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IR44

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  1. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from brendino in Here are my interests, what programs might be a good fit?   
    You might consider looking at sociology programs. Sociologists seem to have more of an activist bent than political scientists in my experience, and their work is often largely qualitative. 
  2. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from izmir in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    I know it's still relatively early, but it seems rational to go ahead and begin a new thread for folks that are applying in the 2017-2018 cycle. This forum has already helped me a great deal, and I have no doubt that trend will continue. I'm currently studying pretty extensively to retake the GRE (164, 160 on the first try) and I'm also making an effort to at least skim a few articles per day in order to be up-to-date on relevant literature (a mix of IR/Comparative) - though I'm far from having an adequately developed idea for my SoP. Is anyone else having a bit of trouble conforming their purported area of study into just one subfield? I've read that it's relatively important to emphasize one primary subfield in the SoP, but this is sometimes easier said than done. 
  3. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from bwhy in Should I Apply for a MA or PhD?   
    The most common reason for doing a terminal MA before a PhD is because something from undergrad makes direct PhD admission unlikely. I don't really see anything in your profile that makes me think you couldn't reasonably be admitted to top schools. You should really look at costs, also. I didn't think Harvard had a terminal MA in government, but their regional studies degrees are very pricey (more than 120k) for a two-year degree and funding isn't all that easy to come by. 
  4. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from Gik in Poli Sci Admissions Questions   
    1. I really don't think a 160 on each section is going to keep you out of top schools, though you should shoot as high as possible. The vast majority of the test is very learnable; give yourself time to prepare and you should be fine. 
    2. I'm not in a great position to answer that. The best advice I can give is to find books/articles that are in your specific field and see which names keep popping up (publishing/being cited by others). This will also help you with SoPs. 
    3. I go to a pretty low-ranked R1, and I'm planning to apply to most schools in the top 5. I may not get in, but I don't think my institution will hurt me *that* much. This is, though, an area where a very strong GRE performance can help level the playing field. 
    4. Your experience doesn't seem all that minimal to me. I've done one RAship and published one paper (ugrad journal) in addition to a standard honors thesis. I don't think my experience is THAT limited compared to other undergrads, and I don't think yours sounds like it is either. 
    5. There's an interesting book called "Inside Graduate Admissions" by Julie Posselt. In it, she mentions how admissions committees often speak of a "cool factor" for applicants with interesting work/abroad experience. If your experience fits this criteria, it may give you a minimal advantage. I don't generally think work experience is too important, especially for folks coming straight from undergrad. 
    General advice that may be of use to you:
    Based on your diction, it seems like maybe you're not as proud as you should be about your profile. I've been down this road as well. I'm a strong candidate who has spent a ton of time researching programs and preparing for my future. I may get 15 rejections early next year. If that happens, I won't  be surprised; the process is tough and a ton of incredibly qualified folks apply. Conversely, I won't be remotely surprised if I get into Columbia or Stanford. I worked hard, and I'm a strong applicant. Hope for the best, and recognize that failure doesn't mean you're an idiot. I hope some of this helps. 
  5. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from Gik in Civil War   
    1. I think PSR sucks. 
    2. Propose to study what you're generally interested in; it'll help you write the best SoP possible, and there's a high chance you end up studying something else anyway. 
    3. If you're looking for POIs, Kalyvas (Yale) and Weinstein (Stanford) are good. 
    4. PSR sucks. 
  6. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to oakeshott in Quantitative vs. Qualitative sample   
    My two cents: I submitted an aggressively qualitative sample with all my applications, including some for places with very strong quantitative orientations. My quantitative GRE score also happened to be similar to yours. I had a pretty good cycle. 
    My interpretation: obviously I am just one data point, but my experience is consistent with the argument that you should submit whatever your best work is, regardless of where it fits in the qual-quant spectrum. Writing samples get used in different ways by different committees, but in general I think their purpose is to demonstrate that you can ask interesting questions, come up with interesting answers, and test your answers in interesting ways. Like @deutsch1997bw said, there are other parts of the app that are designed to help you signal that you have (at least the potential to acquire) good quant skills. I would go with your strongest sample. It sounds like that's the Venezuela one. 
    Again, though, these are just my two cents! Good luck.
  7. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to deutsch1997bw in Civil War   
    Please, I implore you to not use PSR us a resource for narrowing down research interests and programs. 
  8. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to dagnabbit in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    Certainly not problematic to highlight APs that you would like to work with - I did this, and I know that many others did as well. However, I would advise against identifying them as your prospective advisor (or planning on them being your advisor), largely due to the reasons that you mentioned. Additionally, you want your advisor to be somebody with enough clout in the discipline that he or she can adequately promote you and your work, both before you go on the job market (introductions at conferences, etc) and while you are on the job market (making calls for you, writing letters that carry weight); senior faculty are typically better at this than junior faculty.
  9. Downvote
    IR44 reacted to Bates_Motel in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    I'm not super sure where to ask this question, but this seems as good as any. For my writing sample (for this fall), I'm looking at using a dataset a social scientist used in one of her articles. The data is available and is listed as "replication data," but I'm not sure if this means it's only to be used to replicate her findings and not generate new findings from the same data. Is simply citing the source sufficient, or should I seek formal permission to use the data set? 
  10. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to deutsch1997bw in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    I would try to make sure that in your SOPs you mention three professors that you want to work with, and make sure that two of them are tenured. I have been advised to do this by my current professors. 
