TakeMyCoffeeBlack Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Has anyone else applied straight out of undergrad? Yup, graduating this May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quigley Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Has anyone else applied straight out of undergrad? Anyone have a general idea about the typical cohort demographic - maybe someone who is already attending? Am I going to be the "old guy" if I'm entering at 27? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradWifey Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Anyone want to claim the most recent OSU acceptance? Congrats to everyone who has received acceptances! Good Luck to everyone still waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeMyCoffeeBlack Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Anyone have a general idea about the typical cohort demographic - maybe someone who is already attending? Am I going to be the "old guy" if I'm entering at 27? That may well have to do with the school, I'm sure. Most schools will prefer individuals, like yourself, with years of experience. Other may prefer students right out of undergrad (although undergrad + experience certainly help - I've heard of situations where a Masters isn't necessarily a good thing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quigley Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Thanks, Quigley. Two sites are always better than one!! I set mine up and it still says "decision not available." Fingers crossed that that's not a bad sign... I'd imagine there's a ways to go. Last year's results indicate that's the case, at least. Edited January 30, 2013 by Quigley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
setgree Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 It looks like everyone here applied to targeted schools...and not just blanketed the top 10. I hope everyone has done so also. Can I ask what makes blanketing the top 10 a bad idea? One of my professors said "Go to a top ten program, or don't go." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzzzz Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Can I ask what makes blanketing the top 10 a bad idea? One of my professors said "Go to a top ten program, or don't go."A few things:1) Professors working on subject matter that interests you2)Research philosophy - quant heavy? qualitative? what are your skills?3) location, atmosphere, etc, depending on how important all of this is to youBut I guess I tried not to apply too narrowly based on research interests because I am positive they will change and evolve based on my coursework and mentors.Generally I'm trying to go to the absolute best program I can get into and trying to not limit myself too much. Edited January 30, 2013 by zzzzzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzzzz Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Has anyone else applied straight out of undergrad? Graduated last May...tried out the whole working world thing for about one second and decided to apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Can I ask what makes blanketing the top 10 a bad idea? One of my professors said "Go to a top ten program, or don't go."Nothing is wrong with blanketing the top 10. If you get a top 10, fine. But schools like Michigan get 500 applications for like 20-30 spots. And I am sure there are similar numbers to all the top schools. So if you apply for all the top 10, but you dont bother to give a school ranked 20 or 30 a good look, I do not think that is wise. And I have read every thread on here about political science admission cycles (was a boring break lol) and you can get shut out. By solely looking at the top 10, you are eliminating Rochester, OSU, UNC, UW-Madison, NYU, Minnesota and Cornell. And thats just 10-20. Applying top 10 is great but I think you are doing yourself a disservice if you just look at top 10 and that is it.But to each their own. I know if I could go to Harvard, I would have still applied to some of the schools I would have applied to, plus Pitt, NYU, UPenn and UVA. And Rochester, If I am Rochester Good lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GopherGrad Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Can I ask what makes blanketing the top 10 a bad idea? One of my professors said "Go to a top ten program, or don't go." Blanketing the top ten is a bad idea because it means you're applying to schools without much thought about how you fit into programs. You should choose schools to apply to based on how well they fit your research interest. Targeting schools based on how their placement performance matches your career expectations is not a bad idea, but I would caution against using the "top ten" as a metric for evaluating that for a couple of reasons. First, plenty of schools outside the top ten can reliably place you in respectable work teaching in small LACs or public universities that don't have big research budgets (for example). If this type of a job is preferable to you over your other likely options, you should apply to schools that will admit you and can supply that kind of work. Second, "the top ten" is hardly the limit for getting a research-oriented faculty position. There are schools (UW-Madison, Minnesota, Duke, UNC, UC-San Diego, and a dozen others) that have long records placing some portion of their students in tenure track postions at research universities or large LACs that encourage and support some research. For what it's worth, I say this as someone who could be accused of blanketing the top ten; I didn't apply anywhere outside the top twenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Lol a PhD isnt law school. You just dont throw applications at the whole T14 and hope something sticks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulgroove Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Just completed my Skype video interview with Emory! Phew! 45 minutes. Intense. But they were very nice. Anyone can provide any feedback about Emory as a department and place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoliSwede Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I can only speak for myself, but I definitely targeted my applications based on where I could find professors that I want to work with. For anyone that will have to go through an additional 4-6 years of schooling, finding people that you think you will enjoy working with/under sounds like a must. