Political Science - Fall 2011 Cycle

[Penelope Higgins]

100% sure that Princeton is done with admits; don't know about waitlists.

Any idea if Princeton is done with all its admits and waitlists? It wouldn't appear so from the results - there are far too few compared to previous years....I mailed the Department and got a generic "you'll hear back soon" reply :-|

[Tufnel]

Any guesses about Harvard? The waiting is driving me crazy.

[history?]

Without meaning to get people's hopes up unnecessarily, the wait between acceptances and rejections is often based on the department maintaining a short list or pool of applicants in case a substantial number of the admits decline their offer. My understanding is that it is rare to pull deeply from this land of limbo, but if you have not yet been notified by a place it means that there is a slim, slim chance that you could receive a very late acceptance. The fact that applicants are not required to submit their decisions until April 15 means that you might not hear until then, or sometimes even a hair after.

One implication of this to my mind is that those who are accepted do everyone else a favor if they make their decisions as soon as it makes sense, rather than stringing departments, and those on the unspoken waitlist, along. Of course, if you are waiting to hear from your top choice, or you only have one funding offer and hope to hold out for another to use as leverage, then it makes sense to wait. But if you've been accepted to your top choice with an offer, who cares if you haven't heard from your safety? Just tell them yes and politely withdraw your name from consideration everywhere else.

[balderdash]

Any guesses about Harvard? The waiting is driving me crazy.

The only guess I have is that it'll take a baby Jesus miracle to get me a spot.

I think it helps in making the wait bearable.

[hulkkk]

Does anyone claim University of Washington acceptances? I had a phone interview last week, but no news yet.

[Ashlett]

Does anyone claim University of Washington acceptances? I had a phone interview last week, but no news yet.

Did they phone interview all potential acceptances?

Also, just as a question/concern, I'm wondering why acceptances don't come the way that the FAQ on the websites say they'll come. For instance, MIT said that acceptances will only come via mail. Why, then, would they call people? Same with Washington. I guess I'm just confused and wondering if I should give up hope if some people get phone calls, when it says wait for mail.

[hulkkk]

I don't think they are calling all potential acceptances. Actually it was not a real interview, they just asked if I have other acceptances and funding offers and told me they will announce the decisions this week.

Did they phone interview all potential acceptances?

Also, just as a question/concern, I'm wondering why acceptances don't come the way that the FAQ on the websites say they'll come. For instance, MIT said that acceptances will only come via mail. Why, then, would they call people? Same with Washington. I guess I'm just confused and wondering if I should give up hope if some people get phone calls, when it says wait for mail.

[GopherGrad]

The only guess I have is that it'll take a baby Jesus miracle to get me a spot.

I think it helps in making the wait bearable.

Nail on the head.

[fsmn36]

I found out today I won't hear about JH until the beginning of April. And my GM app isn't even due till March 1st. GAH. They're killing me. I can only hope by then I'll have gotten an acceptancenotice from Georgetown.

Edited February 22, 2011 by fsmn36

[namul]

Any guesses about Harvard? The waiting is driving me crazy.

I saw someone post on the results page that Harvard told him/her that they would be finished reviewing applications at the end of this week.

[Zoon Politikon]

Everyone makes it sound like acceptance letters are sent out separately from rejections. My problem is that two of my schools--notre dame and boston college--have been sending out a peppering of rejections and acceptances over the past couple of weeks. There seems not to be any rhyme or reason to the process. Why do they drag things out like this? Why these episodic waves of notifications? Are they sending out notices as they go? This is all really distracting. I can't keep twiddling my thumbs forever.

[Tufnel]

The only guess I have is that it'll take a baby Jesus miracle to get me a spot.

I think it helps in making the wait bearable.

I just want to get on with it. I more or less know where I want to go if I don't get into Harvard. If I do get in, then it gets tricky (obviously, I'd welcome the confusion). Once Harvard's decision arrives, the ball will be in my court (one way or another).

**Looks at the sky**

...Sweet baby jesus, please give both Balderdash and Gopher a baby jesus miracle. While you're at it, may the Reds win the 2011 World Series...

Edited February 22, 2011 by Tufnel

[wtncffts]

Everyone makes it sound like acceptance letters are sent out separately from rejections. My problem is that two of my schools--notre dame and boston college--have been sending out a peppering of rejections and acceptances over the past couple of weeks. There seems not to be any rhyme or reason to the process. Why do they drag things out like this? Why these episodic waves of notifications? Are they sending out notices as they go? This is all really distracting. I can't keep twiddling my thumbs forever.

Have you read the 'admissions committee notes' thread? I've asked these sorts of questions there, and gotten interesting responses from a faculty member; feel free to add your thoughts.

[Tufnel]

I saw someone post on the results page that Harvard told him/her that they would be finished reviewing applications at the end of this week.

