orst11

With requesting you scores online the process really sometime only takes a 1-3 days and cuts down most the time involved. Truthfully I would be personally surprised that ETS offers rush delivery of scores anymore since most of the process is electronically based. Also, most schools realize ETS sucks and your scores maybe a few days late.

I second Loimographia's statement on sending her paper forms. Forever stampscan be your best friend when it comes to this if you have time, or if you figure you are sending a lot send it priority mail and they will get it everything in just about the same time as UPS or Fedex. The last but probably least favorable option for paper based LOR forms is to scan copies or fax copies to recs.

Ask right away or soon. With some applications you don't have to have your app. completely submitted for people to write LOR's. You will be freaking out wondering if programs have received all needed information if you wait too long. With that said most programs are aware people do this process differently and some do give lee way.

We have had a similar discussion about this before, I think on the GRE forum. ETS uses their own calendar similar to an academic calendar, and while the test scores may be 5 years old, they may not be 5 years by their standard. If this makes any sense. Am I reading your post correctly you are worried that when sending your scores both scores will be reported? If this is the case, I would advise not to worry much about this since it has been some time in between your test dates and hopefully you improved.

Madison, WI is one of the most gay friendly cities in the Midwest, possibly the US. As far as nightlife, the city does have a few bars/clubs, more recently trying to cater to a more professional crowd. Prior the city really did only cater to the university for nightlife which I would assume would be hard for anyone out of their mid twenties. Also, for more nightlife Milwaukee and Chicago are really only a few hours away, really for the occasional get away. These cities are connected via Greyhound/ Amtrak. Working conditions for people of the LGBT community are comparable to more progressive areas of the country. If you are somewhat religious you won't have a problem finding a church in Madison as well, given a lot are LGBT friendly.

Clemson,SC is a college town while Columbia, MO is Missouri's fifth largest city, that happens to have a college. Really there is no comparison, given that LGBT communities tend to be larger in more urban areas. The site is good though and I would say take a look at Greenville, SC while looking at Clemson.

Both SC and AZ are conservative states, but truthfully are completely different when it comes to politics. AZ is more libertarian conservative while SC is more bible thumping conservative. Recently there was some assault on a gay student off-campus at Clemson, which goes to show the state is still somewhat narrow-minded. With that said, the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg do have a small gay scene. I think if you live there you won't have much of a problem, but if you decide to live in Clemson proper it may be harder. Atlanta, Asheville, and Charlotte are also just a few hours a way for more nightlife. As far as the Arizona Valley, I would say gay friendly areas include most of central and parts of East Phoenix, as well as Tempe. I would say Mesa or other parts of the SE Valley are not the most gay friendly given the LDS church's influence there. As far as gay nightlife, I don't think Tempe has much of anything, but Phoenix is really only like 20 minutes away and does have quite a bit to offer. Looking at family life, I think people tend to be a little bit more hospitable in the SE part of the US than the SW, but with that said I think if your looking for similar families ASU definitely may be a better option. Comparing just the universities, I would say typically you will find more open-minded people at ASU than Clemson. If you are a member of the LGBT community, working environments are better at ASU than Clemson as well.

Since this thread has been revived some I thought I would comment some. First off, I wanted to comment on Corvallis, OR since I know it was brought up earlier, but no one had commented on it. Oregon as a whole is fairly split on issues, where many parts of the state are liberal(Portland, Corvallis, and parts of Eugene), Eastern Oregon and rural Oregon is fairly conservative. There aren't any gay bars in Corvallis which is somewhat of a shock given the city is definitely progressive, but most places are gay-friendly. I can note on places I have visited in the past. Columbia, MO is probably the most liberal town in the whole state of MO. Even more accepting than KC or St Louis at times, despite Columbia having less LGBT related activities. With that said it is Missouri and while most people won't have a problem, you occasionally will come across some ***hole. Also, as far as Knoxville, TN, the university area definitely is getting more liberal. Last time I was there there were a few gay bars but once you travel some out of Knoxville it really is hit and miss when it comes to overall open-mindedness. Read about the shooting the a few years ago at the unitarian universalist church and you will then be reminded that the city is in TN. Other than that the city is fairly open-minded but I think tourism throughout the region helps that. I know a few friends of mine have informed that Chattanooga and nearby Asheville, NC have growing LGBT populations as well and are becoming a lot more open-minded than they were in the past.

You both are definitely not the only ones. My verbal score/percentile was below the estimated range given to me on test day. My quant score was at the very top of the estimated score so really is was a little easier to swallow though I guess. I don't think ETS will ever figure the whole thing out.

