PoliSciGuy00

As someone who studied at a college with lots of Straussians, I'd agree with everything Artifex_Archer said. Don't worry too much about this. Look for people that fit with your interests and apply there.

Hi OP, Since I have a policy-oriented master's degree I'll throw my two cents in here. Like others have said, a policy-oriented master's degree is expensive, although I still found it to be a worthwhile experience. I got three great letter writers out of it, who I feel confident will remain valuable professional contacts down the road that I wouldn't have met otherwise. I also got a wealth of RA experience. My undergrad was from a relatively prestigious SLAC but I wasn't a good student and my GPA was subpar, so I didn't even bother with PhD programs right away. Your situation is different and I think your GRE score and GPA are terrific. However, as others on this thread have said, I think the biggest problem you have is your LOR writers. My educated guess is that most competitive applicants have letters from three academics and at least two political scientists. If you've been out of school for a long time most programs will excuse one letter from a non-academic professional. It won't help them but it won't hurt them. But the other two should be from academics and ideally political scientists or academics familiar with polisci (sometimes historians, other social scientists, or philosophers). In your case, I'd try really hard to find another professor, even if they don't know you as well as one of your managers. Try to have a friend or professor in polisci look over your personal statement and then send this to your professors so they have a good idea of what to talk about in your LORs. All that said, I'd recommend you apply to 3-4 MA programs but also shoot for some PhD programs that you'd want to attend. I know people on this forum have mixed feelings on UChicago CIR, but from my experience it is a good program. Although expensive, they often give out aid and will frequently bump up your aid amount if you just ask. As you are doing, looking at Oxbridge and LSE. Canadian programs are good, too. If you get admitted to different MA programs, use these offers as leverage to increase your aid. Most won't give you a stipend, but I think you could get a pretty strong scholarship, if not a full ride, with your GRE scores. I think it's perfectly okay to e-mail professors that fit with your interests at these MA programs and directly ask if they ever send people to PhD programs. I think many will be forthcoming with you. One other wrinkle to consider here. I think most people on this forum will agree its a lot easier to build relationships with professors if classes are in-person and the university is functioning as normal. Hopefully Covid will be over with by the time you matriculate, but if you're US based and taking classes entirely online at LSE or somewhere abroad...I'm not sure how helpful that will be in getting good letters, especially in a short period of time. I'd still apply but keep this in mind in March when making your decisions. Best of luck. If any more thoughts come to me I'll post them.

I think this is a strong profile, definitely worth applying to the Top 10. Of course, apply elsewhere too, but if you're able to swing a 325-330, I think you'll get some good acceptances. I do notice you have not discussed your personal statement or writing sample. Do make sure to put ample amount of time into those as well. Even the best numbers will only get you so far. Try and get at least one professor and friend (preferably an academically-oriented friend) to read them. Strongly consider sharing your personal statement with professors so they can tailor and write their letters accordingly. Best of luck during these difficult times.

Hmmm.... I wouldn't stress out too much in your position. A lot of people do not have a clean, straight continuity from undergrad to grad. And while you're right that not having a stats background isn't ideal, I think your GRE quant score is strong enough that you should submit it. For your writing sample, choose whatever is your strongest academic work, hands down. Don't worry that it's not in comparative. Be clear in your personal statement that you want to study comparative but don't play down or berate your writing sample. If it's too long for some schools, submit the strongest chapter or section, with maybe a one or two page summary of the rest of the thesis. Then polish, polish, polish. Ask a trusted professor and, if you can, friend in grad school to look at it for you. As for high-ranking programs known for not being super quant-heavy, I wouldn't look at it in that way. Look for schools that have professors that you'd want to work with, first and foremost. Look at what those professors do and what grad students from the program have written on. Others may have different thoughts, but that's my two cents.

