[2018-2019 Application Thread]

On 11/12/2018 at 6:58 PM, magicdonhuang said:

Deep in the process. 2nd cycle for me but now with a Masters degree, conference papers, and a more zeroed in research interest. Hoping for more luck than last time. When is the first application due for everybody? Irvine is first up for me with a Dec 1st deadline.

UC Irvine for me too. I'm applying with Comparative Politics as my sub-field.

[Which GRE grade shall I report?]

On 10/22/2018 at 10:24 AM, misaki_rabbit said:

I have a similar question about GRE. I scored 163(V)/165(Q)/4.0 and am shooting to top tier schools. Particularly worried if top-10 schools would pass on my file based on the low writing score. 

Should I retake it?

From what I know, the AWA score really isn't that important. Given your verbal score, I think you should be fine especially if your SOP and writing sample are in good shape. Btw, your question is answered in the stickied "Faculty perspectives" thread:

 

[PhD- Comparative Politics Profile- Feedback please]

1 hour ago, IR1995 said:

I think it depends on what your long-term goals are. The placement records at both schools would concern me.

Makes sense. 

To be honest though, I'm probably less concerned than the average applicant about placement records because I'm ok with the idea of pursuing an academic career somewhere in Asia (where I'm from). In that case, I think either Amhest or JHU will suffice. Still, your point regarding placement (especially in North America) is well taken. Thanks.

[PhD- Comparative Politics Profile- Feedback please]

On 10/18/2018 at 6:35 PM, MyWay said:

Cornell-Pepinsky

UMich-Slater

Slater's work is not heavily quant but my take is that your 154 GRE-Q might keep you out of most programs...it is a threshold.

Thanks for the feedback. They are definitely among the political scientists I'd like to work with. And yes, that's what I figured. I'll try to improve on that score during my retake. 

8 hours ago, IR1995 said:

It looks like you have impressive research experience, which I think will really help you! I do not think a 154 will keep you out of all of those programs, especially Northwestern.. I'd encourage you to check out their GRE stats (they publish them on the website). With a lower quant score, you really want other parts of the application to be top-notch. From everything I've been told, the statement of purpose is very, very important. If you haven't already, you should ask your recommenders to take a look and give you feedback. Personally, I would not apply to Amherst or JH. 

Thanks for the feedback! 

Yes, I've been workshopping my Statement of Purpose with one of my LORs and with professors/PhD students from some of the schools I'm applying to (was lucky enough to make their acquaintance during MPSA). 

Why wouldn't you apply to Amherst or JH? Too lowly ranked? 

[PhD- Comparative Politics Profile- Feedback please]

School: A university in the Philippines

Major:  Philosophy

GPA: 3.44/4.00

Graduate School: Private research university in the East Coast

Degree: International Political Economy

GPA: 3.9 

GRE: 170 V, 154 Q, 4.5 AW (will retake)

Subfield: Comparative politics- qualitative methods with focus on democratization and political violence in Southeast Asia

Graduate Courses taken: Applied Econometrics (B+ mentioning this because I'm worried that this grade will keep me out of the top-tier departments), Qualitative Research Methods, Comparative Politics, Political Economy, and Economic Policy 

Letters of Rec: 1 tenure-track assistant prof (taught me in 2 courses and my research supervisor), 1 professor (2 courses, both As), 1 associate professor (1 course, A)- All from the political science department at Fordham 

Research Experience: (1) received a $4000 university grant to conduct field research in the Philippines last summer (preparing article for publication now), (2) in the beginning stages of a co-authored field research project with an assistant prof and PhD student from other US universities, (3) presented at MPSA (with funding from university) and a bunch of other conferences in Southeast Asia, (4) 1 published co-authored study (for a Southeast Asian journal though so I don't think this means much), (5) 1 invited co-authored journal submission (also a Southeast Asian journal), (6) employed as a data analyst for a leading research center of political violence, (7) research assistant for tenured political science professor, (8) summer research intern at a policy think tank in DC, and (9) political theory undergraduate thesis. Important to note that all of these projects are connected to my research interests (democratization and political violence in Southeast Asia).

Professional experience: Worked for two years as a political reform advocate/analyst for an NGO; co-founded and managed a data analytics start-up that received some funding

Target Schools:

1: Cornell

2: University of Michigan

3: Northwestern

4: Emory

5: Johns Hopkins University

6: University of Notre Dame

7: University of Maryland

8: University of British Columbia

9: McGill University

10: UCSD

11: UC Irvine

12: UC Davis

13: UMASS Amherst 

I have three questions: 

1: What do you think about my profile? What should I emphasize and de-emphasize?

