krapp

^ This You have great GRE scores, GPAs, two theses, methods prep, and what I'm assuming are solid letters of reference. That's a pretty impressive application file right there!

@Monody - I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one going without the whole "this is my story" approach. I consider myself to be a decent writer, but I can't do personal narratives to save my life! @resDQ - Are you using an old paper for your writing sample or doing up something new? I have two old papers that I'm debating between (my MS thesis & a term paper with some rudimentary quant analysis), so I'm hoping it won't take me too long to get them to a level that I can use for this.

Does anyone here encounter the issue where anything you write for an SoP just ends up sounding very cliched? Maybe it's just the nature of the beast, but I feel like I keep reaching the point of "mediocre at best" in all my drafts.

One thing to keep in mind is that in the US a significant number (the majority?) of incoming PhD students haven't done a masters program before. So they likely coming in without significant methods training. It's something that programs are expecting (to a degree). You've already demonstrated an ability to understand math with your GRE score. One way that you may consider showing that you understand quantitative methods may be to mention a particular quantitative method that you're interested in applying - that shows that you understand the field a bit and have done some research into it, even if you don't yet know the particulars of how to execute the method. One other points - you have SUNY listed as a program of interest...which SUNY? Just asking out of curious (native New Yorker), but also because you'll be applying to a particular university within the SUNY system.

On a related topic, how long are your CVs for this? My "general" CV is about two full pages. That includes my educations (undergrad and masters), conference presentations, publication, some of my work experience (1 semi-related and research focused, 1 TA'ing, rest is admin/office work - which although mostly in university settings is beyond useless for this!), and various leadership roles/activities. Not sure if I should trim it down or just polish the wording a bit on what I already have.

Thanks! I was shocked by the verbal score. I had pretty much only reviewed quantitative material for the last month, so I really wasn't expecting that!

Retook the GRE yesterday, which is a huge weight off my shoulders going into the last month of application writing. My unofficial scores (170V, 154Q) weren't everything I had hoped for (the quant is still dangerously low I think) but my verbal shot up. I'm hoping my AWA will at least match from my last taking of it (162V, 153Q, 5.5AWA). But, at least it's done! Time to turn more fully to those obnoxious SoPs...

I'm really curious about this too. I have one program asking for a diversity statement and while I have some rough ideas of what I could discuss (international work/travel experience, socioeconomic background) I'm really not sure what is considered appropriate/typical for this sort of thing. While I am glad to hear that it sounds like it's considered well after the other parts of the application, it's still something I would like to have as strong as possible. Every bit helps, right?

One approach to consider is finding a few journal articles that really intrigue you and tracing back from there - see what universities the authors are at and where they did their PhDs - to find programs that might have people working in your research areas.

If you can wait to submit your CV until after the article is submitted you could include a category for "Under Review" or something like that. I'm not sure how much an admissions committee would consider it, but that's one approach.

I've got the GRE coming up in about 1.5 weeks. I'm retaking to try to boost up my previous scores (162V, 153Q, 5.5W) and I'm in that stage of pre-test panic. I'll be fine to at least match my Verbal score, but I'm doubting that I'll be able to boost the Quant much, if at any. I know that a quant like 153 is a pretty significant limiting factor, so yea... And yea @resDQ, the whole application process is so expensive!

Hey everyone! This is my first PhD cycle as well (just completed an MS). I've got a field of 8 programs lined up for IR, focused on international organizations, international law, and a bit of security studies. I'm currently knee deep in drafting and re-drafting SOPs and generally working my way through the application process. I'll be retaking the GRE in a couple weeks, hoping to push up my quant numbers a bit. Hope things are going well for everyone else!

Hi everyone - I'm a former lurker, turned first time poster by the growing stress of the search and application process looking for advice on my chances and ideas for possible safe-er schools to look at (aka, schools where I might actually stand a chance of getting accepted). I'll start with my profile, then a bit on where I'm looking currently and what I'm hoping to do. Any feedback/advice/suggestions would be immensely appreciated! Undergrad: Small Unknown LAC (~100th, USNWR Regional Universities rankings) Major: BA History (minors: Music, Sports Coaching) [My undergrad didn't offer poli sci/IR as a major - I took the 4 available poli sci courses] Undergrad GPA: 3.6/4.0 Graduate School: Large European Research University (~175th Times Higher Ed rankings, poli sci department ~75th globally) Graduate Program: MSc Human Rights (in the Politics/IR Department, but the program includes classes from the Law School) Graduate GPA: 3.7/4.0 [1st Honors, GPA is pending my thesis grade, which I'll have in a few weeks] GRE: 162V, 153Q, 5.5W [Planning to retake in early November and hopefully improve the quant section, since I know it's pretty rubbish right now] Letters of Recommendation: One from my MSc supervisor and course director, one from an undergrad professor (I took 6 classes with him and he recommended me highly for my masters program), one from the teacher I TA'ed for. Research: Undergraduate thesis (optional - my school didn't actually require a thesis so I created an independent study module for it), Masters thesis Publication: 1 peer-reviewed publication [very small journal. I have an article I'm working on now that I'm hoping to have at least in review before finalizing my applications] Presentations: Two during my last year of undergrad - a state poli sci conference and an undergrad poli sci conference Teaching: 1 year as a TA/Tutor for an introductory poli sci module Other/Misc: Assistant Editor for a student law publication; remote internship (research heavy) with the US State Department; Peer Reviewer (was invited to become one post-publication). Also, not sure if it will matter, but I took five years to complete my undergrad (athletic reasons). Programs I'm Looking At: Columbia, Cornell, Ohio State, Georgetown, George Washington, American U., Boston Univ., Northwestern Univ. Besides that I have plenty of useless work experience (administrative/office assistant sorts of jobs). I know there are a few glaring weak spots on my application - unknown undergraduate school with no research output/culture, unremarkable GPA/GRE numbers, etc... Basically, any advice on what I can do to strenghen/polish my application in the coming months or ideas on what level of school I should be looking at? I'm primarily interested in IR - specifically humanitarian intervention/R2P, the use of force, and international criminal law/courts. Thanks for your time, help, and input!