Fall 2010 Admission Results

[tskinner]

Oh my dear SP, I hope you'll break into Yale and maintain your unbelievable record.

On an unrelated note, not that I'm bitter or whatever, but what is up with Northwestern's selectivity? I saw many people who got in (or at least waitlisted by) clearly more highly ranked programs like NYU, UCSD, Wisconsin-Madison, OSU, Chicago were rejected by Northwestern. I know this thing is subfield-specific but seriously Northwestern is not that great.

Well, maybe I'm just plain wrong. End vent.

Acceptance to any one program is not a good predictor of acceptance to another. In the end, with all of your stats and figures, acceptance to any program within a given year is still a crap shoot. Are there any professors that are interested in your research plans after a couple years? Are there cutbacks due to budgets? Did your app get read on a bad day or right after a stellar candidate? Perhaps nobody at the program you applied to has heard of your LOR, but they have a random connection elsewhere!

These are the things I tell myself so that I don't take my rejections personally.

[durbin_bourban]

Sigh. I had the sad realization today after my rejections for Yale and Berkeley (suspected) that I may have aimed too high.

[LeftCoast]

Can I get some good news already???? All of this waiting is killing me.

After getting rejected from UCSD & Texas I am beginning to think that I am an idiot for even applying to PhD programs.

To quote my favorite street preacher here in P-Town. "Stop the torture machine!"

[Ziz]

I didn't apply to Yale but I can't help feeling so bad for everyone who was rejected. Looking at the results board and seeing all of them makes me sad . I know you will all get into great programs and love them. And hopefully brouhaha and cpaige also get into the MA.

[Tan]

On an unrelated note, not that I'm bitter or whatever, but what is up with Northwestern's selectivity? I saw many people who got in (or at least waitlisted by) clearly more highly ranked programs like NYU, UCSD, Wisconsin-Madison, OSU, Chicago were rejected by Northwestern. I know this thing is subfield-specific but seriously Northwestern is not that great.

Well, maybe I'm just plain wrong. End vent.

There is a part of arbitrariness in admissions, things that can't be explained rationally... That said, Northwestern is a very highly ranked school in political theory, definitely in the top 10, especially for critical theory-oriented students.

[Tan]

Sigh. I had the sad realization today after my rejections for Yale and Berkeley (suspected) that I may have aimed too high.

I'm sorry to hear that... but don't lose hope! Not just because you could hear from elsewhere, but also because I would be very surprised if Berkeley is done with its acceptances. Compared to other schools, there are few people who have posted Berkeley acceptances so I suspect more are still coming - not to mention they had said the process would last into next week when someone called them on Tuesday.

[readeatsleep]

On an unrelated note, not that I'm bitter or whatever, but what is up with Northwestern's selectivity? I saw many people who got in (or at least waitlisted by) clearly more highly ranked programs like NYU, UCSD, Wisconsin-Madison, OSU, Chicago were rejected by Northwestern. I know this thing is subfield-specific but seriously Northwestern is not that great.

Well, maybe I'm just plain wrong. End vent.

I wouldn't place all those programs above northwestern, actually, all of them are doubtful except Chicago. While usnwr ranks NU around 20, the schmidt and chingos ranking places it in the top ten. I don't think the usnwr general rankings are very reliable - it places alot of emphasis on general prestige that makes undergrad rankings make sense, but not so much sense for graduate school. Additionally, alot of the rejects are theorists, a field in which NU definitely has a serious edge.

...but this is coming from a theorist who will be attending NU, so take it with a grain of salt!

[Tan]

On an unrelated note, not that I'm bitter or whatever, but what is up with Northwestern's selectivity? I saw many people who got in (or at least waitlisted by) clearly more highly ranked programs like NYU, UCSD, Wisconsin-Madison, OSU, Chicago were rejected by Northwestern. I know this thing is subfield-specific but seriously Northwestern is not that great. Well, maybe I'm just plain wrong. End vent.

Also, and I'm sure you didn't mean any harm by this, but we should probably refrain from saying that some schools are "not that great" as it is bound to hurt those who did get in, those who are planning to go there - not to mention that it is false, at least in the subfield I know about (theory). Those kind of assesments just open the door to uglier discussions than those we've been able to maintain.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Tan

[Ziz]

Also, and I'm sure you didn't mean any harm by this, but we should probably refrain from saying that some schools are "not that great" as it is bound to hurt those who did get in, those who are planning to go there - not to mention that it is false, at least in the subfield I know about (theory). Those kind of assesments just open the door to uglier discussions than those we've been able to maintain.

