Welcome to the 2012-2013 cycle

[BFB]

For what it's worth, my own take on this is that it's always to your advantage for schools to know what other schools you're in. I know of at least two cases where knowing what our "competition" had offered allowed us to "match" the funding offer. Had that information not been shared, those two individuals would have had less attractive packages. 

 

I'd go a little farther than this: it can be to your advantage to reveal other offers, no matter who the competition is.

 

If it's an institution that's reasonably close to ours, as Irfan says, we have an incentive to match.

 

If it's an institution that's ranked well above ours, we don't give up—especially if, as is the case with a couple of prospectives this year, we sincerely believe that we're a better fit, and therefore a better choice. We'll find some way to send you a costly signal to that effect.

 

If we're clearly your first choice, we might send a fellowship year from the Graduate School to you so that they pay your salary for another year and we don't—especially if that fellowship year can't be used to fund someone else.

 

In short, no matter what your situation is, there is a justification in our system for throwing more money your way when we're putting together an offer letter. Obviously, we cannot do all of these things simultaneously, and which ones we can do depends on a bizarrely convoluted set of circumstances—it's basically unpredictable a priori, even to us. But none of these incentives—zero—apply to you if we don't know anything at all about your situation.

[cooperstreet]

BFB-

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

I just have one question. I didn't go to a great school for undergrad, and I did poorly my first 2.5 years. I then got my act together and averaged a 3.8 for the last year and a half.  I then did a cheap MA at a local state school, again not highly ranked. I thought if I wrote a kickass thesis, it would make up for my poor first couple of years as an undergrad and the lack of prestige.

 

The thesis got published at a highly respected journal. I know for a fact that it is being taught in a political science seminar in in one school.

 

Still, I'm on my second round of applications and have yet to receive an offer! What gives? Am I doomed? does my publication not mean as much as I thought it does?

Edited March 2, 2013 by cooperstreet

[chaetzli]

Congratulations. 

 

Thank you 

[eponine997]

For what it's worth, my own take on this is that it's always to your advantage for schools to know what other schools you're in. I know of at least two cases where knowing what our "competition" had offered allowed us to "match" the funding offer. Had that information not been shared, those two individuals would have had less attractive packages. 

Fair point, and I have no problem telling schools where else I applied and was or wasn't accepted to and what my funding offers are.  I was speaking more in terms of the level of anonymity of the forum - they (POIs/Adcoms/DGSs) have more incentive to read it if they can readily identify users.  Perhaps phrasing my post as "how they read it" rather than "why they read it" would have been more appropriate.  

 

But that is good info though, thank you

[upam]

What is the most appropriate way to ask if a school is willing to match funding? An email to the dgs?

[certaincertainties]

Anybody waiting for University of Toronto's PhD results next week?

 

yep. I'm very much looking forward to this whole process being over with! Best of luck!

[BFB]

What is the most appropriate way to ask if a school is willing to match funding? An email to the dgs?

Yes.

[BFB]

BFB-   Thanks for all your help.   I just have one question. I didn't go to a great school for undergrad, and I did poorly my first 2.5 years. I then got my act together and averaged a 3.8 for the last year and a half.  I then did a cheap MA at a local state school, again not highly ranked. I thought if I wrote a kickass thesis, it would make up for my poor first couple of years as an undergrad and the lack of prestige.   The thesis got published at a highly respected journal. I know for a fact that it is being taught in a political science seminar in in one school.   Still, I'm on my second round of applications and have yet to receive an offer! What gives? Am I doomed? does my publication not mean as much as I thought it does?

Not necessarily. From your sig, it looks as though you're shooting pretty high. That's great (never undervalue yourself!), but it also means you're putting yourself up against some of the toughest competition in the country. For a given subfield, most programs admit in the low double digits (in our case, about 12 per subfield). So... things get tight. When people are hammering out a final list, a low GPA from a non-great undergrad school and a cheap MA can count more in some minds than in others. That said, the journal publication is a big gold star. I would be very hesitant, myself, to pass on a profile like that. If you're really puzzled by your outcomes, I'd write to one or two DGSes and ask why it didn't work out. I get two or three emails like that every year. They're one of the sadder parts of the job, but if someone is brave enough to ask me for an honest answer, I do my best to give it without being hurtful. One of our current admits was unsuccessful last year, wrote to ask what could have been improved, improved it, and got in. One BIG caveat: We cannot comment on your letters. It's hard even to say "I can't comment on your letters" because that makes it sound like they're bad. So no comment means no comment, period. And letters matter a lot. So I might get stuck in a nightmare scenario in which one of my colleagues has written a meh (or worse) letter for an otherwise exemplary file, and I am legally obligated not to mention that fact.

[catchermiscount]

For what it's worth, I'd like to second BFB's comment re: emailing DGSes to ask which aspects of your application were weakest and which next steps might be the most helpful.  The first time I applied to schools, it didn't go well (I happened to have both a low GPA AND a bad undergrad institution, woot woot); I lucked my way into acceptance for the PhD program of a good department that was weak in my own subfield and got relegated to a master's program at a top place.  So, I emailed the DGS at a school very dear to BFB's heart (where I had been rejected) and asked:  what was weak about my application, and which of these two steps do you think might help me the most moving forward? 

