Determinedandnervous

Thank you all! You all have given some incredibly helpful advice that I will heed.

Yeah, I'll phrase it better on the actual SOP.

I can definitely see how this may appear to be a red flag on the fit issue. Is it wise to emphasize the topic (comparative parties/elections) and the methodological applications the professors I wish to work with use and connect it to how it can improve the problems of recent scholarship in Westminster systems?

I agree on the Q score, I'm studying hard to increase it. I do have 3-4 professors at each university that would be a good fit for my research interests. Almost no professors in any program have articles on Canada or Westminster systems, but they do have backgrounds in comparative political parties and elections. I also know that one political science professor at Harvard (Dr. Peter Hall) also interned with a Canadian MP during his undergrad days, though I'm not sure that may count for much.

I'm applying to 10. I'm not sure how it is for other programs, but at least with political science, the GRE subject tests do not count for much.

Hello everyone, I'm applying to graduate schools in the fall and need some advice. I am interested in applying to ten schools (Harvard, Princeton, UMichigan, Yale, Columbia, MIT, NYU, Ohio State, Rochester, Cornell). I know the competition is steep for these top programs. I do not have much in the way of research assistantships, but I do have a senior thesis. Most of my experience is practicum. I'm curious if this is an issue or not. From my profile, do you have any advice on things I can do this fall semester to spruce up my chances? I already am retaking my GRE due to the lower quant score. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Tier 1 National Liberal Arts College, Top 10 Public Liberal Arts College (United States) Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science/History (Double Major) Undergrad GPA: 3.94/4.3 (3.90 when converted to 4.0 scale) Overall, perfect scores in both majors Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 163V, 155Q, 5.0W (retaking it in September to get Quant Score up, at the suggestions of my academic advisor, cousin in a history PhD program and GradCafe members) Any Special Courses: Research in Political Science (A), Junior Seminar in History (Research Methods in History, A), Econometrics (in progress) Letters of Recommendation: Two from the most senior faculty in the political science department, one from an assistant professor in the history department Research Experience: Senior Thesis in progress (subject: the role of democratic centralism in the cohesion of leftist organizations in the United States), policy research for the research assistant in the office of a Canadian member of Parliament Teaching Experience: None. Subfield/Research Interests: Comparative political parties and elections, Canadian Politics, British Politics Other: Internship in the Hill Office of a Canadian MP, Member of State Campaign Committee of a political party, previous political candidate, member of media coordination team for political campaign

Thank you. I am glad that I took these tests somewhat early. It would've been awful to learn that I needed to prepare in October.

I studied for about a month, truthfully not with much regularity. I used the Magoosh videos and took some practice tests from ETS powerprep. My application deadlines are all December 15, with the exception of the MPA program, which is somewhere in February 2016.

Thank you everyone for your input! I have decided to retake the exam. I don't like having to shell out another $200, but it's a small price to pay if it can get me where I dream of going.

Hello all, I've been lurking these forums for a long time, and they certainly have opened up my eyes about the realities of the slim chances of getting into top grad schools and how tough the academic job market is out there, and I thank all of you for the hard lessons. It definitely made me re-evaluate and I decided to go into the process anyway with eyes wide open and feet in other career doors. I am looking to go into the field of political science, with an MPA as a backup plan (applying to a handful of schools for that). I've read about how important a high GRE score is for admissions, not as a clincher but as an easy cutoff. I just took my GRE's tonight, and I have no graded writing yet, obviously, but my unofficial scores are 162 on the verbal and 155 on the quantitative. I'm applying to several top 25 schools (Harvard, U-Mich, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, MIT, NYU, Ohio, Rochester, and Cornell) and I know that the scores I got were in the range of NYU, Ohio, Rochester and Cornell, but the other 5 wanted 165-169 on the verbal and 155-159 on the quantitative. To give a bit of academic background (since this may increase or decrease the importance of the GRE score), I have a 3.94 GPA as a double history/political science major at SUNY Purchase, with a 4.0 in both majors (got a B in Contemporary Art ) and I'll be graduating one year early. I have had several academic honors and awards, including a James Earl Hoffa Memorial Scholarship (yes, Jimmy Hoffa). I also have done an internship with Canadian Parliament (I'm American) and have direct experience in the field I want to study (comparative politics, specifically comparative elections). With my high GPA and background (I've received conflicting advice on how important anything I did outside my academic career was), is it worth it to retake the GRE? Will they forgive 3 points on the verbal and being on the low end of the average range on the quantitative, or should I retake it just to be safe? Thank you to anyone who has read this mountain of text.