balderdash Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) Listen, mate, he asks you a question and your response is a strikingly unqualified "No." I see this as unreasonable given the overwhelming contingency of the process and the obviously narrow scope of your own--like anyone else's--range of accurate knowledge. What I'm saying: this does not help, do not do it. Not so much an attack as a sanction. It's an argument that has been rehashed countless, countless times. It is unequivocally not the case that an 800 GRE-Q will raise eyebrows on adcoms, especially when the applicant is trying to do quant/formal work. If you've ignored those discussions or didn't care to read them, fine. But there is no need to go into it here, again. That's why it was a "strikingly unqualified" no. And that's why it wasn't rude (nor was it intended to be) to write just a "no." Edited February 17, 2012 by balderdash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironheel!! Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Listen, mate, he asks you a question and your response is a strikingly unqualified "No." I see this as unreasonable given the overwhelming contingency of the process and the obviously narrow scope of your own--like anyone else's--range of accurate knowledge. What I'm saying: this does not help, do not do it. Not so much an attack as a sanction. Opening with "Listen, mate" always leads to productive discourse. I think Balderdash was taking into consideration "contingency" when he noted that an 800 will not get you an auto interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuerzburg Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Opening with "Listen, mate" always leads to productive discourse. I think Balderdash was taking into consideration "contingency" when he noted that an 800 will not get you an auto interview. This is going nowhere fast.....lets just be big boys and say everybody is drained and all stay friends. Eudaimonia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deleteduser0333 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 This is going nowhere fast.....lets just be big boys and say everybody is drained and all stay friends. I feel like so incompetent in this field when I see you guys arguing like this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CooCooCachoo Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Tedium ruffling feathers, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolja00 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Why does Stanford take so long in sending out rejections! I want mine already lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltlakecity2012 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Yeah... as someone who has been through one of these back and forth situations, I would recommend moving on, to something more productive, such as... Isn't it weird that certain schools don't expect to announce their results until late this month given that some schools have their visiting weekends in early March? I for one am not looking forward to making travel plans for March even with my existing set of options. Since schools reimburse for travel fare, it seems counterproductive for them, too... the longer they wait, the more expensive tickets are for their admitted students, and the more they have to reimburse. Whatevz. Frustration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmplax Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 It's an argument that has been rehashed countless, countless times. It is unequivocally not the case that an 800 GRE-Q will raise eyebrows on adcoms, especially when the applicant is trying to do quant/formal work. If you've ignored those discussions or didn't care to read them, fine. But there is no need to go into it here, again. That's why it was a "strikingly unqualified" no. And that's why it wasn't rude (nor was it intended to be) to write just a "no." Opening with "Listen, mate" always leads to productive discourse. I think Balderdash was taking into consideration "contingency" when he noted that an 800 will not get you an auto interview. No, he wasn't taking it into consideration and that is precisely my point: this board is full of broad claims to knowledge of a process that is intrinsically opaque and uniquely experienced by each and every application. For as many minds apply, therego as many different stories as to why, or what, got them accepted or rejected. YOU, nor I, have ANY generalizable knowledge about the system beyond the simple truth as to field the best application YOU can provide given your own skills and interests. The best we can do here, it seems, is simple encouragement (which there is plenty of) with perhaps even some discussion of political science interests (which there is hardly any of). Instead, it seems centered on these absolutely ludicrous predictions that in themselves can only point to a handful of anecdotes to prove their point. I'm saying: for every example you can give, I can field one to the contrary. What this unfortunately makes for is a system that is by nature unknowable in advance. That "the owl of Minerva spreads its wings at dusk" seems to be a pretty accurate summation of the results here. But rather than living with this, the constant need for a very hollow basis of reassurance propagates if not false, then ostensibly narrow, knowledge of a process that has shown to make the most unexpected turns. shavasana, WorldMan, RWBG and 3 others 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deleteduser0333 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) Yeah... as someone who has been through one of these back and forth situations, I would recommend moving on, to something more productive, such as... Isn't it weird that certain schools don't expect to announce their results until late this month given that some schools have their