 

She was very candid.  Obviously, candor can be difficult to swallow sometimes, but you get over that.  She made her recommendation as to which path was better given my current weaknesses, and I took her advice.  When I re-applied to her department two years later, I was lucky enough to get in---and on the letter from her, she added a postscript about how pleased she was to see that our decision had paid dividends.  At the risk of getting trite, I was touched (too late---that was trite).  It made it all the harder when I went elsewhere...but that's another story.

 

The point here is:  acquiring information is scary, and it's hard, and it can be disappointing, and not every DGS will be so kind as to get back in touch with you, and not every DGS that does will be as kind as the one I reference here is, and so on.  But, what BFB is saying isn't just propaganda on the faculty side:  there are some good ones out there, and they can help you if you do it right.

Edited March 3, 2013 by currentpsstudent

[irfannooruddin]

Definitely agree, and I didn't even apply to OSU! Even though I've done pretty well this cycle, it's really reassuring to hear tales of what goes on behind the scenes. I know for me it takes a lot of the anxious guesswork out of why I didn't get in at a certain school or what I could have done differently, etc. Getting 6 rejections in a row is demoralizing no matter how you slice it, so it's great to hear viewpoints from the other side!

 

As I mentioned earlier in response to someone else, you're not alone in being rejected. Some people run the table no doubt, but most don't. I went 3/15 myself, including rejections at 2 of the institutions your sig indicates you're in at. Fortunately for me, I got in to the 3rd and that's all that I needed.

 

One thing that I now realize, that I didn't 17 years ago when I was in your shoes, is how vital "fit" is, and how differently faculty evaluate fit than graduate students and especially prospective graduate students. When I applied, I indicated an interest in studying India as well as more general interests in comparative political economy. Looking back, I realize now that most of the schools to which I applied (essentially the top 10 plus a few safeties) had no one who studied India. I am sure they had plenty of reasons to reject me, but that fact would likely have been sufficient in itself.

[PhDhopeful2013]

Do most funding packages come with summer funding? And what's the typical amount for a summer stipend? Thanks!

And good luck to everyone during this upcoming week! We are finally nearing the end of the process!!

[frankentheory]

Anybody waiting for University of Toronto's PhD results next week?

I'm anxiously waiting to hear them!  Best of luck to you!

[runner12]

Do most funding packages come with summer funding? And what's the typical amount for a summer stipend? Thanks!

I've had some schools offer 5 years of summer stipends, some that don't explicitly break out a summer stipend but quoted their stipend in 12-month periods, and some that just offered 2 years of summer stipends or none at all. They ranged around $2000-5000 per summer, depending on the school. Edited March 3, 2013 by runner12

[certaincertainties]

As I mentioned earlier in response to someone else, you're not alone in being rejected. Some people run the table no doubt, but most don't. I went 3/15 myself, including rejections at 2 of the institutions your sig indicates you're in at. Fortunately for me, I got in to the 3rd and that's all that I needed.

 

One thing that I now realize, that I didn't 17 years ago when I was in your shoes, is how vital "fit" is, and how differently faculty evaluate fit than graduate students and especially prospective graduate students. When I applied, I indicated an interest in studying India as well as more general interests in comparative political economy. Looking back, I realize now that most of the schools to which I applied (essentially the top 10 plus a few safeties) had no one who studied India. I am sure they had plenty of reasons to reject me, but that fact would likely have been sufficient in itself.

 

Thank you. I definitely agree, and in looking at my acceptances, all of them make sense given my interests (which admittedly are a little different for political theory). Similarly, only one of the rejections I received was a surprise, given fit. 

[Doorkeeper]

As I mentioned earlier in response to someone else, you're not alone in being rejected. Some people run the table no doubt, but most don't. I went 3/15 myself, including rejections at 2 of the institutions your sig indicates you're in at. Fortunately for me, I got in to the 3rd and that's all that I needed.

 

I don't mean to be rude in pointing this out, but it is extremely wonderful to read a faculty member in such a great department admit to having made mistakes and being fallible.  Too often I interact with faculty, even exceptionally kind faculty, who seem to have forgotten what it feels like to be anxious about one's future and one's place in academia.

Edited March 3, 2013 by Doorkeeper

[goforbroke33]

I don't mean to be rude in pointing this out, but it is extremely wonderful to read a faculty member in such a great department admit to having made mistakes and being fallible.  Too often I interact with faculty, even exceptionally kind faculty, who seem to have forgotten what it feels like to be anxious about one's future and one's place in academia.

 

+1

 

Well said.

[ThisGuyRiteHere]

I think fit is the only reason I am in where I am now. I look at it like the biology/chemistry students. They apply to study under someone (SN: I highly recommend this documentary http://www.thirteen.org/embed-player/?pid=0IbDG4CTzUuikqXGA0atytdwiHDU_Adg&share=true titled Naturally Obsessed. It shows the life of PhD students at columbia. Only a hour long). If we are all going to be scholars, whether we are in academia, public policy, foreign relations or even corporate america, we need to learn the appropriate way in which to conduct research on out subject of choice. That's how i looked at it.

