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.
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.
PROFILE: Type of Undergrad Institution: Public state university in the US Major(s)/Minor(s): International Studies Undergrad GPA: 3.7 Type of Grad: MA International Relations, top European university Grad GPA: 4.0 GRE: 165V, 160Q, 5.5W Any Special Courses: A few methodology courses Letters of Recommendation: 2 tenured professors and one visiting assistant professor Research Experience: 2 research internships in Middle East think tanks, plus research assistant for 2 years in undergrad Teaching Experience: none Subfield/Research Interests: International relations of the Middle East, US foreign policy in the Middle East Other: Book chapter publication, multiple conference papers, a few published op-eds
RESULTS: Acceptances($$ or no $$): None Waitlists: GWU Rejections: Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Chicago, WashU, Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State Pending: Georgetown Going to: Nowhere. Wasn't accepted.
LESSONS LEARNED:
This is my second cycle applications, and my second cycle of only getting rejections. Figured since I've read almost all of these threads without ever hearing from anyone who was totally rejected I ought to pitch in my experience.
My first cycle I applied to five universities straight out of my BA, which I believed was the main reason I was rejected everywhere. I tried applying more broadly (11 this time around), upped my GRE from 316 to 325, got in a publication and finished an MA. Thought that would put me at least in the competitive field. Was I still too ambitious? Apparently.
Recently at conferences, I met with some professors from the programs that I applied to after I got my rejections. Heard a variety of potential reasons I was rejected ranging from the fact that one of my POIs hasn't had a grad student in years (why don't they publish these things online?), but nothing concrete. Should I have emailed them beforehand? Probably, but I've heard so much conflicting information on the wisdom of bothering POIs as a prospective that I didn't take the risk.
I do have a fairly specialized field that I work in, and all my published work has specifically focused on my sub-sub-subfield. There's no big US university that is specifically tailored to what I want to work on, so I'm not sure how much that killed my chances.
Anyway, the main lesson is that I have learned zero lessons because I've only received ambiguous signals from anyone I have asked. I'm going to do a third round of applications next cycle (I'll bankrupt myself applying to 20+ this time if I have to), and be less ambitious in the rankings I guess.
SOP:
I think mine was fairly standard, around 500 words. Most was the same for each application, with a "fit" section at the end where I tried to tie my work in with some of the papers that my POIs had written recently. Given the results I got, it must suck though.
