2023-2024 Application Thread

[Theory007]

Welcome everyone to the 2023-2024 application thread for political science!

Discuss the application process, ask questions, post results when they come out, and anything else related to admissions this year. Good luck to you all!

[Cash Value]

Hi there! Everything's fine?

How many schools will you apply for this cycle? I've already applied to 4, with 8 more to go.

Wishing you good luck!

[cbsag123]

I'm applying to 11 schools this cycle, I don't know if that's considered over-applying. Anxious to hear back!

[RegimeObserver]

Hi everyone.

This is my second time applying. I'm anxious, but at the same time, I have high spirits that everything will go fine for us.

From my previous experience, I recommend all of us try to make an effort to accept and decline the offers as soon as possible to help each other with the waitlisting. I know this is premature since most universities haven't even reached their deadline; however, I don't want this message to get lost in the immensity in January.

Good luck!

Edited December 9, 2023 by RegimeObserver
didn't finished my idea

[Anonymous8_8]

I am applying again this year from a disastrous last cycle: 17 schools, all rejects, not even one waitlist. I wouldn't be here if not for the fact that many professors had been kindly encouraging me to apply again, all 3 of my letter writers have submitted to 20 schools by now. I just submitted my application for most of the programs, and this is the last time I will be applying. This is no doubt an emotional moment for me, as I am standing at the first crossroads of my life.
Almost all of my undergrad+grad life has been preparing me for academia and I have put almost all of my energy into becoming a good scholar;
I wish the best for everyone here, especially myself, for I hope I have sufficient courage to survive the worst outcome. 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Anonymous8_8

[RegimeObserver]

4 hours ago, Anonymous8_8 said:

I am applying again this year from a disastrous last cycle: 17 schools, all rejects, not even one waitlist. I wouldn't be here if not for the fact that many professors had been kindly encouraging me to apply again, all 3 of my letter writers have submitted to 20 schools by now. I just submitted my application for most of the programs, and this is the last time I will be applying. This is no doubt an emotional moment for me, as I am standing at the first crossroads of my life.
Almost all of my undergrad+grad life has been preparing me for academia and I have put almost all of my energy into becoming a good scholar;
I wish the best for everyone here, especially myself, for I hope I have sufficient courage to survive the worst outcome. 

Good luck! I hope you don't mind asking: looking back, what do you think was the main reason for the rejections? For instance, the last time I applied, I got accepted into 2/20. Comparing my materials from that time and this year, I recognize that I was a weak applicant (even though I don't know if I will come the same this time), with no apparent interests that read as very generic/uninteresting. One of my LoRs went from a "famous" person who didn't know me much, so it was a bad LoR in the end. In addition to the post-pandemic surge of applications, I was cooked.

Also, what is your subfield?

[Anonymous8_8]

8 hours ago, RegimeObserver said:

Good luck! I hope you don't mind asking: looking back, what do you think was the main reason for the rejections? For instance, the last time I applied, I got accepted into 2/20. Comparing my materials from that time and this year, I recognize that I was a weak applicant (even though I don't know if I will come the same this time), with no apparent interests that read as very generic/uninteresting. One of my LoRs went from a "famous" person who didn't know me much, so it was a bad LoR in the end. In addition to the post-pandemic surge of applications, I was cooked.

Also, what is your subfield?

Your guess is as good as mine. I do believe my LoR writer should be changed, but that is hardly the single reason. I won’t say the changed I made are the single reason behind any difference(if any) between the two cycles. The admission process is stochastic by nature. Plus, I don’t apply to programs whose offer I won’t accept. Hope this helps. 

[jce8491]

I applied to six PoliSci programs and two interdisciplinary programs. Not sure what to expect, as this is the first time I've applied to PhD programs.

[RegimeObserver]

13 hours ago, jce8491 said:

I applied to six PoliSci programs and two interdisciplinary programs. Not sure what to expect, as this is the first time I've applied to PhD programs.

Good luck! What's your subfield?

[jce8491]

5 hours ago, RegimeObserver said:

Good luck! What's your subfield?

Depends on the program. For the ones that have them, it's the law/courts-focused subfield. With others, it's American politics.

[cbsag123]

This is my second time applying after a brutal 2020-2021 application cycle where I was waitlisted at two schools and rejected everywhere else.
 

Back then, some professors of mine pointed to a huge increase in applications and less available spots as an explanation for the low acceptance rates. Do you guys have a hunch for how competitive this year's cycle might be, given less people are unemployed and things may be more stable for departments in comparison to the 2020-2021 cycle? I'm hoping the odds aren't stacked against our favor as much this year, but what do I know....

[RegimeObserver]

4 hours ago, cbsag123 said:

This is my second time applying after a brutal 2020-2021 application cycle where I was waitlisted at two schools and rejected everywhere else.
 