2: In terms of my target schools, am I being too conservative? Should I aim for more higher ranking schools or did I do a good job of "hedging" my bets? What are my chances of getting into a top-10 university? 

3: I'm planning to retake the GRE and get a Quanti score of 160. Let's assume, however, that I'm unable to improve on my Q score of 154. Will that doom my chances of getting into universities like Northwestern or Emory, for example, which are ranked by US News as 23 and 24, respectively?

 

 

 

[Question regarding MA GPA]

Hi everyone!

I'm currently working on my MA in International Political Economy, but am planning to apply for PhD in Political Science when I'm done. My political science grades are good, but got a B+ in Econometrics. I didn't do as well as I would've liked because this is my first time taking up any classes in statistics/economics. I'm asking because I've heard that MA students are expected to have straight As in grad school. Will this B+ kill my chances of getting into a decent political science grad program? Keep in mind that all of my other grades are pretty good.

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

On 10/22/2016 at 4:00 PM, Imperator_Taco said:

Hi everyone! Would like to know what my chances are of getting accepted by AND receiving some funding from my target schools. What other programs/universities can I aim for? Should I aim higher or lower?

Program: MPP/MIA/MPA

Interests:  International Development, International Relations

Schools Applying To:  MALD (Fletcher), MPP (University of Chicago), Masters of Democracy and Governance (Georgetown), IPED (Fordham), MPP (University of Michigan)

Undergrad Institution: Highly-ranked Philippine/Asian university

Undergraduate GPA: 3.44

Undergraduate Major: AB Philosophy, but took 11 classes in the social sciences (economics, sociology, political science)

GRE: 170V, 154Q, 4.5W

Years of Work Experience: 2 1/2 years

Languages:  English (Native), Filipino (Native)

Work Experience:  2 years as a development researcher and campaign officer in the Philippines. Has had leading roles in nationally significant human rights/democratization campaigns. Has worked closely with a variety of grassroots communities (farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous people, urban poor, etc.). Am also the co-founder and COO of a data analytics company. 

Research Experience: I've published an IR-article in a Philippine peer-reviewed journal. I've also presented in a number of national and international academic conferences.  

LORs: Three strong ones from 2 undergraduate professors and former superior at NGO

 

Bumping my. Would appreciate some feedback.

[Welcome to the 2016-17 cycle!]

Just a quick question: does the admission committee read our listed published articles, or do they just limit themselves to reading the writing samples? sorry if the question's a bit silly, just want to better understand how the application process goes. 

[Question regarding Writing Sample]

Got it. Thanks for the helpful responses. Will just edit and improve my undergraduate thesis. 

[Question regarding Writing Sample]

3 hours ago, Chausson said:

You don't mention which subfield you're applying to, but I will assume, based on your major, that you're applying for political theory programs. If so, you would probably be better off submitting your writing sample on Arendt. If they see that you indicated political theory as a subfield, they want to know that you are capable of doing political theory, and that you know what it is. If you intend to apply to a different subfield, I would suspect that your Arendt paper would still suffice. If that particular subfield tends towards quantitative methods / if you indicate an interest in quantitative methods, adcoms would probably look for quantitative coursework in your transcript, on your resume for computer language proficiency or research positions which used quantitative analysis, or testimonies from letter writers on your quantitative skills.

If you do submit your Arendt paper, I would also suggest getting second perspectives and polishing it. That choice, however, is up to your discretion.

I'll specialize in Comparative Politics and make Political Theory either my second major (if possible) or minor. Given that, do you think the Arendt paper would suffice? And definitely, I have plans to policy the paper. Thankfully, my undergraduate thesis advisor has agreed to help me out a bit. 

[Question regarding Writing Sample]

Hi everyone,

I graduated with a degree in Philosophy and am now applying for a PhD in Political Science. I'm having a hard time deciding what to submit as my writing sample.  I don't have any solo-authored papers that'll show the admissions committee my proficiency in quantitative methods. I've published in a peer-reviewed journal before, but don't think I can submit that piece because it's co-authored. However, I did write a senior thesis on Hannah Arendt and democratic theory, which received an A. Should I write a new and more 'quantitative' article, or merely revise and improve a section of my undergraduate thesis? Will doing the latter be a dealbreaker for PhD programs? I'd prefer to focus on the other aspects of my application, but will write something entirely new if needed.

Thanks.

[Who to choose?]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently applying to PhD in Political Science programs and Masters in Public Policy programs. I need some help deciding on my third recommendation letter. 

