It is grad school application season time and I've had a couple of applicants ask me about the process, picking the right schools and life as a graduate student. Here's a thread on things to keep in mind when you apply to grad school in the US as an international student. 1/n
Most often I get asked why I chose political science. My answer to that is simple -- Given my background in Econ, I knew that an Econ PhD in the US would be too mathy for my liking and the questions I was interested in could easily be answered in Political Science easily. 2/n
Why grad school? If there's a senior academic whose work you look up or who's career trajectory you like/follow/aspire to achieve, by all means, get that PhD if that's what you want to be. 3/n
International students have it the hardest. Our exam grades/scores in our home universities are difficult to evaluate. They use the GRE (which can be problematic in its own ways) + our Statement of purpose (SOP) and recommendation letters to evaluate us.
Take the GRE in the month of July so that you have it out of the way before the application cycle begins. Giving it in July also means that you have enough to re-take the GRE (if you need to). Re-take it no later than August end. 4/n
SOP: one thing about applying to the US is that you DO NOT need to nail down a question/theory/research design ready before you apply to grad school - cuz that's what you do when you're actually IN grad school. 5/n
SOP: Instead, focus on identifying an interesting puzzle/ broad area of work and elaborate on it. Nobody will ever hold you to it but it has got to be interesting so that the committee takes notice. Also, try to mention how this fits with the interests of faculty in the dept. 6/n
For anyone applying to the social sciences after an undergrad/Master's in India I'd say that you should definitely spend some time working in the vibrant policy space in India to a) understand the type of questions people care about b) make connections and get good LORs 7/n
Since the research space in India is fairly small and well connected to professors in US universities, some of the people you work with are mostly well known in the academic circles here and should help you get your foot in the door by vouching for you in your LOR. 8/n
Should you write to professors? There's no correct answer to this. I can tell you what I did -- I wrote to professors in the departments that I applied to. I am not sure if it helped in my application but it certainly didn't hurt to do so. DO what suits you best. 9/n
Get your SOP checked, proofread, re-checked MULTIPLE times from MULTIPLE people. I cannot thank all the people who were kind enough to go over the shitty SOP I had written. You will be surprised at how helpful people can be. 10/n
Visit the websites of departments you're interested in applying to, see the faculty list and make a list of professors you might want to work with. Chances are that if you're interested in studying India there only a few schools that have faculty with tht regional expertise. 11/n
Don't apply to a school if you don't want to go there. Apply to GOOD schools because only then is this going to be worth your while. Don't get that degree for the heck of it. Talk to current students from India/ studying India to see which schools you should apply to. 12/n
The application cycle is stressful. I did it with a full-time job and if someone as lazy as me can do it, so can YOU. Don't get bogged down by it & by no means leave your job or take a gap year just to focus on apps. Treat yourself after you submit all your apps. You deserve it.
It is going to be even more stressful when you start hearing from schools. Don't let it get to you. Take care of yourself during that time. You'll do well no matter what or where you get in. Remember: you can always apply AGAIN. Or just move on to better things. Life goes on!14/n
Remember one thing: when you get in, the challenges double and sometimes they will get to you. I am still figuring my way through this. At times it will be just about crawling your way to the finish line. Remember that it is just a job at the end of the day. 15/n
PHD applications are a huge black box. Doing this sitting in a faraway land, never having studied is tough. I realized after I joined the program that many students had so much of an advantage just by the virtue of being trained in this similar system. Remember: you will SURVIVE!
Threads to follow: Choosing your school when you get in and Surviving grad school. In the meantime, get that GRE done and get started with the SOP. Good luck! 17/17
Two things that I wish to add here: a) applying to schools is expensive and I know I could manage to do this because I had a decent enough job and was able to pay app fees. Nonetheless, the very cost involved with giving the GRE+TOEFL+app fees is exorbitant and exclusionary.
b) You don't need to go to a counselor to do your applications. They aren't going to help much and it'll be unnecessarily expensive. They might also force you to apply to "safe" schools so that their track record is consistent.
