[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

2 hours ago, chocolatecheesecake said:

I agree with @Ben414's advice, and would add: take a quantitative class (either introduction to statistics or microeconomics) and get an A. Maybe an extension school or community college, but something credit-granting. Even if your quantitative GRE score doesn't go up that much, this will help allay their concerns.

Thanks for the advice. I noticed Northwestern's program lists 148 Q as their low rung for their Phd program. Do I stand a chance of getting in there?

[AMA: Recent SAIS grad]

Question for OP: How much quantitative course-work are students of every concentration required to take?

[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

24 minutes ago, Ben414 said:

I would definitely recommend improving that Q score. Your experience won't be proof that you have good analytical skills, so, combined with a below 50th percentile score, I think you are out of the running for all top tier schools at this point. Shoot for a 160, but even a 155 will look much better than a 148. You have unique-enough work experience that could prove valuable to admissions if you can prove to them that you can handle the economics/statistics.

Thanks for the feedback. I plan on sticking to the qualitative side as much as possible. With my current scores what schools could I possibly get into?

[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

Program: MPA, International Relations

Undergrad School: SUNY Purchase College

Undergrad GPA: 3.48 (Dean's List the first two years, but fell off my last year.)

Note: Graduated in three years

Work Experience: I've worked as a reporter in various capacities with publications in The New York Post, LA Weekly and various papers through the Associated Press. I've also have had some fiction published. I ventured into education for a short while as a tutor of at risk youths in one of Chicago's worst neighborhoods. Currently I work as a docent at a science museum.

GRE:  Quantitative - 148; Verbal - 162; Writing - 4.5

LORs: Journalism professor with international reporting experience, high school comparative politics teacher--who was arguably the best in the country at the time she taught me--, either a political science professor or a former co-worker with knowledge of my analytical skills

Foreign Language Skills: I'm learning Spanish and plan on picking up French soon. Currently I know a little bit of both, but am no one where near fluent.

Age: 27

Journalism was my first choice, but I realized I'm more interested in international relations. I'm a career changer. What are my chances of attending a top tier school? Should I brush up on math and retake the GRE to improve my quantitative score?