DrGonzzo

I agree, a PhD, especially when coupled with strong quant training, can open up a lot of doors if you position yourself correctly. At the very worst, you should have no problem getting an analyst job for your state government making 60k+ a year. Personally, I am more than happy to adjunct or teach at a community college for as long as it takes in hopes I can get a TT job in the future.

That could very well be true, but I stated the reason cited by the Princeton Sociology Department Grad Director. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/06/01/some-departments-plan-suspending-or-limiting-graduate-cohorts-year-or-longer-free

I appreciate the recommendation, but, with all due respect, you have no idea who I am. I have even less idea who you are or where this "received wisdom" comes from on an anonymous internet forum. I based my decision on conversations with my co-workers who have completed PhD programs in political science, the professors I have conducted research with, plenty of POIs, my significant other, and the political science faculty at my undergrad school. I am at peace with my decision. I only hope that all of us can find peace in our decisions as well.

I know why I am applying, but I expect it varies for different people. Personally, I am applying because it is the only occupation I can imagine doing for the rest of my life. I have had several jobs in politics and government over the years and I now have a pretty decent idea of what I want out of my life. I am going down this path because I want to and because I want a job that I actually enjoy, not a safe one or one that pays well. I do not know about anybody else, but I am prepared to struggle endlessly for this goal.

I was told the same nonsense in undergrad. A major in political science will get me nowhere, but I secured a full-time job working in politics before I even graduated. For people that understand networking and how to properly position yourself in modern America, there will always be jobs. Maybe not always as a professor, but as a researcher for the government or writing for a publication. Also, there is a staggering amount of universities across the world to consider. Some of us do not mind moving, have language skills, and U.S. PhDs look good on applications. We have a short time on this planet and many of us just want to pursue what makes us happy. You have no right to act like you have any idea what you are talking about trying to ask us some pseudo-profound question. You should ask yourself what choices you made with your life to find yourself here on a grad school forum trying to discourage excited people from getting PhDs. I am not going to make my life decisions based on some person on the internet acting like they know better. Get off your soapbox.

UPenn is optional, but strongly encouraged.

Seconded. Sociology departments are closing because a lot of their research largely depends on social experiments and working with groups of people. This is impossible in our socially distanced world. At the end of the day, we just have to submit our applications and hope for the best.

I am far from an admissions expert, but I am slightly more optimistic than you. If departments are so concerned with limiting admits then it does not benefit them to not require GRE scores. I saw some Departments even removing the application fee. To me, this signals a Department enticing applicants. If these Departments weren't planning on admitting something like a normal size class then why would they change their admission requirements at all? With that being said, I agree admits will decline slightly , but I think (hope) much of it may be offset by less demand. I agree there will be less international students, which make up large portions of American graduate programs. There may even be less American applicants because of all of the uncertainty and chaos the COVID-19 pandemic has caused. This forum even seems to be slightly less active than last year. A lot of people may have changed thier grad school plans because of the pandemic and even more may be turned off by the perception that schools will limit their admits. Obviously, I am just stating my opinion. As for the GREs, I think that pool is already highly self selected. The majority of Americans will not be affected by at home GRE requirements and I would think most international students that are planning on an American PhD most likely have the necessary resources to take the GRE. Also, if there is an uptick in people seeking Masters, then there could be a subsequent uptick in GRE test takers as well.

Thanks for the response, it is much appreciated. I have been trying to build a selection of schools based on the books and articles that interest me the most so my selection of schools are all vastly different in rank. I will look into more top programs, though. I am sure those programs have the resources to make most applicants a good fit.

Thanks for the reply and the information. To help clarify, I am focusing on American Politics, specifically state and local politics. The 3.93 GPA excludes the B in Calculus. I am scheduled to take the GRE relatively soon, aiming for 165+ in both verbal and quant, but we'll see how I do. I have asked a couple of schools about the quantitative background they look for in candidates and I was told that simply having experience using methods of statistical analysis puts you ahead of the majority of applicants. That seems surprising to me. I appreciate all your help. I just feel like I am in sort of a dilemma lol. I know enough calculus to differentiate, integrate, and understand the notation used in higher statistics work, but I am not sure how to signal that on my application without bringing attention to the B.

I finished my B.A. in political science from a small liberal arts school several years ago and I am currently working as the Chief of Staff for a state legislator. As I am getting ready to apply to PhD programs this fall, I wanted to bolster my math background due my transcript only showing a basic methods class and an intro stats course. I enrolled in an online calculus course at a University of California school, but after a couple weeks, I realized that working 55+ hour weeks left little time to study so I ended up with a B. I was wondering if it is even worth submitting or not? I would be submitting it as a separate transcript only showing the Calculus course with a B. My actual GPA is 3.93. For more information, I also have experience using statistical analysis from my undergrad thesis, and I use R at work regularly, not to mention all the quantitative research I have done for my legislator. Right now my target schools are George Washington, Brown, University of Maryland, and Rice. I am already in ongoing discussions with faculty at those programs. Any opinions are welcomed and appreciated.

This is all very unnerving for next year's prospective applicants like myself. I should have applied this year. Does anybody have a guess as to how this will effect next year's admissions?

I am new here, so I apologize if this topic has been beat to death. I received my undergraduate degree from a no-name, low ranked LAC because of some issues I had in high school. I accepted this less than ideal situation and tried to do my best while I was there. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.93, and I was the top ranked political science student in my class, not that there was many. I got As in statistics, methods, all my poli sci classes, and I wrote a heavily quantitative departmental honors senior thesis I hope to refine and use as my writing sample. I have been working for the last two years as a Chief of Staff for a state legislator, but my goal since sophomore year has always been to get a PhD and go into academia. I have three professors, not the most famous, who I have gotten to know incredibly well. They pushed me to do a PhD, so I am hoping for three great LORs. As of now, I have a strong idea of what I want to study and how I want to study it. Other than that, I am going to take some online calculus classes to refresh my math skills and, obviously, aim for as high a GRE score as I can possible get. I have already started studying for the GRE with hopes to apply to programs this coming cycle. I am just wondering if my undergraduate alma mater is going to bar me from acceptance to the top 25 programs? Beyond that, my current target schools are University of Virginia, Brown, and George Washington which obviously rank outside the top 25. So any advice on how to improve my application? Also, thanks for your patience and congrats to all that are receiving admission letters. You deserve it.

I am new here, so I apologize if this topic has been beat to death. I received my undergraduate degree from a no-name, low ranked LAC because of some issues I had in high school. I accepted this less than ideal situation and tried to do my best while I was there. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.93, and I was the top ranked political science student in my class, not that there was many. I got As in statistics, methods, all my poli sci classes, and I wrote a heavily quantitative departmental honors senior thesis I hope to refine and use as my writing sample. I have been working for the last two years as a Chief of Staff for a state legislator, but my goal since sophomore year has always been to get a PhD and go into academia. I have three professors, not the most famous, who I have gotten to know incredibly well. They pushed me to do a PhD, so I am hoping for three great LORs. As of now, I have a strong idea of what I want to study and how I want to study it. Other than that, I am going to take some online calculus classes to refresh my math skills and, obviously, aim for as high a GRE score as I can possible get. I have already started studying for the GRE with hopes to apply to programs this coming cycle. I am just wondering if my undergraduate alma mater is going to bar me from acceptance to the top 25 programs? Beyond that, my current target schools are University of Virginia, Brown, and George Washington which obviously rank outside the top 25. So any advice on how to improve my application? Also, thanks for your patience and congrats to all that are receiving admission letters. You deserve it.