Fall 2010 Admission Results

[curufinwe]

By the way, when I said I don't get any errors on Columbia's status check thingie, I meant the very page when you enter your pin and password. When I tried to click the "Application for Graduate Admission" and then "Downloadable Forms" and then "Application Status Form" as they tell you, I get the following message:

"Automation error The specified module could not be found."

Weird.

[kmp34]

Wasn't following the board for a few days... I'm guessing the Princeton posts are fake too?

[mpe]

Thanks for the update on Yale (and how to check status). Does anyone know when MIT sends decisions?

[Ziz]

Wasn't following the board for a few days... I'm guessing the Princeton posts are fake too?

That's what we're assuming.

[APGradApplicant]

Well, my presumption of being waitlisted at Rochester has been confirmed. Just got an e-mail (seems kind of late for this on the east coast, huh?) from the DGS telling me:

"I am writing to inform you that you have been wait-listed for admission to our Ph.D. program. We were very impressed by your application, and even though we are not able to offer you admission to our program right now, we may be able to do so before you need to commit to another program. If we were to admit you, your offer would be for 5 years of tuition plus a stipend of $20,000 per year for 5 years".

Talk about a mixed message. But I guess it's true that with so few slots available it genuinely is impossible to admit every single person who is qualified. We'll have to see how things pan out...

[Ahab]

Hey APGRAD -

I know a student from my university that was wait-listed at Rochester and then offered a spot sometime in March. You should definitely keep that option open if you are really interested.

[betteryear]

Dear fellow poli sci applicants

I have been following this forum for many weeks now, it's been a great source of support. i am finally writing now because im in a state of panic...rejected at 3 (possible 4 schools) so far and beginning to wondering if this PhD thing is going to work out for me. maybe someone can help me figure out my chances (so i can start working on Plan ?

applied: MIT, Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Yale, WashU, Michigan, NYU (and a couple of policy/political econ programs)

rejected: Stanford, Yale, Michigan, NYU (?)

GRE: V580, Q770, A5...bad verbal, so took it again - V730, Q720, A5 (hoping they consider higher scores in each section)

GPA (masters): 3.6 (Ivy, in Policy), lots of field research experience. 3 publications. 2+ yrs work-ex in multilateral agency in DC.

GPA (ug): Top of my class, distinction (foreign school) - policy

Recos: Two letters from policy profs from grad school, one work reco.

I wonder if my non poli sci background is a problem. Or if my research interest is too narrow and I should have contacted faculty first...or maybe there's still time to write to the remaining schools?

Thanks so much!

[brewski]

On 2/15/2010 at 7:54 PM, betteryear said:

Dear fellow poli sci applicants

I have been following this forum for many weeks now, it's been a great source of support. i am finally writing now because im in a state of panic...rejected at 3 (possible 4 schools) so far and beginning to wondering if this PhD thing is going to work out for me. maybe someone can help me figure out my chances (so i can start working on Plan ?

applied: MIT, Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Yale, WashU, Michigan, NYU (and a couple of policy/political econ programs)

rejected: Stanford, Yale, Michigan, NYU (?)

GRE: V580, Q770, A5...bad verbal, so took it again - V730, Q720, A5 (hoping they consider higher scores in each section)

GPA (masters): 3.6 (Ivy, in Policy), lots of field research experience. 3 publications. 2+ yrs work-ex in multilateral agency in DC.

GPA (ug): Top of my class, distinction (foreign school) - policy

Recos: Two letters from policy profs from grad school, one work reco.

I wonder if my non poli sci background is a problem. Or if my research interest is too narrow and I should have contacted faculty first...or maybe there's still time to write to the remaining schools?

Thanks so much!

Seems like you have a good profile that's above the basic bar for the schools you list. However, like many of the good folks here, it's going to come down to how the individual departments think you might fit in their respective programs. If you have a good statement that draws attention to the ways in which you fit with the particular programs, then I'd be pretty shocked if you didn't get into at least a couple of programs.

[SBL]

On 2/15/2010 at 7:54 PM, betteryear said:

Dear fellow poli sci applicants

I have been following this forum for many weeks now, it's been a great source of support. i am finally writing now because im in a state of panic...rejected at 3 (possible 4 schools) so far and beginning to wondering if this PhD thing is going to work out for me. maybe someone can help me figure out my chances (so i can start working on Plan ?

applied: MIT, Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Yale, WashU, Michigan, NYU (and a couple of policy/political econ programs)

rejected: Stanford, Yale, Michigan, NYU (?)

GRE: V580, Q770, A5...bad verbal, so took it again - V730, Q720, A5 (hoping they consider higher scores in each section)

GPA (masters): 3.6 (Ivy, in Policy), lots of field research experience. 3 publications. 2+ yrs work-ex in multilateral agency in DC.

