Hello everyone!
I'm just gearing up to finalize a list of schools to apply to, and just wanted some guidance on that, given my profile. I just want to make sure I'm being realistic. I'm set on applying to an MA program, and not a PhD, even though I will graduate with an MA in a few month in a different area- simply because I'm not sure if I'm ready to put in the commitment of PhD level research just yet, but still want to kind of dip my toes in the political science field. I'd just really appreciate knowing what I can expect, or where I should be applying realistically, and how competitive my profile is. Thanks!
Undergraduate +Graduate Institution: Number 1 ranked (or within top three, depending on the ranking list checked) University in India by Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Undergraduate + Graduate Degree: 5 year Integrated MA in Development Studies, minor in Economics (i.e. you do a BA and an MA coursework in the five year period, but you graduate with an MA)
GPA: 8.57/10.0 (apparently converts to around 3.6 on a 4 point scale, roughly)- I'll improve it, but the 8.57 is what will go in applications
GRE: verbal- 163, quant-160, analytical writing- 5.5
TOEFL- 119/120 on the internet based test
internships/work- I'm a founding member of a small NGO that works in my country, i've interned at a tech start up, and at the World Bank.
Teaching experience: TA for my thesis guide
Research Experience: My MA thesis is just currently underway, and that won't get done till the end of the year.
Letters of Recommendation: Will get from tenured faculty members- most of whom have their PhDs from top universities in India, or in the US.
Research Interests- American politics/ elections
Just a note on the TOEFL- I've only taken it just in case. I'm an American studying abroad in an institution where the medium of instruction is english. So most schools seem to say it's unnecessary but it's also very unclear to me. So, just in case.
I'm looking at applying to terminal MA programs in the US- preferably around Washington DC/New York, and preferably top 20-30 programs. Is that at all realistic?
Thanks a bunch! Any advice at all will really help me decide how to go about this!
