Posting your personal statement?

[applying12010]

Now that the application process is over, do people want to post their personal statements? It can help guide the applicants in future years, and it can be fun to read what people's research interests are! Please post your PS!

This draft is a prototype that I used for all of my schools - I personalized my statements for each school to different degrees.

When I was growing up in Shanghai, I was the strange kid who liked to watch news instead of cartoons. Elections, decisions of war and peace, economic development, and other workings of the human social systems have long fascinated me. After four and a half years of studying political science at Swarthmore College and political economy at the London School of Economics, I have maintained my passion for the subject and its many puzzles. I wish to continue my study at XXX and focus on international relations and comparative politics with a regional concentration on East Asia. I am confident that my academic training, research experiences and intellectual curiosity position me well to contribute to the community of political scientists at XXX.

At Swarthmore, my work in comparative politics focused on comparative democratization, comparative political economy, and East Asian politics. For instance, in a paper I presented at an undergraduate Asian Studies Conference at West Chester University, Pennsylvania, I developed an alternative framework to the developmental state thesis to explain post-war Japanese political economy. I conducted my first sponsored independent research on Taiwan’s democratization (under the guidance of Professor XXX, Davidson College) based on primary documents, interviews, and English and Chinese secondary sources. That research project suggests that democratization is a means to alleviate the ethnic conflicts between the Taiwanese opposition and the Mainlander elites—the Taiwanese gained access to the state apparatus while the Mainlanders were guaranteed the survival of the Chinese nation in Taiwan (Taiwan was democratized under the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of China). Building upon this research, I also embarked on a larger research project that culminated as a conference paper at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association in Elizabethtown, 2009. That paper develops a general theory of democratization in ethnically heterogeneous countries that brings together three streams of literatures: theories of democratization, theories of ethnic politics, and systemic theories in international relations. It postulates that specific inter-ethnic dynamics may generate intra-ethnic dynamics that would encourage ethnic elites to opt for power-sharing based on case studies.

In addition to comparative politics, I concentrated on international relations in my senior year. I wrote extensive seminar papers on topics including international monetary relations, optimal American strategy toward North Korea and Iran, and the possibility and necessity to reconcile interpretivism and positivism. The research I conducted for professors supplemented my in-course work. For instance, I researched for Professor XXX (Swarthmore) on Chinese population policy, Professor XXX on recent Japanese national security policies and Professor XXX (Swarthmore) on international regime theory. Moreover, Professor XXX (Swarthmore) and I are currently collaborating on a project that examines the relationship between ideational and material forces through case studies from international relations.

This year at LSE, I am studying game-theoretic models, formal models, econometrics, and the politics of economic policy with Professors X, Y, and Z. I believe that my training in both qualitative and quantitative models will allow me to pursue multi-method research effectively. I have a keen interest in applying quantitative methods to historical material, as well as inserting qualitative analysis into issues that require formal modeling.

At XXX, I would be interested in studying ethnic politics and democratization, the theory of transnational networks, and ideas in international politics (especially its relationship with material forces) on the theoretical, empirical and methodological levels. I wish to strengthen my senior project on ethnic politics and democratization at XXX by utilizing game theory to formalize my results based on comparative historical analysis. Moreover, I hope to resolve two theoretical issues in my earlier project—how to devise a more sophisticated framework to study intra-ethnic dynamics and how the ideational and material dimensions in ethnic politics are related. Both issues are related to my interests in IR theory. Theory of networks may help me resolve the first issue while investigating how ideas and interests intertwine will assist me in responding to the second issue.

Concerning the theory of transnational networks, I want to refine the current framework by introducing the concept of density, which measures the number of interconnected points, or the “thickness”, of networks (states can therefore be conceptualized as special networks with arguably the highest density). The concept of density permits network theory to simultaneously underscore the importance of states and transnational actors. Subsequently, the international system is characterized by a distribution of densities of a gigantic network (which can be subdivided into smaller networks based on issue area, religion etc.). Additionally, the concept of velocity, which captures the volume of interaction between different networks, may also strengthen network theory. The international system is not a dormant distribution of points; instead, information, wealth, ideas, and even weapon smugglings and human trafficking connect the points in a dynamic manner, which I hope to explore.

