PoliSci 2008-2009 Cycle

[jamesmadison]

To the Georgetown admits, what fields did you apply to i.e. American, comparative, etc...?

Theory, also no I will not be going without funding, unless I get private basketball sessions with Obama as part of the deal.

[DrRockso]

About Georgetown:

The email I got was a generic form letter acceptance with some Word attachments about Preview Day. There was no mention of funding, so I'm assuming none is being offered. I seem to recall a bunch of G'town acceptances a few weeks ago, which I assume was their fellowship people.

My funding situation is basically this: UF said I'm on a waitlist, and G'town is apparently saying, "We'll be glad to take your money."

Have others received the email today? I guess traffic has slowed around these parts as the Ivy Leaguers and other fully funded folks have already received their good news.

I'm still waiting on GW, American, and BU - but I'm assuming BU is a rejection because I didn't get an acceptance like some did on Monday.

This has been a good week for me so far. Aside from the MIT rejection (which I'm sure is arriving in the mail soon...), I'm in at what I consider to be some pretty decent places.

I also submitted a late application to Northeastern today. Their program is new and may not be as selective, but if there's funding available and no one else comes through with the big bucks, I may have to consider it. Plus, I love Boston. Oh, BU, please don't reject me!

Is there a potential for funding if someone else declines their offer? It's worth calling them up and asking...hey, they want you there enough that they admitted you, right?

Rejected by BC, but in at Georgetown. You can't predict some of this stuff, eh?

[intapp001]

Has anyone in IR been admitted to G'town? I am also assuming they are done....

[poststructuralist]

No call from Brown yet. Any word on if they have notified all admit and waitlist? I assume they have.

[AllFiredUp]

No call from Brown yet. Any word on if they have notified all admit and waitlist? I assume they have.

Everyone admitted has already been informed, is what I was told.

[ivyreject]

To the Georgetown admits, what fields did you apply to i.e. American, comparative, etc...?

American

[ivyreject]

Would you acceptees plunk down the chunk of change for a Ph.D. from the prestigious Georgetown?

I would prefer not to, but I might. So far, I don't have funding offers from any department. I was hoping to have multiple funding offers to sift through, but so far that isn't happening. I know schools buy their best students, but I'm trying to just be grateful that I got in.

[jackassjim]

I would prefer not to, but I might. So far, I don't have funding offers from any department. I was hoping to have multiple funding offers to sift through, but so far that isn't happening. I know schools buy their best students, but I'm trying to just be grateful that I got in.

Please, if you're going to follow an internet stranger's advice just once, follow this one: DO NOT PAY FOR YOUR PHD IN POLITICAL SCIENCE.

Here's a tenured sociologist who makes the case why you should not: http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2007/05/ ... ad-school/

[ivyreject]

Please, if you're going to follow an internet stranger's advice just once, follow this one: DO NOT PAY FOR YOUR PHD IN POLITICAL SCIENCE.

Here's a tenured sociologist who makes the case why you should not: http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2007/05/ ... ad-school/

So far I have no offers for funding. What do I do then?

[jackassjim]

I really don't want to sound like an a-hole, but you should really forget grad school for this year. If you really want to do this, you'll want to reapply next year, and make everything you can until then to make your app better. Options include:

Learning a language

Doing RA work (paid or not)

Publishing (quite tough I agree)

Retaking the GREs

Learn some math

Go to a summer camp like ICPSR (that will help you learn something + meet profs who could potentially write you good letters)

Write a killer statement of purpose and make it read by (1) professors and (2) people who have been successful in previous admissions cycles.

If all of the above fails, consider another career (yep, I'm sorry). The real problem is that the job market is so rough for political science graduates, and you'll be competing with so many people from the top schools, that you are really taking a risk anyway going into this. Add a huge debt to the equation, and you're f***ed. Not being offered funding is also a signal of something. Maybe you're not the top candidate ever. If you're not, you can wonder if profs are really going to take you under their wings. If they don't, what will happen to you when you need support from them to find a job? It's a hell of a slippery slope if you ask me. A lot of people get into this without knowing what it's all about...

[scintille]

I really don't want to sound like an a-hole, but you should really forget grad school for this year. If you really want to do this, you'll want to reapply next year, and make everything you can until then to make your app better.

I second this - all of my professors have told me that you should pretty much never pay for a phd in political science unless of course you're independently wealthy and have nothing better to do with your money, like hiding it in your mattress.

