PhD Political Science- Profile Evaluation - Desperately Seeking Guidance

[polsgoals]

Hello all!

I am applying to PhD programs in political science/government and was wondering if you could take a look at my profile to see if I would be a competitive candidate:

undergrad GPA: 3.5 at a top 25 public research university 

major GPA: 3.7

grad GPA: 3.6 at a top 75 (private) research university

GRE: V- 165, Q- 168

LOR: 2 from faculty I worked closely with in my masters program, 1 school assistant principal where I work, 1 US congressman with whom I worked 

work experience: 4 years teaching at an urban Title 1 school, 1 year working on an inaugural US congressional campaign 

I'm thinking of applying to top 20 programs in political science. Do you guys think it would be realistic for me to get in? I know my GPA is on the low side (I took "hard science" classes - physics, chemistry, biology, calculus - which dropped it a bit) but am hoping that my GRE scores, strong letters of recommendation, good personal statement, and (hopefully) interesting and successful work experience will work in my favor. What do you think?

Edited August 8, 2017 by polsgoals

[guest56436]

With a BA and a MA, why can't you have three LORs from professors? 

Your stats are obviously good but admission will entirely depend on your research experience, writing sample, and SOP.

[polsgoals]

2 minutes ago, Comparativist said:

With a BA and a MA, why can't you have three LORs from professors? 

Your stats are obviously good but admission will entirely depend on your research experience, writing sample, and SOP.

The reason I'm not using three professors for letters of recommendation is because I graduated five years ago from my MA program and it's been over seven years since undergrad. The two professors I'm using for recommendations I have a continued relationship with, but I worry others won't necessarily remember me or my work. What do you think? Would it be better to have another professor recommendation, or should I stick with more recent/work related letter writers?

I don't have any practical research experience, unfortunately. (I'm hoping my work experience will help dig me out of that hole )