The theory of transnational networks may inform some empirical issues that I wish to study at XXX, in addition to ethnic politics. The theory of transnational networks encourages us to view power from a Foucaultian perspective - how it is dispersed and decentralized in international politics. Adopting the perspective, we may challenge the anarchy precept in IR theory. If power is not symbiotic with a central sovereign, the lack of a global enforcer of rules does not logically lead to anarchy. Subsequently, we can be more optimistic when discussing issues such as global governance – the Hobbesian dichotomy of a global sovereign or governing paralysis may be a fake one. Moreover, an interconnected view of the world may refine our understanding of the roles and strategies of middle and small powers in IPE and international security, which are often overlooked. The proliferation of networks implies the multiplication of veto points. Thus seemingly weak states or second-class powers may exert disproportionately huge influence in the international arena depending on their positions in the global network.

Aside from the theory of transnational networks, I am also interested in studying ideas, identities and norms in IR. Firstly, I am interested in theorizing how ideas merge, clash and compete with each other in international politics. For instance, what are the conditions under which a dominant culture, i.e. beliefs in liberal capitalism, generates “counter culture”, i.e. right wing and Islamic extremism? Secondly, relating back to the theory of transnational networks, how do the two distributions of density and ideas constrain and nurture each other? While scholars have written on how networks may transmit and generate ideas, how would the ideational contents of a network facilitate or constrain its growth? Thirdly, I am also interested in studying how ideas and interests covariate. I think that current IR literature has a tendency to analyze the two variables either as inherently incompatible starting points for analysis, distinctly independent variables or derivatives of one another. I postulate that ideas and interests are in fact symbiotic, and I wish to specify their relationship. Subsequently, I am curious to study the interactions between the two systems in IR theory - the distribution of power and the distribution of ideas. Fourthly, I hope to utilize quantitative methodologies to study norms and ideas in international politics (e.g. automated content analysis and NOMINATE regression). I wish to investigate the “irrational” dimensions of human scientifically and adopt economic tools for interpretive studies.

My knowledge on political science has grown cumulatively in the past four years. However, the more I know, the more questions I have. I look forward to continuing my intellectual journey under the distinguished scholars at XXX, and to becoming a researcher and scholar under their tutelage.

Edited February 17, 2010 by applying12010

[gsams]

Your PS has a lot in common with the organization of mine. Not going to lie. I will post mine after all the responses have come in, simply due to my worries about acceptances.

[Concentration]

Good thread idea, I especially encourage the user with the handle "SuddenlyParanoid" to draw his/her's up for us, since he/she was admitted to all programs applied to.

[applying12010]

Your PS has a lot in common with the organization of mine. Not going to lie. I will post mine after all the responses have come in, simply due to my worries about acceptances.

Lol I hope our statements are not identical.

People post! Don't let my PS stand alone!

[poli90]

I'll post after I have accepted an offer.

[curufinwe]

LOL. I would post mine if I was accepted anywhere. But I am afraid since I don't have any acceptances yet, I do not wanna post and become a cautionary tale.

[anxiousapplicant]

wow i just realized how fucking crappy mine is

[applying12010]

wow i just realized how fucking crappy mine is

Well the first school I heard back from is Stanford, and it was a rejection. I re-read my personal statement in my state of post-Stanford rejection paranoia and thought it was total crap...

[Yes]

Will post mine once I have replies from all schools

[APGradApplicant]

Will post mine once I have replies from all schools

Ditto.

[applying12010]

Just want to "revive" this thread since the admissions cycle has come to an end for some of us - mind posting your statement? Nothing to lose for people who already got all the offers - we can help people who are planning to reapply/ future applicants!

