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Natesmith1016

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About Natesmith1016

  • Birthday 10/16/1997

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  • Gender
    Man
  • Location
    Los Angeles
  • Interests
    Astronomy, Anime, Photography, Travelling, Politics, Learning languages, Filmmaking and Youtubing.
  • Application Season
    2021 Fall
  • Program
    PhD Political Science

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  1. Hey, everyone. So it’s looking like my second straight admission cycle shutout. I’m feeling pretty dejected because while my GRE scores aren’t amazing, I did work hard to improve my scores over the past year. I took a Kaplan course online for 2 months and was able to obtain a 160 verbal 145 quant and 6 on my writing sample. Again, not the best, but after prepping for a year and considering where I started I was feeling ok. Did my research and looked for professors with whom I shared research interests(Japanese comparative politics), obviously due to the niche nature of my field there aren’t a whole lot of options and those tend to be the higher ranked schools, sadly. I had one of my former professors from USC(applied and rejected) who works on the political science admissions board write me a letter of recommendation, got it all in early.. and still nothing. Obviously the most glaring thing I could improve would be my quant score, I really struggle with math, but I fought very hard to raise it from where it was initially. But part of me wonders with how competitive PhD spots are right now, is it even worth it. Just really lost rn. If anyone has been in a similar position or has any advice I’d appreciate it. This has been a lifelong goal of mine and it just looks bleak at the moment. Did my master’s in 2020 and it’s just been trying to get into PhD since then.. I’m only 24, but I still feel like life is passing me by. Edit: totally neglected to mention my background, was so upset I forgot. Have a M.A Linguistics from Glasgow Uni(3.6 GPA) did my master’s in international public policy and management at USC(3.5 GPA) who also rejected me today.
  2. Hey, everyone. So it’s looking like my second straight admission cycle shutout. I’m feeling pretty dejected because while my GRE scores aren’t amazing, I did work hard to improve my scores over the past year. I took a Kaplan course online for 2 months and was able to obtain a 160 verbal 145 quant and 6 on my writing sample. Again, not the best, but after prepping for a year and considering where I started I was feeling ok. Did my research and looked for professors with whom I shared research interests(Japanese comparative politics), obviously due to the niche nature of my field there aren’t a whole lot of options and those tend to be the higher ranked schools, sadly. I had one of my former professors from USC(applied and rejected) who works on the political science admissions board write me a letter of recommendation, got it all in early.. and still nothing. Obviously the most glaring thing I could improve would be my quant score, I really struggle with math, but I fought very hard to raise it from where it was initially. But part of me wonders with how competitive PhD spots are right now, is it even worth it. Just really lost rn. If anyone has been in a similar position or has any advice I’d appreciate it. This has been a lifelong goal of mine and it just looks bleak at the moment. Did my master’s in 2020 and it’s just been trying to get into PhD since then.. I’m only 24, but I still feel like life is passing me by. Edit: totally neglected to mention my background, was so upset I forgot. Have a M.A Linguistics from Glasgow Uni(3.6 GPA) did my master’s in international public policy and management at USC(3.5 GPA) who also rejected me today.
  3. Now, that's the type of thoroughness I was looking for, pretty much answered everything. Cheers. My internship will have a research component, everything I'm doing at SC is with PhD studies in New York in mind. I'd probably retake the GRE next year, I've got some things I want to do before starting my PhD, like teaching abroad, then I'd come back for that. You said when you applied. Have you got a poli sci PhD? How did you find it?
  4. The guy with the PhD was saying that it’s not a direct preparation as in, like you said, the aims are different of what you learn. But, there’s a lot of overlap depending on programme and specialisation. In my case, my electives and specialisation are all related to the PhD I plan to do. So East Asian studies research, quant analysis and other IR courses. It’s a first. GRE scores can def be improved but don’t seem to be everything.