Totally agree with this.

[readeatsleep]

Also, and I'm sure you didn't mean any harm by this, but we should probably refrain from saying that some schools are "not that great" as it is bound to hurt those who did get in, those who are planning to go there - not to mention that it is false, at least in the subfield I know about (theory). Those kind of assesments just open the door to uglier discussions than those we've been able to maintain.

thanks Tan!

[It'sgonnabeme]

Also, and I'm sure you didn't mean any harm by this, but we should probably refrain from saying that ...

OK, I take your point and retracted that sentence. Thanks.

[durbin_bourban]

Thanks, Tan! This is such a roller coaster ride!

I'm sorry to hear that... but don't lose hope! Not just because you could hear from elsewhere, but also because I would be very surprised if Berkeley is done with its acceptances. Compared to other schools, there are few people who have posted Berkeley acceptances so I suspect more are still coming - not to mention they had said the process would last into next week when someone called them on Tuesday.

[readeatsleep]

Thanks, Tan! This is such a roller coaster ride!

isn't it! Luckily, I have an acceptance to get excited about. I believe Hegel called this reconciliation.

P.S., it does indeed seem likely that a number or schools will continue to offer admission, not only because they are not finished with their original offering, but also because more room may open up as students' decisions come in, not to mention that a number of schools seem to be accepting by subfield.

[CrimsonBlue]

Acceptance to any one program is not a good predictor of acceptance to another. In the end, with all of your stats and figures, acceptance to any program within a given year is still a crap shoot. Are there any professors that are interested in your research plans after a couple years? Are there cutbacks due to budgets? Did your app get read on a bad day or right after a stellar candidate? Perhaps nobody at the program you applied to has heard of your LOR, but they have a random connection elsewhere!

These are the things I tell myself so that I don't take my rejections personally.

For IR, it would be hard to find another place besides UCSD. I still haven't heard back from UCSD's PSIA program. It's one of my top choices!

Edited February 12, 2010 by CrimsonBlue

[Ziz]

nothing from my end.

how does that warrant -1 ?

[thatsnotmyname]

To the person who has made my reputation go from a positive value to -11 to -22 right now: I have contacted the site administrators. You will be reprimanded.

Ziz: I have absolutely no idea.

This whole negative points thing is ridiculous. I hope administration can sort out where they are all coming from.

[poli90]

Yup, rejected at Yale. Not too surprising.

[Ziz]

Haha I got negative points for asking why you got negative points!!

[CrimsonBlue]

Haha I got negative points for asking why you got negative points!!

IMPRESSIVE

[plisar]

For my sanity, UCSD candidates with questions about funding, please send me a PM now. It should be fixed. Send me any and all questions you would like to know, and I'll give you honest answers.

[CrimsonBlue]

So, I had Chinese food this evening. I had two fortune cookies and found the following:

"There will be many surprises: unexpected gains are likely."

"Your infinite capacity for patience will be rewarded sooner or later."

I am probably extrapolating too much, but I wanted to share this fortune with you guys!

[durbin_bourban]

Do people the feeling that next week is going to be filled with lots of news from schools? I thought I wasn't going to start hearing back until March so this has been a bit of a surprise.

[CrimsonBlue]

Do people the feeling that next week is going to be filled with lots of news from schools? I thought I wasn't going to start hearing back until March so this has been a bit of a surprise.

My poor friend still believe everything on departmental websites. He is sure that he will hear back in mid-March. Yes, he will if the ones he is getting are rejections!!! I think everything except waitlisted people will be over by the end of February.

@ cpaige: I ate every single piece of them!

[durbin_bourban]

I think we will hear from Princeton and Columbia next week and maybe even the big H! Though it's honestly more likely that that bomb will fall the week after. I don't know about other schools, since I'm mostly focused on those three. Oh - and the rest of Berkeley's decisions should be coming in.

I see that you heard back from UChicago. I applied there too for IR but haven't heard anything yet.

[FrostedAmbassador]

I'm hoping we'll hear something from UCLA.