Edited March 3, 2013 by TheMarketMan

[PhDhopeful2013]

I've had some schools offer 5 years of summer stipends, some that don't explicitly break out a summer stipend but quoted their stipend in 12-month periods, and some that just offered 2 years of summer stipends or none at all. They ranged around $2000-5000 per summer, depending on the school.

Ok thanks for the info. Seems as though this is an area where offers vary quite a bit...

[Cesare]

As I mentioned earlier in response to someone else, you're not alone in being rejected. Some people run the table no doubt, but most don't. I went 3/15 myself, including rejections at 2 of the institutions your sig indicates you're in at. Fortunately for me, I got in to the 3rd and that's all that I needed.

 

One thing that I now realize, that I didn't 17 years ago when I was in your shoes, is how vital "fit" is, and how differently faculty evaluate fit than graduate students and especially prospective graduate students. When I applied, I indicated an interest in studying India as well as more general interests in comparative political economy. Looking back, I realize now that most of the schools to which I applied (essentially the top 10 plus a few safeties) had no one who studied India. I am sure they had plenty of reasons to reject me, but that fact would likely have been sufficient in itself.

Question: My MA thesis, which is also my writing sample, is on an obscure topic and I used new/experimental methodology. Could this be one factor to my less than stellar performance this cycle (all I have are wait-lists at top 20 programs)? 

Edited March 3, 2013 by anxiousphd

[ThisGuyRiteHere]

42 days till decision day.

[BFB]

Question: My MA thesis, which is also my writing sample, is on an obscure topic and I used new/experimental methodology. Could this be one factor to my less than stellar performance this cycle (all I have are wait-lists at top 20 programs)? 

 

How does being waitlisted at top-20 programs constitute a less than stellar performance?

[Cesare]

For identification purposes, I can’t give you the long and complicated answer to that question. I will admit that I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to school, so when I don’t do well by my standards it is crushing.  It also doesn’t help that I overanalyze everything.

I do realize that rejection is common in academia and that I am not Gods gift to Political Science (I am not one of those prospective students that has an ego), but the waitlist is the “you are good, but not good enough” list. If I am admitted off of the waitlist, for the next 5-6 years I will always feel that I am not worthy enough to be in that program because you know that you were not their first choice.
 

However, if I do have to go through another cycle, I will follow all of the advice you have given on this thread so far. I only applied to 7 schools and looking at my choices at least half of them were terrible for me in terms of fit, which explains my results.

 

Aside from obvious things like trying to increase GRE scores (they were decent and within the averages of the schools that I applied to, but not stellar) and fixing minor problems in the SOP, the only thing I can think of is my writing sample.

 

I know being waitlisted is a good sign, but at the end of the day it is not an acceptance. 

[polisciapplicant210]

I still have not heard from Berkeley, which is very disappointing (mainly because I paid a 100 $ application fee and I think I can therefore expect to be informed not much later than anyone else). I also wrote them on Thursday, but did not receive any answer so far. I remember that several people had the same problem a few days ago. Is this still the case? Has anyone else not heard from Berkeley?

[PoliSwede]

For identification purposes, I can’t give you the long and complicated answer to that question. I will admit that I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to school, so when I don’t do well by my standards it is crushing.  It also doesn’t help that I overanalyze everything.

I do realize that rejection is common in academia and that I am not Gods gift to Political Science (I am not one of those prospective students that has an ego), but the waitlist is the “you are good, but not good enough” list. If I am admitted off of the waitlist, for the next 5-6 years I will always feel that I am not worthy enough to be in that program because you know that you were not their first choice.

 

However, if I do have to go through another cycle, I will follow all of the advice you have given on this thread so far. I only applied to 7 schools and looking at my choices at least half of them were terrible for me in terms of fit, which explains my results.

 

Aside from obvious things like trying to increase GRE scores (they were decent and within the averages of the schools that I applied to, but not stellar) and fixing minor problems in the SOP, the only thing I can think of is my writing sample.

 

I know being waitlisted is a good sign, but at the end of the day it is not an acceptance. 

I hope that you have better luck in your next cycle, if that turns out to be what you have to go through. It sounds like you have a really good idea about what this process is about and having the experience of doing it once already will surely help.

[BFB]

I do realize that rejection is common in academia and that I am not Gods gift to Political Science (I am not one of those prospective students that has an ego), but the waitlist is the “you are good, but not good enough” list. If I am admitted off of the waitlist, for the next 5-6 years I will always feel that I am not worthy enough to be in that program because you know that you were not their first choice.

 

That's actually not true. If you weren't good enough, you wouldn't be on the wait list at all.

 

It may or may not mean that you're a lower priority for the Department than people who were accepted outright: as I've discussed above, some programs can't control funding as much as they'd like, and as you've just noted, fit is a huge deal. But it definitely doesn't mean you're not good enough.