Tony's Back in Town: University Choice (Attention Whoring)

[Antonio the Sixth]

Hey guys!

I've rarely talked about it directly on the forum, but some of you may know that I was applying for a PhD in several American universities. Well, most of these universities have made their decision known over the past month or so. And while there have been many disappointments (at least two thirds of them said no), I still got into three of them and am waiting for two others.

Thus, my five choices, at this point, are:
- UCLA
- UC Davis
- Duke University
- UNC at Chapel Hill (I'm on waiting list)
- U-IL at Urbana-Champaign (still haven't heard from them)

As you can imagine, it's a pretty tough choice to make. I was wondering if some of you might know some of these universities, and could tell me a bit more about them in order to help me choose. Of course the academics matter most, but I would also want to know about the general quality of life, the people, the features of the area, the campus lifestyle and environment, etc.

Your help is very much appreciated. And I'm of course very excited about all this!

[Antonio the Sixth]

I think the consensus is to make a decision based on what kind of fraternity you'd like to join.

I have to concur with Oakvale on this one. Greek life offers numerous opportunities for leadership and service, and has a number of specific areas to indulge your interests and hone your skills in: philanthropy, fundraising, recruitment, education, record-keeping, budgeting, public relations, athletics, bylaws, risk management, alumni relations, administration, and the like.

I haven't checked which of your choices has a chapter of the fraternity I'm in, but if they're out there, I can help grease the wheels when it comes to bid-voting with a few well placed calls to their Sage or Rush Chair should the situation arise.

Thanks, I appreciate it. However, to be honest, I don't think Fraternity life really is for me. I've become far more sociable over the past 5 years and I definitely intend to experience new things in the US, but I'm not quite there yet. Maybe once I join I will end up trying it, but I'll first have to see by myself what it's like.

[Antonio the Sixth]

@Boris: Thanks, that's great to know!

What are you getting a PhD in?

Political Science.

In terms of Deparment strength, I guess UCLA, Duke and Chapel Hill would be the strongest picks. US news has the first two tied for #10 and the latter at #13. Davis and IL are tied for #23.

[Antonio the Sixth]

(Oh, and those US News rankings for graduate programs... you may as well print them on your toilet paper.)

That's good to know. Sadly, they're one of the few sources of information on PhD programs besides the departments themselves or their faculty (where there is always a risk of self-promotion).

Are PHD students in fraternities in the US? I always thought that was a bachelor's degree/undergraduate thing.

I was being facetious, as I assume was oakvale. I was simply reusing what would be a semi-basic recruitment pitch to kids less inclined towards social deviance.

Ah LOL, obviously I fell for the joke. Good thing I don't care about fraternities anyway.

I don't think anyone on this forum is qualified to talk to you about PoliSci PhD programs, Tony. For what it's worth, I'd like to congratulate you on getting into Duke and UCLA, which is no small achievement. I know that you mentioned that you were disappointed about not getting into Princeton, Stanford or UC-Berkeley but you should treat yourself.

Yeah, I know. I had a lot of foolish dreams when I started my applications, and even though I knew how competitive the selection process is, I couldn't help thinking "why not me?". Stanford and Berkeley were so amazing... Still, I have no reason to be disappointed with my options.

Your choice set should be between UCLA, Duke and UNC. I think you said you wanted to do comparative, right? In that case, regional specification obviously matters. Quant/qualitative divide also matters, though probably not as much as you may think; you'll have to take at least some game theory and a linear models course. Most importantly, you need to look at past placement for people in your field.

Yes, I've selected Comparative Politics as my primary subfield, and plan to focus on Western established democracies (basically, Western Europe and North America), an area that appears to be surprisingly underrepresented among the faculty. Still there are a couple professors I find pretty interesting in each of these universities. I prefer quantitative methods by far, though I'm only interested in their aspect as practical tools, rather than in the formal modeling stuff. Still, I'm fine with learning more on all this stuff.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sadly, I'll be unable to fly to the US and attend the campus days. I'm much too busy with my work in my current Master's program (I'm currently working on my thesis). That's why I'm so desperate for information.

Though my work is not in Poli Sci, there are certain factors in common to the selection of a PhD program. The first question is do you have a masters yet? If not there will be more courses required in the first year or two, so it's worth seeing what those requirements are. If you already have a masters degree some or all of the graduate classroom work may be waived, and that allows one to get to research faster.

As I said, I'm finishing my Master's this year. However, I'm not sure if most US universities recognize equivalencies with French degrees. I will have to check with the Department once I make a decision. Still, I wouldn't mind taking courses in the US, tbh. I think I need to familiarize myself with American-style Political Science, which is quite different from the French model.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I guess the academics aspect is the most complex one, and as you guys have pointed our I'm probably the only one who can figure out what is the best fit for me. I will be questioning professors, and possibly students, about that.

At the same time, you guys can definitely help me out on the "quality of life" aspect. Which university is located in the best city/neighborhood? Which campus is more beautiful, or more comfortable? Which place has the nicest people? The most vibrant community? The most interesting cultural features? Etc.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've been gathering various information in the past few days. I still haven't spoken to most professors, but scheduling for Skype conversations is on its way, and hopefully this will help me solve the last doubts (though probably not ). Anyway, here's a little summary of advantages and drawbacks for each option.


UCLA:
- Advantages: 1-The profs have expressed interest in my research. 2-Probably the city with the most stuff to do and see. 3-The weather is perfect.
- Drawbacks: 1-The city might be not very easy to navigate into, especially without a car. 2-It's really, really big and perhaps a bit impersonal.