I think as an academic the majority of us are perfectionists, and I do see why you are worrying given that funding is extremely important. The GRE definitely sometimes may be a deciding factor especially for funding at some programs. Given that on the old scale 650Q+/- was pretty much the average for poli sci programs I think you definitely will be on the lower end at some programs and may be okay for some of the others. Obviously, all of us want to be sure of our prospects so really i can't blame you for worrying I actually worry some about my less than stellar V score. I think one thing that helps you though is you do have some grad courses under your belt. As far as ruling some programs out I wouldn't necessarily say you have no chance at programs in the top 25. Some of these programs have cutoffs/averages around the 1200 range. Obviously, you do want to consider both fit and ranking some, because it will be a factor later on when you are applying for jobs.

northstar, I have seen some of the programs you are applying to/interested in, and truthfully while your quant is a little low for some of them I do think you are worrying a little too much. Truthfully, if you look at the concordance tables ETS has published it would put you at 680V 610-620Q which is not really that bad. Especially considering if you look at NRC data for average quant scores for some of the programs you are considering you will realize you are not in a complete horrible position. Now if you only apply to the top programs you have considered, there are other aspects of your application you can focus on.

I think depending on sub-field a recommendation from a different professor may seem like a better option. For instance, if you are going to study theory a philosophy professor would work, if you are focusing on a particular area within comparative politics it is okay to get someone that has experience in the region typically as long as they are in the social sciences or a related humanities field. With that said, a good strong letter from an adjunct outweighs a generic or mediocre one from another professor. If the adjunct is more familiar with your work and interests I would say it wouldn't hurt. You also may want to consider the caliber of programs you are applying to as well and decide that way.

I have actually had both good and bad dreams. Some are very specific. For instance, I have had one where I dream of where I am living, the exact street name and everything and people's names of who I am working with. I actually remembered the street name and googled it later. I think there is some reasoning to these though, given I have previously visited each school/program/city and have looked on program websites way too much. Others are just somewhat general: I will picture myself TA'ing. I will dream that I am working and just will check my email for the thousandth time and see congratulations or something that would make me jump for joy. As far as the bad dreams I have had: There have been some where I contemplate not even applying to certain programs just because of things. I will check app statuses and see rejections. I have had one dream where I will be talking to a POI and pretty much get told I am stupid. Both of the bad dreams are about the same program and it really is somewhat discouraging when you are working on submitting that individual app.

No need to worry about this. Scores will go into a file and you can submit the application later. Same goes for any other admission materials (transcripts, references, etc.) you may need to send a hard copy of.

family guy

While some people will write a completely different SOP for each program they apply to, others will just tailor one SOP for different programs. For the latter, it's good to at least include a paragraph to possibly two on why you want to attend the given program/who you would like to work with if admitted. Also, it's easy to simply write a professor's name down, anyone basically can see a professor's profile on a university website, what you want to do is possible mention a piece that may fit your interests or mention what a program's research group would gain if you were admitted over equal candidates. For a SOP, limited at 300-500 words you can obviously cut a bunch of the personal stuff out and concentrate on your research interests as well as mentioning what professors you would like to work with. Also as far as research interests, you don't want to go into too much detail but want to mention how your research fits overall into the program. This is because interests may change, it happens to everyone, and you risk limiting your chances.

I think this would definitely be a possibility given they are ahead of their original score time lines. I know for me it seems like my predicted verbal score was inflated some.

Ugh... I think I just hurled when I looked at my verbal score. On the lower end or even below my estimated score. At least on the quant. portion I actually was on the top of my estimated range. They did get one thing right. Oh well... who cares I have moved on to other aspects of the application.

If you have an okay graduate gpa, and to a lesser extent if you have an okay undergraduate gpa, you should be okay. Focus now on your SOP.

3.0 typically is a guideline for a lot of programs. You can find some programs on the lower end that simply require a lower gpa (2.5 for example), or another possibility is doing a Masters program and doing well so you can jump up into a better program. With that said, if you were to take the GRE and had other excellent credentials, your gpa is only one factor and some schools will give you some lee-way. Also, most programs are aware that it is a little harder to get a high gpa in the physical sciences than other majors so they don't expect absolute perfection. You do have possibilities.

You should be okay. Have you taken the TOEFL? A good score on the TOEFL can reassure that you are competent in English, even though a 570 on the GRE verbal isn't too bad.

Completely agree with fuzzylogician here. I would also say you can tell your professors that a PhD is your ultimate goal and most should completely understand.

Typically, this depend on the program. Some programs want all materials by the deadlines whereas others make you just submit the application portion of your file before the deadline. Usually committees won't even start looking at apps until the beginning of the year so you may be in luck. Overall, it really never hurts to ask.

All of the programs balderdash is applying to have early to mid December deadlines, so maybe it's not too early. I know personally, I am sending out my December deadline apps out tomorrow and the others next week or so. It just seems so long to wait though.

Most of this that I know of still applies.