PoliSci 2008-2009 Cycle

[BigCheese]

haha thanks

[CAPoliSciPhD]

Yeah, check out the results posted on this site to get an idea...I have two schools that made some decisions starting the last week of January but it was clear not all of them were made then....

[polister81]

Does it bother anyone else that someone posted an "acceptance" to Northwestern on 1/8, but said they "received" it three weeks from now on the 31st?

[CAPoliSciPhD]

Yeah, I saw that... it's gotta be a bogus post don't you think?

[adaptations]

Doesn't bother me at all, because I would place a big bet that it isn't accurate. Also given past trends, there is no reason to expect results from Northwestern yet. But at least it gives us something to talk about

At least it's only a couple more weeks before the steady trickle of results start coming in! I have been able to keep my obsession in check thus far, but I am willing to bet around Jan. 28th I'll start becoming irrational and check my email every few hours.

[CAPoliSciPhD]

ha. yeah, I just looked at a calendar and realized it's 2 weeks until the season kicks off...

Right now I'm interested but not stressed too much bc this is the time where I'm SUPPOSED to hear nothing...when it kicks off though in a couple weeks I'm sure I'll freak out and close my eyes everytime I click log-in on my email...I'm going to be a tad afraid to read anything! And I'm sure reading the results page will make me nuts...what can I say? I'm glutton for punishment!

[BigCheese]

i know for most of the schools i applied to, the majority of the acceptance recorded on the result page were in early to mid Feb... :shock: yikes!!!

[plisar]

Yeah, we all have a long wait ahead of us. Even two weeks is going to feel like a long time, and that's assuming that UNC and Duke are on the ball again this year.

The worst part about this is I work in in a top ranked engineering program as a graduate coordinator, so I am constantly surrounded by applications -- I can't get away from it!

[CAPoliSciPhD]

Duke may be on the ball but I saw that UC Boulder and UC Davis had some early acceptances and rejections last year so those are the two that I could hear back from first (positive or negative results) --- then again, people were getting accepted to those schools a month later, too - so who knows? As for Davis, there really weren't many people who applied that posted on thegradcafe results --- wish I knew a bit more about my chances at these places...

As for being surrounded by applications...well, you're a braver person than I am - that'd be torture for me. At least the people who are applying have someone sympathetic to their plight, eh?

[plisar]

Certainly sympathetic to their plight, that's for sure. Although engineers have it good. Admissions are fast and they are much more personalized. One professor, even if they aren't on the AdCom, can easily get a student admitted.

[SharperImage]

Great posts everyone...glad to see there are many in the same boat, willing to empathize with similar feverishly anxious feelings.

As far as Pol Sci programs are concerned, does anyone know anything about UC Irvine's program? I have a distinct interest in Political Psych, and this program is at the top of my list because it is one of the few programs that offer this specialization (PhD)--not to mention that the area isn't the last location in which I'd like to live for the next 5 years. However, I would be curious as to if anyone has any info. regarding this program, because I don't know anyone that's gone through it, nor have I heard much about it (other than the info. offered on the program website).

Any help would be much appreciated! Good luck with the waiting everyone.

[adaptations]

SharperImage:

Unfortunately all I know about UC Irvine is that they are ranked 35 by USNWR, which essentially means I know nothing. Out of curiosity what other schools are you applying to?

Good luck,

[SharperImage]

Thanks for the reply. Actually, I'm only applying to Social Psych programs otherwise. I would imagine you don't want to hear which, considering this is a PoliSci forum. If you would like to know, I'd be more than happy to share.

Good luck to you as well! Happy at least that we won't be competing for spots!

[adaptations]

After thinking I was all done with applications, I decided to add one more (very last minute). Washington University in St. Louis is back on my list.

[cjh19]

Hi everybody,

I've been waiting for this thread to pop up, and here it is, sprung fully-formed from winter break! I've already posted my stats in another thread, but I want to get in on this action, so here goes:

GPA: 3.92 from the University of Pittsburgh

Honors degree, summa cum laude

GRE: 800v, 660q, 5.5w

I researched and wrote an honors thesis from 2006-2008. The topic is in the field I want to study (comparative politics, post-communist politics) and is being published by the University, though only electronically. I've also published a piece in the University's political magazine (competitive, but not faculty reviewed) and served as a senior editor of that magazine, and had a paper published through the university's Undergraduate Research Symposium.

