Disability and PhD chances

[polisci8989]

Anyone here declare a disability on their application and still was admitted to their top choices?

[PolPsychGal11]

We don't see anything about disability or demographics when we review applications. HR separates that stuff out. All we see is CV/resume, transcripts, research statement, and letters of recommendation, and test scores if submitted. People focus on different aspects of the application packet, but we don't see that demographic or disability stuff. Same for veteran status or other protected categories. 

[polisci8989]

On 2/20/2025 at 5:01 PM, PolPsychGal11 said:

We don't see anything about disability or demographics when we review applications. HR separates that stuff out. All we see is CV/resume, transcripts, research statement, and letters of recommendation, and test scores if submitted. People focus on different aspects of the application packet, but we don't see that demographic or disability stuff. Same for veteran status or other protected categories. 

What if its included in the personal statement? 

[LanaFan]

Yes. I was very upfront with it (in statements, is relevant to my research interests) and it seemingly strengthened my application. 

[polisci8989]

17 hours ago, LanaFan said:

Yes. I was very upfront with it (in statements, is relevant to my research interests) and it seemingly strengthened my application. 

Really? I applied to thirteen schools. I have an A- GPA, publications, and a masters from cambridge. I was rejected from all of the ivies and other top unis ( Chicago, UofM) where I mentioned my disability. I also had recommendations from top scholars. I wonder how abelist the US is. 

[Uull6739]

On 3/1/2025 at 12:19 PM, polisci8989 said:

Really? I applied to thirteen schools. I have an A- GPA, publications, and a masters from cambridge. I was rejected from all of the ivies and other top unis ( Chicago, UofM) where I mentioned my disability. I also had recommendations from top scholars. I wonder how abelist the US is. 

This is an absolutely crazy notion. Frankly, no top school, let alone any US admit committee negatively discriminates against your application based on any disability you may have. They only ever use personal statements or any other information as ways to explain gaps/weaknesses in your application. It may be hard to hear this, but it was a competitive year, funding was limited, and you did not get offers because you simply were not competitive enough. 

[polisci8989]

4 minutes ago, Uull6739 said:

This is an absolutely crazy notion. Frankly, no top school, let alone any US admit committee negatively discriminates against your application based on any disability you may have. They only ever use personal statements or any other information as ways to explain gaps/weaknesses in your application. It may be hard to hear this, but it was a competitive year, funding was limited, and you did not get offers because you simply were not competitive enough. 

sure jan

 

I don't want to go into the elite recommendations I had and the publications and whatnot.  I am sure my disability made me less competitive. Facts.

[Uull6739]

16 minutes ago, polisci8989 said:

sure jan

 

I don't want to go into the elite recommendations I had and the publications and whatnot.  I am sure my disability made me less competitive. Facts.

If your publications and recommendations were so elite, then why no elite offer? Did you have a real top 10 publication, I suspect not? Did you have an NSF or other outside funding? Did you have a perfect GPA? Did you have 90th percentile GRE scores? Did you have a top RAship? If the answer to any of these is a no, then I suspect you were simply not competitive enough. Even people with all of these get rejected. Don't take it personally.

 

 

[polisci8989]

16 minutes ago, Uull6739 said:

If your publications and recommendations were so elite, then why no elite offer? Did you have a real top 10 publication, I suspect not? Did you have an NSF or other outside funding? Did you have a perfect GPA? Did you have 90th percentile GRE scores? Did you have a top RAship? If the answer to any of these is a no, then I suspect you were simply not competitive enough. Even people with all of these get rejected. Don't take it personally.

 

 

Why is it so difficult to accept that the possibility of disability discrimination is valid? I am not going to list all of my accomplishments but yes to most of the above. Why no elite offer you ask. That is what I am trying to figure out. I posted here for that reason. Also, it is personal. Take care. 

