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Hello everyone! Got a question ? do you know how do the adcomms weigh different application materials? For instance, is writing sample more important than LORs? If you were to rank all materials based on their importance, how would that look like? eg. SOP>LOR>WS>GRE>GPA

I don't want to shift the focus of this conversation but since I find the topic very relevant to my question, I will write it in here. Are there any good M.A. programs in Political Science that would prepare me for a top Phd program and at the same time provide financial aid?

@meteora I just checked their websites again and realized that only Emory directly said "Minimum qualifications for admission include GRE scores at or above the fiftieth percentile on all three portions of the exam..." but other schools like Boston University said unless you score 5.0 or higher, your chances are minimal (I wasn't gonna apply there anyways ) Duke set it as 3.5 or above. Long story short, there are only a few schools that said they have cutoffs. If you are not aiming for those schools and feel that other components of your application, like your Writing Sample, are really strong, don't retake the test. You are the one who would know the best for you. Good luck ?

Hi! I recently got my GRE scores too and I have a 4.0 in AWA. As far as I know, professors who read the applications do not care much about the AWA score but I think 3.5 might hurt your chances. I read in couple places that 4.0 is the threshold but there are always exceptions. If you think you have a strong profile and can be an exception, don't take it. However, if I were you, I would not leave it to chance and retake the test. Your scores for other sections are fantastic by the way.

I looked at Princeton's and Stanford's website. Although the minimum requirement for Stanford is 100, they say the admitted students typically score at least 115. In Princeton's webpage, it says that they do not have a minimum but admitted students who score less than 28 on speaking need to take an additional English test (which I believe is rarely the case). I think, if you are aiming for the top schools, it might be worth taking the test again to see whether you can get 115 or over. Links are below. https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/graduate-program/graduate-admissions/faq-prospective-phd-students http://gradschool.princeton.edu/english-language-tests

Thanks for the response. I looked at your profile and it seems like we have similar interests and similar profiles. Do you think the schools I mentioned are a long shot for me? Because I saw you did not even mention any of the schools I wrote above ?

I agree with deutsch1997bw. I think you have a pretty good profile and if you think you can increase your quant score just by 2-3 points, I would say take the test again. Quant is very important for grad schools and a better score would definitely improve your chances but again 158 is a good score too. You shouldn't worry about it so much.

Thanks. I think the writing sample that I will submit might be a better indication of my writing than AWA. What do you think about the rest of my profile? What should I do to strengthen it?

Hey everyone! So I just learned my GRE scores a minute ago literally and my AWA score came lower than I expected. I am posting my profile and schools that I will apply. Can you please give me an idea on my chances of being admitted to these programs and also whether I should take the GRE again or not. I am an international student and getting the Verbal score I got was a real pain for me and I don't know if I can keep it on that level while trying to increase my AWA. Here is my profile: Undergraduate Institution: low-ranked private university. (in the US) Major: Political Science Minor: Stats and German GPA: 3.98 GRE: V 160 Q 168 AWA 4.0 Letters of Recommendation: One from a tenured professor that I RAd for and very close with, one from a tenured professor that I took two classes with and knows me very well, and one from a non-tenured professor that I have a good relationship with. Research Experience: I RA'd for two quarters and I was awarded an undergraduate research grant for my summer research project which closely aligns with my research interests. Teaching Experience: N/A Research Interests: Comparative politics and international relations. I am primarily interested in Authoritarianism-Terrorism Additional Skills: I am proficient in Turkish and conversational in German. My top choices are Yale, UMichigan-Ann Arbor, Cornell, Duke Thanks...

I am not sure if I understood what you meant by a substantive way. Can you please open it up a little bit?

Wow, if they hire someone in that area, Cornell would be a perfect fit for me. Thanks

As I realized during my research, Cornell has 3-4 faculty that have research interests on Authoritarianism but their focus is South Asia or Latin America. My interests are focused on Middle East and historical comparisons of Authotarian regimes. Do you guys think, I would have a shot at Cornell given that our focuses differ? Secondly, I think Ithaca can be good place to do Phd but do you think it is a livable place for 5-6 years? Thanks y'all.

Hello everyone, I am kind of new here. I am junior studying PSC at a US college. I want to go to grad school and study Authoritarianism-Public Opinion- Voter Behavior mainly. I started preparing for my application so I have a couple of questions for you. 1. Although I am in a good range in Q (163-166) , my verbal is not that good (around 153-154). I will do my best to improve it until I take the test this summer but I don't know how hard I should study for it. Do you think having a lower score on Verbal would hurt my chances a lot given that I am an international student? 2. I am searching for grad schools with a focus on Middle East-Authoritarianism as I suggested above, do you have any program recommendations for me? 3. Lastly, I am so desperate about my chances for getting into a T20 school. My profile is below, what do you think? Major:Political Science Minor: Statistics GPA=3.98 LoR= All from tenured professors. One with a professor that I RA'd before. Research: I will be doing a research this summer on a grant from my school and am hoping to use it as my writing sample. I speak Turkish fluently and German at an advanced level.