Edited February 23, 2010 by applying12010

[gsams]

Will post here later (once all have come back). I am also going to post this on my blog which will hopefully help kids out.

[APGradApplicant]

I've decided I'll post mine now. As everyone knows, I'm still eagerly awaiting news from MIT and Minnesota (more hopeful about the latter than the former) and am on the wait list at one of my way-top choices, University of Rochester. Anyhow, I personally believe that my SOP was a very important part of my application. While I had a strong GRE score (680V, 720Q, 5.0AW) and came from a solid undergrad school (WashU) with a couple of well-know LOR-writers, I faced a BIG, BIG constraint in that I had an overall undergrad GPA of 3.26 and a poli sci major GPA of just 3.49 (graduated in May 2008, so "getting it up" wasn't an option). Anyhow, I tried to go outside the box a little bit by starting off my SOP by "telling a story" rather than jumping right in to school stuff.

So have I had a perfect record in my quest to get into way top of the heap schools? No. But I do believe that this SOP is overall well-done and will hopefully offer people something for next year. The only thing I changed in each one by the way is the profs I hoped to work with and (don't forget this one...it's important) the names of the schools. That might have been one thing I'd have done differently, but yeah...here goes (chose MIT just for the heck of it):

November 9, 2009

When my parents asked me if I wanted a small gift for successfully finishing my first year of high school, I gave them a quick and easy answer. “The new edition of the Almanac of American Politics would be nice,” I told them. Most 15-year-olds would probably have asked for something else. However, I had developed a near-obsessive interest in American politics during the previous year’s presidential election. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that when I finished ninth grade in May 2001, that’s exactly what I told my parents to buy for me. By the time I entered the tenth grade that fall, I had memorized the names and faces of all 100 senators and 435 representatives. In short, ever since high school, American politics has been my passion. For me, no day is complete without a thorough reading of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. And if Congress is in session, then I also have to catch up on the latest news about Congress and elections in Roll Call and The Hill. Just last Saturday, when most people were watching NCAA football, I was watching the House debate its historic healthcare bill on C-SPAN.

As a result of my long-time interest in politics, I graduated college strongly set on pursuing a career in applied politics. When people asked me where I saw myself in five years, my usual answer was that I would love to be managing a U.S. Senate campaign or serving as chief of staff to a member of Congress. More recently, however, I have decided to chart a new career course. While working on a campaign can be an exciting and invigorating experience, and serving as a top aide in Congress would certainly have some benefits, I have come to realize this type of work conflicts with a long-held goal of mine: to pursue a career I love that also allows me to be of service to people other than myself and those above me. Today, I can say with confidence that completing a doctoral degree in political science and working subsequently as a professor in that field at a research university is my long-term career objective. I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm for American politics with college students and at the same time channeling my fascination with the subject into working outside the classroom to confront so many of the research questions that will undoubtedly continue to emerge in this discipline throughout my lifetime.

If I am fortunate enough to be admitted to your program, I plan to focus my area of study on two major themes: the constant evolution of Congress as an institution and the dynamics surrounding congressional elections. I have several specific interests regarding Congress. Because I served as an intern in the offices of three female House Republicans, I am very interested in exploring the unique perspective, if any, that women bring to Congress. Further, I would like to confront the cause of the growing chasm between the percentages of women serving among Congressional Democrats as opposed to Congressional Republicans. My internships in Congress have also piqued my interest in other aspects of the institution such as the effect that member-to-member relationships can have on roll call voting behavior and the introduction of legislation, the factors that party leaders employ to determine members’ committee assignments, and the effect that increasing party polarization might have on the legislative process during this current era of unified government. Finally, after having the opportunity during my undergraduate education to take Legislative Process with Professor Bruce Oppenheimer, to whom I looked as a mentor throughout my undergraduate career, I became interested in the increased use of unconventional procedures to pass major legislation in Congress as well as the continuing centralization of power towards party leaders and away from committee chairmen. These topics were outlined in a few of the assigned books for that course that remain among my favorites and which I have re-read more than once since graduation. These include Oppenheimer and Lawrence Dodd’s Congress Reconsidered and Barbara Sinclair’s Unorthodox Lawmaking. As a result of that course, these are areas in which I would very much like to conduct further study, especially during this new era of Nancy Pelosi’s speakership and whatever might succeed it.

