Faculty perspectives

[BFB]

Would you say that there's variation to this process if, for example, an admissions committee member who is not a POI were conducting the (informal) interview?

 

I suppose? I really don't know. I gather we're not talking about OSU any longer    so I'm reluctant to speculate much at all.

 

Though I can't say I expected an answer different from the one you've offered. Well, I wanted to hear, "they just want to win your heart." But I knew that wasn't realistic. 

 

Thanks!

 

 

That's actually often true, though perhaps not overtly. I do get people grabbing me at meetings or in the hallway and saying "You really have to get this person." But they probably won't let their enthusiasm show to the candidate before the final list comes out, because if they're not on it… well, that'd be a pretty crappy thing to do to someone.

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Thanks for your insights. I hate to have asked you for some speculation, but to an extent I think committees at top schools are going to be looking for similar qualities. Your comments are valuable (even if 100% generalizability isn't possible). 

[ecm07e]

Hello,

 

First time poster! I have been out of school since 2009 and have been teaching high school since 2011 in the District of Columbia. Last year I received a Congressional Senior Fellowship (worth 24k) that requires me to go back for a Masters in either American History or Political Science. My UGD is in History (3.1 GPA, after flunking out my freshman year) and my GRE are scores are sub-par (300 total). With the amount of time that I have been out of school hurt my application? On the other hand, would having a Senior Fellowship help me? 

 

Thanks!

[BFB]

Hello,

 

First time poster! I have been out of school since 2009 and have been teaching high school since 2011 in the District of Columbia. Last year I received a Congressional Senior Fellowship (worth 24k) that requires me to go back for a Masters in either American History or Political Science. My UGD is in History (3.1 GPA, after flunking out my freshman year) and my GRE are scores are sub-par (300 total). With the amount of time that I have been out of school hurt my application? On the other hand, would having a Senior Fellowship help me? 

 

Thanks!

 

Let me put it this way: I don't think a somewhat unconventional background like this helps or hurts your application, on average. What I suspect it does is raise the variance of the responses you'll get. Put simply, it adds a fair bit of noise to the signal that the committee expects to receive, but it's difficult to predict how they'll react.

[catchermiscount]

If only there were people out there dedicated to encouraging social scientists to stop with this mean fetishism and move on to meaningful theories of variance.  It just feels like we're stuck in a moment that we can't get out of.

[BFB]

Well played.

[ecm07e]

Thank you for your answer!

[Whatishistoryanyway]

Wow. Political science really knows how to create extremely beautiful and informative threads. Today I learned that my 3.56 gpa and subpar/average gre scores are probably going to lead to a rejection from OSU (if the department of history works the same way). Thanks for the informative posts, Professor BFB!

Back to the history and sociology forums I go!

[BFB]

Wow. Political science really knows how to create extremely beautiful and informative threads. Today I learned that my 3.56 gpa and subpar/average gre scores are probably going to lead to a rejection from OSU (if the department of history works the same way). Thanks for the informative posts, Professor BFB!

Back to the history and sociology forums I go!

 

The Department of History works the same way, I'm sorry to say. They do have some waivers they can use. Regardless, though, best of luck with applications this year.

[Whatishistoryanyway]

This may not be the greatest question and you may not be able to speak on it, but are folks that come in with the waivers usually admitted later than those who aren't? There have been a few updates on the results page (the end of January), but I think the majority of us waiting still have a "pending status." I know that sometimes the posts on there are trolls, but these are legit since a guy I met through the diversity recruitment weekend in October was accepted.

Thanks again for all the help! It seems you have made this process a lot easier for many people!

[BFB]

This may not be the greatest question and you may not be able to speak on it, but are folks that come in with the waivers usually admitted later than those who aren't? There have been a few updates on the results page (the end of January), but I think the majority of us waiting still have a "pending status." I know that sometimes the posts on there are trolls, but these are legit since a guy I met through the diversity recruitment weekend in October was accepted.

Thanks again for all the help! It seems you have made this process a lot easier for many people!

 

I hope so :-)  Thanks.

 

Admissions almost all happen at the same time. If you're an international student, they need to confirm certain financial details (I'm not being coy, I really don't know which ones) before finalizing admission. Sometimes someone in Grad Admissions will spot something else (disciplinary action or ???) that raises a yellow flag and they have to investigate. But most admissions decisions should be in. If you're still "pending," I'd drop the DGS a line and ask what's up.

