Hi.
I'm considering phd programs to apply to for 2014, and I'm having trouble figuring out which programs might be a good fit. I'm interested in comparative democratization, democratic transition, and democratic theory (feeding into the others).
Clearly Stanford seems to have outstanding faculty in this field — or a hugely disproportionate number of authors of papers that I cited in my undergraduate work on the subject. NYU is similar. However, digging through faculty at other schools whose other features I'm interest in is a little daunting. Is there anyone with similar interests that could recommend other programs?
I'm also fairly certain Stanford is out of my range, and maybe NYU too. I completed my undergraduate degree in polisci as an adult, while working full-time (after living and working abroad in IT for several years). My overall GPA was 3.4, but in-major it was 3.7. I haven't taken the GRE yet, and I intend to work my ass off for a good score (math shouldn't be a problem, my background is in physics before polisci), and I think I can write a pretty strong SOP, but still...
So I'm looking for any lower-top-25 or lower programs that might be a good fit. It doesn't mean I'm not going to apply to Stanford or NYU, but I want to be realistic.
Thanks!!