Welcome to the 2015-2016 Cycle!

[ultraultra]

I'm applying to 11. I had had about 15 on my list initially and tried to cut it down even shorter but I settled on a set that includes good-fit schools (in locations I would want to live) in most ranking brackets, plus all the top schools where I have reasonable fit. I also cut all the Canadian schools I was considering.

Currently feeling like my GRE scores might make this an unsuccessful cycle but I'm making peace with the idea that applying a second time might not be so bad (though expensive...).

When I was paring down my list I tried to only keep schools that I would be happy going to if they were my only admit. But it's entirely possible that would not be true if it happened and I am just too distant from the decision to know.

First deadlines on Tuesday (wooooo, spoopy)

Edited November 27, 2015 by ultraultra

[terefere]

Yeah, applying to many schools is costly indeed. I am an international applicant too so I can totally sympathize. I had to borrow some money and do extra RA work to make it work. This is my second time applying. The first time was 2 years ago and I was shut out of all the PhD programs, only managed to get 2 waitlists. I have enrolled in a Master's program and I am hoping this will make a difference. Managed to improve many parts of my application although I worry a little about my grades. I have taken many quantitative courses and my GPA is around 3.4. I do hope that the admission committees will appreciate the fact that I went on a difficult path with demanding coursework.

[needavacation]

Hi all!

First time poster here. I'm applying to 16(!) programs for a variety of reasons (uncertainty, fit, etc.).

Good luck everyone!

 

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

My initial list of programs was 5, then it grew to 11 and now I'm back to 7. I think I might bump it to 8, just to be thorough and perhaps push myself to be a little more ambitious. I do have one question though. When it comes to describing potential dissertation topics and research interests, as well as the influences of work by potential POI's, do people cite papers properly in text and include a bibliography in their statement of purpose, or would doing so make it seem like more of a grant application?

Edited November 28, 2015 by CarefreeWritingsontheWall

[needavacation]

8 minutes ago, CarefreeWritingsontheWall said:

My initial list of programs was 5, then it grew to 11 and now I'm back to 7. I think I might bump it to 8, just to be thorough and perhaps push myself to be a little more ambitious. I do have one question though. When it comes to describing potential dissertation topics and research interests, as well as the influences of work by potential POI's, do people cite papers properly in text and include a bibliography in their statement of purpose, or would doing so make it seem like more of a grant application?

I did not reference any literature specifically. I don't think it's really necessary. It may only serve as a distraction. I did, of course, motivate my questions by "Previous research has looked at X, but . . ."

[MauBicara]

I'll be sending in my first applications on Sunday night!

 

How long are everyone's writing samples? I have longer papers, but I think that the one I'll ultimately generally end up using is 15/16 pages, with 12-point double-spaced font. Obviously excepting those that give specific page ranges of 20+, should this suffice? I'm thinking to send this paper to all universities that either don't specify a page limit, or ask for "no more than 25," or "25 pages or less." 

Edited November 28, 2015 by MauBicara

[terefere]

Mine is 13 pages + 4 pages of appendix and references. Should be enough. I could always lengthen it by adding a longer literature review etc., but I think for the purpose of PhD application it's better if it's to the point and really concentrates on showing off the skills you want to demonstrate.

[ArchieLi]

On 2015/11/27 上午7:55:15, CarefreeWritingsontheWall said:

What's the average number of programs people are applying to? I'm looking at 7 right now, which seems like a lot.

I'm sending off to 14, all US ones. 

[Determinedandnervous]

On 11/28/2015, 2:39:52, MauBicara said:

I'll be sending in my first applications on Sunday night!

 

How long are everyone's writing samples? I have longer papers, but I think that the one I'll ultimately generally end up using is 15/16 pages, with 12-point double-spaced font. Obviously excepting those that give specific page ranges of 20+, should this suffice? I'm thinking to send this paper to all universities that either don't specify a page limit, or ask for "no more than 25," or "25 pages or less." 

My writing sample is what I have so far of my senior thesis (32 pages, though by the December 15 deadlines I will have another chapter done). Depending on writing requirements for each application, I will cut that down or leave it as is.

13 of my schools are in the US (4 top 10, 4 in 11-20 range, 5 mid-tier), and 2 are abroad. I applied to so many for two reasons: 1) I want to cover my bases so that I don't have to apply for a second cycle and 2) Because my topical/regional focus is supported by many universities (political realignments in advanced democracies).