 

Regarding congressional elections, I hope to utilize the strong statistical methods training I know I will receive from your graduate program to examine the effects that congressional redistricting has had on both primary and general elections and on party polarization in the House of Representatives. More importantly, I want to be able to use this training to forecast what effect the redistricting that will occur after next year’s census might have on future elections as well as the House as an institution. I also have an interest in looking at the way in which members of Congress, particularly U.S. Senators and House members who sit in marginal seats, confront the often-conflicting pressures between their party leadership or elite interest groups in Washington and their constituency at home that ultimately decides whether or not to return that member to Congress. This is a question that I had the opportunity to study when I took Professor Oppenheimer’s special topic seminar in the fall of 2006 covering that year’s midterm elections. In that course, I completed a research paper on the excruciatingly close race in Ohio’s 15^th Congressional District, where incumbent Deborah Pryce, a member of the House Republican leadership, faced the dual task of convincing voters in her Columbus swing district that she was an independent voice for them but at the same time serving as a point-woman for her party’s agenda in Washington. Also, through reading classics such as Richard Fenno’s Home Style and Senators on the Campaign Trail, as well as Gary Jacobson’s The Politics of Congressional Elections, I developed a solid foundational understanding of the dynamics of congressional campaigns that I look forward to continuing study of as a graduate student. Additionally, I am interested in investigating whether the recent increase in voter turnout among younger and minority voters will become a long-term trend that will have a politically realigning effect on the American political landscape, or only a short-term phenomenon that is unlikely to be sustained.

As I apply to enter graduate studies in political science, I do so with a strong appetite for expanding my knowledge of the discipline. One constraint I faced as an undergraduate was that my training in statistical research methods was fairly scant. While I am of course eager to conduct further study of the qualitative and conceptual aspects of American politics, what I look most forward to about my graduate education is being able to learn about the statistical and mathematical aspects of political science. This will no doubt prepare me well for the teaching and research career towards which I aspire. For this reason, I am excited to see that your graduate program has a strong reputation in this area and makes it a required part of the doctoral coursework. What also attracts me to your program is the excellent faculty in American politics. In particular, I hope to have the opportunity to study under Professors Adam Berinsky, Andrea Campbell, Gabriel Lenz, James Snyder, and Charles Stewart, all of whom have research interests that fit with mine.

Finally, I want to address the way in which I feel my personal background would bring diversity to Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s graduate program. As a proud libertarian and a card-carrying member of my local Log Cabin Republicans chapter in California, I possess a unique perspective that most in the gay community as well as academia do not share. That being said, intellectual diversity, in my opinion, is an important aspect of a well-rounded education. As an undergraduate, I relished the fact that my viewpoint never went unchallenged. In fact, most of my friends both then and now are liberal Democrats. I certainly don’t think that anybody should be benefitted or penalized for his political views. I do know, however, that I would contribute to a diverse learning environment, which I believe would benefit the university as a whole.

American politics is a discipline towards which I am truly passionate and fervently dedicated. I would be honored to have the opportunity to bring this passion and dedication to your graduate program at MIT.

[APGradApplicant]

UC-Davis forced applicants to provide an SOP of a much shorter length, as the box into which you typed the statement only allowed for so many characters. The online app also made clear that mailed statements or e-mailed statements exceeding the length would not be accepted. Thus, here is the much-edited version I used for them. I added the part about diversity into a seperate essay that they had on that subject.