[Lex]

I second this - all of my professors have told me that you should pretty much never pay for a phd in political science unless of course you're independently wealthy and have nothing better to do with your money, like hiding it in your mattress.

Third. And considering the experiences of folks I know who are on the job market or will be soon, I wouldn't take the combination of massive debt and scarce, moderately paid work lightly.

[publicpolicy79]

Three years ago I was trying to make some changes and applied to one specific PhD program (non-Political Science). I was admitted but was not offered funding. I decided then it wasn't worth the debt. One of the best decisions I've ever made. I worked a few more years, better crystalized my research interests, and then last summer when I decided it was now or never, I was in a much better position to apply and my results this year have borne that out (2-2 so far, with funding at both).

So while I realize it may sound condescending for the ivy-bound people to recommend waiting a year, please take it from this top-20 (but nowhere near ivy)-bound person who has been in your shoes, the expense is too great and the job market too uncertain to take an unfunded offer. I really hope one of your schools does come through for you with a funded offer, but if they don't, please realize that you are considering investing five years of your life into schools that aren't willing to invest monetarily in you. Like the others I fear that may represent the personal investment they'll make (or won't) in you once you're there. There is no shame in waiting a year, and in doing so you may come across things that change your direction (in a good way!).

[mdnicx42]

I'm in a similar predicament. But what about securing outside fellowships after starting?

I know of a number of people in comparative in various schools that have gotten pretty generous FLAS grants. I speak a Middle Eastern language and am learning a second - I'm hoping that might be a realistic possibility!

And so many state schools are in dire straits right now that I think the game might have fundamentally changed. An unfunded offer doesn't necessarily mean that you're not going to be valued given the current situations facing many state schools...

I'd also like to think that there might be job options outside of academia for me if that doesn't pan out (and indeed for many of us). I know we really want to go into academia, but might not other jobs be open to many of us if we continue to develop/cultivate relevant skill sets?

Just some thoughts. Opinions?

[stillwaiting]

What are the opinions out there regarding paying for a masters in Poli Sci? I haven't heard from all of my schools yet, but it appears that a masters might be my best option, rather than paying from my PhD. I currently have an M.Ed, which doesn't appear to be an impressive degree to anyone in the Political Science world. Should I invest in a masters and work on my researching and publishing and a language, even if it costs me, and then apply to a Ph.D program at the conclusion of said masters? Thanks in advance for any insights.

[poststructuralist]

What are the opinions out there regarding paying for a masters in Poli Sci? I haven't heard from all of my schools yet, but it appears that a masters might be my best option, rather than paying from my PhD. I currently have an M.Ed, which doesn't appear to be an impressive degree to anyone in the Political Science world. Should I invest in a masters and work on my researching and publishing and a language, even if it costs me, and then apply to a Ph.D program at the conclusion of said masters? Thanks in advance for any insights.

What's your subfield? If you are in something more quant-oriented, a masters might help. However, if you're in theory I don't know if it would. I've heard that it doesn't help you in terms of time it takes to complete the PhD program, and professors don't seem to value a grad student with a masters more than anyone else. If that's true, and you're a theory person, it's probably easier (and cheaper!!) to skip the master's, work on a language, find other ways to make your application stronger, then give it a go again next year. That's just my two cents.

[milkbaba]

Out at NYU, offered Master's option, which I'm sure is unfunded so screw that.

Five languages (including Arabic), an HYP BA, publications, presentations and a research fellowship haven't made any impression so far. Really starting to question what it takes to get in and wondering if I was simply a wrong fit at a lot of my schools. I should add that I do not have a quant. background at all.

Anybody here who is a South Asianist been successful at NYU? Also, what schools are best for South Asia that are also more qualitative?

Sigh, I place the blame squarely on my own shoulders...I really should have done a lot more research into schools and this whole strange process before I started appying....

[mormegil]

milkbaba said:

Out at NYU, offered Master's option, which I'm sure is unfunded so screw that.

Five languages (including Arabic), an HYP BA, publications, presentations and a research fellowship haven't made any impression so far. Really starting to question what it takes to get in and wondering if I was simply a wrong fit at a lot of my schools. I should add that I do not have a quant. background at all.

Anybody here who is a South Asianist been successful at NYU? Also, what schools are best for South Asia that are also more qualitative?

Sigh, I place the blame squarely on my own shoulders...I really should have done a lot more research into schools and this whole strange process before I started appying....

I'm not sure but I think my terrible math grades and that I'm not keen on heavily quantitatively oriented research which killed me in places like WashU, Emory.

