Welcome to the 2016-17 cycle!

[Monody]

On 11/5/2016 at 5:41 AM, CarefreeWritingsontheWall said:

My CV was 1 and 3/4 pages. I modeled it after academic CVs published by professors, though I added details for a number of my positions and experiences since they weren't clear (I was held multiple RAships at once during my MA, doing different things etc.)

Also - when it comes to journal submissions, I honestly wouldn't include it. It would be false to say it's under review unless you're notified that you've made it to that stage - and notifications that you've gotten past the desk-reject stage can take 3-6 months for some political science journals. Even if it's under review, it can still be rejected, or you could enter the R&R stage. Saying something is under review implies it's been accepted. Personally, I wouldn't list it as more than a working paper until it's been accepted and is formally under review for publication purposes and you've received the green light. I think this is absolutely fair -- most academics have a works in progress section on their CV and/or website. If you intend to try and publish something you've written, but are still working on, having this kind of section really doesn't hurt so long as its brief and your titles offer detail as to the contents.

So, Ive just checked the status of my submission now says "Awaiting reviewer scores". I would wildly suppose that this indicates that it is indeed under review, doesn't it?

edit: And on a related note: Does it make any sense to contact the admission offices regarding the "under review" publication as it isnt reflected in any of the documents I sent to Stanford, Duke, NYU or Penn, because I can't change the submitted documents anymore.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Monody

[resDQ]

On 11/25/2016 at 9:24 AM, dagnabbit said:

I just submitted the first of my ten applications! I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Now back to work on finishing my senior thesis... There truly has been no rest for the wicked this semester.

Just submitted my first app! Going to feel great once everything gets in!

[GradNYC]

Hey everyone--- any advice for older applicants applying without a traditional academic writing sample. Is it ok to submit a public policy report i written for work?

[Monody]

1 minute ago, GradNYC said:

Hey everyone--- any advice for older applicants applying without a traditional academic writing sample. Is it ok to submit a public policy report i written for work?

This is certainly not the best answer you will get, but I think that it is less applicable as long as it has not clear research-oriented component and remains wholly descriptive. In this case, an older paper in which you actually "do research" would probably be better. 

[krapp]

1 hour ago, GradNYC said:

Hey everyone--- any advice for older applicants applying without a traditional academic writing sample. Is it ok to submit a public policy report i written for work?

You don't have a ton of choices at this point, do you? Like Monody said, a more traditional academic research piece would probably be ideal. But if you don't have one that you can realisticely get into a usable form in the next ~2 weeks for applications than the policy paper is probably your best bet. 

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

7 hours ago, Monody said:

So, Ive just checked the status of my submission now says "Awaiting reviewer scores". I would wildly suppose that this indicates that it is indeed under review, doesn't it?

edit: And on a related note: Does it make any sense to contact the admission offices regarding the "under review" publication as it isnt reflected in any of the documents I sent to Stanford, Duke, NYU or Penn, because I can't change the submitted documents anymore.

Oh yeah. As soon as submissions are made, people on the admissions committee can start reviewing materials (same goes with job applications in academia). It likely means that someone opened your file but I wouldn't read too much into it. The under review status tends to pop up rather quickly and for most schools will stay that way until they issue their decisions in February/March. It could also be an automated thing (so I wouldn't stress). 

When it comes to notifying people, I wouldn't. It's unclear who is on an admissions committee in a given year (as professors rotate off and on). The most relevant person to contact is either the school's DGS or the graduate program coordinator if you wanted to edit something, or add something but they're busy people (some applications specify who you should contact if you need to correct something). My understanding is that they prefer to only add things to files if it's a grave mistake, or something crucial was missing (like an entire page from a document) as well. Trust that your application will be reviewed well and that your writing sample will speak for itself. You've put a lot of work into this.

[Monody]

6 minutes ago, CarefreeWritingsontheWall said:

Oh yeah. As soon as submissions are made, people on the admissions committee can start reviewing materials (same goes with job applications in academia). It likely means that someone opened your file but I wouldn't read too much into it. The under review status tends to pop up rather quickly and for most schools will stay that way until they issue their decisions in February/March. It could also be an automated thing (so I wouldn't stress). 

When it comes to notifying people, I wouldn't. It's unclear who is on an admissions committee in a given year (as professors rotate off and on). The most relevant person to contact is either the school's DGS or the graduate program coordinator if you wanted to edit something, or add something but they're busy people (some applications specify who you should contact if you need to correct something). My understanding is that they prefer to only add things to files if it's a grave mistake, or something crucial was missing (like an entire page from a document) as well. Trust that your application will be reviewed well and that your writing sample will speak for itself. You've put a lot of work into this.

I meant the journal submission actually.  It jumped from awaiting editor decision to the phrase mentioned above, so I overcame the possible desk rejection (yeah!). I didn't mention it on four of the seven application and it may give them a boost. I thought about contacting the secretary who is responsible for the administrative stuff of the submission and sending her directly an updated copy of my CV.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Monody

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

12 minutes ago, Monody said:

I meant the journal submission actually.  It jumped from awaiting editor decision to the phrase mentioned above, so I overcame the possible desk rejection (yeah!). I didn't mention it on four of the seven application and it may give them a boost. I thought about contacting the secretary who is responsible for the administrative stuff of the submission and sending her directly an updated copy of my CV.

Nice! The secretary in question then is the graduate program coordinator at each institution.

Edited November 26, 2016 by CarefreeWritingsontheWall

[Monody]

Indeed. Sorry. Do you think that it is worthwhile and understandable to bother them with this?

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

10 minutes ago, Monody said:

Indeed. Sorry. Do you think that it is worthwhile and understandable to bother them with this?

