Welcome to the 2015-2016 Cycle!

[chrisb1234]

8 hours ago, Determinedandnervous said:

Your GRE scores are likely fine for that range. However, I would echo what others have said - it's a bit too late to just be thinking about places. Definitely apply to more than 3 - with the level of competition it's very much a crapshoot and perfect candidates sometimes don't get in.

Thank you! Your response is helpful and I appreciate the feedback. 

 

I am planning on sending out five applications this weekend and will apply to three more by January 15. I was on the fence about adding in a few more schools to apply to and wanted to see if anyone had a better grasp of my GRE range. 

[ultraultra]

500 word SOP = impossible

 

 

(or rather... 500 word SOP as good as my 1000 word SOP = impossible)

[MauBicara]

2 hours ago, ultraultra said:

500 word SOP = impossible

(or rather... 500 word SOP as good as my 1000 word SOP = impossible)

Struggling with this now. I felt my ~1000 word SOP was pretty solid, but stripping it down to the bare bones to fit a 500 word limit seems to make it a worse read. 

Then again, I'm certain that departments asking for a 500 word SOP are aware of this, and prefer you keep things tight and to the point-- surely a shorter statement entails some trade offs with the depth of the finished product. 

UBC asks for "around 500 words." How high do you think I could go without annoying the AdComm? Would you figure 600 to be acceptable? 

 

Edited December 11, 2015 by MauBicara

[ultraultra]

4 minutes ago, MauBicara said:

I'm certain that departments asking for a 500 word SOP are aware of this, and prefer you keep things tight and to the point-- surely a shorter statement entails some trade offs with the depth of the finished product. 

Yeah that's what I was telling myself also. Though I felt like I was making myself a less impressive applicant with every sentence that I cut or made more general/vague to accommodate the limit. 

It was ultimately around ~560 words. I'd be worried to go much higher, though I remember in some of the results threads applicants said they went way over (doubled, even tripled) the word limit in some cases and still got in, so maybe we're overthinking it. Still.. wouldn't want to take the risk.

[Determinedandnervous]

I remember seeing in the profiles/SOP's threads of years past that someone consciously went twice over the limit. I think it's more of a "please don't write fluff" measure than a "if you get 501 words you're disqualified from admission" situation.

[Syas]

I have applied to nine schools so far, and I have at least four more to go. The application process is as tiring as writing a thesis.

[terefere]

Does anyone know of any political economy programs with January deadlines? I am looking to substitute one of the schools on my list with another school. I have spent considerable time looking for such a school but couldn't find one. Any suggestions?

[MauBicara]

Alright, as of today I am free! All applications are finished. In total, I went for seven.

Now on to waiting! (though I may still be looking around for Canadian universities that would be worth applying to, noting that my goal is to live and work in Canada).

[asurachm]

Hi @MauBicara, are you originally from Indonesia? I am from Indonesia too.

Good luck for your applications 

 

[MauBicara]

1 hour ago, asurachm said:

Hi @MauBicara, are you originally from Indonesia? I am from Indonesia too.

Good luck for your applications 

 

@asurachm I am not Indonesian, but Indonesia has been at the centre of my professional and academic interests for a while now. Semoga sukses! 

[elw]

Adding my dice to the crapshoot that is the PhD admissions process. I have applied or will apply to 11 programs with a focus on political behavior. Current master's student with a 3.94 GPA, my undergrad GPA hurts at 3.08. 163V/160Q/5.5AWA. Best of luck to all.

[ultraultra]

Have submitted over half my applications now, with a goal to send the rest in before tomorrow ends. So exciting (and terrifying)!

One thing I'm wondering about based on the e-mails I've gotten confirming my applications: do most schools send out an e-mail notifying you that you were accepted/rejected? Or do we just have to log in every day until we see a decision? Had assumed the former but am now a bit confused..

[Determinedandnervous]

13 hours ago, ultraultra said:

Have submitted over half my applications now, with a goal to send the rest in before tomorrow ends. So exciting (and terrifying)!

One thing I'm wondering about based on the e-mails I've gotten confirming my applications: do most schools send out an e-mail notifying you that you were accepted/rejected? Or do we just have to log in every day until we see a decision? Had assumed the former but am now a bit confused..

It depends on the school. It can be through email, a phone call, or in MIT's case - snail mail. Sometimes the school has your POI contact you if you get in.

[Bubandis]

On ‎12‎/‎14‎/‎2015 at 6:52 PM, ultraultra said:

Have submitted over half my applications now, with a goal to send the rest in before tomorrow ends. So exciting (and terrifying)!