Ever since high school, I have had a near-obsessive interest in American politics. As an example, just last Saturday, when most people were watching NCAA football, I was watching the House debate its historic healthcare bill on CSPAN.

As a result of my long-time interest in politics, I graduated college strongly set on pursuing a career in applied politics. When people asked me where I saw myself in five years, my usual answer was that I would love to be managing a U.S. Senate campaign or serving as chief of staff to a member of Congress. More recently, however, I have decided to chart a new career course. While working on a campaign can be an exciting and invigorating experience, and serving as a top aide in Congress would certainly have some benefits, I have come to realize this type of work conflicts with a long-held goal of mine: to pursue a career I love that also allows me to be of service to people other than myself and those above me. Today, I can say with confidence that completing a doctoral degree in political science and working subsequently as a professor in that field at a research university is my long-term career objective. I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm for American politics with college students and at the same time channeling my fascination with the subject into working outside the classroom to confront so many of the research questions that will undoubtedly continue to emerge in this discipline throughout my lifetime.

If I am fortunate enough to be admitted to your program, I plan to focus my area of study on two major themes: the constant evolution of Congress as an institution and the dynamics surrounding congressional elections. I have several specific interests regarding Congress. Because I served as an intern in the offices of three female House Republicans, I am very interested in exploring the unique perspective, if any, that women bring to Congress. Further, I would like to confront the cause of the growing chasm between the percentages of women serving among Congressional Democrats as opposed to Congressional Republicans. In addition, after taking Legislative Process as an undergraduate student, I became interested in the increased use of unconventional procedures to pass major legislation in Congress as well as the continuing centralization of power towards party leaders and away from committee chairmen. All of these are areas that I would like to explore further as a graduate student.

Regarding congressional elections, I hope to utilize the strong statistical methods training I know I will receive from your graduate program to examine the effects that congressional redistricting has had on both primary and general elections and on party polarization in the House of Representatives. More importantly, I want to be able to use this training to forecast what effect the redistricting that will occur after next year’s census might have on future elections as well as the House as an institution. I am also interested in investigating whether the recent increase in voter turnout among younger and minority voters will become a long-term trend that will have a politically realigning effect on the American political landscape, or only a short-term phenomenon that is unlikely to be sustained.

What attracts me to University of California at Davis’ graduate program is its strong academic reputation and excellent faculty in American politics. In particular, I hope to have the opportunity to study under Professors Erik Engstrom, Benjamin Highton, Robert Huckfeldt, and Walter Stone, all of whom have research interests that fit with mine.

American politics is a discipline towards which I am truly passionate and fervently dedicated. I would be honored to have the opportunity to bring this passion and dedication to your graduate program at UC-Davis.

[natofone]

I would caution future applicants against using the highly personal "since I was a kid" approach.

(I should say that both of the above statements that employ this approach are very good overall - this wasn't a knock on them. Just a suggestion based on what some professors at Chicago suggested to me.)

Edited February 23, 2010 by natofone

[APGradApplicant]

I would caution future applicants against using the highly personal "since I was a kid" approach.

(I should say that both of the above statements that employ this approach are very good overall - this wasn't a knock on them. Just a suggestion based on what some professors at Chicago suggested to me.)

Thanks for the feedback natofone, and I'm glad you clarified that you think overall they're well-done (at first I was thinking "geeze, is it really THAT bad?!"). The only reason I left it, and this was at the advice of a couple of profs who looked at it, is that they thought the story was one that would be a good "break from what they're going to have been reading all day". But yeah, I do see your point there.

[natofone]

I was specifically told to just dive right into the heart of the statement because at some of the very competitive programs they are looking at 400-500 applications and don't want to dig through the entire statement to see what your potential research area is.

[curufinwe]

I avoided that "since I was x years old" approach, and now to think about it, it definitely would not hurt my chances as long as I did not sacrifice anything else to put that in. I mean, is the adcomm member going to say "uh, why do I care what you did when you were young! go to hell!" and tear up your application file? I think I should've added something like that to schools except Columbia (they have a 500-word limit).

