Hi all,
To start off, I am a current undergraduate at Ohio State in the honors program with a double major in Sociology and Psychology. I have had my sights set on graduate school, specifically an MA/Ph.D. program for Sociology, since day one of undergrad, and as I'm nearing the application process (for a hopeful start in Fall 2015) I'm hoping I can get some advice on what schools I can realistically get into.
As of right now, I have my heart set on Notre Dame; there is a professor there whose research interests line up shockingly perfectly with mine, but I am also thinking of applying to Baylor, Brandeis, Purdue, Penn State, among a few others. I hope to focus on Religion.
-I have a 3.5/4.0 overall, and a 3.6 in my Sociology major.
-Although I haven't taken the GRE yet, my practice tests have all been in the 65-70% verbal, 75-80% math range. I've historically done very well on standardized tests (34 on my ACT)
-I've worked as a research assistant 5 times over the course of my undergrad
-I'm completing an honors thesis on national and religious identities in Northern Ireland, by traveling to Belfast this summer and conducting about 25 interviews
-My letters of recommendation come from my advisor whom I've taken several classes from, my thesis advisor, and a professor I am a research assistant for
-And lastly, in case this boosts my application, I am a varsity athlete and have gone All-American for academics twice.
I am mainly concerned by GPA is not high enough. I keep hearing stories of applicants that were already published and still got rejected, so I'm concerned as to what caliber of school I, an unpublished undergrad, can get into.
Any advice y'all can lend would be great! I just want to know what my chances of getting into Notre Dame are, as well as any other schools with a Sociology of Religion program I can get into. Thanks!