Attention Public Policy/Affairs PhDs & Applicants!

[tmj143]

Just heard from Maryland, but they 1.didn't say anything about a visit day and 2. If I understand the stipend correctly, it's about half the actual cost of living in MD, unless there's a way to make tons of money over the summer.

[PolyWonk]

PolyWonk - are you headed to Duke? I think if you're excited about their offer and it's your top choice, go for it! (Especially if you've already visited!)

I think I will be!   So pumped!

 

Just heard from Maryland, but they 1.didn't say anything about a visit day and 2. If I understand the stipend correctly, it's about half the actual cost of living in MD, unless there's a way to make tons of money over the summer.

Congrats! That's a tough decision though. With all your other offers, is it possible to negotiate the stipend?

[giants1012]

Polywonk - congrats on being decided! That's great news.

 

Took y'alls advice and contacted Texas. They basically said that if I hadn't heard I'm probably on the waitlist. I don't know if they normally just don't tell people their status, or if my notification just fell through the cracks, but either way it's pretty off-putting. If anybody else still hasn't heard from Texas, call em!

 

It's been a stressful two weeks! Good luck everybody, its almost over!

[travmatic]

Just heard from maryland, they rejected me. I though I had a real shot with them since I had 3 very long conversations with 3 professors I was interested in doing research with. I guess having lots of work experience does not make up for having any research experience.

 

So far I have only gotten into University of Delaware for Energy and Enviornmental Policy, does anyone know how high this program is ranked. I cant seem to find anything online.

 

My only hope now is Ga tech. I am keeping my fingers crossed since I spoke to the PI twice on the phone and visited to school to meeting with the head of the department.

 

I havent heard anything from CMU but based on what tmj said, i am counting that as a rejection.

 

TMJ,

 

you have so many opinions from alot of top programs. it must be hard to decide between CMU, RAND, and Maryland. From what i hear about CMU they are kinda funny with funding. they only fund people for the first year and then try kinda expect you to find external funding. maryland seems cool since it is right in the dc area but you are right it is kinda expensive. pittsburgh is dirt cheap.

[mav1113]

So far I have only gotten into University of Delaware for Energy and Enviornmental Policy, does anyone know how high this program is ranked. I cant seem to find anything online.

 

I couldn't tell you where they stand in the rankings, but I've heard it's a good one--and, from the impression I've got, it seems like it's an expanding section compared to their other tracks.

[PolyWonk]

http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-Public/124706/

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools/public-affairs-rankings/page+2

 

I don't know about the quality of these rankings, but UDelaware is on them. 

[mav1113]

chronicle is the real deal rankings for sure- thanks for the link!! US News has less than a 40% response rate (and only deans /dept. heads are polled.....no bias there, clearly), and I think the us news rankings posted are only of master's programs.

[PolyWonk]

chronicle is the real deal rankings for sure- thanks for the link!! US News has less than a 40% response rate (and only deans /dept. heads are polled.....no bias there, clearly), and I think the us news rankings posted are only of master's programs.

 

You're very welcome   

 

Yeah, I noticed that. But in a world of so much ambiguity, when it comes to rankings I figure that the ranked "quality" of the master's programs reflects (to a [small] degree) the quality of professors, resources and hopefully opportunity that one can find there. I thought about this a lot, because rankings for policy programs are few and far between, and many of them left me more confused about where to apply than before I saw them. What do you guys think?

[AL2013]

In case anyone else is waiting to hear from the Ford School regarding the Public Policy/Sociology Joint PhD program: I just called and they said they hoped to have everyone's decision out by April 1st (so late!!!). I would assume people who got in will know before then, but apparently they are super slow. 

[tmj143]

Just heard from maryland, they rejected me. I though I had a real shot with them since I had 3 very long conversations with 3 professors I was interested in doing research with. I guess having lots of work experience does not make up for having any research experience.

 

So far I have only gotten into University of Delaware for Energy and Enviornmental Policy, does anyone know how high this program is ranked. I cant seem to find anything online.

 

My only hope now is Ga tech. I am keeping my fingers crossed since I spoke to the PI twice on the phone and visited to school to meeting with the head of the department.

 

I havent heard anything from CMU but based on what tmj said, i am counting that as a rejection.

