took the test yesterday. Yes, I'm aware that my scores are low: 146Q and 151V
I'm a senior studying Political Science and would continue in the field if I were to go (Comparative). My GPA is 3.6/major is 3.9. I started my search into grad school last year when a professor, in my department, suggested that I think about it. I put that search on pause in spring semester when I realized how problematic my quant score would be.
Come this semester, I went and I informed my department of my choice. The professor who had suggested that I go told me that I was letting fear get in the way, that I did fine in his methods course, and grad statistics wasn't anything I couldn't learn. So, I gave it a try. I studied for five weeks (not as much as I would've liked) and began the application process(es).
Here's the thing: I have cerebral palsy, which has always made math difficult and my reading ability slowed. I've made it through undergrad without accommodations and without sharing with my professors. I've never enjoyed receiving inflated grades, and thus, it's been wonderful to prove myself independent of the knowledge of my disability. Since my sophomore year, I've been told that my analysis was at a graduate level. Furthermore, despite struggling with math, the undergraduate methods course was not a problem. a constant struggle. Yes, I know I could have received accommodations on the GRE, but time was not on my side.
Here's what I need to know: If my SOP and LORs are strong, given my GPA do I have a chance? All the programs I'm considering are Ph.D.
My top school is at the bottom of top the top 25 (UW-Madison). The average for scores of applicants admitted in 2017 was: 87th percentile verbal and 70 percentile quant.
There's another school within the top 25 of the field (though, it's lacking in my subfield) that I'm considering. The department has admitted 1-3 people per cycle with 130-150 quant scores (University of Minnesota)
The two other schools are in the 3rd tier, and I've looked and I've yet to find the GRE averages (Indiana-Bloomington and Illinois-Urbana)
I'm attending a liberal arts state school, and the department does not offer research opportunities. All of my "research" is for coursework. I am involved in extra-curricular pertaining to my interests and have received awards an recognition at regional conferences, for one in particular (Model UN).
Thanks.