Welcome to the 2011-2012 Cycle

[Doorkeeper]

i think someone claimed a harvard wait list, but to be honest, i'm not sure. you'd have to go reread the posts from Wednesday

Ah yes, I found that post. Thanks!

[3221]

Did all rejections from Yale go out at once? I have still not heard anything by am assuming it is a rejection.

Edited February 24, 2012 by 3221

[Helix]

Just to point out that in the end you are NOT likely to be hired by the 10-30 people in your narrow research area. Most departments, for example, only have one scholar studying a given world region in comparative, and my department (for example) has only 5 IR faculty, none of whom overlap in their specialization. So you will be at a great disadvantage if you cannot link yourself to debates that are of interest to the broader field of comparative, and to the discipline as a whole. And you will be at a great disadvantage if your adviser and the other members of your committee are not well networked with the discipline as a whole. This does not mean that you should choose a program based on 'status' but it is reason, all else equal, to think about choosing a program that is broadly strong in your subfield and not just in your narrow area of interest.

I'm wondering if anyone--Penelope included--has great ideas on how to evaluate how well networked given faculty at institutions are, beyond checking for co-authors and former students to the extent possible....

[grantman]

I received my Penn State rejection letter today, that is now six down, four to go.

[iwouldpreferanonymity]

For those of you interested in IU: I spoke with Sharon. She had just received the list, and will be sending out letters today.

I did not make the cut. I sincerely hope that those of who have yet to hear from the school receive better news. As for me, I am thankful for the closure. My cycle is now complete.

Edited for illiteracy.

Edited February 24, 2012 by iwouldpreferanonymity

[grantman]

For those of you interested in IU: I spoke with Sharon. She had just received the list, and will be sending out letters today.

I did not make the cut. I sincerely hope that those of who have yet to hear from the school receive better news. As for my, I am thankful for the closure. My cycle is now complete.

Sorry to hear that, but you have gotten into four very good schools so it is their loss.

[Jwnich1]

I'm wondering if anyone--Penelope included--has great ideas on how to evaluate how well networked given faculty at institutions are, beyond checking for co-authors and former students to the extent possible....

Check out google scholar (http://scholar.google.com/), and look at citations. You will often see the same people cite each other, publish together, respond to one another etc. This is a really good rough measure of "network" - but not really scientific. Low citations can indicate irrelevance (not always the case of course!), really high numbers can indicate being part of a highly productive research group etc.

edit: added link.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Jwnich1

[Ironheel!!]

For those of you interested in IU: I spoke with Sharon. She had just received the list, and will be sending out letters today.

I did not make the cut. I sincerely hope that those of who have yet to hear from the school receive better news. As for my, I am thankful for the closure. My cycle is now complete.

Good luck with the final decision!

[DustSNK]

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?

Oh wow I'm about 5 months late answering this lol. Well I am staying on the same program tack, sociology. What I did was go back to uni, take some undergrad and grad courses as a non-degree, really work hard with my professors, and do more research. I wrote a much better SOP than I did last time for sure. Still, I can't help but look and still find things wrong with the SOP. Also I have a shitty undergrad GPA, but my major GPA is 3.6 or so I think. We will see :/ I'm from the USA and applying to international schools, which is very very difficult, so I am bracing myself for a 3rd cycle if I need be. Oh, also I applied to 2 schools 1st cycle, this time I'm doing 6 programs.

Edited February 24, 2012 by DustSNK

[iwouldpreferanonymity]

Sorry to hear that, but you have gotten into four very good schools so it is their loss.

I appreciate the sentiment, grantman. I am content with my options. Frankly, I am just happy that the I have finally heard back from all the schools. I no longer need to compulsively check the survey results, or refresh application portals. I expect my productivity to increase exponentially.

Speaking of bad news, I am sorry to hear about the Penn State letter. I am still holding out hope for Denver. Yes, yes, I know that you do not share my optimism here, but I like to think that State of Colorado will come through for you.

[iwouldpreferanonymity]

Good luck with the final decision!

Thanks, Ironheel!! ! I will be hanging around for a while, and am curious to hear where you will decide to go. I am sure that acceptances will start coming your way shortly!

[Anonymouse Bosch]

I'm wondering if anyone--Penelope included--has great ideas on how to evaluate how well networked given faculty at institutions are, beyond checking for co-authors and former students to the extent possible....

This sounds weird, but I've always been fascinated with the "acknowledgements" page(s) of a Professor's book. I think that's a great way to find out their networks, by seeing who helped them with their books and who they're getting their ideas and criticisms from.

[Ironheel!!]

Thanks, Ironheel!! ! I will be hanging around for a while, and am curious to hear where you will decide to go. I am sure that acceptances will start coming your way shortly!

Thanks for the support. I'll keep you posted!

