PoliSci 2008-2009 Cycle

[upenn123]

Quick question for everyone

[scintille]

Yep, I'm on the waitlist. Is there a polite way to say they should just move someone else up because I won't be taking the offer even if they can make it?

Definitley, then again being a waitlister I am a huge proponent of people telling schools their decisions as soon as they make them. But I would just e-mail and say thank you for the consideration but I will be accepting an offer at another school. I feel like the polite thing to do during decision time is send them out as soon as you know- it's dragging on enough on its own

[polisciphd]

Quick question for everyone

[Wesson]

I agree. I know of some people who work, or who have worked, as political scientists while holding degrees in psychology or sociology. But no one springs to mind who has any kind of inter-disciplinary Ph.D. There probably are a few, but they're rare.

[Aubstopper]

I have some of the same schools on my list. G'town is my first choice at this point, but I don't know if I can swing it without funding. I haven't heard from GW either, which I assume is a rejection because there was a big wave of unfunded acceptances on Friday on the big board.

What is your sense about BU? They have rejected some and admitted some. I expect to hear any day now. I'm going to Boston and DC later this week, but have no Boston acceptances... But my girlfriend got into Catholic University of America's law school and is waitlisted at American. So getting into BU doesn't mean as much to me at this point.

I submitted my BU application later than most people (around 2/07) because my particular app wasn't due until sometime in mid-April and i was trying to recover from just finishing my GT one.

I just got an email from GW today that said that decisions would be online on the 20th. ahhhh

[jamesmadison]

Georgetown emailed me asking if I would be coming to their visit day, I replied asking if they had any more information about my admittance - specifically whether there was any financial assistance. He emailed me back saying that the dean would send and official email sometime next week. Sounds like an unofficial confirmation that the offer was unfunded, did any of the other later Georgetown admits find anything else out about funding?

[optimisticPOLITICS]

Ok, I am falling in love with this school before they tell me anything ha

Has anyone heard back yet since last Friday? Are we in or are we out. I have already emailed once and do not have the courage to do so again. So what should we do wait? :?

And I got a deceivingly thin letter from Howard letting me know they have just started reviweing my app. I like the school but it is almost end of March when we should be hearing back not get conformation letters. And I can only imagine the cost of postage yikes.

I heard that Georgia will let us know about funding this week. If you are interested PM me then I will send you the email I got about that

[mdnicx42]

I e-mailed Georgetown to ask them about funding and I got a rather terse e-mail saying that all funding decisions have been finalized and that I was not chosen for funding. They didn't sugar-coat it at all.

[ivyreject]

[D]id any of the other later Georgetown admits find anything else out about funding?

I called the office and was told it was "highly unlikely" by the same dude who sent the admission email. When I emalied the prof I've been talking to, I was simply advised not to decline a funded offer elsewhere to hope for funding from G'town, because they are extremely tight on funding this year. He did say that the people they offer fellowships to likely have better offers and so they will "move down [their] list," but I was not told where I stand on that list or if I'm even on it.

So, basically, Georgetown remains my first choice, but I doubt I can go there. Oh well. I'm not good enough to get their money, but I'm good enough for them to take mine. If I had any...

[jamesmadison]

I e-mailed Georgetown to ask them about funding and I got a rather terse e-mail saying that all funding decisions have been finalized and that I was not chosen for funding. They didn't sugar-coat it at all.

Looks like you and I can mourn our unfunded offers and speculate about Northwestern together.

[Euthyphro]

I made it onto a wait list at Columbia! It's my one glimmer of hope... Anyone else here on it?

[julianashe]

Need some help here....

I'm an international applicant. This year I've been rejected from plenty of top PhD programs. Til now I only get one offer from SUNY Albany, a potential AD(not sure yet,no mail received, only an email from director, no word of funding) from Maryland, and a master AD from NYU. I decided not to consider unfunded master (already have MA in Econ).

I know Albany is not strong in its political science, but very strong in its public affairs. The ranking of maryland is much higher, but still not among top programs. My question is, is it worthy to go to an unfunded program of Maryland instead of go to funded program in Albany? Since I'm international, I have little information about these two schools. Profs in Albany say they have a lot of intern programs with the state government, and I can take IR or public policy as my second field(first is comparative politics). However I am still not sure about their job placement in the future. For Maryland, I know their international reputation is much higher than Albany, but know little about the quality of their program.

