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I was asked to be a TA for econometrics so I would like to think I'm not too shabby at it? Thank you so much for your advice! You have certainly made choosing between programs that much easier.

Thanks so much for your advice! My undergrad quant background is subpar at best - econometrics, statistics, I could squeeze out multivariate calc - but I am willing to learn. Do you think MACRM will be too advanced for me?

If anyone is familiar with UChicago's Committee on International Relations MA and Harris School's MA in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods, please help me out! I find both programs appealing because they are shorter than most MA programs, but I have heard mixed things about both programs. I don't know which one to apply for because I would like to pursue a PhD in International Relations or Political Science in the future, not Public Policy, but I am keen to work on my quant skills. Any thoughts? Any help will be appreciated!

Hi everyone, I'm spending days and nights trying to decide which programs to apply to and whether I even should apply to PhD programs. My profile is below, and my burning questions follows. Undergraduate Institution: Top 25 liberal arts college (depending on which list you look at) Major: Policy Studies, Economics (Minor in Philosophy) Cumulative GPA: 3.94 GRE: Shooting for around 162Q, 166V Letters of Recommendation: My options are - my thesis advisor who I have known since my first semester (tenure track/international politics), a professor I did research with for a year (tenure track/international politics), professor whom I have a great relationship with (tenured/philosophy), professor who I TA'ed for (tenure/economics), thesis advisor whom I'm fairly close to (tenure/economics). I have good relationships with all of them and most have offered to write me LORs. I don't know how well-respected they are in their fields though. Research Experience: Did a year's worth of research with a professor whose research interests are only loosely tied to mine. I am also writing a thesis. Work Experience: Production assistant at a news channel for 6 months, internship in a municipal business development bureau in China, in charge of a running a book club volunteer program at the local women's prison Teaching Experience: Was a TA for Econometrics for one semester and is a writing tutor for two years now. Additional Skills: Fluent Mandarin, Intermediate Arabic, Python, STATA Research Interests: Energy security and development policy in East Asia (mostly China) Choices for MA: Cambridge, LSE, John Hopkins, Chicago, Princeton, Harvard Choices for PhD: UCSD, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, Yale Burning questions: 1) Not a question, but please be brutally honest. I've had enough people being very nice to me about grad school applications just so my dreams don't get shot down. My dreams will get shot down by the admissions committee anyway so you'd be doing me a favor by shooting down my dreams before I pay that $100 application fee. 2) As you can tell, I'm only applying to Top 20 schools. It's a bit of pride, and a bit of practicality because those schools are the best choice for my research interests. However, do you think I will get in? Or am I shooting too high? 3) With my profile, do you think I should do a MA before I apply to PhD programs so I can strength my application and actually get into a top 20 school? 4) Everyone seems to have a publication, so do you think it is necessary to have one to get into these programs? My professors have said that it is actually better to wait until you are a grad student to publish the work you've done in undergrad because those journals are more well-regarded. 5) Lastly, if there are any other schools you think I should look at, please do suggest them! Thank you so much for your time and may you receive brownie points and actual brownies for helping an anxious undergrad!