What's your thoughts about Rutgers?

[sonnyday]

So far, I have gotten two acceptances at Rutgers and UMCP. Rejected at 4 others, waitlisted at 1, and awaiting decisions from 4 more. I am currently trying to choose between the two, as Rutgers has offered me an excellent full funding fellowship for 5 years and UMCP has offered me basically nothing (a stipend I couldn't possibly live off of as a GA for only 4 years and limited tuition remission).

Maryland is ranked higher, but the cost of living here is outrageously high. I'm from the area, so I know what they are offering me is a joke. Rutgers has a lower ranking, but I'm wondering how low. I actually like their program better, based on reviewing their websites and faculty with very similar research to mine, but I wonder if going to Rutgers will lessen my job prospects in the future, while UMCP may better them (they have had a higher placement rate in the past than rutgers) because it is commonly seen as a good program in Govt and Politics.

So I'd like your impression, because it seems that the impression the name gives heavily impacts whether a research facility/university wants to hire someone regardless of the work they have done there.

Where would you rank Rutgers' Poli Sci doctoral program vs. UMCP? Or do you even view UMCP as that much better?

[AllFiredUp]

So far, I have gotten two acceptances at Rutgers and UMCP. Rejected at 4 others, waitlisted at 1, and awaiting decisions from 4 more. I am currently trying to choose between the two, as Rutgers has offered me an excellent full funding fellowship for 5 years and UMCP has offered me basically nothing (a stipend I couldn't possibly live off of as a GA for only 4 years and limited tuition remission).

Maryland is ranked higher, but the cost of living here is outrageously high,

NJ, on the other hand, is only prohibitively high. Except for gas.

[Wesson]

What's your field?

I have visited both departments. Rutgers was a bit odd because faculty in the different fields seemed to have almost no interaction with one another. But that shouldn't matter for the graduate student who is comfortable with the faculty in the subfield. The university is also a bit odd with the campuses spread around town. But that probably wouldn't matter much for you, except possibly when you have to make brief road trips for TA duty. Maryland didn't strike me as having the most pleasant faculty as a whole, although some were quite nice. But what I really noticed was how few faculty were around. I was told that they live all over the area, and many have other activities in D.C., so many only come to the department when they absolutely have to do so. That's not an ideal situation for graduate students.

[sonnyday]

Thanks, Wesson.

I'll be majoring in Comparative Politics and my areas of focus are quite specialized in the sense that they are pretty rare in Poli Sci in general (not many scholars/professors work in this area, and most are only at the Ivy Leagues): Racial Politics, sub-Saharan Africa and the African Diaspora, and Gender and Development.

[hondo19]

Sonnyday, when were you waitlisted at JHU?

Did you post this in results?

Curious for obvious reasons. Thx

[poliscidude]

Sonny, would you mind posting your stats? I also applied to Rutgers and JHU and have yet to hear anything either way. I'd like to see how I compare. Thanks.

[spark25]

Sonny, would you mind posting your stats? I also applied to Rutgers and JHU and have yet to hear anything either way. I'd like to see how I compare. Thanks.

Same here. But are Rutgers and JHU done or are they still in the process.

[FuzzyDunlop]

Thanks, Wesson.

I'll be majoring in Comparative Politics and my areas of focus are quite specialized in the sense that they are pretty rare in Poli Sci in general (not many scholars/professors work in this area, and most are only at the Ivy Leagues): Racial Politics, sub-Saharan Africa and the African Diaspora, and Gender and Development.

Not my field, but Rutgers does seem to have strength in gender politics, with quite a few people there studying that subject from various angles. That could make it a good fit. However, be forewarned (somewhat ironic given this strength)...

http://chronicle.com/jobs/blogs/onhirin ... al-science

[biginternational]

Some second-hand info, for what it's worth; a former classmate of mine left Rutgers because he wasn't happy with the faculty. This person described the atmosphere in the department in less than glowing terms. He subsequently moved to a higher ranked program. I do not believe it was a matter of aptitude.

[sonnyday]

I was contacted by a professor I have been in close contact with at JHU. He said I wasn't accepted outright, but to hold tight because I was at the top of the waitlist and that I was very competitive and there was some sort of "duke out" but I wasn't quite good enough. He's sure that someone will not accept and I might stand another chance but you never know. There was no formal waitlist letter sent to me, so its possible they are waitlisting applicants by not contacting them yet.

I got my acceptance letter from Rutgers after Valentine's day. Not sure what they are currently doing.

Gender is definitely the strength at Rutgers I was looking at, and one particular professor there works on the intersectionality of Race and Gender. I met her at APSA conference last summer and her work is great. I'm also aware of the gender problem of the faculty at Rutgers, which is very ironic!

[globaltrekker]

Have you visited Rutgers and the department? I received an offer of admission, but looks like there is no recruitment weekend. Was wondering if you heard of anything organized by them.

[sonnyday]

Have you visited Rutgers and the department? I received an offer of admission, but looks like there is no recruitment weekend. Was wondering if you heard of anything organized by them.

I was wondering the same thing. I asked if they would be able to fund a visit, and they said no (a little annoying) so I've been delaying visiting until I can get some time off at work. I'll call the graduate school and ask tomorrow.

[Tigs]

Hey, I'm a third year at Rutgers (political theorist). We don't have an organized recruitment weekend or anything, but if you want to come in for a visit, Rick Lau (grad director) will help you organize it.

I have a great relationship with faculty in some subfields, but there is definitely a split between certain other subfields.

I think the greatest challenge is funding, as we are a state school with the same sort of state budget crisis as everywhere else.

Rutgers is a great place to do gender-related research and is definitely up and coming in race-related areas. I don't know if they've publicized it or not but we're in the process of courting 2 new tenured people (I believe one has definitely accepted and the other is an almost-yes), one who does gender/theory/policy and the other who does race/Caribbean policy/intersectionality. That being said, I do normative theory with an eye towards policy, and I have found several profs who are interested/supportive of my work.

If anyone wants to email me for any info on RU, funding, life in good old dirty Jersey, please feel free: wlwright (at) rutgers (dot) eden (dot) edu

-Wendy