visiting weekends in early March? I for one am not looking forward to making travel plans for March even with my existing set of options. Since schools reimburse for travel fare, it seems counterproductive for them, too... the longer they wait, the more expensive tickets are for their admitted students, and the more they have to reimburse. Whatevz. Frustration. I guess most of the schools follow the notify those who we truly want and let the losers wait with false hope policy... Somehow I wish that polisci had an auto-reject system just like law schools. Edited February 17, 2012 by dec4rhapsody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolja00 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 YAY! There is my Stanford rejection. For 130 bucks an application they could have made a nice letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 YAY! There is my Stanford rejection. For 130 bucks an application they could have made a nice letter. That's what I was thinking. I've contributed over $250 to their endowment now. Maybe I'll get a bench named after me. Ironheel!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret Squirrel Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Unless Princeton decides to accept me suddenly, I think I'm done with the Academic game. I admit that I am quite disappointed, but that's life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBG Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 No. (And I don't think there's anyone on the board with as much respect for RWBG as me, having gone through the process with him twice now.) Well that's a very nice (and probably unwarranted) thing to say! Seriously though, lots of people get 800 on the quant, including Balderdash here (if I'm remembering correctly). Not all those people get interviews as Yale, and it would be pretty ridiculous if they did, so in that sense I don't think balderdash's response was unwarranted. I'll remind everyone that I was rejected from every school I applied to last year, so there's that... wmplax's response seems unnecessarily confrontational. I also don't think he understood that balderdash's response just stated that having an 800 quant does not imply getting an interview; I'm sure it's possible that given the idiosyncratic nature of the process there are some adcom members for whom having a high GREQ would be a deciding factor (for better or worse), but balderdash's response would still be true. It looks like wmplax's response post actually suggested he agreed with balderdash on that front... However, if you want some picture of what the admissions process looks like, I'd take a look at this: http://jackman.stanford.edu/papers/pa04.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoliSci27 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Yeah... as someone who has been through one of these back and forth situations, I would recommend moving on, to something more productive, such as... Isn't it weird that certain schools don't expect to announce their results until late this month given that some schools have their visiting weekends in early March? I for one am not looking forward to making travel plans for March even with my existing set of options. Since schools reimburse for travel fare, it seems counterproductive for them, too... the longer they wait, the more expensive tickets are for their admitted students, and the more they have to reimburse. Whatevz. Frustration. My guess is that they won't be increasing the amount of the reimbursement. I'm thinking I'll get $300-$400 whether they give me advance warning of a month or a day. Then again, I would love to have the option, even if it will cost me a fortune. As things stand now, my prospects aren't looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whirlibird Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Well I am calling this cycle for myself. Based on precedent no school is going to admit me which now means I must begin the great job. I want to thank all of you for making me feel welcome and for the works of encouragement over the past few weeks. I honestly and sincerely wish the best for all of you as you jouney on to the next phase of your lifes and wish you godspeed in all of your future endavors. Noooooo!!! Grantman!!! You're awesome and you're going to do awesome things. I truly believe it; your attitude says everything about you. Plus: "Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." ~Calvin Coolidge That's right. Give Silent Cal some love. He said some smart things for a silent guy. Americanists care to chime in? So, anyway...godspeed to YOU, grantman, and glad to have been through this with you. All my best. balthasar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmplax Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Well that's a very nice (and probably unwarranted) thing to say! Seriously though, lots of people get 800 on the quant, including Balderdash here (if I'm remembering correctly). Not all those people get interviews as Yale, and it would be pretty ridiculous if they did, so in that sense I don't think balderdash's response was unwarranted. I'll remind everyone that I was rejected from every school I applied to last year, so there's that... wmplax's response seems unnecessarily confrontational. I also don't think he understood that balderdash's response just stated that having an 800 quant does not imply getting an interview; I'm sure it's possible that given the idiosyncratic nature of the process there are some adcom members for whom having a high GREQ would be a deciding factor (for better or worse), but balderdash's response would still be true. It looks like wmplax's response post actually suggested he agreed with balderdash on that front... However, if you want some picture of what the admissions process looks like, I'd take a look at this: http://jackman.stanf...papers/pa04.pdf