Welcome to the 2011-2012 Cycle

[balderdash]

Hello all,

After four months' hiatus, I'm back for another cycle - good to see some old faces (handles?) around. To my knowledge, no applications are open for business yet, but with Yale's coming online Monday, I thought now would be a good time to wish everyone good luck. More importantly, to all the new applicants this year, I'm going to try and give some unsolicited advice. Here goes:

Last year, I went into applications humble yet confident. I had a 3.90 at a top-10 national university with a reputation for difficulty, research experience, was doing a master's at Cambridge, had worked in government for 9 months in addition to various internships, was awarded Phi Beta Kappa and other honors, had 3 good recommendations from tenured professors, submitted a capstone paper for a sample, and had a 1570 GRE.

I went 0 for 7.

So this year, I'm focusing on what actually matters: the personal statement. It is the single most important part of the application. Never mind what the departmental websites say about holistic approaches and solid backgrounds; that all matters, but only as an initial check on the candidate before the real admitting and rejecting happens based on the PS.

Focus on matching your research interests to specific professors, and write why they will want to supervise you and why your research will benefit from them. And spend some words doing so: I've been told about 40% of the PS should be discussing this (last year, I used about 15%). Don't just look at their subfield ("comparative politics") and confirm that their area focus ("Africa") matches yours. Read their bios, but then analyze their CVs. Find recent articles and/or books. Then read the works themselves. Quickly, you'll find the professor you thought was a perfect match is actually only tangentially related to your research.

Which is the second most important thing: have your research absolutely sorted out. Have a research question. Make sure you could explain to your grandmother it in 100 words or fill 10,000 words discussing its intricacies, because you'll have to do both at some point. They won't take you on interest ("I want to look at political violence") and credentials ("I have an MPhil from Cambridge") alone. They want to know that you can formulate and articulate a proper scholarly inquiry. This should also take up about 40% of the PS, according to academic advisors with whom I've spoken (last year, I spent about 25% on this).

Maybe these things were obvious to other first-time applicants and I just lost my way, or stupidly ignored it. But I certainly wish someone had drilled this into me before I started work on my applications. Perhaps I would have got an offer last year. Perhaps not. Either way, my personal statement was concise and well-written but completely useless for my application. I deserved my rejections. And so will you if you don't take this advice.

Best of luck.

[DustSNK]

Hello all,

After four months' hiatus, I'm back for another cycle - good to see some old faces (handles?) around. To my knowledge, no applications are open for business yet, but with Yale's coming online Monday, I thought now would be a good time to wish everyone good luck. More importantly, to all the new applicants this year, I'm going to try and give some unsolicited advice. Here goes:

Last year, I went into applications humble yet confident. I had a 3.90 at a top-10 national university with a reputation for difficulty, research experience, was doing a master's at Cambridge, had worked in government for 9 months in addition to various internships, was awarded Phi Beta Kappa and other honors, had 3 good recommendations from tenured professors, submitted a capstone paper for a sample, and had a 1570 GRE.

I went 0 for 7.

So this year, I'm focusing on what actually matters: the personal statement. It is the single most important part of the application. Never mind what the departmental websites say about holistic approaches and solid backgrounds; that all matters, but only as an initial check on the candidate before the real admitting and rejecting happens based on the PS.

Focus on matching your research interests to specific professors, and write why they will want to supervise you and why your research will benefit from them. And spend some words doing so: I've been told about 40% of the PS should be discussing this (last year, I used about 15%). Don't just look at their subfield ("comparative politics") and confirm that their area focus ("Africa") matches yours. Read their bios, but then analyze their CVs. Find recent articles and/or books. Then read the works themselves. Quickly, you'll find the professor you thought was a perfect match is actually only tangentially related to your research.

Which is the second most important thing: have your research absolutely sorted out. Have a research question. Make sure you could explain to your grandmother it in 100 words or fill 10,000 words discussing its intricacies, because you'll have to do both at some point. They won't take you on interest ("I want to look at political violence") and credentials ("I have an MPhil from Cambridge") alone. They want to know that you can formulate and articulate a proper scholarly inquiry. This should also take up about 40% of the PS, according to academic advisors with whom I've spoken (last year, I spent about 25% on this).

