Welcome to the 2012-2013 cycle

[aulait]

Ok, ok. We need something to do other than freak ourselves out. A game, of sorts.

 

The question is this: What is your dream school? Not like, where you want to go--I'm talking fantasy grad school. If you could combine the program of your choice, the professors of your choice, the city of your choice, the campus of your choice, etc., what would that school look like? If we're dreaming anyway, we might as well do it properly. 

[brady]

hey y'all,

got a message from Columbia today:

RE: application status-- GRE scores received?

We have received your test scores.

We have not yet run the program which matches GRE and TOEFL's to applicants' files. The process may take several more weeks The APPLICATION STATUS page will be updated to reflect receipt of those scores when the program is run. If the program has not been run before the department begins to consider applications, your application will be reviewed using the test scores you entered on the application forms and any uploaded copies of your score reports.

Thank you,

Columbia University

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences | Office of Admissions

Hope that soothes some people's nerves!

[PDCU]

Ok, ok. We need something to do other than freak ourselves out. A game, of sorts.

 

The question is this: What is your dream school? Not like, where you want to go--I'm talking fantasy grad school. If you could combine the program of your choice, the professors of your choice, the city of your choice, the campus of your choice, etc., what would that school look like? If we're dreaming anyway, we might as well do it properly. 

 

>stanford's campus (t'was... beautiful T.T)

>harvard's resources

>ucla's city (nice part of LA) + program (no qual!)

>any professor who will take likes me   (best professors don't usually make best advisors)

[PoliSwede]

hey y'all,

got a message from Columbia today:

RE: application status-- GRE scores received?

We have received your test scores.

We have not yet run the program which matches GRE and TOEFL's to applicants' files. The process may take several more weeks The APPLICATION STATUS page will be updated to reflect receipt of those scores when the program is run. If the program has not been run before the department begins to consider applications, your application will be reviewed using the test scores you entered on the application forms and any uploaded copies of your score reports.

Thank you,

Columbia University

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences | Office of Admissions

Hope that soothes some people's nerves!

Several weeks just to match up the scores? I feel sorry for those of you who applied. It seems like Columbia in general isn't the best when it comes to administration and graduate applications. Or, at least that's the impression I get from reading people's comments.

[sm321]

So it looks like a few people have heard back from one or two schools. Were you expecting to hear back so early, or did the websites say it would be later? All of my schools said March, but now I'm anxious that it might be earlier!

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Fully aware that most of my programs won't begin alerting until mid-Feb (based on previous year patterns)...I still check my e-mail every day about 20+ times.

Edited January 17, 2013 by TakeMyCoffeeBlack

[RiffRam]

So it looks like a few people have heard back from one or two schools. Were you expecting to hear back so early, or did the websites say it would be later? All of my schools said March, but now I'm anxious that it might be earlier!

i heard from a prof at one of my schools that said late Jan to early Feb. it also looks like a few others I've applied to have a similar timeline after looking at past cycles.

[GopherGrad]

"What is your dream school? Not like, where you want to go--I'm talking fantasy grad school. If you could combine the program of your choice, the professors of your choice, the city of your choice, the campus of your choice, etc., what would that school look like?"

 

Funny.

 

1) If the south bay were cheaper I couldn't think of any way to make Stanford more perfect. Or transfer a handful of Stanford faculty to Berkeley. I can swing a side-by-side duplex with a backyard for the mutt in Hercules.

 

2) Combine Yale and Nothwestern's faculty on Columbia's campus, but substitute the intellectual community of Boston and the prices around Duke.

 

"Several weeks just to match up the scores? I feel sorry for those of you who applied. It seems like Columbia in general isn't the best when it comes to administration and graduate applications."

 

I'm generally disinclined to defend Columbia's shambolic process, but they generally admit on a timeline only a couple weeks longer than most schools (application deadline of Dec. 1; last year's admits were early March). Stanford explicitly says it will consider applications without official score reports, but requires them to make offers. I'd guess that some applicants flipped about the verbage used on Columbia's site when an app hasn't been matched with the score so they sent an email explaining it. It probably doesn't hold up the evaluation.

 

Although I didn't get this email, so that makes me a little curious...

[student90210]

My dream school...

 

I don't think I have a set dream school, but I do like UCSD. However, I am not a big fan of the West Coast. 

 

Georgetown and University of Maryland are definitely up there, mostly because they are close to (or actually in) a city I love, DC and have great professors for my interest, comparative democratization. 

 

I do appreciate Stanford and Yale as well...

 

NYC is a beautiful city, so I wouldn't say 'No' to Columbia or NYU. 

 

I believe the combination great city, great university, great professors is a hard one, so sorry if I cannot decide on one program I would choose. 

[ThisGuyRiteHere]

My dream school would be anywhere a strong political economy emphasis is.

However, I am open to a school that provides strong training, good professors, adequate funding and supports their students. That is good enough for me. lol

[chaetzli]

NYU+Harvard faculty with Princeton's campus and Stanford's weather (+ Boston's "Cheesecake Factory" and New Haven's "Prime 16")

[Tupamaros]

I didn't receive the email from Columbia either GopherGrad.

