MSA

My POI wants to skype/call as well. It's good, it's part of the process of selecting the best place for yourself. That said, it made me a bit nervous too, kind of like a blank-slatey feeling.

Hello Everyone! I have been following the forums discussions here and its been very helpful so far. I'm posting this to get a better idea based on my specific profile. I hope you can help. I am applying for Political Science programs in the U.S. for fall 2014, but switching over from the UK system has made the process confusing. I am in interested in studying regional security issues in South Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India in particular), together with U.S. foreign policy towards this region. I am also interested in extremism in South Asia and the impact of the dynamics between these countries. Any recommendations/ideas about which schools would have expertise in these broad areas, i.e. South Asian politics, Islamist politics, terrorism, political reform, U.S. foreign policy? I have followed another thread but it wasn't very specific on the interests. Also some brief intros into the program, how quant or qualitative they are, would also help. As I understand it,the Ph.D. in the US is very quant focused. Since I have to retake the GRE it would be nice to have some idea of what work universities are into. I took it before, my verbal hit the 96th percentile but the quant wasn't great (155). To add more detail, I have taught IR theory to students in my home country and enjoyed it, but I am interested in think-tank/policy work as well. I have noted down Georgetown, Tufts, Johns Hopkins, Washington University in St. Louis, U.Maryland, Penn.State as good programs but would like to hear from you. Thanks!