Maybe these things were obvious to other first-time applicants and I just lost my way, or stupidly ignored it. But I certainly wish someone had drilled this into me before I started work on my applications. Perhaps I would have got an offer last year. Perhaps not. Either way, my personal statement was concise and well-written but completely useless for my application. I deserved my rejections. And so will you if you don't take this advice.

Best of luck.

This is some good advice. I went bust my first round of apps (going another round for 2012), and all the books I read and so forth always point to the S.O.P! I like the % ratio you give. Deff something I am going to try this time around, and only spend 20% on an intro to myself.

[3221]

great advice and thank you. i look forward to this application season.

[IRdreams]

Another piece of unsolicited advice: make sure you show your personal statement to advisers for helpful criticism. Many of my professors offered to look at what I had wrote. I am frequently afraid that I will be "discovered" to be unqualified if I let people read things like my personal statement and such discovery by someone close to me I imagine would be much worse than faceless committee members. Based on this imposter fear, I did not take my professors up on their very kind offer and this was very foolish of me. When I did my application cycle, I was lucky to be admitted into 3 good programs, but the programs that admitted me had versions of my PS that were the most radically altered because they were less known for methods. Looking back, something I put in the personal statement about methods that went to more quantitative schools would have been stricken by my advisers if I had just let them look at my drafts and I may have made a stronger showing at those schools. There is no guarantee of course. But professors know their field better than any applicant so really do take advantage of their experience and wisdom when attempting to speak to their peers.

Edited August 14, 2011 by IRdreams

[orst11]

balderdash & DustSNK,

Are you applying to different programs than you did than last admission cycle? Are you possibly adding more schools just to be sure this time around?

[balderdash]

I am dropping 4 of the 7 and picking up anywhere from 3-6 in addition to 3 of the same. I haven't quite got it sorted out.

The changes aren't based on "aiming lower" so much as reorienting them toward a better fit.

[Charlie2010]

Having served on a committee, I would disagree with Balderdash's emphasis on customizing the SOP to fit the profs at the school. Most of the people we accepted just did a little bit of that at the end, a tacked-on paragraph that helped us know which faculty might want to review the SOP if the overall application is strong. However, displaying a good sense of what an interesting and tractable research question might be IS important. You don't have to be certain you'll actually do it (you probably won't) but articulating it will convince us you know what you're getting into and have a shot at doing something interesting for your dissertation.

Balderdash sounds like someone who I would have expected to get in somewhere. Hopefully you have discussed your last SOP and the rest of your record with your advisors, and have a fresh recommendation from someone at Cambridge saying how impressed they are with your research potential. Other than it may just be luck and fit, and the tastes of those on the committees.

[balderdash]

Having served on a committee, I would disagree with Balderdash's emphasis on customizing the SOP to fit the profs at the school. Most of the people we accepted just did a little bit of that at the end, a tacked-on paragraph that helped us know which faculty might want to review the SOP if the overall application is strong. However, displaying a good sense of what an interesting and tractable research question might be IS important. You don't have to be certain you'll actually do it (you probably won't) but articulating it will convince us you know what you're getting into and have a shot at doing something interesting for your dissertation.

I think that's fair. The reason I focused so much on it above was from my own personal failure to pay much heed to it at all. I think most would intuitively grasp the importance of situating the research question in the literature and such, but tend to downplay the importance of discussing the fit. The purpose of my post was to, as I said, drill home its importance; I still fully agree with you that the research question drives the app.

[Zahar Berkut]

Thank you for posting your experience, Balderdash. I think this will be an important cautionary tale for a lot of future applicants.

[balderdash]

Also, I wanted to post this, which is some grad school advice from a PS professor at Swarthmore. It's written more from the prospective of how he views students as being (un)prepared to apply, but you can glean some knowledge from it.

http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/2011/08/05/more-on-going-to-graduate-school/

[orst11]

Interesting read, balderdash. I definitely think a lot of his advise can be used in other fields as well.

[Clay Made]

Anyone applying for MA programs? I like the idea of a PhD but I dont think I would be heading into academic work.

[RWBG]

Anyone applying for MA programs? I like the idea of a PhD but I dont think I would be heading into academic work.

This thread is heavily oriented towards those interested in pursuing academic work. There's a policy forum that may prove more useful for you:

http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/11-government-affairs/

[balderdash]

So today, UCLA and UCBerkeley (and I imagine other UC schools) open their applications. Anyone working on them?

Others already online: Yale, Northwestern, Madison, and Cornell. Still waiting: Princeton, Stanford.