  11. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to deutsch1997bw in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    I wouldn't worry about it too much. So long as you can articulate one or two research puzzles and demonstrate that you are familiar with some of the current literature, you will probably be fine.
  12. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to tkid86 in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    To second @Comparativist's comment about being strategic when declaring your subfield... be mindful of the programs to which you are applying, too, if you straddle subfields. If, for instance, you applied to a program very strong in IR, you may have to compete with a number of other IR applicants. It is possible that applying as CP could provide a bit more wiggle room, especially if they have any sort of quota for an incoming cohort in regards to numbers and subfield. I had a professor suggest that I apply to some programs as political theory rather than IR... and I didn't listen, but it did work out in the end (for me). So, just some food for thought.
  13. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to guest56436 in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    There are plenty of applicants (and students and scholars!) that straddle the line between IR and CP. It's not a big deal to be slightly ambiguous in respect to those two subfields IF there is a obvious reason for it and you have a clear and concise proposed project in your SOP. 
    You may also want to be strategic with respect to competitiveness. From past cycles, the comparative subfields were thought by many to be more competitive than IR in regards to available spots vs. applicants. I believe this fluctuates from year to year though. Might be something to think about when declaring your 'first' subfield.
  14. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from Gik in 2017-2018 Application Cycle   
    I know it's still relatively early, but it seems rational to go ahead and begin a new thread for folks that are applying in the 2017-2018 cycle. This forum has already helped me a great deal, and I have no doubt that trend will continue. I'm currently studying pretty extensively to retake the GRE (164, 160 on the first try) and I'm also making an effort to at least skim a few articles per day in order to be up-to-date on relevant literature (a mix of IR/Comparative) - though I'm far from having an adequately developed idea for my SoP. Is anyone else having a bit of trouble conforming their purported area of study into just one subfield? I've read that it's relatively important to emphasize one primary subfield in the SoP, but this is sometimes easier said than done. 
  15. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to dagnabbit in Hunting for a Program, I'm STUCK. help please.   
    Honestly, I think that you should start by seeking guidance from your former professors. GradCafe is very helpful regarding certain aspects of the application process (GRE studying tips, SOP advice, Interview advice, etc), but not so much when it comes to something as major as choosing a field of study. Sure, we can list all of the best places to study political psychology, but we can't really tell you whether you should be studying political psychology or not. You should contact a professor who knows you and knows your work and have a conversation with them regarding your research interests and how to best pursue them.
     
  16. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to dagnabbit in Chances for Political Science PhD   
    To briefly address your questions:
    1. Yes, I think that you are competitive for T20 programs provided that your application materials are top quality. Apply to every T20 program that fits your interests, and especially consider Davis/Wisconsin/Penn.
    2. I don't think that your stats are such that you should plan on doing an MA before applying to PhD programs. That said, it might not be a bad idea to research a few MA programs to apply to in addition to the doctoral apps that you send in.
  17. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from Concordia in Chances for Political Science PhD   
    Obviously, no one can say for sure. With that said, I think GPA is something that's generally not weighted quite as heavily (especially with such great GRE scores, congrats!). You seem like a really strong candidate, and you should start looking at prospective schools and gauging fit with departments. I'd also recommend the "faculty perspectives" thread. It's long, but it can be incredibly helpful. I hope this helps, and good luck with your applications! 
  18. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from dagnabbit in Chances for Political Science PhD   
    Obviously, no one can say for sure. With that said, I think GPA is something that's generally not weighted quite as heavily (especially with such great GRE scores, congrats!). You seem like a really strong candidate, and you should start looking at prospective schools and gauging fit with departments. I'd also recommend the "faculty perspectives" thread. It's long, but it can be incredibly helpful. I hope this helps, and good luck with your applications! 
  19. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to tkid86 in Quantitative vs. Qualitative sample   
    I know we hear "quantitative, quantitative, quantitative", but I think it also has a lot to do with the programs to which you are applying and what you are hoping to do research-wise. I have a very weak quantitative background (and a worse Q GRE than you), but I don't anticipate pursuing much quantitative research, and I made my research interests (and methodological interests) fairly clear throughout my application. It really depends on what you are hoping to do, and whether or not you need to demonstrate that you can do that work if it is necessary for the research projects that you want to pursue.
  20. Downvote
    IR44 reacted to guest56436 in Do I have a chance of gaining acceptance into these programs?   
    Why did you post in the results thread if you haven't applied to these programs yet?
  21. Upvote
    IR44 got a reaction from Gik in Postcolonial Theory   
    Can anyone recommend a strong program for studying postcolonial theory? Thanks. 
  22. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to nooxhc in Postcolonial Theory   
    Do you want to study postcolonialism in the US? Started wrong.
    Look for programs in Latin America
  23. Upvote
    IR44 reacted to tkid86 in Postcolonial Theory   
    Your best bet might be to look outside of the U.S. academy but you might also need to consider a discipline change if you want to pursue postcolonial studies (even in the context of IR/polisci). 
  24. Downvote
    IR44 reacted to Hopeful23 in What are the best MA programs for political science?   
    In terms of preparation for a PhD, methodological training, funding opportunities? (I.e.programs that aren't cash grabs)
  25. Downvote
    IR44 got a reaction from Hopeful23 in Postcolonial Theory   
    Can anyone recommend a strong program for studying postcolonial theory? Thanks. 
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