[Whatishistoryanyway]

I did. He didn't respond. :/

[BFB]

I did. He didn't respond. :/

 

"He"? Might want to make sure you emailed the right person….

[Whatishistoryanyway]

"He"? Might want to make sure you emailed the right person….

James Bach, no? Don't make my heart stop, haha. He's the person I sent my application materials too as well. http://history.osu.edu/directory/Bach27

[BFB]

Jim is the Graduate Coordinator; he should get back to you, but that's one of the busiest staff positions, and people are generally 9-5.

 

The DGS in History is Robin Judd. http://history.osu.edu/directory/Judd18

[Whatishistoryanyway]

Life makes sense now. Thanks so much.

[BackyardBrawl]

Hi.

 

I was wondering how departments feel about 1st years switching subfields?  Is it a minor issue or does it mess up the composition of the incoming cohort?

[bohemond]

I would assume that it varies quite a bit from department to department. I'm a 1st year now, and while I'm not at all considering a switch, I am probably going to be shifting my secondary field and nobody really minds that. If I did want to change my primary field, it also wouldn't really be an issue; they brought me in to be a PhD student and a scholar of political science, wherever my studies tale me, not just a student of political theory.

[BFB]

Hi.

 

I was wondering how departments feel about 1st years switching subfields?  Is it a minor issue or does it mess up the composition of the incoming cohort?

 

I can't imagine it being a big deal, really.

[Seattlestudent]

"v."?     I like Dan.

 

 

 

Are you sure that's what you're going to get? I mean... does the big name say, "Sure, I'll write you a letter; given your record, I'll send out letter 12b"?

 

Formulaic vs. personalized is... not the major cleavage I see. What I see is informative vs. uninformative. I know of one very well known senior prof who sends letters that are quite formulaic—I can predict what'll be covered in every. single. paragraph—but very, very informative, because that content varies usefully.

 

I'll give you an example. When I started out, I made a MSWord template for myself, complete with a set first paragraph with pull-down menus. "Smith is a superlative/an outstanding/a very good/a good student who was the top/among the top/one of the better/[     ] I've had in all my time teaching/in the past few years/this year/this semester..." that sort of thing. Then paragraph 2 started "In particular, ..." and went on to describe the student's individual qualities. But if you ever put some of my letters side-by-side, you'd know immediately how to rank the students.

 

That's the kind of letter you want. Not, "Like 90% of his peers, Smith is in the top 10% of his class."* Not helpful.

 

-----

* hat tip to Bill Zimmerman

 

Hello, 

New member here, I'm going through the waiting process for admission decisions and I've already been rejected from 2 programs. And I'm worried its my GREs. Here is my profile:

 

1. Journal article based on original researched published with Law journal

2. 3.96 GPA

3. VERY strong LOR's

4. Was awarded 11 major awards at my undergrad institute for leadership etc 

5. BUT low GRE's despite my best efforts: 154 verbal, 144 math, 5.3 writing

 

Any advice on what I can do to improve my applications for the future? 

[BFB]

Hello, 

New member here, I'm going through the waiting process for admission decisions and I've already been rejected from 2 programs. And I'm worried its my GREs. Here is my profile:

 

1. Journal article based on original researched published with Law journal

2. 3.96 GPA

3. VERY strong LOR's

4. Was awarded 11 major awards at my undergrad institute for leadership etc 

5. BUT low GRE's despite my best efforts: 154 verbal, 144 math, 5.3 writing

 

Any advice on what I can do to improve my applications for the future? 

 

It sounds like you're confident in 1-4 and are pretty convinced that 5. is holding you back. If that's the case, my advice would be to work on 5. … take a GRE prep course, read books on how to take the GRE, etc.

 

I took the GRE when there was no Analytical Writing section; they called it Analytical Ability or something of the sort, and it was a lot like solving logic puzzles. When I registered for the GRE, on a whim I paid the extra $10 for the study guide that they offer. When I read it, I was shocked: it contained really good advice on how to take the test. For example, on the Analytical section, it said "The trick isn't answering these questions; most people can answer them given enough time. The trick is answering 30 of them in 30 minutes. Give yourself no more than 40-50 seconds per question, write down your best answer, and then reexamine the ones you weren't so sure about." That one piece of advice dramatically improved my score.