Back then, some professors of mine pointed to a huge increase in applications and less available spots as an explanation for the low acceptance rates. Do you guys have a hunch for how competitive this year's cycle might be, given less people are unemployed and things may be more stable for departments in comparison to the 2020-2021 cycle? I'm hoping the odds aren't stacked against our favor as much this year, but what do I know....

The 2020-2021 was a mindblowing outlier! I do not know, but I hope this year keeps last year's trend and applications reduced. This might be wishful thinking, but I hope we can escape the pandemic consequences once and for all, at least in this respect.

[wanlichangcheng]

On 12/14/2023 at 11:53 AM, Anonymous8_8 said:

I am applying again this year from a disastrous last cycle: 17 schools, all rejects, not even one waitlist. I wouldn't be here if not for the fact that many professors had been kindly encouraging me to apply again, all 3 of my letter writers have submitted to 20 schools by now. I just submitted my application for most of the programs, and this is the last time I will be applying. This is no doubt an emotional moment for me, as I am standing at the first crossroads of my life.
Almost all of my undergrad+grad life has been preparing me for academia and I have put almost all of my energy into becoming a good scholar;
I wish the best for everyone here, especially myself, for I hope I have sufficient courage to survive the worst outcome. 

I'm not applying to political science programs, but your post resonated a lot with me, as I am in a similar situation. This process can be brutal and heart-rending; hope builds up and then shatters in a moment. I am wishing you all the best this cycle! 

[RegimeObserver]

I've been frantically playing Supremacy1914 because I'm super anxious, lol. How's everyone doing?

[marykatherine]

Ugh, feeling pretty anxious too. I'm seeing a good number of status updates from STEM folks/programs, but not a lot in the Humanities sector? I'm super new to GradCafe, so if someone sees this and wants to point me to threads where people are posting status updates re: Art History/History of Art or American Studies that would be great. 

[RegimeObserver]

On 12/26/2023 at 8:26 PM, marykatherine said:

Ugh, feeling pretty anxious too. I'm seeing a good number of status updates from STEM folks/programs, but not a lot in the Humanities sector? I'm super new to GradCafe, so if someone sees this and wants to point me to threads where people are posting status updates re: Art History/History of Art or American Studies that would be great. 

On the "Results" page, you can filter by field. At least PoliSci starts admitting and rejecting in February of every year; I don't know if that's the case for Humanities, but on the results page, you can see how it was in previous years and get an idea.

[wanlichangcheng]

On 12/26/2023 at 9:26 PM, marykatherine said:

Ugh, feeling pretty anxious too. I'm seeing a good number of status updates from STEM folks/programs, but not a lot in the Humanities sector? I'm super new to GradCafe, so if someone sees this and wants to point me to threads where people are posting status updates re: Art History/History of Art or American Studies that would be great. 

Humanities decisions usually come out later. Normally humanities posts come en masse by the end of February and into March; there will also be some "interview" results posted in January. 

[RegimeObserver]

Hey, Theory007, can you please pin this thread? Please. 🙏

[Theory007]

On 1/2/2024 at 12:37 PM, RegimeObserver said:

Hey, Theory007, can you please pin this thread? Please. 🙏

Done!

[RegimeObserver]

3 hours ago, Theory007 said:

Done!

THAAAAAANKS!

[WWCand]

To what extent does having already secured a fully-funded fellowship for the entirety of the program influence admission committee decisions?

[2024_IR]

Can't believe Im getting this so early! but claiming unofficial acceptance to WUSTL! 

[RegimeObserver]

2 hours ago, Ytc1212 said:

Can't believe Im getting this so early! but claiming unofficial acceptance to WUSTL! 

WOOOOOOOOW! Congrats!!!!

 

It's undoubtedly super early; wtf hahaha (now I'm wondering if other unis will be this early; I'll die from anxiety).

[2024_IR]

1 minute ago, RegimeObserver said:

WOOOOOOOOW! Congrats!!!!

 

It's undoubtedly super early; wtf hahaha (now I'm wondering if other unis will be this early; I'll die from anxiety).

Yea I am SUPER surprised when I got it (direct email from director of admissions). Funding specifics will come later tho (but the email did say that there is a stipend of at least 35K and that there is guaranteed full funding ) 

I doubt other schools are releasing results this early tho.... the only other update Ive gotten so far is an interview from Duke. 

[RegimeObserver]

3 minutes ago, Ytc1212 said:

Yea I am SUPER surprised when I got it (direct email from director of admissions). Funding specifics will come later tho (but the email did say that there is a stipend of at least 35K and that there is guaranteed full funding ) 

I doubt other schools are releasing results this early tho.... the only other update Ive gotten so far is an interview from Duke. 

Do you mind disclosing which Universities you applied to and your subfield?

 

It's okay if you don't want to, I understand.