By the way, I thought it might be interesting to compare costs. After transcripts, app fees, and GREs, it looks like my total for this year will be $1,030. Yikes.

[blankets]

Re: costs. Most schools offer waivers for the app fee. I know it's yet another form/hassle to deal with, but having taken out a 2nd job to pay for my 1st round of apps (result: 2/3 tuition waiver to my preferred MA program), I would encourage anyone without personal wealth to apply for the waivers.

[orst11]

As far as costs, my professors had advised me to expect around what balderdash's has noted. I will note in balderdash's case they are applying to top 25 programs only, which typically have higher admission fees.

My costs are between $450- $650, which is a relief for me. I am applying to a few programs in the top 25 and then a few out of it strictly because I am limited by location for a lot of reasons.

I have kept my costs somewhat low by doing the following:

1. Requesting transcripts from my undergraduate school way ahead of time which means they will provide them for free.

2. I have to pay 5 dollars a piece for transcripts from the 2 year college I attended prior, which isn't too bad. Some also will take unofficial and then need official ones if admitted.

3. I saved money by taking the revised GRE.

4. I received 2 application fee vouchers out of the 6 fee vouchers I requested. I can't receive vouchers at two of the others i am considering applying to but did save some money so can't complain.

5. I am also applying to schools I have already visited numerous times before hand.

Also, I think everyone needs to remember it's an investment. $1000 dollars is not a lot when you are considering you will be living your life at these given places for roughly 5 years.

[balderdash]

Also, I think everyone needs to remember it's an investment. $1000 dollars is not a lot when you are considering you will be living your life at these given places for roughly 5 years.

Not if you don't get any offers... I sure could've used the $800 I spent on apps last year.

[gradcafe26]

Re: costs. Most schools offer waivers for the app fee. I know it's yet another form/hassle to deal with, but having taken out a 2nd job to pay for my 1st round of apps (result: 2/3 tuition waiver to my preferred MA program), I would encourage anyone without personal wealth to apply for the waivers.

Could you elaborate that a little bit? I know you will probably need to get a letter from Financial Aid Office of your undergrad school, is that right?

[orst11]

Could you elaborate that a little bit? I know you will probably need to get a letter from Financial Aid Office of your undergrad school, is that right?

For some schools you can get a free app by doing exactly what you said. For other programs you may qualify for a free app or reduced fee by applying at a specific time (Chicago's app is waived if you apply by Nov. 15). Some programs just have free apps (Vanderbilt, Houston, etc.). Also, if any of the schools you are looking into are in the Committee of Institutional Cooperation (CIC) you may want to see if you qualify for a free app here: http://www.cic.net/Home/Students/FreeApp/Introduction.aspx

[gradcafe26]

For some schools you can get a free app by doing exactly what you said. For other programs you may qualify for a free app or reduced fee by applying at a specific time (Chicago's app is waived if you apply by Nov. 15). Some programs just have free apps (Vanderbilt, Houston, etc.). Also, if any of the schools you are looking into are in the Committee of Institutional Cooperation (CIC) you may want to see if you qualify for a free app here: http://www.cic.net/H...troduction.aspx

Thanks a lot

[Richter]

I know this isn't the thread for it but I didn't want to make a new one. Anyone know what is is up with poliscijobrumors?

[flyers29]

Guess the admins forgot to renew the domain?

[balderdash]

Today I submitted 7/8 apps, and the last is going in tomorrow. It feels good to be (basically) done. Now for the three months of waiting... How are yous guys' apps?

On that note, the Poli Sci board has been conspicuously quiet this year. What's up with that?

[RWBG]

Let's hope it means that there are (anomalously) fewer applicants this year! Or (operating on the assumption that E(applicant|he or she is on gradcafe)>E(applicant)) that it means the quality distribution has shifted favorably from a probability of admissions standpoint.

Haven't submitted my applications, as I'm working up to asking one professor to write a reference letter for me, and want some results from a course I'm taking currently before I do so. Beyond that, I am engaged in an iterated process of SOP revision.

Edit: There are also probably feedback effects. Less frequent posting => less frequent checking of grad cafe/less interest => less frequent posting.

Edited October 28, 2011 by RWBG

[gradcafe26]

balderdash you are done so early, are most of your schools' admissions under rolling basis? This is my first year, and I just hope that I could finish everything by the deadline...