PoliSci 2007-2008 Cycle

[hoopz]

are those harvard government accepts for real?

[alegriapura]

That makes me sad. But, congrats!

I wouldn't worry about it yet. It seems like they treat the subfields very differently. I'm an Americanist. What is your subfield?

[UMNdude]

I am an IR theory guy. So maybe I'm lucky? Sigh.

[alegriapura]

Someone else just posted a wait list there.

[UMNdude]

Ha, maybe they are calling in alphabetical order? I'm CLAWING at hope.

[silencio1982]

Ha, maybe they are calling in alphabetical order? I'm CLAWING at hope.

i'm IR/comparative and i haven't heard anything from them yet... there's still hope, i think

[Peter]

Congrats to those Harvard people (I was surprised to see so many on the results list). What a great opportunity!

[polisciphd]

Given the number of responses, I am thinking that the harvard admits are bogus...

[Quarex]

Quarex, thanks for the rundown! Let me know if you ultimately decide to go to UConn! I am from VA and have lived my whole life here so going to UConn would be like another country Best of luck with your other applications. I definitely have always thought rankings really had little to do with real substance of a program (they all fight to get ranked and where they fall can sometimes be a little strange) and what mattered more to me was the professors, the general attitude of the program, placement, and my own personal "click" with the university.

Haha, funny you should be in that situation. My girlfriend and I just moved to Virginia last year, so perhaps there is a Virginia-Connecticonnection. They really are pretty different ... though some parts of Virginia are certainly more like rural half-farm-half-university Connecticut than are others.

[hoopz]

Given the number of responses, I am thinking that the harvard admits are bogus...

maybe wishful thinking on my part, but there have been no "i got into harvards..." on the forum either. show your face people who got it! i mean, you should be a little proud no?

[Canadianpolsci]

Given the number of responses, I am thinking that the harvard admits are bogus...

The Harvard Admits are 100% for real. Based on the email I received, there were 35 admitted students. I think the chances that anyone who has not heard yet will be accepted or wait listed is essentially zero.

Sorry. And congrats to others.

[Hybrid Nomad]

The Harvard Admits are 100% for real. Based on the email I received, there were 35 admitted students. I think the chances that anyone who has not heard yet will be accepted or wait listed is essentially zero.

Sorry. And congrats to others.

Oh that stings. I guess its time to update my signature. And although I am dying of envy, congrats.

[farty14]

The Harvard Admits are 100% for real. Based on the email I received, there were 35 admitted students. I think the chances that anyone who has not heard yet will be accepted or wait listed is essentially zero.

Sorry. And congrats to others.

Not sure you ever posted: interests? Stats?

[polisciphd]

The Harvard Admits are 100% for real. Based on the email I received, there were 35 admitted students. I think the chances that anyone who has not heard yet will be accepted or wait listed is essentially zero.

Sorry. And congrats to others.

Sorry for the earlier post, wasn't trying to start a fight.

[Canadianpolsci]

I can explain why this board is popular TO ME. I think these reasons are generally correct:

-most or all schools switched to email notification of admitted people. That is new; even 3 years ago there was more snail mail.

-schools have this habit of emailing admits, and then sending letters to rejects 2-3 weeks later. So this blog saves people from the extra 2-3 week idiotic wait to hear the inevitable. This was true for some schools.

-the board is professionally done and there are hundreds of people on it

-I was (likely) rejected at Columbia. How do I know? This board.

-No matter who you are, waiting is no fun. I pass the time looking on this forum.

-I found a lot of the advice given on this forum was so-so, but some was good. So I tried to give my own. For instance, about the GRE, or whether to call schools or not. Again, it was just to pass the time.

[zephyr]

was hoping some of you could give me your thoughts, as i'm currently officially 0 for 2 (unofficially 0 for 4). i applied to an array of top 25 programs, and really hope to get into at least 1. i know how random this process can be, so i'm not shocked by the rejections so far. but, i'm also at a loss for how to improve my application. i ended up doing a hard science major in undergrad, knocking my gpa down quite a bit (still graduated w/ honors from a top 50 school, but below a 3.5). i have a policy degree for my masters from a top 5 school, with very high grades, and scored above the 90th percentile in all GRE sections - i teach the exam for kaplan. i also have taken 5 PhD-level poli sci classes at a top 25 school since then, getting one A- and the rest A's. i feel like i have a really strong SOP, very good fits with every place i've applied to, and strong LORs (albeit not from any famous profs). i still have 4 more programs to hear from, so i'm optimistic i'll get at least one, but do you think my lower undergrad gpa in an unrelated major will kill my chances at a top program? i have no idea what else i could do, short of getting another masters degree, which i don't think would help much, considering my grades in the PhD level poli sci classes already. being 0 for 4 has dented my confidence severely.