GPA (ug): Top of my class, distinction (foreign school) - policy

Recos: Two letters from policy profs from grad school, one work reco.

I wonder if my non poli sci background is a problem. Or if my research interest is too narrow and I should have contacted faculty first...or maybe there's still time to write to the remaining schools?

Thanks so much!

Sounds pretty damn good to me.

The only thing that strikes me as potentially problematic is the fact your background is all policy. I've met a number of faculty at different schools and (this changes from school to school) the general impression I got was that poli sci departments saw themselves as above policy. Indeed, my impression is that if you want your research to have a direct policy impact, they will look down on your application. I wish I could explain this all better, but I myself am still baffled by the attitude. Policy application is not considered "academic" enough. I call it pomposity.

You mentioned your interests might be too narrow. What did you mention in your apps? (You can PM me if you'd rather not display openly on the board).

Maybe one more potential issue: Like you, I also had to include a work reference as I didn't have the relevant faculty connections to have them all be academic. I do think that makes for a substantial disadvantage given committees want to see recommendations from those that can "truly" assess your research potential (i.e. other academics).

The self-absorbed politics of the whole system I have experienced has been very disheartening to be honest.

[ipsqq]

On 2/15/2010 at 7:54 PM, betteryear said:

Dear fellow poli sci applicants

applied: MIT, Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Yale, WashU, Michigan, NYU (and a couple of policy/political econ programs)

rejected: Stanford, Yale, Michigan, NYU (?)

GRE: V580, Q770, A5...bad verbal, so took it again - V730, Q720, A5 (hoping they consider higher scores in each section)

GPA (masters): 3.6 (Ivy, in Policy), lots of field research experience. 3 publications. 2+ yrs work-ex in multilateral agency in DC.

GPA (ug): Top of my class, distinction (foreign school) - policy

Recos: Two letters from policy profs from grad school, one work reco.

Your second GRE is fine, I wouldn't worry about it. A letter of recommendation from someone you work for is worthless unless they have a PhD in political science, and even then PhDs in political science are suspicious of people who leave the academy, with few exceptions.

If you are applying to PhD programs in political science, why didn't you have any letters from political scientists? Part of it is snobbery, but part of it is a genuine concern that you don't know what you are getting yourself into. A PhD program in political science is nothing like policy, it is not better or worse, just a different skill set.

About half the programs you mentioned are highly quantitative and are looking for demonstrated competency in math (not just a good GRE score.) Do you have a lot of math classes on your transcript and did you do well in them? Do you have letters from those professors saying as much?

Hope your next round of notifications goes better!

[betteryear]

thanks so much guys, this is very encouraging! i might be able to sleep a little more peacefully now

i agree with you about the fit, it's all about finding a professor who could use your research. having been part of admissions committees before, i saw that lots of really good students don't make it because faculty were looking for a specific language/analysis skill in the applicant pool (sometimes some students would get pulled up from 50+ in the pre-screen process to top 5...it just seemed so unfair at the time). stanford and michigan were not great fits for me, but i was more hopeful about yale (i wonder if this faculty never saw my application...i know he was abroad for fieldwork last month).

ipsqq: quant is not my strong point (most of my work so far has been qualitative) but i took some advanced econometrics classes in grad school (sadly never got a chance to use it much for my own research). my work reco guy has a PhD in Public Finance from an Ivy and most of my work was close to pure research (in fact i treated my masters as a research degree too - lots of methods and theory classes...part of the reason why a real world job is so frustrating right now). but I didnt know a political scientist very well, their reco i thought would be very lukewarm (i regret that now). my other letters are from a policy prof and a economics (political econ) prof...one is so so, one is famous in her field. but i wonder if anyone knows about outside of their teeny tiny research world. i just hope they are open to reading an application from an outsider.

thanks again for listening.

good luck to everyone!

[ladedodaday]

Betteryear, I think the biggest problem (aside from the policy focus) is that you applied to a lot of extraordinarily competitive schools in an extraordinarily competitive year. There are probably lots of people with your numbers, but nowhere near enough spots to go around. It isn't a good situation, and lots of qualified people won't get into schools they would thrive at.

Edited February 16, 2010 by polisciFTW

[APGradApplicant]

Just got this reply from Roch's DGS when I inquired into my position on the waiting list (excerpt):

Hi (my name),

If we are able to admit more students, you would be the first student we would contact. It will come down to how many students already admitted accept our offer.

Thus, all you Rochester admits, please definitely let them know if you decide to go somewhere else!

[tskinner]

Just got this reply from Roch's DGS when I inquired into my position on the waiting list (excerpt):

Hi (my name),

If we are able to admit more students, you would be the first student we would contact. It will come down to how many students already admitted accept our offer.

Thus, all you Rochester admits, please definitely let them know if you decide to go somewhere else!

