Profile Evaluation- Not Sure Where to Apply for PhD

[cnw1997]

Hello all,

I am a bit unsure about the type of program I should be going for, but I am interested in comparative. I want to get into a top 30 program but don't know exactly how high I should be applying and my adviser has not been of much help and most of my professors graduated ages ago. Right now I am looking at a Fall 2020 start. I am graduating this year and will be working for a year in between.

Undergraduate Institution: Large R1 State School

Major: Political Science

GPA: 3.9 / 4

GRE: have not taken it yet

LOR: Will have 3 solid LoR from tenured faculty

Research: RA for 3 semesters, wrote a solid senior thesis 

Math: Several stats classes, calc 1 and 2, 1 research methods class, R, STATA

Other: black female minority, generic summer internships, no crazy awards

 

 

[amyvt98]

Hi there - sounds like you'll have a strong application, assuming you get good GRE scores and have a strong personal statement.

If there's one thing I've learned through this process, it's that admissions are unpredictable and appear to be arbitrary at times. I suggest applying to schools in a variety of different tiers (a few Top 10, some 10-30, maybe a few 30-50) and see what happens.

As for specific schools, research fit is going to be the primary determining factor there. Think about what you want to study, then spend a lot of time figuring out which of the programs have faculty with similar research areas by reading faculty bios/CVs on university websites. Your faculty contacts can help identify good matches as well - I got a lot of good advice from my friends who are already in academia.