2017-2018 Application Cycle

[deutsch1997bw]

30 minutes ago, Hamb said:

Nice eye. Either Columbia is a month earlier than normal or the Princeton troll strikes again.

Nothing in my application portal has changed for Columbia, but who knows.

Two have been accepted now, according to the results page. 

[Hamb]

7 minutes ago, deutsch1997bw said:

Two have been accepted now, according to the results page. 

Really crossing my fingers for a troll, I know last year they had someone who would post 2-4 results sometimes.

But that might just be my hopeful optimism, maybe Columbia changed up their procedures this year. Will be interesting to see if anyone claims one tomorrow.

[deutsch1997bw]

4 minutes ago, Hamb said:

Really crossing my fingers for a troll, I know last year they had someone who would post 2-4 results sometimes.

But that might just be my hopeful optimism, maybe Columbia changed up their procedures this year. Will be interesting to see if anyone claims one tomorrow.

I'm assuming you applied to Colombia? Best of luck to you. 

[Hamb]

2 minutes ago, deutsch1997bw said:

I'm assuming you applied to Colombia? Best of luck to you. 

I did, and thank you! I'll probably need it given their normal admissions standards, but I'm hopeful regardless.

[politicalsciencehopeful]

Not to alarm anyone but I can't log into my Princeton application portal. Yes I am sure the password and username are correct. Will update later.

Edited January 12, 2018 by politicalsciencehopeful

[deutsch1997bw]

11 minutes ago, politicalsciencehopeful said:

Not to alarm anyone but I can't log into my Princeton application portal. Yes I am sure the password and username are correct. Will update later.

I'm starting to worry about what I might find in my inbox when I wake up in the morning. 

[politicalsciencehopeful]

2 minutes ago, deutsch1997bw said:

I'm starting to worry about what I might find in my inbox when I wake up in the morning. 

Same. Are you able to access the portal?

[CandyCanes]

Does anyone know when Princeton normally sends out decisions? The historical list on this website seems to show a range from late January to early March...

 

Would the admissions committee really even be able to have met already? I'm assuming they didn't start working until after Christmas...

[politicalsciencehopeful]

2 minutes ago, CandyCanes said:

Does anyone know when Princeton normally sends out decisions? The historical list on this website seems to show a range from late January to early March...

 

Would the admissions committee really even be able to have met already? I'm assuming they didn't start working until after Christmas...

I was gonna say, the results section has a wide range of dates. I'm wondering if they made a decision for my application and that's why I can't access the portal. But its strange because I wouldn't think they would meet until Feb. at the earliest.

[CandyCanes]

21 minutes ago, politicalsciencehopeful said:

I was gonna say, the results section has a wide range of dates. I'm wondering if they made a decision for my application and that's why I can't access the portal. But its strange because I wouldn't think they would meet until Feb. at the earliest.

Yeah, a lot of people don't work the week between Christmas and New Year's, so it's not even clear to me that they started reviewing applications before last week... 

I was able to log into Princeton's application just now, but it doesn't say anything new.

[DreamersDay]

Okay guys,

Columbia wont make its decisions until the first week of February at the latest.  Princeton wont make its decisions until the end of January or first week of February.  This is clear from the history of these decisions.  

You are being trolled.  Trolls can (shocking I know!) submit two "acceptances" claiming that Columbia accepted them.  

By writing worried upset stuff about the obviously fake Columbia admission and obviously fake Princeton admission you are just giving whatever Polisci Rumors troll energy and entertainment to continue to write this stuff.  

Don't do it.  Ignore any result before January 30th or 31st for Princeton and anything before February 5th or so for Columbia, because they'll be fake.  None of the top schools send out acceptances before February or the very very very end of January.  Stop writing about troll acceptances and the trolls will have less interest in writing them.  Better yet, don't check the results page at all until February.  

p.s. I can log into my Princeton application fine.  It was probably just updating the system when you tried to log in.  I did not apply to Columbia and have no personal stake in it.  

Edited January 12, 2018 by DreamersDay

[CandyCanes]

1 hour ago, DreamersDay said:

Okay guys,

Columbia wont make its decisions until the first week of February at the latest.  Princeton wont make its decisions until the end of January or first week of February.  This is clear from the history of these decisions.  