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GopherGrad Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 In other news, I just got an email from Duke asking me to set up my student account so I can check my status and, of course, no decision has been made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 A good show premiered on FX last nite...The Americans..its about KGB spies in the 80's that go undercover in America. I am about to watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quigley Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 GradCafe really needs a phone app that sends push notifications for the results board based on keywords. Tupamaros and PoliSwede 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quigley Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Blanketing the top ten is a bad idea because it means you're applying to schools without much thought about how you fit into programs. You should choose schools to apply to based on how well they fit your research interest. Targeting schools based on how their placement performance matches your career expectations is not a bad idea, but I would caution against using the "top ten" as a metric for evaluating that for a couple of reasons. First, plenty of schools outside the top ten can reliably place you in respectable work teaching in small LACs or public universities that don't have big research budgets (for example). If this type of a job is preferable to you over your other likely options, you should apply to schools that will admit you and can supply that kind of work. Second, "the top ten" is hardly the limit for getting a research-oriented faculty position. There are schools (UW-Madison, Minnesota, Duke, UNC, UC-San Diego, and a dozen others) that have long records placing some portion of their students in tenure track postions at research universities or large LACs that encourage and support some research. For what it's worth, I say this as someone who could be accused of blanketing the top ten; I didn't apply anywhere outside the top twenty. Everyone above makes excellent points. I spent months researching programs to find the ones that were the best fit. There were a few schools that I would have really loved to go to but they just didn't have the research match. Edited January 30, 2013 by Quigley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Congrats to the 2 FSU, the OSU and the Texas A&M university acceptances!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlebitofluck Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 So, we need new predictions for the week. I say PSU and MSU willy fully announce their acceptances. Perhaps, however, this is just wishful thinking on my part. What do others think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I already predicted FSU. I think we will see more OSU, UNC, and FSU..I think Texas A&M next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingsmile Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Here to report an acceptance from George Mason. Got a snail mail yesterday from the department, no funding info, said formal acceptance letter will be coming from the school. I plan to wait out and see if there's funding on its way while waiting for the other schools. But good start. Yay! Anyone else got the same thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrab Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Anyone have a general idea about the typical cohort demographic - maybe someone who is already attending? Am I going to be the "old guy" if I'm entering at 27? Assuming I'm accepted to a program, I'd be entering at 27 as well. I'm glad I waited. If I would have applied directly from undergrad I would have been overly optimistic and naive about the process/job search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTP25 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Anyone have a general idea about the typical cohort demographic - maybe someone who is already attending? Am I going to be the "old guy" if I'm entering at 27? Assuming I'm accepted to a program, I'd be entering at 27 as well. I'm glad I waited. If I would have applied directly from undergrad I would have been overly optimistic and naive about the process/job search. I'll be 27 about 2 months into any program I attend. I think it is a fairly typical age to be entering a PhD program. Even if not, it looks like we're in good company here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisGuyRiteHere Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Here to report an acceptance from George Mason. Got a snail mail yesterday from the department, no funding info, said formal acceptance letter will be coming from the school. I plan to wait out and see if there's funding on its way while waiting for the other schools. But good start. Yay! Anyone else got the same thing?Amanda told me Early Feb. at the Latest. So we shall see. I just checked my application status today and nothing. She told me they were still under review....I smell a ding coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingsmile Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Amanda told me Early Feb. at the Latest. So we shall see. I just checked my application status today and nothing. She told me they were still under review....I smell a ding coming Not to worry yet. I live in Virginia so maybe that's why I got the mail a couple of days earlier. Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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