One thing I'm wondering about based on the e-mails I've gotten confirming my applications: do most schools send out an e-mail notifying you that you were accepted/rejected? Or do we just have to log in every day until we see a decision? Had assumed the former but am now a bit confused..

Nearly all will contact you via email--many of them before the admissions servers are updated.

I do recommend that you periodically check your trash/junk folder, though, as there was one occasion for me where admission correspondence was filtered to the trash!

 

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

Well. I submitted my last three applications last night. I wound up submitting 8 total. Having just arriving home for the holidays, my Dad was asking me how many hours I spent on these apps. I feel like I've completely lost track of time since mid-November. I couldn't even ballpark it. How is it December 15th already? Hope everyone met their December 15th deadlines alright.

[terefere]

I just made it on time, 2 hours before the deadline I've been focused on final exams way too much to pay enough attention to applications

[Determinedandnervous]

My application season's not over by a long shot. I still have a few more due in January. I didn't want to submit them the same time as earlier applications since I'm waiting on fall grades and acceptances for conferences, and I want my CV to be as up to date as possible (I got my first conference acceptance yesterday, woo!) In a way, it's a blessing in disguise - the dreaded waiting process won't begin for me until a couple of weeks before acceptances/rejections start going out.

[ultraultra]

7 hours ago, Determinedandnervous said:

My application season's not over by a long shot. I still have a few more due in January. I didn't want to submit them the same time as earlier applications since I'm waiting on fall grades and acceptances for conferences, and I want my CV to be as up to date as possible (I got my first conference acceptance yesterday, woo!) In a way, it's a blessing in disguise - the dreaded waiting process won't begin for me until a couple of weeks before acceptances/rejections start going out.

Yeah I have 2 January deadlines and had considered waiting so that I could update my CV at the last minute, but ultimately I decided it was better to just submit them while I was still in the application headspace and allow myself a mental break over the holidays. Also my understanding is that some of the ones with later deadlines view the apps on a rolling basis, so it can't hurt.

If I were you I would try to do as much of the application now as is possible, just so you're not scrambling to remember things a month from now (like how best to explain your employment exp. as best)

Also -- happy holidays everyone!

[cgfren08]

Looking at the reported decisions over the years, looks like the very earliest people start to hear back is late January, with more of the decisions in Feb/MArch

[s1994]

On 12/17/2015 at 7:47 PM, ultraultra said:

Yeah I have 2 January deadlines and had considered waiting so that I could update my CV at the last minute, but ultimately I decided it was better to just submit them while I was still in the application headspace and allow myself a mental break over the holidays. Also my understanding is that some of the ones with later deadlines view the apps on a rolling basis, so it can't hurt.

If I were you I would try to do as much of the application now as is possible, just so you're not scrambling to remember things a month from now (like how best to explain your employment exp. as best)

Also -- happy holidays everyone!

That's what I am feeling as well. Duke and Wustl have pretty late deadlines. However, both schools release their results fairly early. It definitely won't hurt if one submits her application a few days/weeks before the deadline.

[Determinedandnervous]

Just wanted to say happy holidays to everyone! Everyone at TheGradCafe has been a wonderful help and support in this unique journey, and I cannot thank you all enough.

[IRTheoryNerd]

As the application season starts to wind down and we enter the waiting period, I want to take a moment to wish you all best of luck! Keep your head up. 

Should any of you end up considering a Northwestern admission, I'm happy to answer questions as best I can about the program. :-)

PS. And remember that when family doesn't understand the struggle of waiting on a letter from a school, send them the following GIF:

  

Edited December 26, 2015 by IRTheoryNerd

[schuaust]

I will admit to being very nervous. Reading on this forum has been very helpful in my application process. I have one last school to apply to (my undergrad institution) and am hoping that decisions come soon. I sent both of my test scores to all schools because they were only marginally different. (Test 1 V:161 Q:154 W: 4; Test 2 V:162 Q:152 W:4). Hopefully I have strong writing samples for all schools (wrote 2 senior theses). My GPA is 3.61 at a small school in Idaho, but I was in the Honors Program and have great recommendations. Being in Engineering my first year really drug down my GPA. 

Applied to: Cornell, UCSD, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado-Boulder, Utah and Idaho State so I have a pretty wide range of schools. Minnesota and Cornell are my top choices, so fingers crossed, but I know that I am a below-average applicant for both schools. Hopefully my writing sample, letters of recommendation and personal statement push me over the cusp. 

[Determinedandnervous]

Just submitted the last of my applications. I am happy that it's over, but now I am fearful and anxious. 

[Syas]

Happy holidays!  The PhD Movie 2 was recently made available to stream online. It would be good to watch it as we wait for the results!