  5. A 3.7 GPA is great by any objective standards dude. That’s a fact. That’s one mark from a 4.0. Again, from a different country with tougher gearing criteria then America too. Few people get a first in the UK. Your statement that an international degree hurts is also blatantly false. As the other guy said, you’re hurling words with no background or sources. i linked you an article for MPA->PhD stuff. You didn’t read it. It’s pretty common and certainly helps. >local government doesn’t help. you definitely didn’t read my comment entirely because I clearly said I’m doing international specialisation and work with SC’s IR department. Yet, you’re talking about linguistics and local government? You know Ban Ki moon had an MPA, right? It’s not all local stuff, depends on your specialisation. GRE scores aren’t everything. It all depends on the applicants at the time. I was below SC’s average quant too. SOP, letters of rec, personal statements etc all contribute.
  6. > I would be surprised if you got into a top 50 programme. Come on now, man. You're milking it. I had a 3.7... not 2.7.... from an international university, with a different grading system from the U.S. I'm doing an MPA with international specialisation at a top 8 programme. GRE scores can certainly be improved, though. I took it once and got in both masters programmes that I wanted to, one for IR(NYU), so I didn't give it more thought. link for you on MPA-> PhD since I feel you'll have a retort for that too.
  7. Alright, sorry for the slow reply, Gradcafe didn't show me any notifications from this for some reason. So, I am a bit late here. I'll try to respond to all of your points, but it's a big text, so sorry if I miss anything. For starters, NYU, Columbia and Stanford are great for what I'm interested in, those are the ones I've looked at so far. I got in NYU's MA IR programme and am interested in working with some of the research that some of their professors are doing. As said in the OP, I was accepted into SC's price MPA programme, so I'll most likely be doing that this year with an international specialisation. Price's MPA is highly regarded and overlaps a lot with their IR department due to my specialisation. Stats, economics and Quant analysis play big roles in that programme. Recommendations would of course be taken care of, and as part of the MPA I'll have to complete 300 hours of an internship government/admin internship. >Finally, as you mention, your quant is not great, however neither is your verbal GRE score. I only took it one time, so I'm a bit unfamiliar with the scoring, to be honest. Is a difference of 4 points all there is between "not great either" and great? I'll keep in mind taking it again. >If you really want to get into Stanford and Columbia I do like the research in Far East Asian Studies they're doing, but honestly NYU would be my desired place. So, now that you've got the MPA info, I think that might change some of what you were saying about getting recs from linguistic professors, quant work, etc. Basically, I'll be working towards that. Let me know if you've got any follow up questions, thoughts or comments. Thanks for taking the time to reply too. Edit: Here's a neat link for you too about MPA-> PhD poli sci stuff
  8. Yea, definitely. I actually just saw all of these posts, did not get notifications. "3.7, while not bad, isn't stellar" I mean, it's on a 4.0 scale.. not to toot my own horn, but... GRE could be improved for sure though.
  9. Firstly, I am aware that the community doesn't like these questions as they depend on a lot of variables and specific programmes, however all of the programmes I am interested in have told me they don't have admitted student profiles, so I would really appreciate some resources could consult or if anyone here has done a PhD poli sci and could give feedback. I have tried emailing and calling all the institutions. As I said, I would be doing my PhD in Political Science, with an emphasis on International Relations, specific Far East Asian studies. The places I'm interested in are NYU(was accepted into their MA IR), Stanford and Columbia. As I said, they all told me they didn't have anything online where I could compare my credentials/GRE/GPA to admitted students. I have an MA in Linguistics with Merit from the University of Glasgow(equivalent to US 3.7). I'm originally from the states. Appreciate any support that could be given. If you need any clarification on anything, feel free to let me know. Edit: Should note my Gre Scores, 156 Verbal, 142 Quant(weak spot I know), 4.5 writing. Research Experience: None. I also currently have an admit to USC's price for my MPA, still deciding if I want to do that or defer for a year and go straight for PhD next year.
  10. Super sorry for the late reply here, but thanks for the feedback again. Most of the programmes I've searched for so far don't require masters and don't expect it. Columbia, NYU, Stanford etc. NYU's MA in IR is usually a terminal course, when I visited in May the course administrator told me it's very rare for someone to go from the MA IR to PhD so yea, for most of what I've seen, IR/poli sci PhD's are just straight from undergrad. But, like you said having an MPA opens other opportunities up and puts me in position to get very well paying jobs with governmental/international(I'll do international specialisation) organisations. So, looks like that's the way I'll go. I'll also get my CELTA certification this year a well, then in 2021 after I get my masters, I'll go teach in Japan, then get to work on my PhD.