 

[ultraultra]

I definitely underestimated the time/skill it would take to distil my all-encompassing SOP into a separate PS and SOP for those schools that require two documents. Did anyone else have the same problem?

[twinsora]

Received my GRE Scores today, 148V/150Q/6.0 AWA. 

Will likely still apply to Johns Hopkins, UC Irvine, Brown and possibly UC Santa Cruz. 

Thoughts on rewriting or keeping? I'm currently a masters student, so I didn't have too much time to prep for the GRE.

[MauBicara]

1 hour ago, twinsora said:

Received my GRE Scores today, 148V/150Q/6.0 AWA. 

Will likely still apply to Johns Hopkins, UC Irvine, Brown and possibly UC Santa Cruz. 

Thoughts on rewriting or keeping? I'm currently a masters student, so I didn't have too much time to prep for the GRE.

Definitely retake if you can. As is your score might not be a disaster, but some of your programs are very competitive, and a sub-300 certainly won't do you any favours. 

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

7 hours ago, ultraultra said:

I definitely underestimated the time/skill it would take to distil my all-encompassing SOP into a separate PS and SOP for those schools that require two documents. Did anyone else have the same problem?

In a way I am. I have one program that will require the split, and another that only wants 500 words max (Georgetown). The way I see it, I wrote the more verbose version first (for the 1000 word limit most of the programs I'm applying to look for) so that I could continue to condense and refine as I go. It's definitely time consuming. I haven't found an easy way around it outside of finding ways to tighten up my sentence structure which is just a process of re-writing and editing over and over.

[ultraultra]

My problem is mostly that (with advice from my profs/editors), I had gradually edited most of the personal narrative out of my main SOP to focus on my research experience and accolades. So when I later went to split the document into two, I found that: 

1. I actually couldn't really do that and needed to write a whole new thing using all the information I had discarded and 

2. It's pretty hard to get back into the mindset of writing subjectively about my personal journey when I've only just trained myself not to.

The first of many hurdles in this application cycle, I suppose!

[Syas]

I am also applying to about 15 programs. 3 are in top ten, about 7-8 are between 10 and 30, about 5-6 are mid-tier schools. Anybody writing optional diversity statements? I am debating whether I should write one or not.

[joseon4th]

53 minutes ago, Syas said:

I am also applying to about 15 programs. 3 are in top ten, about 7-8 are between 10 and 30, about 5-6 are mid-tier schools. Anybody writing optional diversity statements? I am debating whether I should write one or not.

Several programs either require a diversity statement or strongly recommend it. Alternatively, some ask for a Personal History vs Statement of Purpose, which likely amounts to them wanting to know similar, perhaps less-relevant-but-still-useful information. I interpreted even the "optional" descriptor as a "probably should do it." Any extra opportunity to showcase strengths and potential seems like a no-brainer.

I also interpreted what diversity means rather broadly. As in, I don't think lacking "check-which-box" ethnic status, or having faced negligent socioeconomic adversity, necessarily discounts an applicant's own brand of diversity. (Just as having faced structural adversity should not discount historically underrepresented applicants' potential.)

TL;DR: I used it as a chance to be slightly creative, e.g. to demonstrate certain unique experiences like international travel or professional experience that make me more multi-dimensional, albeit not in the conventional sense of "diverse."

Edited December 3, 2015 by joseon4th

[joseon4th]

On November 26, 2015 at 18:55:15, CarefreeWritingsontheWall said:

What's the average number of programs people are applying to? I'm looking at 7 right now, which seems like a lot.

Narrowed my spread down to 10; 4 in the top 10, 4 in 10-20, and 2 in 25-30. 

Anywhere between 7 to 15 seems reasonable depending on your time, money, and motivation. Aside from rank and fit, my main considerations were location and (perceived) department culture. Also, a desire not to receive just any offer, but rather a genuinely appealing and promising one.

I've tried to approach it as a job hunt rather than a dream pursuit. I've actually enjoyed the process and feel excited about seeing how I measure up, but I'm also trying to be realistic about, say, a <10% admit rate, a 60% attrition rate,* tenure job availability, or prospects for decent post-doc appointments.

