Grades / GPA question

[beefmaster]

Hi there, probably the most annoying question possible coming your way. 

I was wondering what the collective mind thought of one "bad" grade on a MA transcript? In short, I took a really hard class outside of my focus and got a B+. Was a super interesting learning experience I just wish the grade reflected that. The rest of my grades are A's with a couple of A-. Overall my GPA should stand at about 3.9~ by the end of my program. 

So, will this kill a political science PhD application? I am of course thinking top 10/20

[Imperator Totius Hispaniae]

Absolutely not. Plenty of ppl have gotten into top 10 programs with lower GPA’s than that. The only way it could potentially have a negative impact is if you want to be a quant methodologist or an Americanist and you have a lot of B’s and B+’s in all the math classes you took. Other than that, ur gonna be fine. Most ppl would kill to have a 3.9 gpa 

[beefmaster]

OK thank you for the input. It just seems that things are so competitive that any blemish on ones academic record can see you dinged. Guess I will focus on other aspects of my application.