You are being trolled.  Trolls can (shocking I know!) submit two "acceptances" claiming that Columbia accepted them.  

By writing worried upset stuff about the obviously fake Columbia admission and obviously fake Princeton admission you are just giving whatever Polisci Rumors troll energy and entertainment to continue to write this stuff.  

Don't do it.  Ignore any result before January 30th or 31st for Princeton and anything before February 5th or so for Columbia, because they'll be fake.  None of the top schools send out acceptances before February or the very very very end of January.  Stop writing about troll acceptances and the trolls will have less interest in writing them.  Better yet, don't check the results page at all until February.  

p.s. I can log into my Princeton application fine.  It was probably just updating the system when you tried to log in.  I did not apply to Columbia and have no personal stake in it.  

Do you mean Columbia won't make its decisions until the first week of February at the *earliest*, or at the latest?

[DreamersDay]

1 hour ago, CandyCanes said:

Do you mean Columbia won't make its decisions until the first week of February at the *earliest*, or at the latest?

The earliest.

Here is when Columbia made acceptances in the past:

2017: 2nd week of February
2016: 2nd week of February
2015: 2nd week of February
2014: 3rd week of February
2013: 2nd week of February
2012: 3rd week of February

There is no way that Columbia is sending out real acceptances now.  Maybe they'll be a little early but if its not the first week of February (or more likely the 2nd) and someone posts a Columbia acceptance, they are just trying to screw with you.

[DreamersDay]

And if curious, as for Princeton:

2017: acceptances went out on Jan 31
2016: February 9
2015: February 11
2014: February 11
2013: February 28
2012: February 20 and 21


The other CHYMP schools make their decisions in the 2nd or 3rd week of February except Berkeley which is more like the first week of February or final days of January.  

 

[SerenityNow!]

Whao! Thank you @DreamersDay for doing so much research! Although I didn't apply to most of these this information has been extremely reassuring.

[dagnabbit]

In general, the programs that send out acceptances in January tend to be those who are competing for applicants that might have better options. The logic is that an early offer + early visiting weekend might cause prospective students to consider the program more seriously than they otherwise would have. These tend to be places ranked 15-30ish: Wisconsin, OSU, UT, Emory, and so forth. The CHYMPS schools typically don't send out decisions until mid-February to early-March, both because they receive a larger number of applications and because they don't have the same need to fight for good students. As @DreamersDay said, remain skeptical of any high-ranking admissions on the results page at least until next month.

On another note: please take care of yourselves in these upcoming weeks. Get some sleep, drink water, do whichever type of exercise you prefer. Keep busy with work if you can, and try to limit your daily visits to this site. Remember that the admissions process, while noisy and imperfect, is a matching exercise; you've identified the programs that seem to be the best fit for you based on public information (faculty, methodological approach, etc), and now it's time for admissions committees to identify which applicants fit them best based on a combination of public and private information (Prof. So-and-so isn't taking on new advisees this year, we're trying to expand our IR subfield, we're trying to become a more quantitative department, etc). There are two conclusions you should draw from this:

1. If you're rejected from a program that seemed perfect for you, there's a decent chance that it was due to one of the aforementioned private objectives. At this stage, being "above the bar" is a necessary but not sufficient condition for admission; you may have been edged out for an idiosyncratic reason that was beyond your control. Try not to let it get to you. After all, you didn't want to live in Palo Alto anyway - housing prices are ridiculous and it's too far away from your family.

2. If you're accepted to a program, it wasn't by mistake. The committee has read your writing sample, statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation, they've seen your transcripts, and they believe that you would be successful in their program. They're willing to invest substantial time and resources in you. Remember this if you begin to experience the imposter syndrome that afflicts so many incoming PhD students.

Best of luck to all of you!

