lester

Thank you both. Very helpful. After lots of thought, I've decided to sit out this year's admissions cycle and see if I might be more appropriately suited/ready as a candidate by next year. Appreciate the feedback.

I've been out of college for a little over a decade, and been working in the field continuously since that time (in Congress, intensive policy work, political campaigns, etc). Everything I've read about the process states that it's very hard, ironically, for such applicants to be admitted to PhD programs -- supposedly because their academic skills may have atrophied, their recommendation letters will be hazier, there's a sense that their commitment may be questionable because they already chose a different professional route, etc. Is this right? I went to a top 10 undergrad university, with good (not perfect) grades, got 166 verbal and 160 quant on GRE, and have excellent work experience. Do I have a shot at a decent PhD program, or do I need, as some suggest, to apply for Masters programs first to ameliorate the problems listed above? (note: Doing a Masters is not really a realistic option for older applicants who may have families). Thanks very much for any insights and tips for navigating this set of circumstances.