Hi floortile, I agree with much of what has been said on here. I think the general consensus on this forum is that a 150 on quant really is the absolute minimum for many top 25 and even top 50 schools. Some have scooted by with a 149 on quant, but a 150 is safer. For Yale, a 147 is almost certainly too low. I don't think they will lump a 147 into "the low 150's," unfortunately. You could win the lottery and get accepted, but I agree with other commenters that the odds are seriously stacked against you. For what it's worth, I was accepted to two top 25 programs (but not top 10) with a 152 on the quant section of the GRE and low 160's on the verbal. I had a pretty strong application otherwise, I think, but it wasn't perfect. Furthermore, my initial GRE quant scores were quite low, below yours, but after concerted effort on Magoosh, I was able to raise them from 146 -> 152. I would absolutely recommend Magoosh over any other online testing service. As someone who has used all of them, I found Magoosh second to none (of course, the official ETS practice test is good, but I appreciated that Magoosh had video explanations and lessons, ETS doesn't offer that). The last thing I'll say is that, depending on how your GRE/application situation evolves, I think you should consider some programs outside the top 10. Everyone wants to attend a top 10, but for many of us it just isn't feasible for one reason or another. I think programs outside the top 10 can still offer a lot of value and put you in a good position. If you don't mind losing a couple hundred dollars, I'd say go ahead and submit some apps this year w/o the GRE score, see if you get in anywhere, and then consider retaking the GRE. I imagine it would help improve your score if you could still take it while it's being offered remotely. I hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you.

Hmmm, this is a tricky question. I think your experience/grades/recs looks solid. That said, even though many top schools have made the GRE optional, I think you'd be in a better position if you could submit a good score. If you can't swing that this admissions cycle, that's understandable. But it's something I'd strongly consider. I just can't see quant heavy programs like Michigan backing away from the GRE right now.

I'm sorry to say this, but I think a second PhD is probably not feasible. I'm not saying that because you're not smart enough, but because many doctoral programs that I applied to last year (11 in political science/public policy, all in the US) said they would not accept applications from someone who already had a PhD. They encouraged those folks apply for post-docs or fellowships instead. The programs that didn't explicitly forbid it seemed to want a detailed explanation as to why you were doing it, suggesting to me they weren't very hip on the idea. As you also asked about an MIA, I think I can speak to that a bit. I wouldn't recommend you pursue something like that immediately after a PhD in Contemporary History. Many people in those programs are coming right from DC/NYC and have decent connections with those places. Most, but not all, are also in their mid to late twenties. I think a one year MA for "mid-career" professionals could make more sense for you. It's an accelerated degree for people with more experience (and it's not as expensive). That said, if you can swing it at all, I recommend you try and get a job somewhere in the policy arena. Is there anyway you spin your current work/scholarship to reflect what you are interested in now? There are plenty of History PhDs in DC and the think tank/policy sphere. You may find you do not need another degree (MA or PhD) on top of your current degree. I hope this is helpful.

I think those schools are within reach. I might suggest you re-take the GRE one more time to see if you can increase your quant score a bit, although a 160 certainly won't get you rejected at any of those schools, I don't think. Then again, if you only have limited time to prepare apps, I'd say work on your writing sample and your personal statement. I don't think a 160-> 162/3 will make a huge difference, whereas a polished writing sample is very important. I'll plug for my own school here and suggest you apply to Minnesota if you are comfortable with the cold. ?

To be honest, I'm not sure anyone on this forum has a good answer for you, unless they have inside information that I don't. This whole thing has been a huge bummer for everyone involved. I assume that places like Harvard, with massive endowments, wouldn't cancel admissions. But Columbia, Brown, and Penn are all wealthy schools, too. I'm not sure there's anyway to predict who will cancel and who won't. One thing to consider is that as we get later into the application season I assume schools will be less likely to cancel their admissions process altogether. This isn't an iron-clad rule, as Duke cancelled their admissions last year, I believe after apps were already submitted, but I don't think schools would go thru the trouble of opening up admissions into October and November only to cancel them. Best of luck to you and I'm sorry this is happening.

Wow, really? Where did you see that? I can't find any info on their website.

I know this forum is generally for people applying to PhD programs, but just wanted to ask if anyone has found it difficult to navigate their PhD program during Covid...all online classes, very limited opportunities for socialization, no library. This has been a big adjustment for me, and I can't say I'm doing as well as I'd like.

A good point. Even after visit day, there's a lot I still didn't know (this was compounded by the fact that both visit days were virtual...) I really, really tried to like Cornell and was very apprehensive about turning it down. The extra $$$ Cornell has really made it hard, too. At the end of the day, I just had a better gut feeling about Minnesota. Hopefully it will turn out to be the correct decision.