Edited February 10, 2014 by BFB

[Seattlestudent]

It sounds like you're confident in 1-4 and are pretty convinced that 5. is holding you back. If that's the case, my advice would be to work on 5. … take a GRE prep course, read books on how to take the GRE, etc.

 

I took the GRE when there was no Analytical Writing section; they called it Analytical Ability or something of the sort, and it was a lot like solving logic puzzles. When I registered for the GRE, on a whim I paid the extra $10 for the study guide that they offer. When I read it, I was shocked: it contained really good advice on how to take the test. For example, on the Analytical section, it said "The trick isn't answering these questions; most people can answer them given enough time. The trick is answering 30 of them in 30 minutes. Give yourself no more than 40-50 seconds per question, write down your best answer, and then reexamine the ones you weren't so sure about." That one piece of advice dramatically improved my score.

 

Thanks for the input. Will do. 

 

a few more quick questions:

 

1) do the admissions committees really review all components of every application? Or do they first weed folks out based on GPA/GRE then start reading the applications?

2) how important is it to introduce yourself to faculty prior to applying?

3) if you get rejected from a school, should you even try to re-apply the following round? IE would a change in GRE scores really make that large of an impact on admission decisions?

 

 

Sorry for the many questions--new to this whole process. Thank you!

[AuldReekie]

Thanks for the input. Will do. 

 

a few more quick questions:

 

1) do the admissions committees really review all components of every application? Or do they first weed folks out based on GPA/GRE then start reading the applications?

2) how important is it to introduce yourself to faculty prior to applying?

3) if you get rejected from a school, should you even try to re-apply the following round? IE would a change in GRE scores really make that large of an impact on admission decisions?

 

 

Sorry for the many questions--new to this whole process. Thank you!

 

For 2 and 3 have a quick look round and a wee search of the forum. There have been a few threads on these topics already

 

Although I think broadly you won't do any harm trying to contact faculty members, but don't be offended if they don't reply.. it's not necessary for admission. I think there have been a few people here who have been accepted second time round, but they'll likely have worked on as many aspects of their application as possible. BFB described elsewhere how at OSU a low GRE score costs them a waiver and they only have a certain number they can use.. which could certainly harm your application if you're borderline. Good luck though, it's not all about GRE scores and you still have some schools to hear back from!

Edited February 11, 2014 by RLemkin

[Seattlestudent]

For 2 and 3 have a quick look round and a wee search of the forum. There have been a few threads on these topics already

 

Although I think broadly you won't do any harm trying to contact faculty members, but don't be offended if they don't reply.. it's not necessary for admission. I think there have been a few people here who have been accepted second time round, but they'll likely have worked on as many aspects of their application as possible. BFB described elsewhere how at OSU a low GRE score costs them a waiver and they only have a certain number they can use.. which could certainly harm your application if you're borderline. Good luck though, it's not all about GRE scores and you still have some schools to hear back from!

 

Thanks for the response !

 

Last question I promise: if an applicant does not get contacted by their program prior to receiving their decision should they assume they've been rejected? 

[BFB]

Thanks for the input. Will do. 

 

a few more quick questions:

 

1) do the admissions committees really review all components of every application? Or do they first weed folks out based on GPA/GRE then start reading the applications?

2) how important is it to introduce yourself to faculty prior to applying?

3) if you get rejected from a school, should you even try to re-apply the following round? IE would a change in GRE scores really make that large of an impact on admission decisions?

 

 

Sorry for the many questions--new to this whole process. Thank you!

 

2 & 3 were addressed above :-)  As to 1, there's no guarantee that every member will read every page of every file, but most people read a lot. I'd be very surprised if anyone tossed a file based on GREs alone. We certainly ask for a depth of comments from our adcom members that makes that pretty much impossible.

 

Thanks for the response !

 

Last question I promise: if an applicant does not get contacted by their program prior to receiving their decision should they assume they've been rejected? 

 

…? I don't understand the question. How do you know that you won't have been contacted prior to a decision if you haven't yet received a decision? And if you've received a decision, you should know whether you're in or out. What am I missing…?