Edited March 7 by polisci8989

[Uull6739]

14 minutes ago, polisci8989 said:

Why is it so difficult to accept that the possibility of disability discrimination is valid? I am not going to list all of my accomplishments but yes to most of the above. Why no elite offer you ask. That is what I am trying to figure out. I posted here for that reason. Also, it is personal. Take care. 

Ahh yes, the prospective grad student with a single authored APSR article... Please be realistic. Im not saying this to upset you. You already admit that you had an A- GPA, but people who applied had perfect 4.0s, so you were already at a disadvantage. You had a masters from Cambridge, but was it at Trinity College with a full ride scholarship? You were not discriminated against, you simply were just not competitive enough in a year where competitiveness mattered most. They only took the best of the best of the best more than any other year. Cohorts were cut by more than half at most top 10s. Take it from someone who has (and declared) a very significant mental and physical disability on my application and still did well this cycle. (10A, 2WL, 3R).

[polisci8989]

12 minutes ago, Uull6739 said:

Ahh yes, the prospective grad student with a single authored APSR article... Please be realistic. Im not saying this to upset you. You already admit that you had an A- GPA, but people who applied had perfect 4.0s, so you were already at a disadvantage. You had a masters from Cambridge, but was it at Trinity College with a full ride scholarship? You were not discriminated against, you simply were just not competitive enough in a year where competitiveness mattered most. They only took the best of the best of the best more than any other year. Cohorts were cut by more than half at most top 10s. Take it from someone who has (and declared) a very significant mental and physical disability on my application and still did well this cycle. (10A, 2WL, 3R).

You seem to be in denial that there exists discrimination to the point of delusion. Like I said publications ( plural). Full ride to cambridge. Stop fishing to figure me out. I am not going to list my accomplishments and life story so that you can compare. Congrats on your acceptances. I am also quite sure we do not have the same significant disability. Most people with my disability are dead by my age. I find it odd that I had no acceptances where I spoke of my disability. That is all.

Edited March 7 by polisci8989

[Uull6739]

Dude go do some introspection, stop taking rejection (in any form) as an affront to who you are as a person. Multiple people have said on here that this is not something that happens because the adcoms don't see information on this, unless it is through your personal statement. From my understanding of US admit committees, this is the case. They cannot 'discriminate' if they do not 'know'. I do not deny that discrimination occurs in society. I do deny that in top 20 political science graduate admissions, that they discriminate along any boundary other than academic and personal achievement (or maybe positive discrimination based on nationality for a more multicultural cohort).  

Im not trying to put down your achievements. You sound like an extremely talented person who has overcome a lot. No one is trying to take that away from you. You came on here looking for answers. The answer as to why you did not get offers, has, frankly, nothing to do with your disability. Plenty of schools want more diverse PhDs. You sound like an exceptionally competitive candidate. In fact, im sure you made it through to the final cut at multiple places. However, this year was exceptionally competitive. I cannot stress that enough. And you did not make it, because, by definition, you were not competitive enough. Do not take it personally otherwise you will live an unhappy life.

Finally, note that I never once questioned to what extent you were disabled. I find that it speaks to your character that you would make assumptions about the extent to which I am disabled. That is sad. I hope you live a great life, and that you get into a PhD, now or in the future. And don't take rejection so hard each time. It's not the end of the world. 

Edited March 7 by Uull6739

[polisci8989]

15 minutes ago, Uull6739 said:

Dude go do some introspection, stop taking rejection (in any form) as an affront to who you are as a person. Multiple people have said on here that this is not something that happens because the adcoms don't see information on this, unless it is through your personal statement. From my understanding of US admit committees, this is the case. They cannot 'discriminate' if they do not 'know'. I do not deny that discrimination occurs in society. I do deny that in top 20 political science graduate admissions, that they discriminate along any boundary other than academic and personal achievement (or maybe positive discrimination based on nationality for a more multicultural cohort).  