  11. This question may already have an answer here: How does the admissions process work for Ph.D. programs in the US, particularly for weak or borderline students? 3 answers Ok, so after some feedback from people on here, talking to my sister and her husband, I’m beginning to lean towards not doing my MPA since my ultimate goal is to work in academia and to get a PhD. That said, I’m worried about not having the credentials to get into a PhD course. I have an MA in linguistics and have a lot of history, culture courses as well that I’ve taken between Glasgow and my uni from when I was in the states. All the programmes I’ve looked at: Columbia, Stanford, USC(got in their MPA), NYU(got in their MA IR) and Princeton all say you only need a bachelors to apply, but I just worry whether or not I’d be a competitive applicant. Could someone help me measure myself up in terms of incoming PhD students? There may be some courses I need to take at a community college to boost my profile and I’d really appreciate it. My sister and brother in law came over yesterday to help me reach out to some professors who were working in departments in my research areas of interest(IR Far East asian studies) and I also emailed NYU about potentially switching from the MA to the PhD route since I would like to do my own research. That said, I'm a bit concerned about A) my qualifications and B)whether or not there's even much mobility in the research/academic market for Political Science PhD's. I've also been chatting to a guy who has a PhD in Poly Sci via reddit, and he's told me that the job market is pretty abysmal for Poly Sci/IR PhD's at the moment. When I explained to him that in addition to working in academia, I would also like to work in international politics/offices like the UN, WHO, etc. He explained that people with PhD's usually do not get hired by those organisations and are usually only brought on as consultants for a time. So, if doing direct government/bureaucratic work is my goal, he suggested to do the MPA. The MA IR programme coordinator at NYU told me herself, that the programme is usually terminal and very rarely do people go on to do PhD's, "although it is an option" this stood out as a red flag to him. TL;DR MPA would be 70k, but after completion I would obviously be competitive in the governmental job market. Or, I could take a year off and hope that my MA linguistics is enough to get into a PhD programme.
  12. Yea, I mean Uber does exist and the metro while pretty lacking in terms of stations, does still exist. That's just a minor aside compared to the other stuff with PhD and job prospects.
  13. Thank you for your reply and kind words. So, in the time since I posted this question, I have gone from 100 percent sure on USC to 80 percent. Reason being is that if I want to get a PhD, I was recommended to avoid the MPA. Now, I am a bit confused and wondering how I would stack up going from undergrad to PhD without anything else. I was wondering if you could help me navigate this a bit more? I would really appreciate it.
  14. So, TL;DR deadline day is coming up for me to choose on Sol Price at SC for my MPA or do my MA IR at NYU. SC will be slightly cheaper, but price isn’t a big factor to me as much as career prospects. From posting over at r/gradschool and a couple other forums it seems like MPA is more in demand and offers more diverse options, but I’m not sure. I want to go into politics longterm, but want to lecture at the uni level in the interim, which would require a PhD. Right now the real hold up is being worried whether or not I’d be able to do a PhD in IR without a masters in the field. Also public transport in LA is obviously really bad so that presents a bit of an issue. But I’m pretty much 98 percent committed to SC as I feel head to head, the MPA would be better to have over the MA in case things don't work out with applying for/doing a PhD. I would still be able to work in governmental consulting and the like. Another concern I have is whether or not I would still be able to work for the UN or do international work with an MPA. I know that Ban Ki-Moon, the former Sec General of the UN has an MPA, but other than that, I am not sure. I would really appreciate some advice. Background- MA linguistics Glasgow uni.
  15. So, TL;DR deadline day is coming up for me to choose on Sol Price at SC for my MPA or do my MA IR at NYU. SC will be slightly cheaper, but price isn’t a big factor to me as much as career prospects. From posting over at r/gradschool and a couple other forums it seems like MPA is more in demand and offers more diverse options, but I’m not sure. I want to go into politics longterm, but want to lecture at the uni level in the interim. Right now the real hold up is being worried whether or not I’d be able to do a PhD in IR without a masters in the field, also public transport in LA is obviously really bad. But I’m pretty much 98 percent committed to SC. Background- MA linguistics Glasgow uni.
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