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I highly doubt doing grad courses over the summer would help your application. Unless you are hoping to get letters of rec from the summer school profs you are probably better off working as an RA, learning a language, or taking math classes.

If one is much more highly ranked than the others then you should go there for the reasons stated above.

This. You are going to learn just as much from your peers as you will from your profs.

I would not recommend contacting in advance unless you already have a connection with them. There have been a couple posts about this from Penelope Higgins (a current Prof) on here.

Most students at admit weekends feel exactly how you are all feeling now. Having gone through the process with no idea with what was going on, here is what I think would be useful to ask now that I am in a grad program: 1. What classes will be offered next year? 2. What classes will you be teaching next year? 3. How have students you advised faired on the job market in recent years (this is very important)? 4. What is your philosophy for the types of courses grad students should be taking in their first couple years (i.e. methods classes vs. seminars, etc.)? There is a surprisingly large amount of variation on this and it will be useful to know where your potential advisers stand. 5. What do you think I should know about your program? What are your strengths and weaknesses compared to other programs? I would also recommend talking to grad students about all of these things. They will often provide a different picture of the department than profs will. I think the best information I received about programs was talking to current grad students.

Financial offers from OSU can take some time. They often nominate students for fellowships with the graduate school which can take another month or so to hear back from.

You will be fine. Just need a solid SOP.

If you have already applied and are working I wouldn't waste any more money taking more courses. I think most programs start from the ground up but do assume a knowledge of Algebra, basic probability, and Calculus. If anything, I would focus on making sure you are solid on the Calculus. After that enjoy your free time.

Agree with Penelope.

yes

You might want to take a look at terminal MA programs at places like Chicago and Columbia. I know they sometimes offer scholarships and can be useful as feeders into other PhD programs. Good luck!

Don't know about schools but check these out for info about the admissions process. 2011-12 cycle thread. (Especially Balderdash's introduction) Profiles and Results, SOPs, and Advice (Fall 2012) Advice from an actual PhD (redux 2) & Admission Committee Notes Nuno Monteiro 'Grad School Admissions' http://www.nunomonte...grad-admissions

try the professonal programs forum. This is mostly for individuals pursuing a PhD in Political Science.

You might want to try the professional programs forum for more advice. However, I would advise you to think hard about what you are going to get out of a masters program. I understand that it sounds nice to have a higher degree in a subject you are interested it. But without any experience and having just discovered political science, I would be cautious of going into debt for a program without being fully aware of the job prospects/kind of work you will likely being doing after completing this degree. My advice: get some work experience or an internship in the field you want to work in. There is nothing wrong with taking a couple years off after finishing your BA to do so. This will not only improve your application but also help you be certain that working in politics, government, or whatever, is the right choice for you.

I wouldn't recommend retaking the GRE unless you think you could significantly improve your scores. I would focus my time on writing a killer SOP. This will be far more important than a slight improvement in GRE scores. That said, I am not in theory and don't know whether the standards differ a bit (maybe for the verbal score?).