to hunker down and be in it for the long run. Goal: Teach at large State University and do government consulting. Good luck everyone and thanks to this board for helping me through the hard times
thestarter Posted March 21, 2008 Posted March 21, 2008 What's your field of interest? ...IR... I hear that both are solid in IR. But I'm concerned about the heavy coursework of IN (30 courses for 3 years) and the smallness of Bloomington. As to Austin, it is too far from the eastern coast (plus rumors that the department is very competitive and not as friendly as others). Any advice about these two? Btw, what about you flyingwalrus. Heading for UT?
flyingwalrus Posted March 21, 2008 Posted March 21, 2008 ...IR... I hear that both are solid in IR. But I'm concerned about the heavy coursework of IN (30 courses for 3 years) and the smallness of Bloomington. As to Austin, it is too far from the eastern coast (plus rumors that the department is very competitive and not as friendly as others). Any advice about these two? Btw, what about you flyingwalrus. Heading for UT? Assuming that (1) funding isn't an issue and (2) you want an R1-ish academic job in the US, I think I'd pick Indiana. Based on what they say on their website (which may not be representative; see if they'll send you a complete placement record), Indiana places better than Texas. I wouldn't worry about the number of required courses. It is what it is. Everyone else will be taking about as many as you. As for me, I'm leaning heavily towards UNC, but I have yet to visit UT and TAMU, so we'll see.
Leica Posted March 21, 2008 Posted March 21, 2008 American SIS for a terminal MA in International Politics. It was the only school I applied to because it was the only school I wanted to go to. I perused all the relevant department websites extensively before narrowing down my choices, and in the end only ended up with one because I fell in love with the department.
polisciphd Posted April 9, 2008 Posted April 9, 2008 Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for me. IR Major field with concentrations in IR theory and International Conflict. Comparative Minor field.
flyingwalrus Posted April 9, 2008 Posted April 9, 2008 UNC for American (behavior, public opinion, campaigns/elections, and political communication) and methods.
GovtStudent Posted April 9, 2008 Posted April 9, 2008 thestarter: I've got the same question as you right now. I'm in American and leaning Texas, though IU's department size and placement (and cost of living) are all plusses. Not sure on IR, as its not my field. Love your additional thoughts on the two schools...
ministerofculture Posted April 9, 2008 Posted April 9, 2008 Notre Dame for Law and Courts w/ an APD twist
thestarter Posted April 9, 2008 Posted April 9, 2008 thestarter: I've got the same question as you right now. I'm in American and leaning Texas, though IU's department size and placement (and cost of living) are all plusses. Not sure on IR, as its not my field. Love your additional thoughts on the two schools... still has the same question I guess I'm leaning towards Texas as well (though I might change it at the last minute:), I'm still not sure. I have no idea about the American field. But as far as I remember UT has much more professors in your field than Indiana has (So the courses offered is probably more diversified as well. You can check it from their websites. I guess that is even more important than the overall department size.). What is your second field? I've heard that both Indiana and UT are the strongest in comparative (Indiana in Indian and Russian/Eurasian studies while Texas in mostly Latin American). In general IU has a better placement record and puts more emphasis on preparing grads as academics from the early years of the graduate program (like offering an opportunity to teach summer courses). But if I haven't got a wrong impression so far, I can say that both departments are highly respected and have a very good reputation in the US. As you probably know, they are also very close to each other in all of the fields in most of the rankings (Indiana is usually ranked between 20-25 and Texas 25-30). So I started taking other things into consideration (like the city, funding opportunities etc) You're right about the cost of living, but what confuses me is what I hear about Austin. Most ppl whom I've been in contact say that it's a great place to live:) Honestly the idea of living in Austin makes me excited Still I don't know exactly if I can afford to live decently by the funding aid that they offer.
slickj07 Posted April 10, 2008 Posted April 10, 2008 Berkeley for formal theory and American politics
GovtStudent Posted April 10, 2008 Posted April 10, 2008 My second field is normative theory(ish), which both are strong in but UT has more faculty and course offerings. I like IU's opportunity of an eclectic minor, though, perhaps allowing me to be creative with the second field. You can live cheaply in Austin, but you might not enjoy it as much. If you've got the standard packages from both schools (like I do), you can live much nicer in Bloomington... which I've also heard is a nice place to live, just a little different. Decision for me will come down to placement rates and opportunities to publish and do original work. Should decide in a couple days. Curious to hear where you end up choosing.
thestarter Posted April 10, 2008 Posted April 10, 2008 My second field is normative theory(ish), which both are strong in but UT has more faculty and course offerings. I like IU's opportunity of an eclectic minor, though, perhaps allowing me to be creative with the second field. You can live cheaply in Austin, but you might not enjoy it as much. If you've got the standard packages from both schools (like I do), you can live much nicer in Bloomington... which I've also heard is a nice place to live, just a little different. Decision for me will come down to placement rates and opportunities to publish and do original work. Should decide in a couple days. Curious to hear where you end up choosing. Then why are you leaning UT? Seems like IU is more appropriate for you... As for me, I've finally made my final decision. Heading for UT-Austin for IR
Quarex Posted April 11, 2008 Posted April 11, 2008 Aside from turning down four of my six offers, I am still deadlocked as to what to do now. Neither of the remaining offers is perfect ... but I still have three schools left. Granted, two I all but wrote off due to distance issues anyway (though if Brandeis offers funding, I will totally go!), but the third and final offer has the potential to be my best choice if I wait until after the "soft" April 15 deadline for them to see about funding. Considering the two acceptances I am weighing do not require an answer before April 28, looks like I am in for the long haul. Advantages of Mysterious Not Yet Finalized Or Even Assured Acceptance: Second-tier school (the best I could have hoped for, really!), several professors doing interesting work in my field, including one who seems incongruently influential with the otherwise seemingly nonexistent reputation of the department. Disadvantages: Maybe there is some obvious and/or weird reason that the political science department is not ranked well despite being at a good institution. Also, I will be commuting about an hour and a half. But this is only the case because I will be living with my girlfriend if I go, which is in itself a big enough advantage that it seems worth it. Particularly if I can maneuver to only a couple days of classes per week.
Jessetfan Posted April 11, 2008 Posted April 11, 2008 I finally made the decision to go to GWU with a major field in American Politics and a minor in methods. I'm still hoping I'll get a funding offer since American is their smallest sub-field, but I'll be going either way. I just couldn't turn down being in DC since I want to go into actual politics rather than academia.
shuniankuaile Posted April 11, 2008 Posted April 11, 2008 Harvard, for comparative politics. Thanks for all the discussion. It's been fun!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now