Ah, I see now--I misunderstood balderdash's response as a somewhat confrontational attack on the other person, who I had thought fielded a meaningful question and was being brushed off with a simply and arrogant "no." It rubbed me the wrong way, especially considering the fragility of tensions as is. To balderdash: clearly, I had misread and I'm sorry--I understood you as making a isolated positive statement and failed to address the overall context. justanotherperson, RWBG and TheGnome 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whirlibird Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 YAY! There is my Stanford rejection. For 130 bucks an application they could have made a nice letter. That's what I was thinking. I've contributed over $250 to their endowment now. Maybe I'll get a bench named after me. Ain't that the truth! I could sure use that money back for a car down payment...or, like, food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balderdash Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 To balderdash: clearly, I had misread and I'm sorry--I understood you as making a isolated positive statement and failed to address the overall context. No harm, no foul, amigo. Now let's return to collectively pulling our hair out. RWBG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolja00 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Ain't that the truth! I could sure use that money back for a car down payment...or, like, food. Lol yup. I'm still paying back the like 1500 I spent last quarter for these apps. Ughhhhhhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltlakecity2012 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 My guess is that they won't be increasing the amount of the reimbursement. I'm thinking I'll get $300-$400 whether they give me advance warning of a month or a day. Then again, I would love to have the option, even if it will cost me a fortune. As things stand now, my prospects aren't looking good. Yeah, I know I'm not getting over $3-400 reimbursed - I'm just assuming that with 3 weeks notice, a ticket would be priced closer to $200 from some areas, whereas with 2 days notice it could shoot up to the max allowable reimbursement. I guess since they're intending to feed, teach, and shelter us for the next 5 years they're not too worried about a few thousand dollars. Wish I could say the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmplax Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 No harm, no foul, amigo. Now let's return to collectively pulling our hair out. I would, however, actually like to here more about whatever it is everyone is into at the moment. If this is a political science board, let's at least get a sense of what our future colleagues are interested in pursuing, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carousel Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 For what it's worth, I don't think the Yale posts are necessarily trolls. I got am email from a POI saying I should expect a formal offer of admission soon. I also never had an interview, which is quite frankly confusing. twenty-twelve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolja00 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) I would, however, actually like to here more about whatever it is everyone is into at the moment. If this is a political science board, let's at least get a sense of what our future colleagues are interested in pursuing, no? I'm really interested in studying attacks on religious monuments and sites in civil wars (maybe conventional wars too) whether by insurgent groups or the government itself. UC Berkeley would be the perfect school since Hasner does exactly this type of intersection between IR and religion. Edited February 17, 2012 by kolja00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBG Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 For what it's worth, I don't think the Yale posts are necessarily trolls. I got am email from a POI saying I should expect a formal offer of admission soon. I also never had an interview, which is quite frankly confusing. 7/7! Impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltlakecity2012 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) For what it's worth, I don't think the Yale posts are necessarily trolls. I got am email from a POI saying I should expect a formal offer of admission soon. I also never had an interview, which is quite frankly confusing. Congrats! That's awesome, and good to know. I would, however, actually like to here more about whatever it is everyone is into at the moment. If this is a political science board, let's at least get a sense of what our future colleagues are interested in pursuing, no? Since my dirty laundry has been publicly aired already (many thanks, by the way, to the people who protested the "why did she change her username" thread), I'll give a slightly less vague answer than "comp pol". I'm interested in sovereignty and how it plays into the efficacy of international institutions - my region and field of interest lie in Eurasia and the energy trade. I'm specifically interested in sovereignty as exhibited by a subset of post-colonial resource-rich states, and how the impact of various external actors and structures on that sovereignty plays into that subset's policy preferences and subsequent representation of those policy preferences in international institutions. Edit: grantman, I'm still pulling for you. An earlier poster said it best - your attitude on this forum is nothing short of fabulous and inspiring. I am certain you will go on to do great things. Remember The Realist's post stating that the best political scientists are nice? You've got that one in the bag! Edited February 18, 2012 by saltlakecity2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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