* Statistics have not been verified. They do however seem on-point given late-night googling and obsessive-compulsive scrutinization of department websites. 

Edited December 3, 2015 by joseon4th

[TrapQueen]

If any one is applying to Stony Brook feel free to message me or ask questions - I am a current grad student (2nd year) so can hopefully give some advice.

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

On 2015-12-03, 1:34:48, joseon4th said:

Narrowed my spread down to 10; 4 in the top 10, 4 in 10-20, and 2 in 25-30. 

Anywhere between 7 to 15 seems reasonable depending on your time, money, and motivation. Aside from rank and fit, my main considerations were location and (perceived) department culture. Also, a desire not to receive just any offer, but rather a genuinely appealing and promising one.

I've tried to approach it as a job hunt rather than a dream pursuit. I've actually enjoyed the process and feel excited about seeing how I measure up, but I'm also trying to be realistic about, say, a <10% admit rate, a 60% attrition rate,* tenure job availability, or prospects for decent post-doc appointments.

* Statistics have not been verified. They do however seem on-point given late-night googling and obsessive-compulsive scrutinization of department websites. 

Ah yeah! I've looked into the same thing, especially after my current department cut 6 PhD's who missed deadlines or failed comps are two attempts this year. I thought it was harsh, then I realized it's actually quite normal sadly. This was a bad year because a number of cohorts lost people at various levels, and some chose to leave.

My speak is up to 9. With 3 done, I hope to get through the rest of them quicker since I now have the long and short version of my SOP. It's just so time consuming. Then I dream I uploaded the wrong SOP for a particular app. I really need to stop obsessing. ><

[Determinedandnervous]

I now have 10 applications out. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's slightly paranoid about doing something wrong and it screwing up my entire application. >.<

[chrisb1234]

Hi,

 

I am planning on applying to several PhD programs this cycle for international relations with a focus on terrorism and conflict. I was wondering if anyone had an idea what range of schools I should be applying to:


GRE: Q:158 V: 163
GPA 3.7
Research: Two coauthor credits, Stata, R, and SAS skill
Work Experience: Social Science Research firm 2 years and Fulbright Fellow.

My main concern is my GRE scores. Does anyone know what range of schools that puts me in?

[PizzaCat93]

2 hours ago, chrisb1234 said:

Hi,

 

I am planning on applying to several PhD programs this cycle for international relations with a focus on terrorism and conflict. I was wondering if anyone had an idea what range of schools I should be applying to:


GRE: Q:158 V: 163
GPA 3.7
Research: Two coauthor credits, Stata, R, and SAS skill
Work Experience: Social Science Research firm 2 years and Fulbright Fellow.

My main concern is my GRE scores. Does anyone know what range of schools that puts me in?

You're applying this cycle, and you're just now beginning to think about schools? That's problematic in and of itself; most schools' deadlines are within the next week or so, and some have already passed. 

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

5 hours ago, Determinedandnervous said:

I now have 10 applications out. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's slightly paranoid about doing something wrong and it screwing up my entire application. >.<

Oie vey. I got an automated email from the GWU saying the transcripts I uploaded weren't valid and to email them 'complete' versions ASAP or else my application would be considered incomplete. Turned out the message was sent in error, but it left me wondering if I had uploaded the right documents for every app, so of course I had to go back and check. I've come to realize that I need to relax a little.

[chrisb1234]

1 hour ago, PizzaCat93 said:

You're applying this cycle, and you're just now beginning to think about schools? That's problematic in and of itself; most schools' deadlines are within the next week or so, and some have already passed. 

Oh, I have actually applied to three programs already and contacted several professors. I want to know if I should widen my range of schools that I am applying to. Currently, I am applying to schools between 15 and 35 in their rank. I picked the schools I am applying to within this range based on shared research interests. I was wondering if my GRE scores are competitive for schools in that range. I think information on GRE scores are a bit opaque.

[Determinedandnervous]

29 minutes ago, chrisb1234 said:

Oh, I have actually applied to three programs already and contacted several professors. I want to know if I should widen my range of schools that I am applying to. Currently, I am applying to schools between 15 and 35 in their rank. I picked the schools I am applying to within this range based on shared research interests. I was wondering if my GRE scores are competitive for schools in that range. I think information on GRE scores are a bit opaque.

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.