Duke:
- Advantages: 1-Seems to be my best fit in terms of academic interests. 2-I like the original way in which its program is structured. 3-Most human-sized of the three.
- Drawbacks: 1-It's not Californiaaaaaaa 2-Not sure how it is in terms of culture.

UC Davis:
- Advantages: 1-Probably the nicest place to live in. 2-Probably my best fit in terms of campus culture. 3-Close to the Bay Area.
- Drawbacks: 1-Academic standing seems a bit lower, though I need to talk to people about that. 2-Financial support is much more limited.

Is that a fair assessment? What do you guys think?

[Antonio the Sixth]

L.A. does have a decent public transportation system, despite what others may say. The Metro Rail isn't extensive, but it does go to further places like Santa Monica (starting this year), Long Beach, Pasadena, Hollywood, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Rail_%28Los_Angeles_County%29

But seeing how you'll be at UCLA., I'd imagine the Metro Rapid would be more useful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Rapid

http://media.metro.net/riding_metro/maps/images/rapid_system.pdf

It's a bus system that has a bus every 20 min, Mon-Fri 5am to 9pm, and every 10 min during rush hour.

I visit the city of L.A. probably about once or twice a month, but I haven't actually driven into L.A. for almost 5 years. I just drive to a suburb east of L.A., park at a rail station, and take the Metro Rail or Metro Rapid everywhere. As long as you find a place near a Metro Rail or Metro Rapid station, you should be fine. Actually, you can benefit by not having a car since you won't have to pay for auto insurance or deal with demonic freeways.

That's a bit relieving, thanks. Though I was used to having a bus every 5-10 minutes when I was in SF.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Unfortunately, no, my experience of the US so far is limited to the Bay Area (and a short visit in Atlanta). And SF is the best city ever, so I've no idea what you're talking about.

But seriously... LA is a pit.

Please elaborate.

[Antonio the Sixth]

What is your research project?

Right now, I'm working on the impact of voter turnout inequalities on US partisan competition since the 1970s. But I'm interested in a broad range of issues. Roughly speaking, I'd like to do research on electoral sociology in Western democracy.

I'll have to talk to more professors before I can choose between UCLA and Duke. At this point, they both seem pretty satisfactory academically.

[Antonio the Sixth]

What is your research project?

Right now, I'm working on the impact of voter turnout inequalities on US partisan competition since the 1970s. But I'm interested in a broad range of issues. Roughly speaking, I'd like to do research on electoral sociology in Western democracy.

I'll have to talk to more professors before I can choose between UCLA and Duke. At this point, they both seem pretty satisfactory academically.

I'm surprised you haven't looked to work with Dr. Michael McDonald (currently at U Florida) who is one of the leading experts on voter turnout and its impact on politics. On top of his main interest he has also worked on open redistricting processes.

I have! He's going to be cited a lot in my Master's Thesis, especially for giving us the best estimates of VEP turnout available. I just didn't think that was enough to make me consider U Florida, for a number of reasons.

[Antonio the Sixth]

What is your research project?

Right now, I'm working on the impact of voter turnout inequalities on US partisan competition since the 1970s. But I'm interested in a broad range of issues. Roughly speaking, I'd like to do research on electoral sociology in Western democracy.

I'll have to talk to more professors before I can choose between UCLA and Duke. At this point, they both seem pretty satisfactory academically.

I'm surprised you haven't looked to work with Dr. Michael McDonald (currently at U Florida) who is one of the leading experts on voter turnout and its impact on politics. On top of his main interest he has also worked on open redistricting processes.

I have! He's going to be cited a lot in my Master's Thesis, especially for giving us the best estimates of VEP turnout available. I just didn't think that was enough to make me consider U Florida, for a number of reasons.

Hopefully it wasn't just for location. As a graduate educator I can say that who and what are far more important criteria to select a graduate program on than where.

It just didn't strike me as one of the universities I should apply to, in any particular respect. Maybe it flew under my radar, but I applied to 15 different universities already, so it was hard for me to expand the list further.

[Antonio the Sixth]

At this point it will almost certainly be between UCLA and Duke. I've spoken with another UCLA professor today, and I really got the impression that the fit with my interests and the faculty's was very good. Apparently UCLA attaches more importance to social groups as actors that shape political (and, in my specific case, electoral) behavior and outcomes, whereas Duke is more prone to individualistic Median-Voter type analysis. Would anyone here be able to confirm that? It might make a major difference. Of course, I'm also going to talk with Duke professors over the course of next week, and I'll ask them about that as well.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I want to come to a decision by tomorrow, but I'm still torn between all three. I spoke with people from each one and they all were very convincing... It's gonna be tough.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Still undecided... Though perhaps leaning toward UCLA.

[Antonio the Sixth]

UCLA it is. I'm not fully convinced that it's the best choice, but anyway, there was no bad choice.

[Antonio the Sixth]

You dumped out Davis for LA?

tsktsktsk.

Don't remind me, it was a heartbreaking choice (especially because, upon close inspection, the Davis faculty turned out to be on par with the other two's).

[Antonio the Sixth]

Thank you guys for the congratulations and encouragements! I'll keep you posted on the next steps.

UCLA it is. I'm not fully convinced that it's the best choice, but anyway, there was no bad choice.

Extremely poor choice. Los Angeles?! You could've come to any of the amazing universities in Chicago, with the city's superior and unrivaled culture and anemities. You could've hung out with me, man.

I didn't even get in UChicago.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Chicago is certainly a very nice city and I'd love to spend some time there, but it's waaaaaaay too cold for me. I'm pretty glad with what I got.