2022-2023 Application Thread

[ElisaV16]

I haven't heard anything from NYU and Georgetown. Should I assume I have been rejected?

This is so frustrating. I truly thought I had a chance. I have two masters and research experience.  

[PolGrad]

15 minutes ago, ElisaV16 said:

I haven't heard anything from NYU and Georgetown. Should I assume I have been rejected?

This is so frustrating. I truly thought I had a chance. I have two masters and research experience.  

Did you get interview from Georgetown? I also didn't hear anything from Georgetown and I didn't get interview email from them. However, don't assume rejection from Georgetown. I have no knowledge about NYU. 

[ElisaV16]

2 minutes ago, PolGrad said:

Did you get interview from Georgetown? I also didn't hear anything from Georgetown and I didn't get interview email from them. However, don't assume rejection from Georgetown. I have no knowledge about NYU. 

No interview, just silence. Should we try emailing them?

[randomsinging]

27 minutes ago, ElisaV16 said:

I haven't heard anything from NYU and Georgetown. Should I assume I have been rejected?

This is so frustrating. I truly thought I had a chance. I have two masters and research experience.  

Never assume rejection until you see it with your own eyes! I don’t think Georgetown interviews every single applicant that they feel adequate, based on posts from previous years. But I didn’t apply to NYU so I don’t know.

[PolGrad]

20 minutes ago, ElisaV16 said:

No interview, just silence. Should we try emailing them?

I think they would not provide us a clear answer; probably they would respond that the applications are still under review.

[Crossed_fingers]

5 hours ago, politicallygrad said:

Hey, this happened to me as well. I only got news from 2 of 6 US PhD programs I have applied to. I got accepted from Northwestern and rejected by Boston U. As far as I know NWU is a higher ranked institution. Yet I did not have a good fit with Boston, I sent my GREs there at the end of the test. So figured why not apply as well, just not to waste the score. Yet I have messed up my SoP there and as I said not a good match overall. For NWU, my potential advisor is a really strong match. Even stronger than I anticipated maybe - now that I am stalking them a bit closer lol. I think it is a matter of good fit. NWU was one of my top choices and I really like the department as a whole. Even if I got acceptance from a higher ranked institution I think I will commit to NWU! 

Btw, what do you think about the Northwestern political science department? I see lots of terms like R20, T10 etc in Reddit that supposedly define the institution. Is NWU a top 10 program in the US? I know that it is really good but I am not sure how good. I am asking this specific question because I also expect an MPhil admission result from Oxford. For context I am an international student. I am also a senior undergrad student so no grad school experience. So I want to gather some context to make a choice between a good US PhD or two years Master at Oxford (if accepted for sure).

 

 

Most people use the usnews political science rankings as a rough outline of the reputation hierarchy. Northwestern is about the 20th best program. 
 

My 2 cents: ive heard theres a fair bit of dysfunction in the department but unfortunately dont know what kind so i cant be more specific. I have also heard there’s a bunch of sort of deadwood qualitative scholars that aren’t publishing a ton with or without students. But at the end of the day look at their placement record, graduates get jobs (and seem like the expected jobs for a ~20 ranked program imo) which is what matters. 
 

It sounds like you like Northwestern a lot so it makes sense to go there! Unless you really want the oxford experience and really want to roll the dice again for a higher ranked program later, I’d go straight into the NW phd.

[PolGrad]

4 minutes ago, Crossed_fingers said:

Most people use the usnews political science rankings as a rough outline of the reputation hierarchy. Northwestern is about the 20th best program. 
 

My 2 cents: ive heard theres a fair bit of dysfunction in the department but unfortunately dont know what kind so i cant be more specific. I have also heard there’s a bunch of sort of deadwood qualitative scholars that aren’t publishing a ton with or without students. But at the end of the day look at their placement record, graduates get jobs (and seem like the expected jobs for a ~20 ranked program imo) which is what matters. 
 

It sounds like you like Northwestern a lot so it makes sense to go there! Unless you really want the oxford experience and really want to roll the dice again for a higher ranked program later, I’d go straight into the NW phd.

I didn't know that Northwestern is around 20th in terms of its ranking.

[anonymousvulture]

11 minutes ago, PolGrad said:

I didn't know that Northwestern is around 20th in terms of its ranking.

Yeah, also look at the subfield rankings. Strengths and weaknesses tend to be clustered around those:

 

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/political-science-rankings

[politicallygrad]

1 hour ago, Crossed_fingers said:

Most people use the usnews political science rankings as a rough outline of the reputation hierarchy. Northwestern is about the 20th best program. 
 

My 2 cents: ive heard theres a fair bit of dysfunction in the department but unfortunately dont know what kind so i cant be more specific. I have also heard there’s a bunch of sort of deadwood qualitative scholars that aren’t publishing a ton with or without students. But at the end of the day look at their placement record, graduates get jobs (and seem like the expected jobs for a ~20 ranked program imo) which is what matters. 
 

It sounds like you like Northwestern a lot so it makes sense to go there! Unless you really want the oxford experience and really want to roll the dice again for a higher ranked program later, I’d go straight into the NW phd.

Thank you for the detailed info! I am in theory field so I am anticipating to work with qualitative methods as well. I guess the placements look good though. 

[giraff]

3 hours ago, anonymousvulture said:

Yeah, also look at the subfield rankings. Strengths and weaknesses tend to be clustered around those:

 

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/political-science-rankings

This is what I was about to say about the usnews ranking. Yes, the "overall prestige" ranking is an implicit measure to know one's possible placement upon graduation. But that says little about the success of any given PhD graduate. Not necessarily they would fare better in a higher-ranked department than a lower one, at least considering schools in the top 20 tier. For instance, I want to have extensive quantitative training and do quant research, so Rochester/NYU are better for me than UChicago, definitely, even if UChicago is top 10.