Option 1: My old philosophy teacher. He has a PhD in Philosophy. I've taken him in two classes. I did excellently in his classes and I consider him to be a mentor. 

Option 2: A political science instructor who has been my teacher and colleague. I've worked with him on different advocacy campaigns. He has an MA in Political Science. Again, I did well in his class and I consider him to be a mentor.

The advantage of the philosophy teacher is that he has a PhD while the political scientist has an MA. I'm assuming that, in general, recommendation letters from PhD holders hold more weight than MA holders. The political scientist, on the other hand, can talk about both my academic and professional performance. He is also a political science, which is especially relevant given that I'm applying for a degree in political science/public policy.

What do you guys think? 

Thanks. 

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

^^^One more thing to add:

Quant background: Got Bs in Basic Social Science Statistics course and Quantitative Methods course; co-founded data analytics company 

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

Hi everyone! Would like to know what my chances are of getting accepted by AND receiving some funding from my target schools. What other programs/universities can I aim for? Should I aim higher or lower?

Program: MPP/MIA/MPA

Interests:  International Development, International Relations

Schools Applying To:  Columbia (SIPA), Tufts (Fletcher), Syracuse (Maxwell), Carnegie Mellon (Heinz), Duke (Sanford), Cornell (CIPA)

Undergrad Institution: Highly-ranked Philippine/Asian university

Undergraduate GPA: 3.44

Undergraduate Major: AB Philosophy, but took 11 social science classes (mixture of economics, sociology, political science)

GRE: 170V, 154Q, 4.5W

Years of Work Experience: 2 1/2 years

Languages:  English (Native), Filipino (Native)

Work Experience:  2 years as a development researcher and campaign officer in the Philippines. Has had leading roles in nationally significant human rights/democratization campaigns. Has worked closely with a variety of grassroots communities (farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous people, urban poor, etc.). Am also the co-founder and COO of a data analytics company. 

International Experience: Spent 9 years in the US, 16 years in the Philippines, and 3 months in South Korea

Research Experience: I've published an IR-article in a peer-reviewed journal. I've also presented in a number of national and international academic conferences.  

LORs: Three strong ones from 2 undergraduate professors (the present and former chair of the Philosophy department) and my former boss at the NGO I used to work for 

 

[PHD Political Science Profile Evaluation]

2 hours ago, Determinedandnervous said:

JHU, Notre Dame, Boston College, and possibly UPenn and Washington.

Thank you!

One more question: what about University of Maryland? Would you know if my GRE scores are ok for UMD? 

 

 

[PHD Political Science Profile Evaluation]

10 minutes ago, Determinedandnervous said:

Some of your target schools will be okay with that quant score, but for the most part it will be a gamble. Your verbal score is excelllent. Your GPA may be on the low side, but odds are they'll cut some slack if the grading system in the Philippines is harsher. The journal article is good, it definitely can't hurt, but it may not have a large benefit since it's a foreign journal. I'm sure it's an excellent article, but US programs tend to, rightly or wrongly, see most foreign journals as inferior. This is even true with top journals (BJPS is basically the top in Europe, but it's considered fourth best in the US).

Just a follow up question: which departments would likely be ok with my quanti score? 

Thank you!

[PHD Political Science Profile Evaluation]

Just a clarifactory detail: the journal that published my article is edited by academics (not students) and it is in English.  

[PHD Political Science Profile Evaluation]

Greetings!

I'm hoping to gain some insights into my chances as a candidate given the information provided below. I'm thinking of applying to Cornell, Northwestern University, John Hopkins University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, University of Washington, and Boston College. 

PROFILE:

Research Experience: One IR-paper from a peer reviewed journal published by Ateneo de Manila University. I've also presented papers on rural social movements, and voter education at a number of national and international conferences. 

Work Experience: Since graduating university 2 1/2 years ago, I've worked as a development researcher and human rights campaigner. I've played a crucial role in a number of nationally significant social movements. I am also a co-founder and COO of a data analytics company.

Undergraduate institution: Ateneo de Manila University (highly ranked university in the Philippines and Asia) 

Major: Philosophy

GPA: 3.44 

GRE:

 Verbal: 170

Quanti: 154

AWA: Expecting at the very least a 4.5 

Should I apply to more higher ranked universities? Should I apply to more lower ranked universities? Or are my target schools ok, given my profile? Will my low quanti scores kill my chances of getting into a good program? Should I retake the GREs?

Would appreciate some feedback.

Thank you!