[APGradApplicant]

From applying12010's signature: Accepted: Princeton, Duke, Minnesota, Harvard

Yeah, I can see that the "when I was a kid" thing will really screw you over

[tskinner]

Here's mine! I too kind of used the "since I was a kid" at the start of a second paragraph, but I never implied that I was interested in this field since then. Since I had only taken two polisci classes as an undergraduate, what I focused on was showing that I had the TRAINING to succeed, I just needed to be taught the theory a bit first. Take it with a grain of salt as I probably only got into 2 programs:

By the time I arrived in Japan for my semester abroad, I had already made the decision to pursue a career in politics. With vague plans of joining the Foreign Service’s management track, I had decided to go to business school after graduating. However, on April 5th, 2009, North Korea fired the Unha-2 rocket over Japan. While watching the evening news with my host family, I realized that embassy work would not be enough for me. Wanting to know why North Korea, a country already shunned by the international community, would take such a risk, I thought back to my literature review for International Research Methods on the effects of missile defense systems on the probability of conflict. Before the attack, Japan did flex its defense muscles, but I knew that there were many variables, debates, and problems, such as whether “rogue states” truly act recklessly or if economic sanctions are actually effective, that I had yet to study. I decided to pursue graduate studies so that I could better comprehend the nature of interstate interaction and, through a career in academic research, contribute to understanding the nature of conflict and cooperation between states.

Having had over a dozen foreign exchange students stay with my family while growing up, I have always been fascinated with and connected to the international world. This led to my eventual decision to spend my undergraduate career at the School of International Studies at University of the Pacific. Through their interdisciplinary approach to international relations, I have gained perspectives ranging from the anthropological to the historical, from the geographic to the political. My interdisciplinary training allows me to apply a variety of contexts to questions in political science. For example, when looking at the question of stability between states, not only can I consider realist factors of power balance in a uni-, bi-, or multipolar system in common examples like the Cold War and European conflicts, but I can also draw upon the fourth century B.C. warring states of China and the stateless societies of pre-colonial Africa. Moreover, I can consider deeper details, such as cultural conflicts between Israel and Palestine, the nuanced differences between Sunni and Shi’a Islam, and the geographic importance of a small island off the southeast coast of Korea. There is, however, always more to learn, both historically and theoretically.

Also through my studies, I have gained a solid foundation in both qualitative and quantitative methods. In Cultural Anthropology and International Research Methods, I practiced ethnographic interviews and analysis with college students and community members. This, coupled with further cultural research methods from Cross-Cultural Training, was especially useful while studying and researching in Japan. The tools I acquired allowed me to take daily experiences and turn them into data for the papers I wrote on Japanese society and the Japanese state.

Along with this qualitative training, my emphasis has been strongly quantitative. In International Research Methods, I also conducted quota sample surveys and used SPSS and tools learned in Statistics to form regression models and test hypotheses. Moreover, through my wide range of economic studies, I have learned how different economists have used models to describe the world. Next semester I will finish multivariate calculus and conclude my program with an Econometrics research project. Graduate school will allow me to take these tools and combine them with the foundations I have established in Comparative and International Politics to begin answering questions and testing hypotheses.

After watching the Japanese missile crisis unfold, researching the effects missile defense systems, and debating the nature of conflict at the International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague, my interests in international relations have gravitated toward universal issues of warfare and cooperation. Some of the traditional topics that intrigue me include international politics, security policy, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. My primary research interest, however, is conflict termination. In the past, when enemies were as clearly defined as the Third Reich or the Iron Curtain, the endpoint of war was clear: defeat of the enemy. Now that the enemy is frequently ideas themselves, as we see in the War on Terror, it has become less clear when to cease fire. By using qualitative methods and looking at data on variables like goal achievement, domestic political unrest, and casualty trends in a wide range of conflicts, I hope to bring the field closer to understanding how contemporary conflict has changed and help mitigate its impact.

