OxfgrdMovement

I guess this is more the case if you're applying to Dartmouth for...I don't know, Haitian Studies, when its Haitian studies program is like 97th in the country and you live nowhere near Dartmouth.

Thank you for the kind words and reassurance. I'm debating retaking my GREs....standardized testing ranks only slightly above "torture by North Korean secret police" in my grand list of undesirable experiences. Thank you for that run-down, very informative. As you said, the chief appeal of an MA in Poli Sci is my desire to compensate for a lack of research (or a thesis) as an undergraduate. Given that I'd probably like to study Political Theory, however, I wonder if I'd be doing much 'research' at either the MA or the PhD level anyway! If I decided on an MPP/MPA, I think I'd have to accumulate more policy-oriented experience to be a competitive candidate. So far I've done a little bit of desk/office work at a health-care focused legal practice, but not much else. Maybe I need to join a campaign, or try to get entry-level work with a think tank?

Is electronic submission more common these days? I seriously don't know how am I getting stamped envelopes from NY to my alma mater in Boston.

I'm beginning to realize how different these programs are. Hell, an MPA seems much closer to a MBA and similar degrees than an MA or PhD. in Poli Sci. I guess I find myself torn between staying in academia or perhaps pursuing a career in public service. Does anyone know if its worthwhile for a person to pursue an MA in Poli Sci, by the way? I mean, if you're interested in Political Science academically why not pursue the full doctorate? Is there any advantage or utility to a Poli Sci MA? EDIT: Also, perhaps this is futile question without more context, but does anyone have an idea of what Poli Sci programs I might be able to get into with my score/GPA? Top 50 programs, 30, 20?

Hello, Recently I've been considering getting either an MPA or an MA in Political Science. I graduated from Boston College in 2011, with a GPA of 3.78. So far, so good. My GREs, on the other hand, are less stellar, though I don't believe they're exactly terrible: I got a 163 v, 156q and a 4.5v. According to the conversion chart, this gives me about a 650 verbal (ouch), a 720 quant (okay, I can live with that) and a...well, underwhelming writing score.* Basically, I don't know my scores are good, bad or middling. I know that there's only so much we can know about how any school determines a candidate is accepted, and I also know that admissions is generally holistic and weighs other factors considerably. I think I can muster some solid statements and even a good statement of purpose, but beyond this I don't have much to offer besides my academic & standardized testing record. Anyway, any insight into this is welcome. *I was so nervous about my GREs that I didn't get a wink of sleep the night before. Seriously, I stayed up the entire night in a fretful delirium. Sometimes I like to tell myself that my score would have out of the ballpark if I was able to sleep!