I personally wouldn't. As I mentioned previously, having a publication (or something under review) is a bonus but not the be all end all thing that will tip your application into being accepted. If your writing sample was a portion of that paper, then they will be able to look at the quality of work and judge it for themselves as well. It's a good signal that you can get published, but still a noisy one unless the article is available to be read and reviewed by people on the committee. There are a lot of bad articles out there in good journals (not that yours falls into this category, but this fact leads to the noisy signal that even good papers give off as publications coming into a program).

[Monody]

The thing is that the writing sample isn't the article I am trying to get published, but I see your point. I am probably much too nervous about all this and am also constantly reevaluating the writing sample I submitted as well as the SOPs that I can't change anymore. :/

Anyway, for the universities where I can still swap out documents I just added the article under "Working papers" with a link to my Google Drive and mentioned it in the SOP.

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

2 minutes ago, Monody said:

The thing is that the writing sample isn't the article I am trying to get published, but I see your point. I am probably much too nervous about all this and am also constantly reevaluating the writing sample I submitted as well as the SOPs that I can't change anymore. :/

Anyway, for the universities where I can still swap out documents I just added the article under "Working papers" with a link to my Google Drive and mentioned it in the SOP.

Of course! I ultimately forced myself to stop re-reading and had my roommates cut me off from revising things further (they are a great commitment device - lol). What's done is done - best thing to do now is to work hard and divert your attention to other things until mid-February. I think it's a good call on the working papers link though.

[Monody]

Well, I just submitted a safety application to the MACIS program at the ETH Zurich which probably doesn't improve the whole situation as I am now also worrying about the possible failure of an additional application. February/March really can't come soon enough.

[GradNYC]

Thanks everyone! 

 

[guest56436]

Does anyone hate actually submitting the applications? I mean, I have been working on these for months now and every thing is up to my own personal standards...but the process of actually pressing submit is horrible.

[resDQ]

3 hours ago, Comparativist said:

Does anyone hate actually submitting the applications? I mean, I have been working on these for months now and every thing is up to my own personal standards...but the process of actually pressing submit is horrible.

It is a relief because you are done, but at the same time your fate is now sealed (somewhat). 

[resDQ]

How are you thanking your letter writers and when?

[Monody]

I am uncertain. I thought about thanking them before the results, so rather soonish as a gesture that I value their help irregardless of the outcome. On the other hand, this may come across as weird. I will probably wait until Ive got a response and then thank them with a small gift or whatever also irregardless of the outcome.

[dagnabbit]

All of my letter writers are professors in the political science department at my current undergraduate institution, so I still see them and speak with them all the time. I've already thanked them in person, so I don't think that I'll send formal thanks (I'm thinking handwritten cards, maybe?) until I've accepted an offer. I also plan to seek their advice if it so happens that I receive multiple offers this cycle, so I think it would be weird to send formal thanks before the process is totally over.

[resDQ]

8 hours ago, KittenMittens said:

Hey everyone, love the helpful comments on this thread. I also submitted my first application a couple days back ... only to find a typo today. Well, not off to the best start.

Quick question for you all: how acceptable is listing professors from different subfields? Another thread mentioned it shouldn't be a problem if, say, you're in CP and they're in IR. But what if you're applying for one of the more quantitative subfields, but they're in theory? I feel our areas of interest overlap nicely, but I do wonder if the methodological divide might be a bit too much. Thanks!

At my undergrad institution, a lot of people did first field American and second Theory, so I don't think it will be too much of a problem provided this is not your main person. 

 

 

[angel_kaye13]

On 11/26/2016 at 3:15 PM, Monody said:

Well, I just submitted a safety application to the MACIS program at the ETH Zurich which probably doesn't improve the whole situation as I am now also worrying about the possible failure of an additional application. February/March really can't come soon enough.

Try not to worry too much. This is the most stressful thing, I know, but...in retrospect, you'll do well, or you'll find something better. I am sure you are doing your best, and what more could you do? Best wishes for your success!!

[Monody]

1 minute ago, angel_kaye13 said:

Try not to worry too much. This is the most stressful thing, I know, but...in retrospect, you'll do well, or you'll find something better. I am sure you are doing your best, and what more could you do? Best wishes for your success!!

I know I shouldn't. Everything is going fine, the writers submitted the letters yesterday, and neither the SoP nor the writing sample is terrible and the grades/GRE and such are great. I just continue to realize all the possible improvement I could have made to increase the admittance change by a few decimal points. I recently changed the SoP and writing sample for Columbia and will do the the same for Princeton and MIT on the weekend. Maybe I should rather look forward until mid-January when I really can't change anything anymore.

[angel_kaye13]

I know, that's the worst: realizing "oh my gosh, did I do THAT!?!" After submission, of course, always. ;-) That's where I am: I somehow got in my apps fairly early this cycle, so...nothing to do but wait. I'm doing a lot better than my last application cycle, where I was checking the results page constantly!*^^* Lessons learned and wiser?? Or just too bored to stress.  At least your programs should come in before the English ones! I'm always slightly jealous of the Sciences and Mathematical branches, for this!

[dododo]

28 minutes ago, Monody said:

I know I shouldn't. Everything is going fine, the writers submitted the letters yesterday, and neither the SoP nor the writing sample is terrible and the grades/GRE and such are great. I just continue to realize all the possible improvement I could have made to increase the admittance change by a few decimal points. I recently changed the SoP and writing sample for Columbia and will do the the same for Princeton and MIT on the weekend. Maybe I should rather look forward until mid-January when I really can't change anything anymore.

Hi,

Is it possible to update a SoP and writing sample after submission of an application?

[Yanaka]

I realized their are just a couple typos in my CV, which I didn't see yesterday because I had no rest and was so used to seeing all my docs that I became blind to them. I am wondering if I can email them and change a document, it seemed to be possible since they gave an email to write to in case changes were required