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OriginalDuck

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Everything posted by OriginalDuck

  1. I'm starting a PhD in Political Science this fall after having spent the last three years getting a JD, so I had to answer some similar questions for myself last fall. As for demonstrating knowledge in discipline, you should be fine between remembering what you learned in undergrad and reading articles on your current research interests. As far as what to stress in your SOP, I would say that focusing more on your undergrad or your MA would not be nearly as helpful as showing why both experiences shaped your current research interests and make you an ideal candidate. From your post, it seems that you want to pursue more quantitative research than what you have been doing for your MA. Just because your gender studies work is not very quantitative doesn't mean (hopefully) that you've wasted two years on work that yielded no skills or knowledge that could be useful for your future research. Without more information, it's hard for me to say what the relationship between your BA, MA, and future research would be, but it could be as simple as discussing research questions your recent work led you to that you need more methodological training to tackle quantitatively.
  2. I also got the Kaplan Premier GRE book, which gives you access to online resources. It had two practice tests in the book and four online, as well as a bunch of practice questions online that you could do in quiz format. I thought the book was helpful, but what really helped me the most was all the practice questions and tests. After taking the GRE, I felt like doing a lot of practice questions and tests was really what prepared me the most. I would recommend Kaplan Premier, but I don't know what other good resources are out there since it's the only thing I used.
  3. I wouldn't apply for any master's programs. Like you said, having already done four years of undergrad and three years of law school, with 4-5+ left for a PhD, why add on another two for a master's? Not to mention the cost of the degree, especially if your law school debt is anything like the typical law grad. I was kind of in the same boat last summer. I was worried about the competitiveness of PhD admissions, but I knew that was my goal, so I only applied for PhD programs. I was very fortunate to get into good programs. For whatever my opinion's worth, I think you should be able to get some acceptances with your profile. On the writing sample, I had a similar dilemma. I felt that my writing and analysis had improved greatly in law school, but none of my legal writing was exactly academic political science work. So, I could use ostensibly better and more recent off-topic writing, older political science work that was probably not as well written, or write something new from scratch. I eventually decided to use one of my old political science term papers, and it worked for me, so that's something you may or may not want to consider. The biggest advice I think I could give anyone about to apply to grad school is to mention the professors you want to work with in your SOP. I knew who I'd want to work with at the schools I applied to, and articulated my research interests in all my SOPs to help show fit, but I only mentioned what professors I wanted to work with in the SOP for schools whose application prompted the inclusion of that information. I got into every school where I talked about who I wanted to work with, and none of the schools that I didn't. There is some varying advice on this issue out there () (), but there's my two cents, admittedly shaped largely by one personal experience. Unfortunately, I can't give you any philosophy-specific advice, and of course your experience could be different than mine.
  4. I have a somewhat similar background to you (B.A. w/ honors, PBK, etc.; J.D. w/ honors from good but not T14 school), though my field is political science, not philosophy. I can't give you field-specific advice, but it seems like you should be competitive. I was able to get into some programs and I didn't have the TA experience and publications you did. There are programs that don't require the GRE (http://ainsleydiduca.com/grad-schools-dont-require-gre/), but I'd go ahead and take it rather than limit the schools you apply to. I didn't have a huge amount of time to study for it either, but it turned out fine. The analytical skills you learn in law school should help you with the AWA, and in my experience you can get a handle on the other sections even if it's been a few years since you've done any math. I just got a Kaplan book that gave access to online practice tests, set aside 30 minutes a day to read it/do practice questions, and did a practice test once a week for a couple of weeks before the test. That may be tough to do as a practicing attorney, but it's worth it in my opinion.
  5. It doesn't say that 7 of the counselors only have a sailing certification. That's where you went wrong.
  6. Yes. Grad school applications require a GRE score whether or not you've had graduate/professional study. I just got my JD and I'm starting a PhD in the fall. When I applied I had to take the GRE.
  7. Yeah, so it made sense to use the professors I had worked with most recently. You could be right that most people should have LORs from professors in their sub-field, but I mentioned my own experience because it shows LORs from professors familiar with you can work regardless of their specialty. To me it seems that would be more useful than one from an IR professor who isn't really familiar with the student; the impression I got from the original post was that zapatos was much closer with some other professors than the IR profs. Of course, I have no way of knowing what really goes on in the minds of those on admissions committees, so I can only speak from my experience with the disclaimer that it may not work out the same for everyone.