Hi Sloth_girl and Dwar, Thank you for your thoughts and for reading my ramblings! Much appreciated. Wanted to briefly add two things that I thought about after posting my comment. First, I don't by any means want to criticize Cornell's program. It's definitely fantastic and if it was the only program I was accepted to I would've gone there in a heartbeat. Rather, I worried that for what niche fields I think I want to research, there wouldn't be enough mentors to supervise me. Also, the location was an issue, as was traveling to and from Ithaca via my hometown. Second, I think it's also helpful to try and look at the second, often more permanent institution, that students from the program place at. Sometimes this information is challenging to find, as this placement isn't always updated on websites. But still, I think it's worth searching/asking for. These days a lot of younger academics will go on a job search 3-5 years after their initial TT placement, and these institutions can often be far more desirable than their initial placement (either because of geography, prestige, or whatever). Consider if the department and your potential advisers seem like they help students do this.

Hi All, Sorry that I’m really late to the game here. But, better late than never. Thought I’d post this, as this site did help me a good deal during the application process. Best of luck to you all. I’ll probably check Gradcafe occasionally over the next several years, so feel free to PM if you have any questions (but it might take me a while to respond). PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts college Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science Undergrad GPA: 3.3 Type of Grad: Top American public policy MA Grad GPA: 3.8 GRE: V160/Q152/AWA5.0 Any Special Courses: Econometrics, American Foreign Policy, Quant Methods, Numerous IR courses Letters of Recommendation: Three professors from grad school, all knew me very well, including one from a historian (two others were political scientists, although one worked primarily in law). Research Experience: Master’s thesis, RA work for two years of grad school, including full-time RA work over summer for a very well-known professor in the field; no publications. Teaching Experience: n/a Subfield/Research Interests: International Relations, Security Studies Other: RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): University of Minnesota ($$), Cornell University ($$) Waitlists: Rejections: MIT, HKS, Princeton WWS PhD, UVA, GW, Georgetown, Duke University Sanford School, Columbia, UChicago Pending: Going to: University of Minnesota LESSONS LEARNED: 1. First things first: fit matters. Everyone has said it, but I’ll repeat it. Not every school or even most schools will have two or three professors working on issues you want to study. Think carefully about where you want to apply and what professors at that school could advise you. You don’t need to have a dissertation proposal when you apply, indeed you shouldn’t, but it’s very helpful to think about your interests, how they could be structured into a research question, and how you can communicate that to admissions committees. 2. Second, mentorship and advisement matter A LOT. I think a lot of people will say I’m crazy for choosing Minnesota over Cornell. It was a hard decision. But, I felt like the faculty at Minnesota were much stronger for my relatively niche interests. My advice is do not blindly follow rankings and the overall prestige of the university. Look at the advisers/faculty you’d likely be working with. Do they place students at institutions that you’d want to be at? Do they make time for their advisees? Do they help students publish? You can ask about these questions at admitted student’s day, but also consider directly asking the professors themselves. Bottom line: look at the placement rate of the program and the placement record of professors you’d be working with. Also consider your quality of life at the school. I wanted to be in an urban area, so Minneapolis fit the bill better than rural New York. 3. Next, GRE. I took the GRE five times over a four-year period and the absolute best I could muster on the quant section was 152. This was after two tutors and many Magoosh sessions. (Note, I absolutely recommend Magoosh above all other test prep). Some people would say don’t bother applying with that score. I was still able to get into two top 25 programs. Study hard for the GRE, but it’s not everything. If you did the best you could, just take the plunge and apply. 4. Try and get some research experience. I think that really helped me. It is a credible signal that you want to learn how to do research and aren’t just applying to a Ph.D. program because you don’t know what else to do. 5. Consider doing an MA. I did mine at a policy school, which I know many people on this forum strongly discourage. I do not think I could have gotten into either Minnesota or Cornell with only my undergrad. My college is well known and respected, but I was not a superstar student. I didn’t write a thesis and had no research experience or even much idea what I wanted to study. My master’s program (two years) really helped with this. I narrowed down my ideas much more clearly, made connections with professors that were very active in the field and in research, learned a lot, built up a professional network, wrote a strong thesis (but it wasn’t my writing sample). It wasn’t cheap, but with some savings and scholarships it wasn’t financially ruinous. I’m glad I did it. As an addendum to this point, I’d strongly recommend everyone work for at least two years after undergrad. It can really help you professionally, personally, and financially. I was in the working world for three years and then went into my MA. The process of working, especially for two or more years, can really help you figure out if you want to commit to 5+ years of more schooling. 6. I didn’t really tailor my SOP to individual schools (other than talking about professors I’d like to work with,) but I did spend a lot of time on it. I’d say the most important thing is try to develop some kind of research idea, so the admissions committee understands you’ve thought about what research looks like. Send it to several people you trust, hopefully including at least one grad student. 7. I applied to 11 schools. Some people will apply to 15+. I don’t know if that’s necessary or if there’s really a magic number. Given the randomness of this process, I’d say consider at least 5-7. Again, don’t look blindly at rankings when you’re making this determination. Look at fit, the program’s placement rate, and the placement record of professors you want to work with. 8. A lot of people on this forum might say don’t bother going to grad school unless you get admitted to one of the CHYMPS. I clearly wasn’t. I didn’t even bother applying to most of them, as they didn’t seem like strong fits for me (and applied to Princeton and Harvard’s public policy Ph.D., not political science). This is of course a complicated issue and only you can make the right decision about where you attend. The only thing I’d repeat is that you should look closely at acceptance rates for the programs you’re admitted to and also ask prospective advisers where they’ve placed students. If some students from the program go to fantastic positions afterwards, were they in the field you wanted to study? Also, consider your quality of life during the program. Sometimes programs outside the CHYMPS have a lot to offer. At the end of the day, prestige helps, but if you want a shot at a TT job you also need to write a strong dissertation, publish, and have influential people willing to go up to bat for you. These things aren’t easy and without a great mentor(s) I’d say most people won’t be able to do them. 9. Consider reaching out to professors at the schools you’re applying to. I did it and found it to be a helpful experience. I’m not sure it helped me gain admission anywhere, but I found it informative. I generally just reached out via e-mail and, said a few sentences about my interests, and asked if they were planning to take grad students. Some e-mails were more helpful than others, but all were cordial. One professor even flat out told me the program I was applying for wasn’t a good fit. Others told me who at the department was retiring or moving (websites are often outdated). 10. Lastly, remember this process is very random. MIT was my top choice, but I later found out they only admitted 2-3 students for security studies this cycle, whereas in previous cycles they had accepted 10+. It was hard watching rejections roll in, but I was ecstatic when I was finally admitted somewhere. I’m very lucky I had two choices and that I don’t need to apply again. But, if you weren’t admitted anywhere, consider applying again. It seems students on this forum have had success. Remember, it is possible to make no mistake and still lose (couldn’t resist a Star Trek reference).