[saltlakecity2012]

If you look at recent NYU placements (last 10 years or so), they are actually pretty impressive. I would be going there NOT actively for formal/quant-heavy stuff (though I'm glad that I will have those strengths to beef up my methodological tool kit), so it's even harder to know. I will say they have a bunch of young conflict people in comparative that look really interesting and exciting, so I'm feeling pretty good about it. It's always a risk with younger faculty, I guess, but I feel excited about it given the combination of strong methods training, good young faculty, and overall program reputation. I feel like consensus has been that NYU is a bit hard to rank.

Edited for illiteracy.

I agree that NYU's placement record is pretty impressive - I think along with Rochester, it tends to produce candidates with serious appeal to schools looking to improve their methods training programs (not everyone with a Poli Sci PhD can teach those classes). I spoke with a professor at Stanford GSB pol econ, and he mentioned that having a strong methods background is definitely a major plus on the job market these days.

Also, I was corresponding with someone who recently completed their doctorate at NYU and has placed very well, and here's what he had to say:

"Job market outcomes for NYU students seem to vary substantially from year to year. So, the year before last (the job market takes place in the fall), was great for NYU candidates. In terms of tenure track offers, one student accepted a job at Stanford, one at Dartmouth, one at Minnesota, and two at Essex. This past year, however, was not as strong with only one tenure track placement.

My sense is that, in general, NYU students tend to only get interviews and offers at R1 institutions. For whatever reason, lower ranked research institutions and liberal arts colleges tend to overlook NYU candidates. As a result, outcomes tend to be very volatile -- since places at R1 institutions are very highly competitive."

Edit: If, however, you are interested in career paths outside of academia, my impression is that NYU students (probably because of the intensity of the training and the econ strengths of the department of politics) do very well. Think tanks, consultancies, government agencies, etc.

Edited February 24, 2012 by saltlakecity2012

[saltlakecity2012]

Also - other than jsclar, is anyone else still waiting to hear from Berkeley?

[Megan]

I agree that NYU's placement record is pretty impressive - I think along with Rochester, it tends to produce candidates with serious appeal to schools looking to improve their methods training programs (not everyone with a Poli Sci PhD can teach those classes). I spoke with a professor at Stanford GSB pol econ, and he mentioned that having a strong methods background is definitely a major plus on the job market these days.

Also, I was corresponding with someone who recently completed their doctorate at NYU and has placed very well, and here's what he had to say:

"Job market outcomes for NYU students seem to vary substantially from year to year. So, the year before last (the job market takes place in the fall), was great for NYU candidates. In terms of tenure track offers, one student accepted a job at Stanford, one at Dartmouth, one at Minnesota, and two at Essex. This past year, however, was not as strong with only one tenure track placement.

My sense is that, in general, NYU students tend to only get interviews and offers at R1 institutions. For whatever reason, lower ranked research institutions and liberal arts colleges tend to overlook NYU candidates. As a result, outcomes tend to be very volatile -- since places at R1 institutions are very highly competitive."

Edit: If, however, you are interested in career paths outside of academia, my impression is that NYU students (probably because of the intensity of the training and the econ strengths of the department of politics) do very well. Think tanks, consultancies, government agencies, etc.

Thanks a lot for sharing this! This is good information for me in making my decision.

[CooCooCachoo]

Anyone claiming the GWU admissions? What was the e-mail like?

[danmark]

anyone dares call GWU whether all the offers are done?

[orst11]

dustSNK,

I barely remember even asking that question, even though it was on the first page of this topic. This whole cycle I think has been chaotic for pretty much everyone on this forum, but I was just considering how certain tactics and changes in an application profile may effect everyone's prospects.

[Apill]

Also - other than jsclar, is anyone else still waiting to hear from Berkeley?

I am.

[Percy]

Anyone claiming the GWU admissions? What was the e-mail like?

It certainly has the look of a mass email, which I find sad, considering the current state of my inbox.

edit: meaning the results survey makes it look like a mass email

Edited February 24, 2012 by Percy

[danmark]

It certainly has the look of a mass email, which I find sad, considering the current state of my inbox.

edit: meaning the results survey makes it look like a mass email

sigh my last hope...so I will never do PhD in my life...

[saltlakecity2012]

I am.

Okay, so they didn't just lose my and jsclar's applications What's your subfield? And jsclar, if you're around, what's yours? I'm comparative / pol econ.

[Max Power]

i'm american/methodology

[shavasana]

... then you're up an unsanitary tributary without proper means of locomotion, dig?

Holy shit that was funny. Just sitting here by myself, giggling...

Anyone claiming the GWU admissions? What was the e-mail like?

Awkwardly, I can claim one of the GWU acceptances. I'm a bit confused, as I had withdrawn my application. But for those on the waitlist for funding there, I will likely decline (although I intend to do a bit of research this weekend first.)

Best of luck to everyone else!!!