joesephsci

I understand that It can be frustrating to be in a program where you are not happy, but maybe you should wait until you get offers from other schools, before quitting your current program. Don't give up what you have, unless you have something better set up (this doesn't apply if you judge not being in any program as better than being in your current program). I imagine admissions committees will not judge your motivation/ commitment to graduate studies if you are still in a program, but if you have previously quit a graduate program they might.

Although applications are quite expensive, the payoff if you get in is high, so I would encourage you not to let the cost of applications deter you from applying this cycle. Of course it's no guarantee that you get in this cycle, but the same goes for next cycle even if you substantially improve your scores. There are just too many factors at play, like who the programs that you are applying to are looking for this year, how competitive the files of people you are competing against look, etc. With that being said, I would encourage you to apply this year, and if nothing else you will have most things ready for next cycle. Best of luck!

If you think you can score around 310 (V+Q) on the GRE, you should definitely re-take the test. You have some time, so I would suggest studying for a couple of months (make sure to take as many practice tests as you can) and then re-taking it a time or two again.

I don't think that your AW Score will hurt you, as long as you have a stellar writing sample. That is, it will perhaps raise a concern, that can be easily mitigated by providing a writing sample that shows that you are capable of doing graduate level research in English.

Hi all! Im starting a PhD in Political Science program!

UMASS Amherst. The program is not rated high overall, but it used to be top 15 in theory, so i assume its still not too bad. If Marxism is your thing, this is definately one of the places you want to check out. Their economics department is known more for being Marxist than political science dept, but you will meet people who will shar your interests.

Would you mind sharing what subfield you are?

Claiming Chapel Hill post. First admission, seccond cycle! American subfield. Thanks to everyone who has been suportive throughout the process!

Same here, I haven't heard from UCLA either.

Congrats!