Lokyar

My publication did involve a fair amount of data crunching and some statistical analysis, but nothing too complicated, and ultimately it was ancilliary to my qualitative research. I have some experience with quant as well through a research methods course, which was also my lowest mark (A-). In short, not too much that would stand out to compensate for a 540-640 Q. I'm wondering maybe I might still have a shot at a qualitative-heavy department.

Yes it is a solo publication. Im still kind of amazed i got away with it...the journal secretary still refers to me by "Dr." because she simply assumed that anyone with the balls to send in a solo manuscript would be a PhD....I havent corrected her yet . I even checked to make sure non-PhDs could submit, just to be sure. Anyway, I know the gap between 540-640 is a big deal, and waiting it out to see the real results seems logical, but the problem is that most applications are due by the time they will be out in december...so i'm left wondering if I should apply to places like Emory with a 50 percentile cut off for quant and simply pray I end up falling on the higher side of the scale.

Hello everyone, I just took the new GRE, and I got a score of 750-800V and 540-640Q. I was a little bit blown away by the low quant, and I am sitting here wondering if this will torpedo an otherwise decent application (4.0 graduate GPA, research publication in top journal, master's degree). I'm not really fishing for a "what are my chances" confirmation to assuage my feelings over the mark, but am wondering if it is still worth at least shooting for top 25 or 30 schools. I am looking into qualitative comparative PhD programs. It would be great to get a second opinion on what may still be possible with this ball and chain around my application. Thanks for any thoughts

-Getting citizenship after being in the country for a couple years doing a PhD is not hard at all. I personally know a PhD student from outside canada about to get his - If you ever want to return to the United States again to teach or join a faculty, go to U of T. UBC and McGill PhD grads might stand a chance at landing a US job, but from an American recruiter's perspective (justified or not) University of Toronto is the only Canadian university that is comparable to a T20 American school. -Even in Canada, an American PhD gives you about a 20% better chance of getting a position over Canadian candidates. Take a quick look at the faculty profiles for most top canadian Poli Sci departments. You'll notice that many, if not most, got their degrees in the US. I also seem to recall that this year every tenure-track theory position that opened up in Canada went to someone with an American PhD. So unless you have something specific in mind, like studying with a particular prof...i would stay in the US provided i could get into a T40 school, and if i couldnt...why would i be doing a PhD in Poli Sci in the first place?

3 shots of jack...then ill tell the wife. then another shot of jack. then ill call the parents. then after another shot of jack ill put some thought into what ill do next.

or "mocking your credentials behind closed doors", or "decision made: now waiting to build suspense" they could at least have fun with it. the same status for months gets old

bump...i'm also interested in an answer to this question...although i suspect that it really depends on the department and how their admission committee works...some of them make it extremely difficult for an applicant to influence proceedings by something like a visit or a reciprocated wish to work with a particular professor.

applied to U of T for PhD....the wait is killing me

Lots of people get their PhD for political science from Carleton; including some moderately renowned Canadian scholars. Its more of a "big fish in small pond" thing, i think: Carleton is a heavy hitter and her Political Science PhDs are respected and can find academic work within Canada...but beyond our modest Dominion, particularly the United States, i would be alot more hesitant. I have heard several horror stories of good post-doctoral grads from top Canadian schools such as Queens or U of A being put on the same level by American faculty hiring committees as the graduates of the worst American programs simply because they weren't from either U of T, UBC, or McGill. I personally know some of the Political Science PhDs here, and in terms of program satisfaction they cover a wide spectrum, but few if any seriously entertain the idea of getting a decent job outside of Canada, especially the US, after they graduate. As for the Normal Patterson school of International Affairs, its not what it used to be. DFAIT has had a hiring freeze for years, yet the department keeps upping the cohort size every year, denying funding to most (masters level at least) students, et je pense que si vous ne parlez pas le francais aussi, Ottawa n'offre pas beaucoup d'avantages

I am just finishing my Political Science MA at Carleton: By Canadian standards its a high quality department. It is quite large; in my first year i felt a bit lost in it all because it can be hard to make connections with the faculty in such an enviroment. But if you work hard and participate in department life its not so bad. Large department also means lots of little talks and conferences going on, so if you want to there are many opportunities to get involved. Graduate offices leave something to be desired, to say the least...a dozen or so people crammed into a single large room with desks is the norm. Grade inflation is something of a 'problem' in many classes, especially some of the related interdisciplinary departments. "A-" grades are handed out so commonly that to many top students its considered a slap in the face. I once knew a student who handed in a paper that was little more than a barely comprehensible list of disconnected facts, so they really hit her hard and gave her a “B.” I myself have gone from a 3.62 GPA in undergrad to a 3.91 for my total masters program. I have even heard that other schools like Toronto informally deflate the grades of their Carleton applicants a bit to compensate. I suppose this is not a bad thing if you are a mediocre student looking to eventually get into a professional program such as Law. I got a pretty good education here, I can’t complain too much...but in retrospect i should have taken the offer from Western.