[deutsch1997bw]

22 minutes ago, dagnabbit said:

In general, the programs that send out acceptances in January tend to be those who are competing for applicants that might have better options. The logic is that an early offer + early visiting weekend might cause prospective students to consider the program more seriously than they otherwise would have. These tend to be places ranked 15-30ish: Wisconsin, OSU, UT, Emory, and so forth. The CHYMPS schools typically don't send out decisions until mid-February to early-March, both because they receive a larger number of applications and because they don't have the same need to fight for good students. As @DreamersDay said, remain skeptical of any high-ranking admissions on the results page at least until next month.

This makes a lot of sense. I have never thought about the admissions process in this way. Thanks.

[politicalsciencehopeful]

Ok so my inability to access the portal was something else. I talked to grad admissions for Pton and she told me decisions (as we all expected) will be released starting Feb. Ignore the Columbia and Princeton trolls and good luck everyone!

Edited January 12, 2018 by politicalsciencehopeful

[not@prof_yet]

Where are you guys seeing these results?

[deutsch1997bw]

22 minutes ago, not@prof_yet said:

Where are you guys seeing these results?

https://thegradcafe.com/survey/

Enter "University XYZ Political Science" in the search box to see results.

[deutsch1997bw]

Anyone claiming the OSU admit?

[buckinghamubadger]

I can't claim the OSU admit, but I can claim the Mizzou admit. I've applied to 10. I figure I'm going to give every place that admits me a fair shot. I made sure every place I applied to placed people. Despite all the stress put on getting into top 10s (and yes, I applied to a couple), I've gotten some good advice that indicates that fit might matter more. If a mid-tier program can put up a good 'fight', I'm willing to maybe be a big fish in a small pond rather than have to fight for face time with my advisor. There's a lot of things to be considered. 

 

Point is, some admissions decisions are being made right now. Maybe the Princeton and Columbia claims are being made by trolls, and there is plenty of reason to be skeptical, but you guys will know soon enough. Hang in there. Most of you guys will get in somewhere. The first acceptance feels really good, but a lot of us are going to have to make some difficult choices over the next few months. Do we go to the place that fits our interests well or do we go somewhere that has top notch placement? Do we take the extra money or slightly better job prospects? Do people like me, who already have an MA, really want to redo it or do we take the couple of extra years to maybe get an additional publication or two? There's a long road ahead of us and sadly most of us won't get into our dream program. But that's okay. In some cases, you might even be better off. 

It feels really good to already have a program to go to on January 12. But there's still a lot of variables to be considered. I hope it works out for everyone.

[deutsch1997bw]

46 minutes ago, buckinghamubadger said:

I can't claim the OSU admit, but I can claim the Mizzou admit. I've applied to 10. I figure I'm going to give every place that admits me a fair shot. I made sure every place I applied to placed people. Despite all the stress put on getting into top 10s (and yes, I applied to a couple), I've gotten some good advice that indicates that fit might matter more. If a mid-tier program can put up a good 'fight', I'm willing to maybe be a big fish in a small pond rather than have to fight for face time with my advisor. There's a lot of things to be considered. 

 

Point is, some admissions decisions are being made right now. Maybe the Princeton and Columbia claims are being made by trolls, and there is plenty of reason to be skeptical, but you guys will know soon enough. Hang in there. Most of you guys will get in somewhere. The first acceptance feels really good, but a lot of us are going to have to make some difficult choices over the next few months. Do we go to the place that fits our interests well or do we go somewhere that has top notch placement? Do we take the extra money or slightly better job prospects? Do people like me, who already have an MA, really want to redo it or do we take the couple of extra years to maybe get an additional publication or two? There's a long road ahead of us and sadly most of us won't get into our dream program. But that's okay. In some cases, you might even be better off. 

It feels really good to already have a program to go to on January 12. But there's still a lot of variables to be considered. I hope it works out for everyone.

Congrats on the admit! Best of luck to you with the rest of your applications. 

Edited January 13, 2018 by deutsch1997bw

[SerenityNow!]

Anyone claiming the Ohio State and Wisconsin interviews?

Also from looking at last year's forum next week may be a busy week for non-CHYMP schools.

[deutsch1997bw]

4 hours ago, SerenityNow! said:

Also from looking at last year's forum next week may be a busy week for non-CHYMP schools.

I think there's a chance that we might hear from UNC this week. Maybe Emory, too.