University of California: San Diego will provide me with the necessary resources to answer these questions. By utilizing the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation’s work on international security policy, regional relations, and innovations in international cooperation, I will be able to further both my education and my research outside of the classroom. Moreover, the research topics of Dr. Branislav L. Slantvhev in interwar negotiations and war termination, of Dr. Barbara F. Walter concerning conflict termination and cooperation, and of Dr. Erik A. Gartzke in information and war particularly dovetail with my interests. Also, courses like Game Theory and Quantitative International Relations will be instrumental in supporting my future dissertation work. With these resources and mentors, I hope to make significant contributions to the field of International Relations. After earning my PhD, I plan to move into a faculty position to continue my research and bring the world closer to understanding the dynamics of the international sphere.

Edited February 24, 2010 by tskinner

[SuddenlyParanoid]

I actually used "since I was a kid" to explain not being involved in poli sci much until the end of my sophomore year and to show that I understood a phD was all about research. I redacted a few details but the structure is completely the same. Hope this helps future applicants.

Here it is:

Evenas a child I was interested in politics. My parents, fierce partisans,encouraged this, and any movements in the latest presidential approval ratingswere discussed at the dinner table. However, it was not until I was a sophomorein college that I understood the difference between keeping up with currentevents and actual research in political science. Although I did not completelylose my interest in the horse-race side of politics, political science began tofascinate me. I found both the substantive issues explored and the challenge ofinferring causal relationships from natural experiments and observational datadeeply engaging, which drew me deeper into a field where large-scale randomizedexperiments are often unfeasible.

Myinterests led me to seek out multiple research opportunities at myundergraduate institution. I worked as a research assistant for Letter Writer 1 atthe University of My Undergrad Center for the Study Related topic, andassisted him in his work on topic, topic, and topic. This provided me with experience in collecting and generating data, aswell as greater exposure to formal theory.

Myprimary research interests are American political institutions, especiallyCongress, legislator-constituent relationships, and the effects of electoralinstitution on legislator behavior. My senior honors thesis combines several ofthese substantive interests as well as my interest in inferring causalrelationships from natural experiments. My senior honors thesis, advised by Letter Writer 2, examines the effects of independent variable on the dependent variable. I make use of the natural experiment to provide an exogenous source of changein independent variable and compare change in treatment group to change in control group. To deal with thepotential selection bias in my paper, I use propensity score matching to select control group.

Mypolitical science undergraduate courses have introduced and grounded me inscholarly work across a broad range of topics from political parties and votingsystems, to political modeling and political communication. Additionally, Ihave a major in economics. Course work in that major, my work with Letter Writer 1,and a game theory class taught by Letter Writer 3, also spurred a newfound interestin formal theory. Although I plan to pursue American politics as my majorsubfield in graduate school, I do hope to pursue further training in formaltheory. I am attracted to Stanford because of the quality of the faculty inAmerican politics and the opportunity it gives me to receive training in formaltheory, both inside the department and through Stanford GSB. Professors I aminterested in working with are, among others, faculty member and other faculty member.

Uponthe completion of my Ph.D., I plan study American politics at aresearch-oriented university. I hope to both conduct research and teachundergraduate and graduate-level courses.

[curiousgeorge84]

I would caution future applicants against using the highly personal "since I was a kid" approach.

(I should say that both of the above statements that employ this approach are very good overall - this wasn't a knock on them. Just a suggestion based on what some professors at Chicago suggested to me.)

I disagree. It really depends how you write it. I went highly highly personal in the first paragraph of my statement. It's so personal I won't post it. Some people thought I was out of my mind and that I should change it and others said I wrote it just right. Let me say it was balanced with a very focused research proposal and research history. When I was offered early acceptance to my program, I was told that it was my statement that made me stand out from everyone else. Just don't give B.S. personal that's 'cute' or doesn't have to do with your course of study.

