Harder to get in a grad if you attended as an undergrad?

[kmp34]

I've heard a few times that graduate schools are less willing to accept applicants who attended the school as an undergrad...not exactly sure why (I've heard various reasons, such as the desire to diversify student body, etc) Is this just a baseless rumor? Any thoughts? Thanks

[Penelope Higgins]

Not true in political science, at least not anywhere I've been.

[polisciphd]

We have a first year who went here for their undergrad, so not totally out of the question

[rising_star]

Probably depends on whether you're coming directly from undergrad or if you've taken time off...

[LordNorth]

I think it depends on the department. I have read on UBC's website, for example, that they strongly discourage people who have done their BA and MA at UBC from applying to study for a PhD there. But I haven't seen that anywhere else.

[UndraftedFreeAgent]

Our program has one or two per cohort who were undergrads here. You could always just ask a professor. Alternatively, many programs list their grad students online and link to individual web pages with CV's. You may be able to see how common it is.

You may also want to think for a moment about why you want to apply to the grad program at your university. If your interests match the program's strength, then go for it. But be sure you're not fitting your interests to what the program does rather than the other way around.