Im not trying to put down your achievements. You sound like an extremely talented person who has overcome a lot. No one is trying to take that away from you. You came on here looking for answers. The answer as to why you did not get offers, has, frankly, nothing to do with your disability. Plenty of schools want more diverse PhDs. You sound like an exceptionally competitive candidate. In fact, im sure you made it through to the final cut at multiple places. However, this year was exceptionally competitive. I cannot stress that enough. And you did not make it, because, by definition, you were not competitive enough. Do not take it personally otherwise you will live an unhappy life.

Finally, note that I never once questioned to what extent you were disabled. I find that it speaks to your character that you would make assumptions about the extent to which I am disabled. That is sad. I hope you live a great life, and that you get into a PhD, now or in the future. And don't take rejection so hard each time. It's not the end of the world. 

Thanks.

[LanaFan]

On 3/1/2025 at 12:19 PM, polisci8989 said:

Really? I applied to thirteen schools. I have an A- GPA, publications, and a masters from cambridge. I was rejected from all of the ivies and other top unis ( Chicago, UofM) where I mentioned my disability. I also had recommendations from top scholars. I wonder how abelist the US is. 

Yes, to a T25 school. A letter writer of mine actually recommended that I mention it in a statement. (Again, it was relevant to my interests/research experience.) I also received a waitlist to a (not poli sci, but similar-ish) program ranked around fourth in the nation. That program only accepted around two people this year. I applied to eight programs in total.

 

I seemingly have fewer qualifications than you, but a similar or slightly higher GPA. Sometimes things are just a crapshoot, even in a normal year. It may also have to do with the strength of the letters I have, or fit, or my statements just did well. Someone involved with decisions later told me they were particularly interested in my research ideas that had to do with my disability, which furthers my belief that it actually strengthened my application. 

[polisci8989]

9 hours ago, LanaFan said:

Yes, to a T25 school. A letter writer of mine actually recommended that I mention it in a statement. (Again, it was relevant to my interests/research experience.) I also received a waitlist to a (not poli sci, but similar-ish) program ranked around fourth in the nation. That program only accepted around two people this year. I applied to eight programs in total.

 

I seemingly have fewer qualifications than you, but a similar or slightly higher GPA. Sometimes things are just a crapshoot, even in a normal year. It may also have to do with the strength of the letters I have, or fit, or my statements just did well. Someone involved with decisions later told me they were particularly interested in my research ideas that had to do with my disability, which furthers my belief that it actually strengthened my application. 

Did you get into any Ivies T10? Congrats anyway. But I still find this difficult to believe in the top schools.

[Uull6739]

4 hours ago, polisci8989 said:

Did you get into any Ivies T10? Congrats anyway. But I still find this difficult to believe in the top schools.

I find Oxford being ranked 1st in the world in Politics difficult to believe. 

[polisci8989]

21 minutes ago, Uull6739 said:

I find Oxford being ranked 1st in the world in Politics difficult to believe. 

Because you are an idiot and a hater. What is your problem? Did this thread struck a chord? The truth usually does.

[PoliSciAm1512]

I am confused why you keep fighting with people here and on reddit about your perception that is just not grounded in reality. People on both forums have told you that they shared their disability in their statements of purpose (so the schools would see it) and still received admissions from top schools. I understand you want some validation, but I am not sure anyone will be able to give that to you with any certainty. You may want to consider the parts of your application to improve for the next cycle, including how you frame your disability. I am sorry this cycle didn't go as you had hoped. 

[polisci8989]

8 minutes ago, PoliSciAm1512 said:

I am confused why you keep fighting with people here and on reddit about your perception that is just not grounded in reality. People on both forums have told you that they shared their disability in their statements of purpose (so the schools would see it) and still received admissions from top schools. I understand you want some validation, but I am not sure anyone will be able to give that to you with any certainty. You may want to consider the parts of your application to improve for the next cycle, including how you frame your disability. I am sorry this cycle didn't go as you had hoped. 

