izabellaaung

Hello! Thank you so much for your reply! Yes, my research interests are really broad right now, but I am leaning towards religion, women, and ethnic minorities, and how they interact each other in politics. Specific area of interest is Asia, but since Asia is so diverse, I don't know if I might need to narrow it down even further. What do you think? About the top 15-20 schools, I am a little bit nervous about rejection... But I guess I'll never know if I never try! What schools would you recommend? I am looking for something on the East Coast and New England area. I am really hopeful that I can graduate with a 3.7-3.75. I think that sounds a lot better than a 3.67 on PhD applications! I just downloaded the GRE powerprep, and will start working on it this weekend.Thank you so much for your reply! Bella

Hello, I will be graduating from college with a degree in IR and a minor in Math in Spring 2017, and I would really really love to go straight into a PhD program. I go to a private liberal arts in Oregon, which is not too well-known nationwide, but very popular on the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest area. I have also studied abroad at the University of Nottingham in England, which ranks in the top ten for politics in the UK. So I am hoping I won't be seen as under-qualified for the schools I am planning to apply for! Haven't taken GRE yet, but taking it in October. GPA is currently at 3.67, so I am also a bit worried about it. It's not too shabby, but not considered great either. I do volunteer and intern extensively, and been doing research for the past year and plan to continue until I graduate. My main interest areas are ethnic and minorities politics in the post conflict regions, democratization pros and cons, authoritarian regimes pros and cons, feminism, and religion and politics. I am undergoing naturalization process, so currently applying as an international student. I don't know if it will affect the application process much or not. So, here are the schools I am looking at. Columbia NYU Rutgers, NJ CUNY Graduate Center (This one, I am thinking of it as a safe school...) Stony Brook Syracuse Penn State University of Colorado, Denver University of Denver Any feedback will be very much appreciated! Thank you so much! Bella