[apolloapp]

was hoping some of you could give me your thoughts, as i'm currently officially 0 for 2 (unofficially 0 for 4). i applied to an array of top 25 programs, and really hope to get into at least 1. i know how random this process can be, so i'm not shocked by the rejections so far. but, i'm also at a loss for how to improve my application. i ended up doing a hard science major in undergrad, knocking my gpa down quite a bit (still graduated w/ honors from a top 50 school, but below a 3.5). i have a policy degree for my masters from a top 5 school, with very high grades, and scored above the 90th percentile in all GRE sections - i teach the exam for kaplan. i also have taken 5 PhD-level poli sci classes at a top 25 school since then, getting one A- and the rest A's. i feel like i have a really strong SOP, very good fits with every place i've applied to, and strong LORs (albeit not from any famous profs). i still have 4 more programs to hear from, so i'm optimistic i'll get at least one, but do you think my lower undergrad gpa in an unrelated major will kill my chances at a top program? i have no idea what else i could do, short of getting another masters degree, which i don't think would help much, considering my grades in the PhD level poli sci classes already. being 0 for 4 has dented my confidence severely.

I am in a very similar situation, zephyr, but I can tell you if you have very good GREs, good grades in poli sci courses, good recs, and a great proposal all is not lost. I had a GPA under 3.5 at a top 5 school, due primarily to a hard science major, but did very well in poli sci courses. I've been rejected by Stanford and Yale officially, admitted at UChicago, and "unofficially" waitlisted at Columbia. Still waiting to hear from Harvard, Princeton, and MIT (though Harvard looks like a no). All is not lost! It should also help that you have a master's, again presuming that you did well. I am applying with just a B.S.

[silencio1982]

was hoping some of you could give me your thoughts, as i'm currently officially 0 for 2 (unofficially 0 for 4). i applied to an array of top 25 programs, and really hope to get into at least 1. i know how random this process can be, so i'm not shocked by the rejections so far. but, i'm also at a loss for how to improve my application. i ended up doing a hard science major in undergrad, knocking my gpa down quite a bit (still graduated w/ honors from a top 50 school, but below a 3.5). i have a policy degree for my masters from a top 5 school, with very high grades, and scored above the 90th percentile in all GRE sections - i teach the exam for kaplan. i also have taken 5 PhD-level poli sci classes at a top 25 school since then, getting one A- and the rest A's. i feel like i have a really strong SOP, very good fits with every place i've applied to, and strong LORs (albeit not from any famous profs). i still have 4 more programs to hear from, so i'm optimistic i'll get at least one, but do you think my lower undergrad gpa in an unrelated major will kill my chances at a top program? i have no idea what else i could do, short of getting another masters degree, which i don't think would help much, considering my grades in the PhD level poli sci classes already. being 0 for 4 has dented my confidence severely.

hey zephyr. don't lose hope. i am also unofficially 0 for 3 and only have 3 more programs to hear back from. it's not over til the fat lady sings.

anyways, randomness is key... especially when it comes to top 25 schools. unfortunately when there are 200-500 people applying for 10-40 spots, there's really no magic bullet that will get you in unless you are some kind of superstar rhodes scholar type person. i already have a masters, too, and i can't afford to go into any significant debt to get another one.. but i will consider it if i get funded for one so i can get a new writing sample. you didn't mention your writing sample but when being honest about the weaknesses of my own application i have to think that is mine. so, i know that is one area in which i can improve.

other than that, if i do end up applying next year i will apply to a wider range of schools. while it would be nice to go to a top 25 or top 50 program, i can say i would prefer going to grad school and getting a PhD from a top 100 program to not getting a PhD at all. this is what i want to do in life so i am going to be persistent!

i would find it interesting to know the stats of people who end up having to apply for a phd in more than one cycle. i bet the numbers are higher than we would think.

[silencio1982]

hey, is the person who got into hopkins a poster on this board? if so can you reveal your subfield and who you are interested in working with? just curious. thanks

[adaptations]

To zephyr:

Although I have no particular expertise and have experienced my fair share of rejections this year, my opinion is that your lower undergrad GPA will not kill your chances anywhere. You have enough other strengths that you will surely be in the running at the schools you applied. That said, there are no guarantees in the application process, so I wish you the best of luck.

[PhDme]

Was the Georgetown admit fake? i have not heard that anyone else has gotten in. Do we know when they will notify people?

[lenin333]

I am not sure about the GT admit either. At this point I wish I didn't care.

[Canadianpolsci]

Was the Georgetown admit fake? i have not heard that anyone else has gotten in. Do we know when they will notify people?

The Georgetown admission is real. I know the person.

[Peter]

Re: Georgetown---

I called yesterday and it appears the bulk of the admits won't go out for another couple weeks. I didn't ask about whether or not they've started sending stuff out. Since the school is ridiculous about funding (only providing fellowships to two people per subfield) my bet is that they'll contact those individuals early (perhaps what happened this week).

As for the question earlier today about hearing from people who have been through the cycle twice (now) with better luck, I'll sit down and type out what I learned in a couple weeks when the bulk of this craziness blows over...

Good luck to all this week.

Ah, and I also contacted GWU and it looks like it won't be until mid-March for them....

[lenin333]

Anybody else a Post-Communist Scholar here? I am a Russianist. It would be interested to see what everyone is interested in.