So if anyone knows something about these two, please give me some suggestions! Thank you~

[aria880]

Fyi to those still waiting on UNC: I just sent off an email to the grad coordinator inquiring about where they are in the process. I'll let you all know what I hear back.

EDIT: Wow! I got a quick response. They're having their final meeting tomorrow morning.

[polisciworries]

In terms of prestige and job placement, it's Maryland all the way. However, unless you have significant funds at your disposal it may be very difficult to accept an unfunded offer. There was a discussion about this a few pages back on this thread that you might want to look at.

The basic point was that paying for a PhD is risky because academic jobs don't tend to pay terribly well. The flip-side, of course, is that you run the risk of having a much harder time getting an academic job in the first place if you go to a lower-ranked school. I'd check each school's placement record - they should be happy to provide it to you (if not, that's an indication that you can expect problems getting a job). Good luck with your decision!

[scintille]

It looks like Michigan's finally getting their official rejections out on the website. That took far too long.

[scintille]

Fyi to those still waiting on UNC: I just sent off an email to the grad coordinator inquiring about where they are in the process. I'll let you all know what I hear back.

EDIT: Wow! I got a quick response. They're having their final meeting tomorrow morning.

Has anyone gotten rejected from UNC yet? I feel like not hearing by now = rejection.

[aria880]

Has anyone gotten rejected from UNC yet? I feel like not hearing by now = rejection.

I'm inclined to agree, but there was someone who posted late last week on the results board that they contacted the departmnet and were told they were rejected.

[GreatMix]

Still haven't gotten my official rejection (mail or website posting) from Michigan.....called a while back to find out, so I know I'm rejected, but....nothing official still.

[stillwaiting]

I need some sage advice from the forum:

I was rejected from four programs and wait listed at two during this cycle so it looks like even if I am accepted off the wait list, I will not be receiving any funding, which would severely limit my options and my ability to accept any offer. So it's back to square one. I have accepted this and am embracing this year as an important learning experience. At this point, I am trying to figure out what to do next to improve my application. I am currently a high school teacher and I have a BA in Poli Sci and an M.Ed from a selective school and I have the opportunity to do a funded Masters in Public Policy and Administration at a regional university and still keep my job so I can live to try another day. I am interested in International Relations and Comparative Politics and so my fear is that the Public Policy route my pigeon hole me into a more administrative/professional track, rather than the theory route of Poli Sci. The question is this: Do the masters, get great grades, connections with professors, retake the GREs and keep teaching or or....I don't know, quit my job, work for a think tank and try to apply to Masters in Poli Sci programs? Or something else all together?

Thanks and congrats to all of you as you sign on the dotted line in the upcoming weeks!

[publicpolicy79]

I need some sage advice from the forum:

I was rejected from four programs and wait listed at two during this cycle so it looks like even if I am accepted off the wait list, I will not be receiving any funding, which would severely limit my options and my ability to accept any offer. So it's back to square one. I have accepted this and am embracing this year as an important learning experience. At this point, I am trying to figure out what to do next to improve my application. I am currently a high school teacher and I have a BA in Poli Sci and an M.Ed from a selective school and I have the opportunity to do a funded Masters in Public Policy and Administration at a regional university and still keep my job so I can live to try another day. I am interested in International Relations and Comparative Politics and so my fear is that the Public Policy route my pigeon hole me into a more administrative/professional track, rather than the theory route of Poli Sci. The question is this: Do the masters, get great grades, connections with professors, retake the GREs and keep teaching or or....I don't know, quit my job, work for a think tank and try to apply to Masters in Poli Sci programs? Or something else all together?

Thanks and congrats to all of you as you sign on the dotted line in the upcoming weeks!

I don't think your current job is limiting you. I am currently teaching elementary school (admittedly after 6+ years working in Policy and Politics in DC - LONG story) but I have been admitted to both political science and public policy programs with funding. I think that if you can do the MPP with a focus on IR/Comp and make the grades, it could strengthen your application. Alternatively, if you can get a job at a recognizable think tank in your area, that would probably strengthen your application further (I was explicitly told that having my former boss who is now at Brookings write one of my recommendation letters made a difference - admittedly that contradicts other things I've heard about never using non-tenured faculty as LORs).

You should check out the blogs...Ejuliast applied to (and was succesful at) Public Policy and Sociology programs and she had a M.Ed. and a Master's in quantitative methodology. Different fields but since her goal is to be an academic you might gain from her experience. She would also probably be willing to share some advice on how to make the teaching experience appear relevant in your applications. Good luck!