 

TMJ,

 

you have so many opinions from alot of top programs. it must be hard to decide between CMU, RAND, and Maryland. From what i hear about CMU they are kinda funny with funding. they only fund people for the first year and then try kinda expect you to find external funding. maryland seems cool since it is right in the dc area but you are right it is kinda expensive. pittsburgh is dirt cheap.

 

Congratulations on Delaware!  They looked like a good program, but I wasn't incredibly interested in energy and didn't apply.  Good luck with GA Tech!

 

Yeah, CMU only guarantees funding for a year, but you can generally get some sort of guarantee from the people you're working with to fund you, from what it sounded like (though you may be restricted in what sort of project you can work on based on funding).  I am really interested in the research Maryland is doing, but I think RAND may be more flexible and pays a lot more (about the same as CMU, but of course a much higher cost of living in LA).  Trying to be open-minded with these visits, as I know from grad school visit season 1 of applying to astro PhD programs that visits can greatly affect your perception of a place, although I have a preliminary ranking now. 

 

I'd looked at the rankings before as well, but it seems like comparing apples and oranges for most of these programs; each seems to have its own emphasis, and it seems difficult to compare a place that's good in health policy to one that's good at national security policy.  I feel like the best way to judge is to look at the level of funding for grad students and where grad students in your subfield end up...

[Arkibarki]

Anyone wanting to share their thoughts on Ph.D. funding in general? I have received a couple of admission offers, but am not entirely sure of what constitutes a good financial aid package. Hence, I do not know whether I should try to push for more aid, or whether I should be satisfied with what the various schools have offered. 

[PolyWonk]

Anyone wanting to share their thoughts on Ph.D. funding in general? I have received a couple of admission offers, but am not entirely sure of what constitutes a good financial aid package. Hence, I do not know whether I should try to push for more aid, or whether I should be satisfied with what the various schools have offered. 

Ditto. 

[mav1113]

I have one unofficial offer, which is about 16k, plus health insurance, guarenteed for 4-years. This is for a smaller department, but it is located near a major city. I have one school that I'm waiting to hear back from in regards to funding, but from what they've told me already, that will only be for 3-years. Personally, I feel more comfortable with the 4-years guarenteed; I know that some programs only offer a couple of years funding then you're on your own, and the last thing I want to do as I'm finishing classes/preparing for my dissertation purposal is try to fund additional funding!

 

To give some additional perspective, the grad school where I did my master's (a private D1 school in Boston) offered their soc. phds only 18k- barely enough to cover housing. I've never heard of a school giving more than 28-32k, which I think I read was Harvard's stipend for one of their social science phd programs (either poly sci. or soc....I can't remember). Besides these figures, I'm not too familiar with what other schools, particularly policy departments, offer.

 

I think the other thing to consider is the cost of living in your program's area, which makes it more difficult to compare offers. Like I said, my previous grad school offered 18k- great in more rural areas, but in a city with one of the most expensive cost of living/housing in the country, not so much.

 

I hope this is helpful!

[tmj143]

Anyone wanting to share their thoughts on Ph.D. funding in general? I have received a couple of admission offers, but am not entirely sure of what constitutes a good financial aid package. Hence, I do not know whether I should try to push for more aid, or whether I should be satisfied with what the various schools have offered. 

CMU (EPP) is 22.5k, RAND is about the same pre-taxes your first year, drops the second year (but notes that if you work more than the required time, you can make more), and then is 26.5 after that.  Maryland offered me 12.5k academic-year only, but told me if finances were really the deciding factor, that might be negotiable.  GMU has not told me anything of use.  I think private institutions can generally offer a lot more than public ones, and that pure policy programs offer less than ones that focus on disciplines with lots of governmental funding.

 

Also, knowing whether you get health insurance is important, and something people often forget to ask about.

Edited March 12, 2013 by tmj143

[mav1113]

I have one school that I'm waiting to hear back from in regards to funding, but from what they've told me already, that will only be for 3-years. 

 I should add that this offer also stipulates that I cannot work anywhere else...which would be difficult considering how little I will be paid!