[APGradApplicant]

I disagree. It really depends how you write it. I went highly highly personal in the first paragraph of my statement. It's so personal I won't post it. Some people thought I was out of my mind and that I should change it and others said I wrote it just right. Let me say it was balanced with a very focused research proposal and research history. When I was offered early acceptance to my program, I was told that it was my statement that made me stand out from everyone else. Just don't give B.S. personal that's 'cute' or doesn't have to do with your course of study.

Thank you! Very much agreed. Like I said before, let's take a look at the track records of people who have put some "personality" into their SOPs. I'm glad Suddenly Paranoid chimed in with it. Enough said there.

It definitely didn't seem to hurt anybody here. And natofone, I'm not referring to you because you offered the feedback in a very respectful way. Regarding another individual here though, I really try to be as tolerant and understanding of everybody here as I can, but I must say that when I see one person who continues to write posts with a "know it all" tone and an aura of authority that only seems to increase by the day (even towards people who have had the same mixed results in the process- or worse- people who have experienced much better results), it is really frustrating and off-putting. Anyhow, like I said, people here know that I definitely am rooting for everybody here and rarely have much to complain about in terms of other posters, but I thought I'd just make my thoughts known on this matter.

Edited February 24, 2010 by APGradApplicant

[curufinwe]

ah, I'll post mine as well It probably would make a good cautionary tale

I am an M.A. degree candidate in Political Science at X University in Istanbul, Turkey. I am applying to the PhD program in Political Science at Z University.

A few words about my academic background and training: after graduating from Z Lycee in Bursa, Turkey, I was accepted at Q University in Ankara on a full scholarship (I was in the top 0.01 percentile in the verbal part of the national university entrance exam which nearly 1,000,000 students take annually). During my junior year, I studied at the University of California, Riverside through a student exchange program. I graduated from Q as the valedictorian of my class with a GPA of 3.93. Since 2008, I have been enrolled in X University’s graduate program in Political Science on a full scholarship. Being exposed to four years of undergraduate and two years of graduate education taught in English, including one year at UC Riverside, I have an excellent command of both written and spoken English. The year which I spent in the United States also provided me with a good understanding of American higher education, society, and culture.

In addition to language skills, I am also well-versed in quantitative methods and techniques: I have taken undergraduate courses in Calculus I and II, Introduction to Statistics I and II, Linear Algebra, and graduate courses in Research Methods; and I am currently taking Formal Modeling and Political Analysis also in graduate level.

My main area of interest is Comparative Politics and I would like to continue in this field, with an emphasis on regime changes, authoritarianism, and democratization. Last semester, I wrote a research paper that focused on the impact of Islam on democracy in which I compared Iran, Egypt and Turkey. In addition to Comparative Politics, I am also interested in International Relations. Currently, I am working on a term paper on the dynamics of change in Turkish Foreign Policy by analyzing both domestic and systemic factors. Moreover, given my background in Business Administration in Q University, I have considerable knowledge of economics; I plan to expand that knowledge further by taking Political Economy courses before I complete my M.A. degree in June 2010.

My goal is to become an active member of the academic world after completing my Ph.D. . After having been a teaching assistant for three semesters and having taught over 100 students, I know for a fact that I love teaching. I have also greatly enjoyed doing research for several term papers, and I believe that I have the potential and capability to continue to hone my research skills for future work in academia. I find teaching and the research process exciting, and I would like to do both in my professional career.

After thoroughly researching the graduate programs in Political Science at various American universities on the Internet, I have decided that Z University offers one of the best programs for my academic interests. With scholars such as bla and bla among others, and with institutes such as blah blah, I believe that Z University is an ideal institution for me, and I would be honored to be part of its graduate student community.

[natofone]

I'm not suggesting that this approach will kill or hurt your statement at all. I just don't think that this approach adds much, which can be important when space is limited.