[zzzzzz]

Hey everyone, So I've offered this earlier in the thread, but as it seems that a lot more people have joined, I thought I'd repeat my offer: I'm currently attending a top-15 program. If you have any questions about political science, grad life, offers, etc. I'm happy to answer. Good luck!

Hi! Thanks! Obviously this will vary by school, but what is grad life for you like socially?

[polisciftw]

Hi! Thanks! Obviously this will vary by school, but what is grad life for you like socially?

Honestly? I wish it could be better. Some cohorts seem to gel really easily, while others less so. I'd say mine is among the less so camp.

I wish we had organized more social events in the first semester so as to prevent this, because now it seems a little silly to try "get to know one another" events.

[PoliSwede]

Honestly? I wish it could be better. Some cohorts seem to gel really easily, while others less so. I'd say mine is among the less so camp.

I wish we had organized more social events in the first semester so as to prevent this, because now it seems a little silly to try "get to know one another" events.

What is the atmosphere like in your program? Does it feel competitive or friendly?

Edited January 17, 2013 by Lemeard

[polisciftw]

Friendly, but also competitive. I think this is true of all departments where people want to go into academia. It seems kind of like this: competitive bikers all ride together in order to draft other riders. Some take turns in the front, others in the back, etc. But once the finish line approaches, they all break apart. Right now we're drafting each other, but everyone knows that there are too few jobs for too many people.

[PoliSwede]

Are all students funded in your department? I am just assuming that the atmosphere in a department might vary a bit depending on if students feel like they have to compete for funding, compared to if they know that everyone who is admitted is guaranteed funding.

[polisciftw]

Yes, all funded.

[PoliSwede]

I have a really bad joke, thought I'd share it:

 

All this waiting is making me want to go jump off the fiscal cliff.

[RWBG]

Friendly, but also competitive. I think this is true of all departments where people want to go into academia. It seems kind of like this: competitive bikers all ride together in order to draft other riders. Some take turns in the front, others in the back, etc. But once the finish line approaches, they all break apart. Right now we're drafting each other, but everyone knows that there are too few jobs for too many people.

 

Dunno, my program's cohort is really close, and not very competitive. I think people's interests are different enough that nobody feels like they're in direct competition with anyone else. I think there's a lot of random variation though; one or two people can throw off the dynamics of a cohort, and I hear from people in different years that the dynamics were less pleasant for them.

[CafeAuLait12]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to pop in to give my support to everyone on the forum. This was really helpful to me last year, and I hope that it is just as useful for all of you as well. As someone who just recently went through all of this, I am happy to answer any questions that you might have about the process, visits, the decision, or just grad school in general.

[Quigley]

I'm curious about what your typical day/week looks like as a PhD student balancing classes, TA or RA duties, research projects, homework, family/relationship, etc? 

[CafeAuLait12]

I'm curious about what your typical day/week looks like as a PhD student balancing classes, TA or RA duties, research projects, homework, family/relationship, etc? 

 

Weeks are busy in general. I am taking 2 methods classes, one seminar in my field, one statistical computing class, and a field colloquium. The work for that occupies about 10 class hours and probably about 15-20 reading, researching, problem set, and writing hours. I taught last semester, and between teaching, attending lecture, grading, and class prep I probably spent at max 8 hours during a usual week. When there was an exam, double for the week before and the week after. Since I am a first year, my own projects are more in the up-in-the-clouds stage, so mostly that is thinking time that comes at random. And then comes family time, which I am still working out how to make enough time for. I am getting married this summer, so I have that on my plate. My fiance is a first year in chemistry, we are working on balancing his lab time, my reading time, and then our time. Mostly our time involved the gym, cooking dinner every night, and watching whatever sporting event is on.

 

In short, grad school can be kinda hellish. Your time is mostly not your own in that you have a lot of masters, but your time is your own in that you have to figure out how to please all of them yourself. That being said, it's actually pretty nice. We are getting paid to think and explore new ideas. We get to teach (even though it can be a pain), but we are not the ones at the top of the totem pole. We are in a unique position, but one that I think is actually pretty nice. 

[RWBG]

I'm curious about what your typical day/week looks like as a PhD student balancing classes, TA or RA duties, research projects, homework, family/relationship, etc? 

 

While this question was not (I believe) directed at me, I'll note that the composition of one's weekly activities appears to change a lot throughout the Ph.D. Some years you may have teaching commitments, others you might not, you might reduce the number of courses you take each year (eventually to zero, in most cases), and how much time you devote to research can be a function both of where you are in the program and how motivated you are to write lots of papers. Also, things like fellowship/grant applications can take up a fair bit of time, as can conference proposals, conferences, workshops, etc.

[sm321]

Question to those already enrolled:

 

When do most programs ask you to start teaching courses? I had one professor who said he had to teach his first year as a grad student, while others said they didn't teach at all. Is it all determined by funding packages, or are there departmental requirements for teaching?