2024-25 Cycle Profile/Results/Lessons

[PoliSciAm1512]

Hi all I found it very helpful to review the results and advice of those who applied in prior years. Since it's now April 15, I thought I'd post this thread so people can post their results and give advice to those in the future!

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad Institution:  
Major(s)/Minor(s):
Undergrad GPA:  
Type of Grad:  
Grad GPA:  
GRE:  
Any Special Courses:
Letters of Recommendation:
Teaching/Research Experience:
Other:

RESULTS:
Acceptances:
Rejections:
Pending:

Attending:

LESSONS LEARNED:
 

[PoliSciAm1512]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad Institution: T20 LAC (US); transferred from T50 US university
Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science, Peace Studies
Undergrad GPA: 3.87
Type of Grad:  N/A
Grad GPA:  N/A
GRE:  N/A didn't take
Any Special Courses: N/A
Letters of Recommendation: 2 political science professors, 1 from VP at my current workplace; I expect all 3 were stellar
Teaching/Research Experience: 1 semester undergrad TA; 2 years as a research assistant at a policy think tank
Other: Took a gap semester to work for an advocacy organization that ties in with my research interests 
Subfield: American Politics

RESULTS:
Acceptances: UW-Madison, Northwestern, Cornell
Rejections: University of Chicago (accepted to MAPSS... quite the ripoff if you ask me)
Waitlists: Georgetown, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota

Attending: UW-Madison

LESSONS LEARNED:

To echo what others have said year after year - fit was by far the most important thing when it came to my application and where I got accepted. I had direct research interests that aligned with the faculty at each school I was accepted to and could see the gaps in my research profile at the places I was waitlisted or rejected. 

If I could do it again, I wouldn't apply to the schools where I knew the fit wasn't right from the start. I only applied to Georgetown because I currently live in DC and I think they could tell. 

I think this cycle was particularly stressful, as I had to make a decision on a condensed timeline to ensure my funding wouldn't be pulled. I ended up receiving an offer deferral from Northwestern, so I would have to matriculate in Fall 2026 instead of 2025. I hope this isn't a trend that continues in future cycles, but I wanted to note that it did happen this year for anyone reading in the future. 

Ultimately, the factors that helped me make my decision were fit with faculty interests/research, location (I really couldn't imagine living in Ithaca for 6 years), vibes of the current graduate students and my incoming cohort, and financial compensation. I was able to negotiate with UW-Madison to essentially match another offer, so it is possible and I recommend everyone try to do so if they have competing offers. 

Finally, I would recommend just taking the GRE. Even if you don't get a stellar score, it can open up doors to even apply to schools I didn't get to. You might as well throw your hat in the ring, right?!

Edited April 15 by PoliSciAm1512

[brzher]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad Institution: South American
Major(s)/Minor(s): Finance
Undergrad GPA: 80/100 
Type of Grad: South American, large public well known in my country (MA in Poli Sci)
Grad GPA:  4.0
GRE:  314 overall (didn't send where it wasn't required)
Any Special Courses: Calculus, stats, multiple methods in undergrad and grad; grad certificate in social psych
Letters of Recommendation: master's thesis advisor (associate/ department's chair), methods professor (full, well known in my research field) and research professor (associate)
Teaching/Research Experience: 2 semesters undergrad TA, 1 summer RA, 2 years RA in grad school
Other: 1st author publication and multiple conference presentations; BS and MA thesis; worked as analyst for a fintech
Subfield: Comparative (behavior/ psych)

RESULTS:
Acceptances: University of Minnesota, University of Pittsburgh, UC Riverside, University of Florida, University of Georgia
Rejections: UMD, Stony Brook
Waitlists: UIUC

Attending: U of Minnesota

LESSONS LEARNED:

As an international and first-time applicant, I didn’t really know what range of schools I’d be competitive for. My plan was to apply broadly within the T50 for programs where I felt there was strong faculty fit and where my research interests could be well supported. However, I decided to study for and take the GRE quite late in the game and as a result my scores weren’t competitive for most top programs. Still, I was able to apply and get admitted to one of my dream schools and couldn’t be happier!

This process taught me a lot, and I hope sharing my experience helps someone else the way this forum helped me over the past few years:

1) I know people say this over and over here but it’s true: start EARLY. And I mean really early. As soon as you know you’ll be applying, start building strong relationships with potential letter writers, joining productive research groups & studying for standardized tests. When deadlines hit most of the heavy lifting will already be done and that will save you many nights stressing about missed opportunities.

2) Contacting POIs: I did this for some schools, but I’m not sure it made a huge difference. I think it’s useful to reach out if you want to check whether the professors you plan to mention in your SOP are retiring/ going on leave. But regardless, always make sure there are at least 3–4 faculty members you could see yourself working with in that department.

3) About the SOP: mine was all business (intro with research interests; a few paragraphs on past research; a couple on future agenda; one on skills; and a fit paragraph). I applied in two batches (pre and post december 1st deadlines), and my second batch SOP was waay better. One thing to mention is that SOPs are not common for PhD programs in my country, so I underestimated how hard it would be to write everything in detail within the word count, create a compelling narrative and tailor it for each school. Although I was happy with my final draft, the essay I submitted early was simply not great and I realized that too late. So take your time and write a statement you’re proud of.

4) Advice for international applicants: I) make sure that your TOEFL scores are 100+ with speaking 26+; II) If you’re not taking the GRE or scored below 160 in quant, it’s really important that other parts of your application demonstrate your ability to handle quantitative research (e.g., math/stats coursework, a quant writing sample, letters from professors mentioning your quant skills, etc); III) If you haven’t studied in the US, reach out to current students in the programs you’re interested in. They will almost always be happy to share their experience with the faculty/ department/ the city; IV) make sure to attend open houses and info sessions hosted by the program or grad school, they’re great for meeting faculty, asking questions, and sometimes receiving application fee waivers.

5) Finally, the PhD application process gets more competitive every year. So I’d definitely recommend taking every good opportunity to do research during undergrad and grad school, and if possible try to get something published along the way.

Good luck!