PoliSci2016 Posted January 29, 2016 Posted January 29, 2016 Anyone know anything about when we'll hear from USC, Columbia or Princeton? I saw USC was around Feb 5th last year & Columbia & Princeton were Feb 12th, but USC is usually more like mid-Feb, apparently (just from the GradCafe Acceptance info from earlier years). Also, is anyone planning on some last minute apps at PhD programs where the deadlines haven't passed? Might apply to U of Oregon and Claremont this weekend after my OSU rejection last week (I only applied to 4 schools...it gets so expensive).
IndEnth Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 14 minutes ago, PoliSci2016 said: I only applied to 4 schools...it gets so expensive I agree, cost is a drag - I spent thousands of dollars on GREs, TOEFL and 18 applications. While I admit that 18 might be playing it enormously safe, I have to say though that 4 seems like rather a big gamble. No matter how amazingly qualified you are, there are always a few elements at play that you can't quite control for, including luck. You never know how many people will apply in your subfield, possibly with a similar topic (and they won't admit two people researching new democracies in central Africa in one year, for example). Any given university will probably still end up with 20 really strong candidates to fill 7 to 12 spots - and then it's sometimes a bit like playing the lottery, you might win or you might lose. So sending out more applications simply lowers your risk by giving you more tickets in the lottery. I was actually told by my mentor to send out 20 applications, just to be on the safe side. But I think 10 is a good number to aim for if you're really dead-set on starting a PhD this year.
VMcJ Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 4 minutes ago, IndEnth said: I agree, cost is a drag I was going to make 12-15 applications. Currency devaluation reduced it to just eight. I do not think this is that much of a gamble (at least one might accept me, I hope), but you can imagine right now how I am feeling. Longest February ever - yes, I know it already is in the 75 percentile for "longest Februaries"! Eobard Thawne 1
MauBicara Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) 12 minutes ago, ViniciusMJ said: I was going to make 12-15 applications. Currency devaluation reduced it to just eight. I do not think this is that much of a gamble (at least one might accept me, I hope), but you can imagine right now how I am feeling. Longest February ever - yes, I know it already is in the 75 percentile for "longest Februaries"! I applied to 7. I could have opted for lower ranked "safeties" or added unis in cities/departments where I know I wouldn't be happy, but what would the point of that be? If I don't get in somewhere I would actually be happy to go, then there are other cycles. If you have a clear idea of what you want to study, where you would actually attend, and where you could realistically get in, 8 is plenty. Edited January 30, 2016 by MauBicara
VMcJ Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 35 minutes ago, MauBicara said: I applied to 7. I could have opted for lower ranked "safeties" or added unis in cities/departments where I know I wouldn't be happy, but what would the point of that be? If I don't get in somewhere I would actually be happy to go, then there are other cycles. If you have a clear idea of what you want to study, where you would actually attend, and where you could realistically get in, 8 is plenty. That is true, and that is how I am not disappointed at all with my choices. But I am also flexible and several departments that I had to disconsider were potentially good fits. And my age puts a really big question mark on the "there are other cycles" thing... But then again, I could do more applications at a cost. I weighed it and concluded 8 was plenty. My cousin made only 4 and got 2 offers. You never know.
orb_cz Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 I only applied to six and only to places that actually interested me. With my interests I don't think I could've applied many more, at least in the US, that would've made sense fit-wise.
ryanira2 Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 I am already at a PHD program ranked 60-70 (US News). I wanted to try out my luck for a more reputed school, particularly around the North East. I only applied 8 places. So far only Penn State among them released results and I haven't heard anything. Seeing that many highly qualified candidates applying to many schools at once is making me think that among schools ranked 15-50, the wait list may become very important.
