appleguy

Hey all, I've reached the point in the preparation process where much of my attention has turned (on a daily basis) to getting the SOP and the Writing Sample as great as I can make them. As a result, I have two questions about certain attributes of each that I wonder if they could hurt my (and others) chances. 1) For the SOP, is it kosher to name drop? Not in every part of the essay obviously, but say I have three separate but related research interests, and I've had a chance to work in a research capacity for a while with two big names in each areas...is it looked down upon to talk that up? Because really, those people are big reasons that my interests have formed in the way they have. 2) Secondly, for the writing sample, if my best, longest and most analytically complex piece of work is a fairly broad-ranging treatise on a component of IR theory (not a summary of the field or anything), again is that looked down upon? I read in another thread about not wanting to sound like you can solve all the problems of the world single handedly, and I just wondered if talking about broader theory could land you in the admissions sin bin? Thoughts?

Thanks guys, that makes me feel a bit better about my apps now. My undergrad GPA does still get me down, but I've been working my butt off this year in my MA (successfully I think) to do everything I can to elevate other parts of my application. I mean, I know what subfields I want to work in and I definitely have been making my baby steps into publishing research in those areas, so I hope that is taken into account. Penelope, yes, I think I'll retain one of my undergraduate professors as a recommender for just that purpose! And mv007, thanks for the moral support! the story with my GREs is simply that I took them before my MA apps and chose not to retake them because the score is decent. The closer I get to Phd season, the more I think that I should have retaken them to get the higher score I now know I'm capable of, but....I think that will only happen now if I have to reapply next year. Do any of you have any strategies for writing the SOP? Things that are more important than others to highlight?

Hi all, I'm writing this because I'm feeling really rather nebulous about my chances for getting into the programs I want to for a Phd in Polisci (IR security and theory). I'm currently an MA in Polisci student beginning my second year at GMU and want to move to the Phd. The main spanner in the works for me is that I had a low undergraduate GPA at a top public Ivy from sickness. It was concentrated in my middle two years and my major GPAs were higher. It didn't seem to affect my MA apps, but it still worries me. Apart from that, my MA GPA is 3.85. My GREs are 1350. I have strong classwork in research methods and quantitative analysis. I've also managed to get a peer-reviewed publication at a decent journal and about eight editor-reviewed short articles in various other publications, both online and in print, on security subjects. As a result, my writing sample should be great. My recommendations are strong I think (including a VP of a major think tank I worked with and some profs from my MA). I'm also an editor of a major online IR publication. My target schools are UVA, UNC, Duke, UPenn, G'town and GWU. I know these programs are a step up for me, but really....any idea what my chances are? Or...and this is universally applicable...what approach should be taken for the Statement of Purpose?

Thanks for the response. I know that a lot of people have just gone through the process, and so I guess I really wanted to know if my ballpark for program difficulty was ok, or if anyone had any other suggestions. I've been looking at researchers and so on, and these schools seem good matches. I've always wanted to go to OSU, because they have a few big names in theory and social IR, which is part of what i am researching. Any opinions would be appreciated. thanks!!

Hey everyone. So I wanted to see if anyone had any opinions about my chances of getting into a solid Phd program. I am already an MA student. Essentially, I was really sick for the better part of three semesters in undergrad, and so my overall GPA was really low, like 2.9, even though my grades were super high in the last year and a half and I got a couple of dozen credits of polisci classes at 3.5 or above. But I got good gre's, 1370, and awesome recommendations and so I decided to go for an MA to decide if I really wanted the Phd and to boost my application. I got in a few places and I'm doing my MA in polisci at GMU. I'm getting around a 3.75, my GRE scores are still decent at 1370, my recs are awesome and I've even been published this year in a peer-reviewed journal of international affairs (so my writing samples will be solid). I'm also doing research in foreign policy at a competitive internship at a top think tank at the same time as classes (yes I'm tired). I'm not aiming for Harvard, but I am looking to apply next season for places like UVa, SAIS, American, and maybe UNC or UPenn (and GMU cuz it's free to apply for me and I know some good researchers already). Thoughts on my chances? Much appreciated!