ambitiousfolk

despite my average experiences on the reputation of US schools, based on rankings, I believe UFL and SUNY-SB are stronger. SUNY-SB is quite selective.

Hey guys So how good or bad is it? I know it depends on the applicant qualifications and application's strength, however, how is a top 100 school acceptance is seen overall, is it average? good? bad? considering the fact that there are not less than a thousand school in the US.

Hello everyone As it is stated, If anyone could name a bunch of mediocre schools for political theory in the US please ? Basically I'm asking for mediocre schools for a variety of elements, it's not that I won't be applying to good schools however I'm kind of forced, due to short time circumstances, to try my chances with mediocre schools for the moment. *Note, I'm planning to apply for a MA. Any thoughts guys?

For international applicants, it is either the applicant is considering an enrollment by paying the tuition and expenses from their own budget, through a domestic governmental scholarship or seeking a fellowship/scholarship from the university itself he is applying to. From what I have understood from some threads, that some programs may seem more strict when they review the applications of international applicants whom seek the university's scholarship to fund them, hence, such schools become more selective and based on that they are more strict when using GRE they toss applications based on low GRE scores when they dont meet their minimum/cutoff. However, when an applicant has an 'average/mediocre' application but clarifies that he/she will be funded from his/her local government to study abroad and all the expenses/tuition will be funded, and not a single pinny will be paid by the university he/she is applying to, the admission committee will become less restricted incomparison to the first case, whereas international applicants are initially seeking not just an admission, but a funding from the university itself too. I know that certain cases vary by particular programs and schools, however, I'd like to hear some stories on that generally, to atleast know how such process works.

I have not just heard of this, but actually some friends of mine have experienced it. As international applicants, I do think -based on several elements- that the chances of admissions in comparison to the American citizens can be a bit more difficult for a variety of reasons which can be addressed into another topic, however, I'd like to discuss an idea here with the some 'selective' programs that admit some applicants with almost no selectivity. I'll try not to make the topic long, but I find it important to define 'Selectivity', it's mainly a program admitting applicants with stellar qualifications, HIGH GPA's, strong LORs, great SoP, strong GRE.. but some of these programs drop the selectivity approach, and admit students with average or less than average qualifications and scores, and in comparison to their usual selective approach, those admits can be considered having a real low profile, in terms of scores, GPA..etc The reason I concluded with such program is that some programs feel the urge and need to admit students with a specific background, for instance, a program in Middle eastern studies with some faculty research of interests are in the GCC Region, may be more flexibe in admitting applicants coming from Saudi Arabia, Qatar or UAE for instance or any other GCC state. Those faculty members may consider applicants coming from this area with less restriction despite the selectivity of the program, as those prospective students can be an added academic value not just for the faculty fields of expertise but to the program itself and its academic diverse. I have known a numerous cases of admits in programs claiming to be selective, but particularly admit the type of applicants I have stated, but surely, not all selective programs does this, and apparently there are some programs that need occasionally to approach this, these programs can be Political Science (especially comparative politics), Religion programs, Sociology, and mainly the social sciences. To conclude the topic, Selectivity can have a low impact in some cases to certain applicants to compensate/fulfill some academic fields of expertise. Sharing your thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

Every US Graduate college requires an evidence of english proficiency test for international applicants, those exams are mainly two: TOEFL and IELTS. most of the US grad schools require a minimum score of 79/80+ and an IELTS score of 6.0/6.5+ as a minimum to meet the requirements. My question is how the admission committee review meeting the minimum scores, for instance, does having a score above the minimum can be equivalent and considered as someone who applied with meeting the minimum score ? and does meeting the minimum score as a cutoff can let the admission committee review 'skeptically' the application because of just meeting the minimum? does meeting atleast the minimum gives the applicant a 'green light' to have his/her application reviewed without the language concern? We don`t see here quite often topics discussing english proficiency tests, I presume because of the excellency of english proficiency here even amid the international applicants, however I still think this topic can be beneficial for many, and for me as well.

This has been a prevailing idea going amid us as international applicants. I have heard lots of times, that visiting the university -traveling for instance from your home country to the US school- to meet faculty members, show some interest in their program -after fulfilling their requirements for sure- prior your application process or during, and discuss your academic experiences..etc to a faculty member who is in the admission commitee may raise your chances of admission. The reasons behind the visit vary, and can be stated as: A- Your visit from your home country will give a positive impression of being a serious committed applicant. B- As int'l applicant you must provide surely an english proficiency test as an eligibility evidence, however, the discussions which will be done with a faculty member will basically reflect your english abilities, If your english was efficient enough, it will be taken into consideration as an advantage factor. C- Providing writing samples, discussing them personally, and also show some interest by being directly in touch with a faculty member will lead to some positive results. Specially when he/she (faculty member) becomes interested in a thesis topic that you may come with. Now some may disagree with this, but I have to clarify that it happened with one of my close friends (International student too). He actually got admitted (in several schools) including one of the Very good, reputable schools in the US. I couldnt believe that one day he may be admitted in such a school until he handed me his acceptance offer and he will be starting this semester. Visting changed everything to him, to an extent that when he relied on applying online solely, he was rejected many times. but when he started the visiting approach, the results were different. He suggested that I should directly head to the US and shcedule meetings with faculty members, Based on the visiting approach, he and actually the graduate director of the program he applied to himself recommended admitting him based mainly on the visit. His GPA was not stellar (around 3.15ish) his GRE scores are quite low, his research experiences are almost none, he has no job experiences. But apparently, the meeting was effective enough. Note that this approach is beneficial to mainly int'l applicants. What do you guys think?

Unfortunately, generally the Arabian universities dont have much reputation and they're -compared to the top 100 US ranked universities- are significantly lower and not reputable, however, they may not seem as bad as one may think, but not impressive. As you know, the competency is rising year after year particuarly in the graduate schools in the US, and I am afraid that such factor may hinder my chances. I know in the end an ambitious person should do the best to earn an admission, but it still frightens me, as it is an out-of-hand circumstances. Although I recognize that I can compensate that thing with many elements, but stil..

When applying to an MA to let us say the top 100 universities in the US. Does the reputation of the undergraduate institution will be taken into consideration? Based on some experiences with some friends, as international applicants, I have heard some ideas that says the rank/reputation of the undergrad university will make a huge difference. For instance, an applicant who earned his BA from University of Missouri will be more considered than an applicant who earned from a University like Abu Dhabi University even if they had similar GPA's. Some friends went far, and told me that even If an applicant who had a higher GPA (3.25 for instance from Abu Dhabi University) and a (3.15 from a Missouri alumnus) that alumnus from Missouri inspite of his less GPA will have more weight and consideration. Was that accurate or inaccurate?

I am enrolled as a graduate college student at my home country pursuing MA in Political Science and have experienced a significant academic research experiences at that level with a stellar GPA (3.70+). As for my work, it can be relevant to my major as I have wrote papers on topics with main interests in Political Science. So does my current MA research experience (graduate school enrollment) and work will be taken into consideration substantially?

Does working at the Parliament in my country and specifically in a department that almost directly related to my major of interest (International affairs) could help give more weight to my resume/cv when the admission committee review my application? I will be applying to an MA of Political Science, with either an emphasis on Comparative Politics or IR. I have heard some contradicting ideas, some say it may not matter at all, some say it matters but not very much, some say the opposite. What do you think guys?