Great news!

[It'sgonnabeme]

Just got this reply from Roch's DGS when I inquired into my position on the waiting list (excerpt):

Hi (my name),

If we are able to admit more students, you would be the first student we would contact. It will come down to how many students already admitted accept our offer.

Thus, all you Rochester admits, please definitely let them know if you decide to go somewhere else!

Sounds very promising to me. No school can have an 100% yield rate. Even Harvard has only about 70% rate (don't remember the source of this number but I definitely do not make it up).

[It'sgonnabeme]

On 2/15/2010 at 7:54 PM, betteryear said:

Dear fellow poli sci applicants

I have been following this forum for many weeks now, it's been a great source of support. i am finally writing now because im in a state of panic...rejected at 3 (possible 4 schools) so far and beginning to wondering if this PhD thing is going to work out for me. maybe someone can help me figure out my chances (so i can start working on Plan ?

applied: MIT, Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Yale, WashU, Michigan, NYU (and a couple of policy/political econ programs)

rejected: Stanford, Yale, Michigan, NYU (?)

GRE: V580, Q770, A5...bad verbal, so took it again - V730, Q720, A5 (hoping they consider higher scores in each section)

GPA (masters): 3.6 (Ivy, in Policy), lots of field research experience. 3 publications. 2+ yrs work-ex in multilateral agency in DC.

GPA (ug): Top of my class, distinction (foreign school) - policy

Recos: Two letters from policy profs from grad school, one work reco.

I wonder if my non poli sci background is a problem. Or if my research interest is too narrow and I should have contacted faculty first...or maybe there's still time to write to the remaining schools?

Thanks so much!

I agree with the poster several posts ago. Your profile looks pretty strong. It's just that most of the schools you applied to are super competitive and this year is a especially tough one. Hopefully, you will get in at least one of them.

[qazwerty]

Sounds very promising to me. No school can have an 100% yield rate. Even Harvard has only about 70% rate (don't remember the source of this number but I definitely do not make it up).

yea, but they usually take yield rates into account when admitting students. Though first on the waitlist is quite good.

[Shere Khan]

Just got this reply from Roch's DGS when I inquired into my position on the waiting list (excerpt):

Hi (my name),

If we are able to admit more students, you would be the first student we would contact. It will come down to how many students already admitted accept our offer.

Thus, all you Rochester admits, please definitely let them know if you decide to go somewhere else!

Sounds good!

But apart from that, a rather slow day... .

[APGradApplicant]

Right, qazwerty makes a very good point. I appreciate everyone's well wishes, but it's true that what I need to have happen is not for at least one Rochester admit to say no (because then I'd be in for sure), but for them to fall just a tad below whatever their anticipated yield is (maybe 30-50%, I don't know what it normally is for different programs. I know last year, U of Minnesota ended up with a larger than expected cohort, as they admitted 30 expecting a cohort of 12, and ended up with something really high like 18. So yeah, it all just depends on what people decide to do.

This gives me added incentive to wish all you Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UCLA etc. applicants the best of luck, as I'm sure that will affect the decision-making process of many current Rochester admits.

But of course I'd wish you luck either way, just a thought though

[ridgey]

Is the Indiana acceptance in the house?

[It'sgonnabeme]

Right, qazwerty makes a very good point. I appreciate everyone's well wishes, but it's true that what I need to have happen is not for at least one Rochester admit to say no (because then I'd be in for sure), but for them to fall just a tad below whatever their anticipated yield is (maybe 30-50%, I don't know what it normally is for different programs. I know last year, U of Minnesota ended up with a larger than expected cohort, as they admitted 30 expecting a cohort of 12, and ended up with something really high like 18. So yeah, it all just depends on what people decide to do.

This gives me added incentive to wish all you Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UCLA etc. applicants the best of luck, as I'm sure that will affect the decision-making process of many current Rochester admits.

But of course I'd wish you luck either way, just a thought though

Well, for a starter, Suddenly Paranoid is unlikely to go to Rochester now that he got in Stanford and will probably get in Harvard and Princeton too.

SP, you don't have to confirm or deny my speculation. Just let us know your decision by April 15.

[gsams]

I do not believe that IU has notified. I am here. Could call the office tomorrow if need be? I applied for the joint degree with SPEA, so I don't know when they notify for that. IDK. If you are here, speak up! I want to hear if they have sent you funding yet!

[Yes]

Ok, a slow start to the week yesterday. Let's hope there will be more (good) news today.

[flinki]

Ok, a slow start to the week yesterday. Let's hope there will be more (good) news today.

The time difference is a bit annoying for us Europeans... but hopefully we'll hear something this afternoon!

[Yes]

The time difference is a bit annoying for us Europeans... but hopefully we'll hear something this afternoon!

I know, it's painful, isn't it? Where are you from?