[Arkibarki]

I have one unofficial offer, which is about 16k, plus health insurance, guarenteed for 4-years. This is for a smaller department, but it is located near a major city. I have one school that I'm waiting to hear back from in regards to funding, but from what they've told me already, that will only be for 3-years. Personally, I feel more comfortable with the 4-years guarenteed; I know that some programs only offer a couple of years funding then you're on your own, and the last thing I want to do as I'm finishing classes/preparing for my dissertation purposal is try to fund additional funding!

 

To give some additional perspective, the grad school where I did my master's (a private D1 school in Boston) offered their soc. phds only 18k- barely enough to cover housing. I've never heard of a school giving more than 28-32k, which I think I read was Harvard's stipend for one of their social science phd programs (either poly sci. or soc....I can't remember). Besides these figures, I'm not too familiar with what other schools, particularly policy departments, offer.

 

I think the other thing to consider is the cost of living in your program's area, which makes it more difficult to compare offers. Like I said, my previous grad school offered 18k- great in more rural areas, but in a city with one of the most expensive cost of living/housing in the country, not so much.

 

I hope this is helpful!

 

Thank you so much, this is very helpful. My best offer so far is tuition + health insurance + a 24.5 K per year stipend, which I should be very happy about then  

[AL2013]

For all of the programs I looked at offers of $15k - $20k were what was given, not any more (so way to go on CMU and RAND). Like others, I think you have to consider years of support, health insurance (which a program should really offer you), cost of living (important when comparing two locations, a lower number might actually be a better deal), and the requirements attached to the stipend. Most schools require 20 hours of work with full funding, but some will give you a year or two with no work requirements, which could be especially valuable when you're writing a dissertation or out doing research. You could also ask other students about the situation at the school where only three years is guaranteed - maybe it's not a big deal. They have the perspective you want! (And of course, you should get tuition!)

Edited March 12, 2013 by AL2013

[Arkibarki]

Is anyone still waiting to hear back from Berkeley? Or has anyone already heard back from the school? Any information would be greatly appreciated. 

[giants1012]

Is anyone still waiting to hear back from Berkeley? Or has anyone already heard back from the school? Any information would be greatly appreciated. 

Yeah, I'm still waiting as well.

[giants1012]

I see that someone heard on March 2; I know that some programs admit people and wait to send out rejections, so its probably not a good sign for us...

[mav1113]

Has anyone heard anything about phd admissions for GWU?

 

Only 2 postings in the results section, but seems like it might be a fluke?

[Arkibarki]

I see that someone heard on March 2; I know that some programs admit people and wait to send out rejections, so its probably not a good sign for us...

 

Yeah, I am not expecting anything else than a rejection. However, I am very eager to get this whole process over with, so that I can start evaluating my options and move on to the next step. 

[Arkibarki]

I see that someone heard on March 2; I know that some programs admit people and wait to send out rejections, so its probably not a good sign for us...

 

However, someone did just post a rejection (dated March 8). I wonder what that means...

[giants1012]

Haha, I think we are living the same life right now. I saw that too and got instantly curious and started mulling over possibilities.

 

I finally decided to just send an email to admissions because I would like to know, as you said above, either way - so I can start making my decision. Still waiting on their response, I'll keep you posted. No pun intended.

[giants1012]

Okay arki, so here is what just happened to me. Interested to see what happened to your application...

 

After emailing admissions, she wrote back asking for my application ID number and date I applied. When I sent those, she wrote back and said THEY DIDN'T HAVE MY APP IN THEIR SYSTEM. She asked if I was positive that I had applied to the Public Policy Phd.

 

I obviously was pretty worried that there is no way my application would get a fair assessment now, and a little bit miffed at the question if I knew which program I had applied to. I sent back a screenshot of my Berkeley Grad Application online profile that said "Public Policy PhD" on it and also sent the receipt for the $80 application fee showing it was received by the deadline.

 

She then emails back saying sorry, they actually DO have my application, and what email should she send the decision letter to. About an hour later I get the form rejection letter from her email address, not from the online application system. Just checked the Berkeley Grad application system, and no decision is posted there.

 

What do y'all think about all this? At best they aren't notifying people when they are rejected and are just kinda dealing with it as they get bothered. At worst they lost my application and when it became clear I was pretty pissed (and would probably ask for $80 back) they just sent a rejection.