I saw that post. Did anyone ever claim it? I read it to mean that all admits would be notified this week. However, it sounds like you interpreted it to mean that the committee would be finished but admits would not necessarily be notified.

Can anyone confirm one way or the other?

[Tufnel]

Everyone makes it sound like acceptance letters are sent out separately from rejections. My problem is that two of my schools--notre dame and boston college--have been sending out a peppering of rejections and acceptances over the past couple of weeks. There seems not to be any rhyme or reason to the process. Why do they drag things out like this? Why these episodic waves of notifications? Are they sending out notices as they go? This is all really distracting. I can't keep twiddling my thumbs forever.

One school explicitly mentioned in the acceptance email they sent me that they admitted applicants in stages. They claimed that I was in the first selection (bats eyelashes sheepishly..."you say this to all your new admits, don't you?"), after which came several subsequent waves. They said it let them notify their preferred applicants first, rather than making them wait for committee to finish.

I declined as soon as I was admitted. That's probably another reason. I assume it makes it easier to land on a specific number of matriculants.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Tufnel

[Zoon Politikon]

And at that school would particularly bad candidates get rejected earliest in the process? Thanks.

[balderdash]

I just want to get on with it. I more or less know where I want to go if I don't get into Harvard. If I do get in, then it gets tricky (obviously, I'd welcome the confusion). Once Harvard's decision arrives, the ball will be in my court (one way or another).

**Looks at the sky**

...Sweet baby jesus, please give both Balderdash and Gopher a baby jesus miracle. While you're at it, may the Reds win the 2011 World Series...

Agreed except for a small typo in your post: Red Sox*

[Tufnel]

And at that school would particularly bad candidates get rejected earliest in the process? Thanks.

I don't think so. I believe they pulled the files that they thought were particularly strong, admitted them and talked to them, then went back for round two.

I think there's a strong argument to be made for admitting applicants early. I don't have any empirical research to back it up (surely someone has conducted relevant research) but personally, I seem to prefer the school that admitted me earlier (when comparing comparable schools). There's something to be said for picturing yourself at a school, in a particular city, with a particular set of scholars, etc. That's some mental inertia.

I guess if you're Harvard, you don't worry about it because you're Harvard. But had I been accepted to Stanford and then to Harvard, I'd give the advantage to Stanford simply because they were way out front. I would have already spoken with professors in length, researched the program in great detail, emailed students, etc, before even realizing that I could consider Harvard.

[Purled]

I don't think they are calling all potential acceptances. Actually it was not a real interview, they just asked if I have other acceptances and funding offers and told me they will announce the decisions this week.

Same here, no interview, just conversations regarding other acceptances and funding offers. Official notifications are due out next week.

[Purled]

I think there's a strong argument to be made for admitting applicants early. I don't have any empirical research to back it up (surely someone has conducted relevant research) but personally, I seem to prefer the school that admitted me earlier (when comparing comparable schools). There's something to be said for picturing yourself at a school, in a particular city, with a particular set of scholars, etc. That's some mental inertia.

Wholly agree with this, and would add that acceptances delivered over the phone cast a greater warmth (for lack of a better word; I'm tired) than those posted on the application systems or even delivered via email. Though the influence is difficult to explicitly track, it's definitely one of the many minor particulars that, for me at least, have begun influencing the way I regard potential programs. Which is a long-winded way of saying that the way we're treated influences the ways we respond, to which I would add, Duh. And....time for some sleep, obviously.

[bugbear]

Welp, looks like I won't know if I got into my top choice or not until April. *has thousand-yard stare, is twiddling thumbs*

In the meantime, I've realized that I should have applied to more schools. Although, exactly how big a miscalculation that was depends on what I hear from the places that haven't sent out results yet.

[maicondouglas]

Does anyone claim University of Washington acceptances? I had a phone interview last week, but no news yet.

I received an email offer last Saturday. Don't get your hopes up though; the funding was quite dismal.

[maicondouglas]

Did they phone interview all potential acceptances?

Also, just as a question/concern, I'm wondering why acceptances don't come the way that the FAQ on the websites say they'll come. For instance, MIT said that acceptances will only come via mail. Why, then, would they call people? Same with Washington. I guess I'm just confused and wondering if I should give up hope if some people get phone calls, when it says wait for mail.

I believe the phone interviews have all to do about gauging the applicant's enthusiasm and stacking up their offer against the other guy's.

[LondonTown]

Just got a postal rejection from Harvard. I'm in the UK so they must have sent it out some time ago (maybe a sign that I was thrown out the window fairly early on?) Sad times, but la la la la la la.

[Lost in transition]

In the meantime, I've realized that I should have applied to more schools. Although, exactly how big a miscalculation that was depends on what I hear from the places that haven't sent out results yet.

I cannot agree more..i applied to only six and already two rejects. I'm seriously preparing for my "plan B".