Hi All, Wanted everyone to know I just declined an offer from Cornell. It was very hard but I believe it was the right decision. I hope this opens up a spot for someone on the waitlist! Peace and good health.

Hi All, Claiming a rejection from Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Ph.D. Still waiting to hear from Princeton Woodrow Wilson school and Georgetown, although GT is a likely rejection at this point.

God, I'd love to get a last minute Georgetown acceptance, or even a waitlist. I'm not holding my breath, though. =D

So, I already have an MA, and turned down admission to CIR (their MA program) in the past. Therefore, they likely didn't consider me for admission to any of their MA programs. That may have been why I got a relatively early rejection.

Hi all, claiming a UChicago rejection. Sorry about posting the accidental acceptance, didn't mean to shoot everyone's heart rate through the roof, lol. Appreciate they got back to us before March.

Hi all, Not really sure where else to post this, but curious if anyone is claiming the HKS admit that just went up. I'd love to attend HKS, but I think it's really a long shot.

Claiming a Columbia rejection for IR. Sad, but not sure if NYC living would've been right for me. Still got a few programs to hear back from.

Well, looks like I got my wish! Heard from MIT today....but rejection. Not at all surprised. I appreciate they send their acceptances and rejections at the same time.

I bet MIT will release their decisions any day now.....

Hi all, Not sure if it is relevant for folks on this forum, but I'm claiming a Duke University Sanford School rejection. Appreciate that they got back to me in a reasonable time frame with a rejection, unlike some other programs (I'm looking at you, Georgetown).

Domestic, sorry for the confusion.