A far as I know only UChicago has a heavy qualitative focus. Maybe there are others?

[poscme]

This whole process is screwed if you ask me. I also had poor math scores, both in early classes and the GRE. However, I know that I want to be a political scientist. So, I aced the two undergrad and two MA Quant methods courses. My thesis is employing methods like HLM and Probit. I did a conference paper using logistic and several using OLS. What I am saying is that I can't compute or regress a model in my head or by hand, but I damn sure can use SPSS and STATA to plug things in and interpret the output. I leaned heavily Qual until I decided that buckling down and learning these techniques would be my only saving grace. Even with all of this plus LORS that explained how I have tutored in methods and worked on projects with profs in which I handled the analyses, I was still rejected out of hand at Emory. Like mormegil, I think this is because of my poor math background. Here is what I am getting at: sure go learn a language and do this or that, but you would be better served to either go to a MA program and shine in methods or go to ICPSR or something like this. I am fluent in Arabic, have a 4.0 (BA & MA, retook the math classes and made A's but didn't help GRE), studied abroad in ME three different times, taught 3 classes already, 2 pubs forthcoming, and 6 quantitative conference papers-these things didn't help at all at places that use GRE Quant for cutoff. I am not arguing against the GRE (as much as I would love to, its legit) as I understand that people have to draw lines somewhere, so if you can improve your math on it that may be your best shot. If you can't (I couldn't) then maybe you will want to try some of the above suggestions.

People should know the trouble (with debt and lame pay) they may have if they have to pay for an MA or god forbid the PhD, but people who have it made shouldn't try to convince people who are less privileged not to do what they want, at least imo. No matter how this turns out, my scores and programs are way below many that are talked about on here. It hurts my pride and confidence to read through this sometimes, but it is also a good reality check. I may not end up in an endowed chair or even a R1 type place (highly extensive, very active or whatever it is these days), but my success thus far should be an indicator of my chances to be a productive political scientist-right? Besides, we need people at the bottom so the ones at the top can realize that while deciding between Harvard and Yale or UCB and UMich is quite tough, it could be much worse.

[hondo19]

To those giving advice about funding, I was just offered by a school I would like to attend; TA or RA, typical stipend, health, etc.

Excited, but should I be concerned that the offer is only for 3 years? They say that other options will present themselves in years 4-5, but do I want to take them at their word so willingly?

I guess I should contact students within the program to get the real lowdown.

Any thoughts? Anyone have any experience with something like this?

PM if you want to know specifics before advising me.

Thanks.

[GreatMix]

Also, regarding funding. To those of you who have been accepted to Indiana-Bloomington, has anyone heard anything about funding yet?

[natofone]

I really doubt that lower grades in a few math classes is going to sink your grad-school ship, or will even matter at all, if your overall GPA is within reason. The GRE is probably more of the culprit. Many schools use it as an arbitrary cutoff in order to filter out applications. An admissions committee can't read all 350 applications, so they toss 2/3rds of them because of arbitrary GRE and GPA cutoffs. The great thing about the GRE is that it is that you can retake it and it is merely a product of how much work you put into it. Study some of those GRE guides, take the math section once a week for two months, learn the exact formula for the essay, and get a good night of sleep before you take it.

[hopeful2]

hey poli sci people

i had a question for you. i studied public policy for undergrad and masters and applied for poli sci and policy for a phd now. poli sci schools don't seem to like me very much....i think i got rejected everywhere, still trying to figure out why...i'm very disappointed

i know many policy phd students who take the same coursework as econ/ poli sci students and their dissertations have the same rigor. but do you think its hard to stay in academia after? no pure disciplines fits my interests, but i thought that i had a better shot at an academic career if i applied to poli sci.

interested in social capital/ heterogeneous societies/ south asia / moral psychology

many thanks!

rejected: princeton, MIT, UChicago, WashU (social psychology), harvard, NYU (social psychology)

[mormegil]

Any word from JHU? I see there's been several acceptances and rejections. It appears a wave of rejections have been sent on 26th February. I haven't heard anything. MAN.

[natofone]

hopeful2 - You applied to only extremely competitive schools, so don't take it personally that you didn't get in. It may, or may not, have anything to do with your policy background. I know several poli sci PhD students at good unis that had public policy backgrounds. You need to clearly demonstrate that you know exactly what political science is and that you have some very good reasons for switching towards a more theoretical and less applied discipline.