What are you talking about? Creepy...  and it is a fact that we do not live in an egalitarian society where everyone is welcomed everywhere. Disability discrimination is rampant. Why are you so bothered? If you aren't going to talk about disability and university acceptances and denials, stop posting? The first blind person to graduate from Harvard just occurred this year. History shows us that some things are harder for some people. I would like to know denial and acceptances of my community, the disabled. That is what this thread is about.

Edited March 7 by polisci8989

[Omkar Poojari]

11 minutes ago, PoliSciAm1512 said:

I am confused why you keep fighting with people here and on reddit about your perception that is just not grounded in reality. People on both forums have told you that they shared their disability in their statements of purpose (so the schools would see it) and still received admissions from top schools. I understand you want some validation, but I am not sure anyone will be able to give that to you with any certainty. You may want to consider the parts of your application to improve for the next cycle, including how you frame your disability. I am sorry this cycle didn't go as you had hoped. 

sorry off topic but is there a thread or subreddit for pol sci PhD admissions of this year? if so, could you please share it. I am worried about losing out on any info related to this cycle that might have been posted there. Thanks.

[PoliSciAm1512]

1 minute ago, Omkar Poojari said:

sorry off topic but is there a thread or subreddit for pol sci PhD admissions of this year? if so, could you please share it. I am worried about losing out on any info related to this cycle that might have been posted there. Thanks.

No, this person has just been posting in the gradadmission subreddit with similarly hostile statements (if it's not them, then there are multiple people asking this exact same question with similar backgrounds). I am just sad that they argue with anyone who says they're getting into top programs and disclosing a disability... 

[LanaFan]

5 hours ago, polisci8989 said:

Did you get into any Ivies T10? Congrats anyway. But I still find this difficult to believe in the top schools.

No. For poli sci, I only applied to two Ivys, and only one of those is T10. The other is in fact ranked lower than the non-Ivy I was accepted to. Additionally, I cannot find evidence that the lower-ranked Ivy accepted/waitlisted anyone for my subfield at all.

Perhaps in a different year without the sudden funding worries and seemingly low subfield admission numbers, I may've been accepted into an Ivy. (Moreover, so many programs saw a huge increase in application numbers, which does not help). Or, I simply did not fit as well, was less competitive, my statements did not resonate there, or any other reason.

Either way, I feel as though my disclosure was either neutral or slightly positive for my applications overall. 

[Uull6739]

59 minutes ago, polisci8989 said:

Because you are an idiot and a hater. What is your problem? Did this thread struck a chord? The truth usually does.

Ahh yes, the issue in this thread is definitely me and everyone else who has been commented (and been courteous and upfront I would add), and definitely not you. Glad we just devolve into insults. Echoing previous comments, everyone here has told you that "they shared their disability in their statements of purpose (so the schools would see it) and still received admissions from top schools." It's a shame that you simply cannot admit that you are wrong. Also, note that any ranking which places 1st in political science a University which has a graduate program that does not place students in the best TT positions in academia, is probably a ranking that you should avoid. I say that as someone who was offered from Oxford DPIR. 

[polisci8989]

8 minutes ago, LanaFan said:

No. For poli sci, I only applied to two Ivys, and only one of those is T10. The other is in fact ranked lower than the non-Ivy I was accepted to. Additionally, I cannot find evidence that the lower-ranked Ivy accepted/waitlisted anyone for my subfield at all.

Perhaps in a different year without the sudden funding worries and seemingly low subfield admission numbers, I may've been accepted into an Ivy. (Moreover, so many programs saw a huge increase in application numbers, which does not help). Or, I simply did not fit as well, was less competitive, my statements did not resonate there, or any other reason.

Either way, I feel as though my disclosure was either neutral or slightly positive for my applications overall. 

Awesome thanks so much for this info. I am happy for you though that you were accepted into a program. Yes, perhaps another year.