  8. I know of several people who have gotten into top programs straight from undergrad. From what I understand, schools are looking for potential as a researcher, which can be shown without already having a master's degree. I would disagree somewhat with victorydance as far as your LORs, but this is based only on anecdotal evidence (a lot of my advice is based purely on my own experience; YMMV). None of my LORs were from political science professors, much less profs in my subfield; they were all from the law profs I'd been working with more recently. I think the most important thing you can look for in a recommender is someone who can speak to your skills and character with specificity because you have worked with them. On your writing sample, I don't think there's a problem with using a term paper (I did), but a lot of applications won't let you submit one that's 25 pages. Your hope for "A good fit somewhere at a top 10 institution with a professor whose research interests closely match my own" is important. I got into all the schools that I mentioned specific professors I wanted to work with in my SOP, and none of the schools that I didn't. I'm not suggesting name-dropping will get you admitted, but research fit seems very important. From what I can tell, the best things to do at this point to increase your chances of acceptance are to get a great GRE score and do a lot of research on what schools have professors that share your interests. I would also pay really close attention to placement records of the schools you're thinking of applying to.
  9. I am speaking from the context of having just graduated from law school. 1. When I started law school three years ago, either there wasn't quite as much bad press, or I found a way to avoid it. At that time, my understanding was that the job market for lawyers was rough, but if you stayed in the top of your class, you would be alright. I thought I could excel, so I went for it. 2. I do not have any lawyers in my family. I wish I did, or knew a lawyer before going to law school. I would spend some time in a law office before deciding to go to law school, such as through an internship, if you can. 3. When I started law school, I had academia as a long-term goal, and litigation as my short-term goal. I learned that litigation is not for me. I also became much more interested in academic questions that legal training alone would be insufficient to answer. So, now I'm starting a PhD in the fall. Ultimately I wouldn't recommend law school unless you know (from spending time in a law office) that you want to be a lawyer, you get a substantial scholarship, or preferably both. There are other careers you can go into with a JD, and the problem-solving skills you learn are really valuable. However, with how much law school costs, you need to be sure it will be worth the money and the next three years of your life. I would second Thales' comment that the only way to help (disadvantaged) people is if you can afford to earn very little.
  10. I would go to school 1. While research fit can be important, you have to consider that your research interests can change over the course of your graduate study. Reputation and ranking of the schools are very important, but are unlikely to change much while you get your PhD. Plus, it seems like all of your other considerations favor school 1.
  11. I would apply both for the PhD programs you want to get into and the MALS program w/ GA funding. If you get into a doctoral program you want, it's an easy decision. If you don't, you might get into the MALS program and you can make the decision at that point whether it's worth it, or whether there are better ways to improve your application for the next cycle. There have been a couple of posts discussing whether a MALS degree is helpful for those who want to pursue an interdisciplinary PhD: kglad's response)
  12. If you are trying to determine whether you can coerce conformance with the agreement reached via email, you should think about speaking to a lawyer. You will probably get the most accurate information, as well as a trained advocate if the lawyer determines something can be done, and it doesn't pose the risk of anyone inadvertently giving advice that could be construed as the unauthorized practice of law.
  13. I'm not sure whether this is the norm or not, but I used a paper written for a class. I just checked it over to see if there was anything I wanted to tweak and used it as my writing sample. It worked out for me; I got accepted into a couple of programs, including my top choice.
  14. I have the Yoga 2. It was just over $300 on Amazon. It's not the most powerful option out there, but for what it sounds like you need it for, it should be more than fine. I wasn't sure I'd like it (it was a gift from my wife), but it's been able to do everything I've needed it to and I really like how light it is. I would recommend it as long as you don't need tons of processing power.
  15. You mentioned both JD and PhD. I am finishing my JD in May and starting on my PhD in August. Here are my observations: 1) Law school is expensive, and the legal market is terrible. You will learn amazing analytical and problem solving skills, but unless you have a substantial scholarship or you're going to a T-14 school, it's not a great financial investment (which of course doesn't always mean it isn't worth doing). 2) Grad school has steep opportunity costs if you do not get an academic job, and the academic market is terrible. Grad school isn't expensive in the sense that law school is--rather than paying for school, you get paid a modest amount to live on. However, if you can't get an academic job, you've more or less wasted 5+ earning years. That's not to say there aren't other career paths for PhDs, but rather than getting a PhD with 5 years of low income, for most of those jobs you could have gotten in with a BA or master's and been 3+ years into your career. So, unless you can get into a top 10 or top 20 program (where academic jobs are more likely but by no means guaranteed), you should think carefully about whether it's worth it to you to get a PhD despite the opportunity costs.
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