Edited February 5, 2023 by giraff

[MooseTracks]

Any guesses as to what schools we'll hear from this week?

[PolGrad]

5 minutes ago, MooseTracks said:

Any guesses as to what schools we'll hear from this week?

I think Columbia might announced its results, based on the last year results (I assume rejection, though). Also, Georgetown or Michigan might send its results.

[PolGrad]

I also would like to a question concerning research assistantship opportunities: I am an International applicant and if this application cycle doesnt go well for me, I am planning to prepare and apply again during Fall 2023. I would like to participate in research projects (mostly quantitative research) so that I can contact with Professors in the US Universities. Is there any forum, Website etc. from which I can learn about available R.A opportunities? I tried to reach out different professors last year through email, worked under the guidance of them for specific time period but unfortunately these were short-time tasks and didn't turn into LORs .

[MooseTracks]

 

3 minutes ago, PolGrad said:

I also would like to a question concerning research assistantship opportunities: I am an International applicant and if this application cycle doesnt go well for me, I am planning to prepare and apply again during Fall 2023. I would like to participate in research projects (mostly quantitative research) so that I can contact with Professors in the US Universities. Is there any forum, Website etc. from which I can learn about available R.A opportunities? I tried to reach out different professors last year through email, worked under the guidance of them for specific time period but unfortunately these were short-time tasks and didn't turn into LORs .

Check out predoc.org https://predoc.org/opportunities

A lot of the fellowships may lean into more economics or quantitative research, but plenty focus on political science as well!

[coffeeman123]

40 minutes ago, PolGrad said:

I think Columbia might announced its results, based on the last year results (I assume rejection, though). Also, Georgetown or Michigan might send its results.

I believe we may also hear from MIT. It seems like every week from now till the end of February will be decently busy ?

[PolGrad]

6 minutes ago, coffeeman123 said:

I believe we may also hear from MIT. It seems like every week from now till the end of February will be decently busy ?

Did you also apply for MIT? I could see very few applicants who applied for MIT PhD program.

[MooseTracks]

Did anyone else find the MIT application really weird and old school? For well... MIT, it was surprising that they made us copy paste our statements, individually send rec letter requests, and click on separate opening windows to complete each section

[giraff]

56 minutes ago, PolGrad said:

I also would like to a question concerning research assistantship opportunities: I am an International applicant and if this application cycle doesnt go well for me, I am planning to prepare and apply again during Fall 2023. I would like to participate in research projects (mostly quantitative research) so that I can contact with Professors in the US Universities. Is there any forum, Website etc. from which I can learn about available R.A opportunities? I tried to reach out different professors last year through email, worked under the guidance of them for specific time period but unfortunately these were short-time tasks and didn't turn into LORs .

I think it is really hard that you (1) find, get interviewed, and be contracted as RA and (2) do meaningful research in time to get good letters and apply for the Fall 2023. Most RA positions I've came across are for one year. But I might be wrong.

[PolGrad]

12 minutes ago, giraff said:

I think it is really hard that you (1) find, get interviewed, and be contracted as RA and (2) do meaningful research in time to get good letters and apply for the Fall 2023. Most RA positions I've came across are for one year. But I might be wrong.

Yes, you are right. For instance, I worked around four months under the guidance of a professor from Harvard Business School MENA Research Center but he stated that he only writes LORs for the students who took courses from him:/

[butlerianjihad]

I had an interview with Georgetown on Friday. They said the committee will decide in a week or two and after that it will be up to how fast the university will deal with the logistics to communicate the results. So I would not expect to hear anything from them this week. Maybe next one or the one after that. 

I am expecting Michigan this week. I applied there in my previous cycle and got my rejection around this period. Hopefully it will be a positive response this time! 

Edited February 5, 2023 by butlerianjihad

[xStardust]

1 hour ago, MooseTracks said:

Did anyone else find the MIT application really weird and old school? For well... MIT, it was surprising that they made us copy paste our statements, individually send rec letter requests, and click on separate opening windows to complete each section

YES! It was so weird to have to email my recommenders directly and it was very hard to tell progress/completion on each section from the way it was set up...

[coffeeman123]

1 hour ago, MooseTracks said:

Did anyone else find the MIT application really weird and old school? For well... MIT, it was surprising that they made us copy paste our statements, individually send rec letter requests, and click on separate opening windows to complete each section

It was by far the most inconvenient one I used, I’m hoping they update it for the next batch of admits soon 

[PolGrad]

17 minutes ago, butlerianjihad said:

I had an interview with Georgetown on Friday. They said the committee will decide in a week or two and after that it will be up to how fast the university will deal with the logistics to communicate the results. So I would not expect to hear anything from them this week. Maybe next one or the one after that. 

I am expecting Michigan this week. I applied there in my previous cycle and got my rejection around this period. Hopefully it will be a positive response this time! 

Do you know whether they only offer admission to the applicants who had interview with the committee? Me and some other applicants didn't receive interview invitation from Georgetown and I was unsure whether it would reject my application. Hope that both you and us can get positive news from Georgetown.

[macshmai]

5 hours ago, MooseTracks said:

Did anyone else find the MIT application really weird and old school? For well... MIT, it was surprising that they made us copy paste our statements, individually send rec letter requests, and click on separate opening windows to complete each section

UH Manoa's system is also very old school... it's more of a school thing, doesn't really say anything about the department tho imo

[coffeeman123]

Does anyone know a good spot to find about living in any of these cities as an impoverished graduate student? The forums for the cities are all full of 10 year old information at this point. Is it best to just post in the Reddit for each city to get a feel?