PoliSci2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 If I had more money for app fees (& GRE & transcript fees), I would've applied to a few more, although they would've been top 25 schools, or at least fully funded programs. My rationale was that if I could get into a top fully-funded program, I'd get into one of the ones I applied to -- and if I couldn't get into one of my top 4 choices, then I probably wouldn't get into one of my top 10 choices either, and if I wasn't accepted into a fully-funded top-tier program then earning a PhD wasn't worth it anyway. And at the time spending another $500 on apps seemed futile. ...But now that it's results time and it's hitting me that luck actually is a pretty big determining factor, I wish I would've applied to a few more schools. At least one of my schools is ranked lower, depending on which rankings you're looking at, and is fully funded (USC) so I'm crossing my fingers for USC (& still for Columbia and/or Princeton!). And deciding tomorrow on U of Oregon and/or Claremont.
whatwasithinking Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 9 hours ago, whatwasithinking said: fingers crossed I guess...any idea on what their average package looks like? @joseon4th did you get you offer yet? I did receive mine and i am not sure if it is good...would you mind sharing yours? - 2K first quarter...then TA or RA....non resident tuition for a year but not sure what happens after that...any idea?
IndEnth Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Of course you should only apply to departments that would actually be a good fit, and I'm sure we all want funding. But considering my niche interest (both subject- as well as area-wise), I still found 10 to 12 good fits, and about 6 that would be decent enough. If you look at how many people in this forum alone applied to let's say Berkeley, it's already more than they have spots. Some of these schools get 400 or 500 applications for between 7 to 12 openings. And while I believe that I have a strong application, there are always ways that other candidates could beat me on one metric or the other (including some people here). So if for you it's only worth it to do your PhD if you go to a top-10 school, then of course only send out a couple of very targeted applications (and keep your fingers crossed!). I personally am dead-set on doing a PhD in an area that really interests me and where I can see myself working in for the next decades to come, and I know that if I do well, I can make it even if I'm not at a TT university. Fit and funding aren't just possible at the CHYMPS schools, at least not for me. So I just felt like diversifying, and hedging against the risk. Especially considering the cost of doing so, I can fully understand if someone wants to rather focus on 5 or 6 applications though. Everyone has their personal cost-benefit calculation and risk-taking/-aversion strategies. yasir8959 1
VMcJ Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Three new reports indicating rejections from Northwestern. I did not receive anything yet. Crossing fingers.
bhudson Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) Did everyone get a decision from Northwestern? No decision on my page. To those that spoke directly with POI concerning being admitted- did your status change? Edited January 30, 2016 by bhudson
Determinedandnervous Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Who is the other Virginia admit?
studugarte Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 4 minutes ago, Determinedandnervous said: Who is the other Virginia admit? Omg congrats (again)! Did get decision today (Saturday)? Determinedandnervous 1
Determinedandnervous Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Thank you! I got an email about a fellowship yesterday, and admission today. I'm curious to see who the other one is I'm sure that only a few got decisions thus far, so anyone else that applied still has a good chance.
studugarte Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 4 minutes ago, Determinedandnervous said: Thank you! I got an email about a fellowship yesterday, and admission today. I'm curious to see who the other one is I'm sure that only a few got decisions thus far, so anyone else that applied still has a good chance. Ok so both communications were via email? Just checked my online status but no change. It seems early for UVA compared to previous years' release dates. Are you the one citing Foreign Affiars interests on the results page?
privatehayek Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 I've head nothing from Northwestern yet, either. It seems they're either going down the list, or we've been condemned to wait list/second tier purgatory. I'll take the latter, at this point!
Determinedandnervous Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Just now, studugarte said: Ok so both communications were via email? Just checked my online status but no change. It seems early for UVA compared to previous years' release dates. Are you the one citing Foreign Affiars interests on the results page? Yes, they were email communications, and I did cite Foreign Affairs (I'm in comparative politics). It is quite early, which surprised me. My status hasn't changed on the website either. I would imagine the early notice was for people nominated for the fellowship. The rest of the acceptances seem to go out over a three week period in February as per other years.
Bubandis Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Congrats to the UVA admits! Again, if any of you have any questions regarding the program, please feel free to PM me.
wpg205 Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Someone posted about Yale, anyone else hear anything? My inbox is empty and website is not updated.
Straussian Dogmatist Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 @wpg205 I don't have anything in my inbox. Yale doesn't seem to have historically sent anything out this early from what I know.
worryandhope Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 One of those Northwestern rejections was mine. Not that I was surprised given the info here, but I'm more than a little crushed that it wasn't even a wait list. I can't imagine a better "fit". *expletive* I just don't know what else I could do.
s1994 Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 Duke and Michigan have specific online portals to check decision. Do other schools have similar online portals? Or are results updated on the same website where we filled in the application?
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