[mdnicx42]

Another question for those in Northwestern limbo:

Did any of you apply for the interdisciplinary clusters? I wonder if that can cause delays for some applications. Probably not, but just a thought...

[mormegil]

I'm going to turn down the offers from phd programs. I'm now at a limbo amongst 3 MA programs i got into, Northeastern (funding decision not yet made), Marquette (wait listed for tuition scholarship and a $6600 1/2 RA) and Villanova (full tuition scholarship and at the top of waitlist for a $12k for 9 months TA/RA).

What do you guys think? It seems to me Marquette and Villanova are both similar departments with pretty good record in placing their students in Top 20 phd programs. :?:

[seraphita]

I need some sage advice from the forum:

I was rejected from four programs and wait listed at two during this cycle so it looks like even if I am accepted off the wait list, I will not be receiving any funding, which would severely limit my options and my ability to accept any offer. So it's back to square one. I have accepted this and am embracing this year as an important learning experience. At this point, I am trying to figure out what to do next to improve my application. I am currently a high school teacher and I have a BA in Poli Sci and an M.Ed from a selective school and I have the opportunity to do a funded Masters in Public Policy and Administration at a regional university and still keep my job so I can live to try another day. I am interested in International Relations and Comparative Politics and so my fear is that the Public Policy route my pigeon hole me into a more administrative/professional track, rather than the theory route of Poli Sci. The question is this: Do the masters, get great grades, connections with professors, retake the GREs and keep teaching or or....I don't know, quit my job, work for a think tank and try to apply to Masters in Poli Sci programs? Or something else all together?

You may very well receive funding if you're accepted off the waitlist. If a funded person turns down the offer, then his or her funding will probably go to anyone who's given the offer next.

Still, for the sake of argument, let's assume the worst-case scenario--that the waitlists come to naught. I would recommend the public policy master's if you don't already have research experience, or if you feel you need stronger LORs. I don't think it should "pigeonhole" you, since poli sci research sometimes overlaps with public policy work, and a publication in a policy journal should certainly count for something when applying to poli sci programs.

But if your research background and LORs are already strong, and the GRE is what's holding you back, then I would recommend concentrating on that retake.

[poliscidude]

I'm going to turn down the offers from phd programs. I'm now at a limbo amongst 3 MA programs i got into, Northeastern (funding decision not yet made), Marquette (wait listed for tuition scholarship and a $6600 1/2 RA) and Villanova (full tuition scholarship and at the top of waitlist for a $12k for 9 months TA/RA).

What do you guys think? It seems to me Marquette and Villanova are both similar departments with pretty good record in placing their students in Top 20 phd programs. :?:

Villanova is a really good program. The faculty are all very professional and encouraging. I am finishing up there now. It has done fairly well placing students at good PhD programs. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I am not one of those students, but I do know other students who have gone on to Cornell, NYU and Emory recently. If you have more questions about Villanova, PM me and I'd be glad to answer them.

[expatbayern]

I need some sage advice from the forum:

I was rejected from four programs and wait listed at two during this cycle so it looks like even if I am accepted off the wait list, I will not be receiving any funding, which would severely limit my options and my ability to accept any offer. So it's back to square one. I have accepted this and am embracing this year as an important learning experience. At this point, I am trying to figure out what to do next to improve my application. I am currently a high school teacher and I have a BA in Poli Sci and an M.Ed from a selective school and I have the opportunity to do a funded Masters in Public Policy and Administration at a regional university and still keep my job so I can live to try another day. I am interested in International Relations and Comparative Politics and so my fear is that the Public Policy route my pigeon hole me into a more administrative/professional track, rather than the theory route of Poli Sci. The question is this: Do the masters, get great grades, connections with professors, retake the GREs and keep teaching or or....I don't know, quit my job, work for a think tank and try to apply to Masters in Poli Sci programs? Or something else all together?

Thanks and congrats to all of you as you sign on the dotted line in the upcoming weeks!

I think the MPP/MPA can definitely be helpful--just be thoughtful in your course choices and spin it well in your future SOPs. Most MPP/MPA programs have have some kind of econometrics/program analysis sequence that translates very well to a PhD (actually, essentially any econ or methods will) and depending on your focus in IR/CP, there may be good substantive coursework in development policy, conflict resolution, elections, etc.