latinamericanIR Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I want to go to sleep and wake up in mid-March. NYCBluenose, letsgo2015, kwaddy and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ani11 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 There are several ways in which the application process seems to be skewed towards students with US qualifications, unfortunately. LOR writers from US institutions are more familiar, US acadenics are better able to contextualise US than international institutional reputation, GRE prep is bizarre for a UK student (it covers stuff I studied age 14), less of a culture of RAing and TAing before PhD in the UK. The semiotics of marks in the 60s in the UK, especially at Oxbridge, could be the subject of an anthropological study. And, of course, we study "Politics", not "Political Science". On the other hand, UK students (but not IB students) must specialise from age 16, and BAs are more focused. School level maths covers some undergraduate US maths. Presumably it is even harder to evaluate students who study outside of the Anglosphere. I'd be interested to hear whether faculty think it's an issue or not, how they contextualise data from international students etc. The differences may be marginal... But the percentages of int'l students -- especially when you exclude Canada -- suggest that there may well be an issue. I completely agree. Everything I read before I applied told me that I will have a very small chance simply because I had studied in the UK and that I should consider doing a MA in the US first before applying for a PhD. The biggest issue seemed to be with LORs but also with grades and research work undertaken. Quite simply put, my understanding is that if there are two students of roughly the same calibre, one who has studied in the US and one who hasn't, the student with an American degree has a huge advantage. This is at least what I gathered from various blogs on the internet, not least Christ Blattman's and Nuno Monteiro's. PS: This isn't me getting my excuses in early (ha!), it's just my understanding of how the system works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poli92 Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) PS: This isn't me getting my excuses in early (ha!), it's just my understanding of how the system works. I think most of us on here get that admissions decision-making is pretty laden with idiosyncrasies and thus aren't going to look down on anyone who tries to make sense of application outcomes. I mean, to a large degree that's why we're all on here, right? To help each other figure out how the sausage is made. eta: And for the emotional support. Loads of that. Edited January 21, 2015 by Poli92 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Checking in. Only applied to three PhD programs. A bit late now but curious... is a 170/162/6 GRE + 3.95 undergrad GPA sufficient for HYP? Edited January 21, 2015 by bob123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubandis Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Checking in. Only applied to three PhD programs. A bit late now but curious... is a 170/162/6 GRE + 3.95 undergrad GPA sufficient for HYP? I wouldn't go so far as to say "sufficient", but, from my understanding, you will certainly be competitive. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCBluenose Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 those scores are obviously all very strong (similar profile to most of the people they'll probably admit), but won't get you in on their own. Your statement of purpose and fit with the department will be the deciding factor Bubandis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duvergerian Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Checking in. Only applied to three PhD programs. A bit late now but curious... is a 170/162/6 GRE + 3.95 undergrad GPA sufficient for HYP? "Necessary, but not sufficient conditions." - the math part of my brain svan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 "Necessary, but not sufficient conditions." - the math part of my brain Right of course. I think what I really meant is will the 162Q score sink me for comparative politics at those schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esotericish Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 it's higher than mine! everything I've seen and read, and you can look at some schools' previous classes admissions info, is that is either within the average or even slightly above it for a Q score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuldReekie Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 The interesting (archaic) degree naming system in Scotland is causing a few problems with some international offices... Four 'ancient' universities insist on awarding Masters degrees for four year undergraduate degrees and so a few places have emailed asking where my undergrad transcript is! The EU talks about standardising qualifications, but we can't even manage to do it within one country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuldReekie Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) The interesting (archaic) degree naming system in Scotland is causing a few problems with some international offices... Four 'ancient' universities insist on awarding Masters degrees for four year undergraduate degrees and so a few places have emailed asking where my undergrad transcript is! The EU talks about standardising qualifications, but we can't even manage to do it within one country So my sincere thanks to the grad secretaries who took the time to check and not just dump my applications. It is appreciated! Edited January 21, 2015 by AuldReekie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evgeny55 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 162Q abd 170V are very good scores. I also applied to HYP, alongside with several other good schools, and my scores were 161Q abd 163V. Princeton has quite large program, so anything above 160 in both sections should do the trick. I think that the most important thing is to get through cut off points, though it is not clear where these points are located for each school. I think, 160 should be the cut off point in top places. Also, there is a question of reliability of GRE results. For instance, there are two guys, one scored 160, other scored 164. Does this mean the first guy knows math worse? For instance, if the second guy took GRE 5 times and the first took test only one time, higher scores may be due to higher amount of attempts. Also, different versions of the test include different combinations of sections. You can be just lucky with questions, or you just can't solve problems fast enough. Point is, differences in 3-4 points cannot say much. I think, substantive differences start from 5 points. There won't be a lot of people who score above 165 in both sections, that is for sure. P.S. As far as I know Princeton, Harvard and Yale send their results at the end of February, so waiting will be really annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuldReekie Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 It's often said that the GRE can put you out, but it's not enough on it's on to get you in. It's just one tool among many used by adcoms.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltaqsquared Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 As I was last year, I am getting rather tired of waiting for the emails... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcsy Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Wake me up when February ends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duvergerian Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Ohio State's in. Accepted! NYCBluenose and Toucan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRTheoryNerd Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Keep your heads held high, friends. This is the roughest period of the entire cycle. It will get better. :-* smallworld, Poli92, ecm07e and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esotericish Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Does anybody have any advice for an interview? it looks like the Emory interview is with 3 faculty over skype Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duvergerian Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Does anybody have any advice for an interview? it looks like the Emory interview is with 3 faculty over skype Look over your application to see what exactly you said about yourself and the school. Be confident in your statement of purpose, but also have other areas of interest prepared (assuming you have those). Be confident and charming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcsy Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Ohio State's in. Accepted! Congrats Duvergerian! Hopefully the wave begins.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esotericish Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Look over your application to see what exactly you said about yourself and the school. Be confident in your statement of purpose, but also have other areas of interest prepared (assuming you have those). Be confident and charming. Solid plan -- I have lots and lots of job interview experience, and was wondering if there were any weird idiosyncrasies with this style I wasn't thinking of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duvergerian Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Solid plan -- I have lots and lots of job interview experience, and was wondering if there were any weird idiosyncrasies with this style I wasn't thinking of. I get the feeling that graduate schools want you to have questions, at least more so than do regular employers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuldReekie Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Congrats Duvergian. -- I'm gonna go eat some cake.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwillh11 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Ohio State's in. Accepted! Thanks for the heads up, checked the site and I'm in too! Toucan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duvergerian Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks, guys! No word on funding yet, but I'm pretty stoked to get accepted. Thanks for the heads up, checked the site and I'm in too! Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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