Njhasty

All, Now that the application season is nearing the end, I have been contemplating what I must do between now and Fall 13' to prepare for a IR doctoral program. I am taking a year off, working a mundane job for 9 hours each day. I've long since decided to spend almost all my free time studying up, but recently I've decided to only focus on the area in which I am the weakest: quantitative research. I am publishing this post to get feedback from IR students about how I can develop a quantitative background. As an undergrad I took rudimentary statistics and an empirical social science research course. I want to be able to ease into this topic because I am not too comfortable with numbers...

Hi all, What chances do I have of getting into a significant program with funding? I know this depends highly on the program, but I want to get a general idea. Graduated with BA in Poli Sci from a solid public state school Undergrad GPA: 3.78 (major gpa is 3.90) GRE: 159V 146Q 5.5AW Research Experience: two independent research courses about globalization Teaching Experience: undergraduate TA for three different classes Conferences: delegate representative at two undergraduate international foreign policy conferences at U.S. military academies Volunteer: service-learning in Costa Rica and Belize LoRs; one from notable tenured professor, one from young tenure track professor, one from tenured professor who was my academic advisor Special Coursework: IR grad proseminar Research interests: international security, international conflict, foreign policy decision-making- these are very flexible I am very afraid that my low quantitative score will count me out of funding and possibly admission in the first place. I didn't apply to heavily quantitative programs for this reason.

Update- I retested on the GRE today and raised my verbal score from 152 to 159 and quantitative from 141 to 146. Of course I am still waiting on my awa score but i'm expecting that to raise from a 4.5 to hopefully a 5.0 or 5.5. Until I get my official scores in the mail I'll be finishing up my applications and emailing my recommenders. Thanks everyone.

You recent posters have me convinced about Notre Dame. To be honest I am not sure what I want to do in terms of methodology. In my undergrad I took basic statistics and an empirical research class but I am not sure how comfortable I am with numbers. What I mean is I love data analysis but when it comes to performing statistical operations with numbers I feel like a bull in a China shop. On the other hand I am VERY comfortable with qualitative research since for a while in my undergrad I was actually a history major. Plus writing is second nature to me, while using numbers does not quite feel at home.

No, I am applying for doctorate programs. The only MA program i'm applying to is my alta mater and that's just because it doesn't even have a Ph.d program and I would switch to one later.

Really? Because I am thinking even if I improve my GRE scores marginally I will only have a shot a getting into mid-level programs. Honestly I feel too daunted to even consider applying to a really good name brand school like GW or Georgetown. I feel like most well regarded programs simply use the GRE as a method of weeding out applicants and with my scores I won't stand a chance. Besides, with top schools there is a wildcard factor in certain applicants they accept that I just don't think I possess. By the way, below are the schools to which I am applying: George Mason SCAR Iowa State University University of Iowa Texas A & M University of Minnesota University of Denver University of Washington Brandeis Am I off the mark in terms of the schools for which I am applying?

I am applying to political science doctoral programs for the Fall 2013 semester. I want to get some insight into what schools to which I should apply based on my qualifications listed below. Currently I am taking a year off to work and pay off student loans. I still have a few months of time before admissions are due, so I have been working on applications to schools while studying to retest on the GRE. I would much appreciate recommendations and advice. Graduated with BA in Poli Sci from a solid publi state school Undergrad GPA: 3.78 (major gpa is 3.90) GRE: 152V 141Q 4.5AW Research Experience: two independent research courses about globalization Teaching Experience: undergraduate TA for three different classes Conferences: delegate representative at two undergraduate international foreign policy conferences at U.S. military academies Volunteer: service-learning in Costa Rica and Belize LoRs; one from notable tenured professor, one from young tenure track professor, one from tenured professor who was my academic advisor Special Coursework: IR grad proseminar Research interests: international security, international conflict, foreign policy decision-making- these are very flexible Keep in mind I am retesting on the GRE to attain a higher score. I project a score in the 70th to 90th percentile the next time I retest. Thanks!