I just received a fellowship to work as a researcher in DC for the next six months, and have a couple other national and University-related fellowships and awards to my name, but nothing exceptionally prestigious. I've got decent Russian language skills, and spent a semester studying the language in Moscow.

My LORs should be solid--respected faculty who know me fairly well.

As far as I'm concerned, the statement of purpose is a complete gamble. But I presented my case as best I could. My writing sample is a chapter of my thesis, dealing with political parties in Russia.

I'm applying to:

Berkeley
Stanford
Washington University in St. Louis
UT-Austin
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cornell
Indiana-Bloomington
Emory
Iowa
GWU

Fingers crossed to get in to at least one. Good luck, everybody!

[rlayla]

I turned in my applications in early November, so all this waiting really sucks. I'm super scared I'm going to strike out. Getting a job in this economy? Doesn't sound fun.

[vig180]

Last professor finally got the last recommendation in today after various adventures with finding recommendation forms in the spambox and being abroad in non-internet locations; then I find out GRE scores haven't arrived at several schools even though I ordered them in mid-Nov. Is it really that hard for electronic scores to arrive? I'll likely have to call and double check tomorrow at every school to make sure they got 'em (except for the kind few who have online status updates).

[Luckige]

Hello,

I've been reading this forum constantly since I decided to apply, and it has been very useful. I thought I might share my experience with you all.

So, I have a BA and MA in Economics from two of the most prestigious schools from where I am from. My GRE turned out great for the quant section (800) and not so well for verbal (530). Since my SOP makes the case for a econometrics/methods-oriented PhD, I hope the places I am applying to make some kind of allowance for the low GRE-Verbal. In any case, I have a decent TOEFL (109/120) and my writing sample was published in a top-ranked peer reviewed journal of my country. There's no such thing as GPA because the evaluation systems are very diverse, and any comparison is arbitrary. I hope my LORs make a good case for me.

My LOR's are good, I guess. Unfortunately, most of them are from econ profs, which is an obvious handicap. The reason so is that the evaluators will not recognize the names on the letters. At least one of my letters is from a poli.sci. prof.

I am aiming high, I know:

UCLA

UC Berkeley

Stanford (Political Economy, not Poli Sci)

NYU

Columbia

Duke

UIUC

Mich St

WUSTL

Rochester

Ohio State

Yale

Princeton (Political Economy)

 

I regret I haven't chosen a few more middle-ranked schools, but that's over.

Good luck to you, and let me know what you think.

PS: what do we have? Four weeks before decisions?

[UndraftedFreeAgent]

My LOR's are good, I guess. Unfortunately, most of them are from econ profs, which is an obvious handicap. The reason so is that the evaluators will not recognize the names on the letters. At least one of my letters is from a poli.sci. prof.

Letters from economics professors are not necessarily a handicap. It's more important that the professors have knowledge of your academic potential and that their opinions are relevant to your research interests. Given your focus on econometrics and methods, these may end up being just as or more helpful than letters from political science faculty. Moreover, professors with a strong methods focus are likely to be familiar with economics literature, as political science methods borrow heavily from economics.

[sabana15]

I think we're applying to quite a few of the same programs--what are you hoping to specialize in?

[rising_star]

My LOR's are good, I guess. Unfortunately, most of them are from econ profs, which is an obvious handicap. The reason so is that the evaluators will not recognize the names on the letters. At least one of my letters is from a poli.sci. prof.

The majority of the time, especially in a field as big as political science, the adcom members don't know who wrote the letters.

[polumetis23]

I agree with _rising_. You guys are sweating very minor, largely irrelevant details. Name recognition of LORs won't help you if big picture items like GPA/GRE/SOP aren't great. And even if you get a recognized name to write you a letter, you still have no idea what its content might be.

[Luckige]

The majority of the time, especially in a field as big as political science, the adcom members don't know who wrote the letters.

That's good to know. Someone told me that story and I believed.

[Luckige]

I think we're applying to quite a few of the same programs--what are you hoping to specialize in?

My aim is to specialize in political economy, with a heavy hand in avant-garde methods, such as randomization, change-in-changes or IV's.

What about you?

[adaptations]

I don't mean to be rude, but why are you calling diffference-in differences, IV's and randomization avante-garde? If you're into modeling these are just tools of the trade.