Profile Evaluation -- International candidate

[gerwig]

Hello all!

I am an international Political Science student planning to apply for PhD and MA programs for the upcoming application cycle. Also, as a citizen of a country whose currency not doing well at the moment, applying to grad schools will cost A LOT. So before doing that, I just wanted to know what my competitiveness or chances are getting at top universities in the US (UChicago MA, Cornell, UPenn) or Canada (McGill MA). My other option is staying at my current school for an MA degree which also has a good placement record for sending its students to the US for PhD.

So here's my profile:

Type of Institution: In Europe, one of the best in the country
GPA: 3.89 (ranked 2nd in my cohort, 1-2%)
Research experience: I have participated in three research projects as a research assistant.
LoRs: From PoliSci professors, hoping that they will be strong
Conference: attended to one (although undergrad)
Exchange: participated in an exchange program at a top 20 uni
Scholarships: multiple merit scholarships
Subfield: IR
TOEFL: 110 (might retake it as well)

I don't have any publications, and I haven't taken the GRE yet. I know that fitting to a program matters a lot too, but I think that I'm a good fit for the universities I mentioned. So, is it worth a shot?

Thanks in advance!



 

[PolPhil]

Do well on your TOEFL, and you'll probably get intothe MA at McGill with that profile. Do well on the GRE, and you have a good shot at the U Chicago MA. Speaking as someone who has graduated from McGill and who currently attends U Chicago

[gerwig]

On 8/6/2019 at 2:21 PM, PolPhil said:

Do well on your TOEFL, and you'll probably get intothe MA at McGill with that profile. Do well on the GRE, and you have a good shot at the U Chicago MA. Speaking as someone who has graduated from McGill and who currently attends U Chicago

Thank you so much for your response!

One thing that people always warn me about is the size of cohort and I heard that McGill has a class of 25-35 people for its MA program which seems a little bit too much. Was that a problem for you in terms of competitiveness? Also, do you think that it is possible for me get funding from UChicago programs (MAPSS, CIR)? 

[PolPhil]

1 hour ago, gerwig said:

Thank you so much for your response!

One thing that people always warn me about is the size of cohort and I heard that McGill has a class of 25-35 people for its MA program which seems a little bit too much. Was that a problem for you in terms of competitiveness? Also, do you think that it is possible for me get funding from UChicago programs (MAPSS, CIR)? 

25-35 is large, but it's not that large for a major Canadian university (and McGill is top-3). Compare to the University of Toronto, which has an MA cohort of around 40-50 students but the program is still ranked higher than McGill. In fact, the MAPSS cohort at Chicago is way larger--around 250 students, roughly 40-50 of whom do Poli Sci, so you'd be in a smaller program at McGill. Either are good options. If you get into both and the cost is roughly the same, you should be looking at which professors at which schools do work in an area that interests you.

I think you have a good shot at funding at Chicago. As long as you have decent GREs, I would guess you'd get something like 1/3 to 1/2 tuition reduction ($20,000 to $30,000). If you do really well on the GRE and your statement of purpose and other materials are on par, then you would have a chance at a full tuition reduction, or something close to it. I'd say that if you work hard at these things, it would be reasonable to expect a 1/2 tuition reduction. In that case, it would probably be more expensive than McGill (I'm not sure what international tuition at McGill is since I'm Canadian). Even if tuition were similar, the cost of living in Montreal is just a small fraction of the cost of living in Chicago. That being said, Chicago has faculty that are generally more well-known and influential than McGill's faculty, so it would be a tough call. Either way, if you get into either or both, you should be in good shape.

If you have any other questions about the universities, or the cities, let me know and I'd be happy to try to answer.

[gerwig]

8 hours ago, PolPhil said:

25-35 is large, but it's not that large for a major Canadian university (and McGill is top-3). Compare to the University of Toronto, which has an MA cohort of around 40-50 students but the program is still ranked higher than McGill. In fact, the MAPSS cohort at Chicago is way larger--around 250 students, roughly 40-50 of whom do Poli Sci, so you'd be in a smaller program at McGill. Either are good options. If you get into both and the cost is roughly the same, you should be looking at which professors at which schools do work in an area that interests you.

I think you have a good shot at funding at Chicago. As long as you have decent GREs, I would guess you'd get something like 1/3 to 1/2 tuition reduction ($20,000 to $30,000). If you do really well on the GRE and your statement of purpose and other materials are on par, then you would have a chance at a full tuition reduction, or something close to it. I'd say that if you work hard at these things, it would be reasonable to expect a 1/2 tuition reduction. In that case, it would probably be more expensive than McGill (I'm not sure what international tuition at McGill is since I'm Canadian). Even if tuition were similar, the cost of living in Montreal is just a small fraction of the cost of living in Chicago. That being said, Chicago has faculty that are generally more well-known and influential than McGill's faculty, so it would be a tough call. Either way, if you get into either or both, you should be in good shape.

If you have any other questions about the universities, or the cities, let me know and I'd be happy to try to answer.

Without a full tuition reduction, I don't think that it'd be possible for me to go to Chicago. It's just way too expensive. Though fortunately, McGill would still be affordable even for an international student, so you're right in your assumption. But this also makes me think since I don't think that I would get into a top PhD program or Chicago without full tuition reduction (I know there is still a chance) should I really bother with studying GRE? I really want to go to Chicago, its faculty is excellent but in terms of eventually getting into a top PhD program, but I'm assuming McGill would probably more or less perform similarly?

[PolPhil]

17 hours ago, gerwig said:

Without a full tuition reduction, I don't think that it'd be possible for me to go to Chicago. It's just way too expensive. Though fortunately, McGill would still be affordable even for an international student, so you're right in your assumption. But this also makes me think since I don't think that I would get into a top PhD program or Chicago without full tuition reduction (I know there is still a chance) should I really bother with studying GRE? I really want to go to Chicago, its faculty is excellent but in terms of eventually getting into a top PhD program, but I'm assuming McGill would probably more or less perform similarly?

I'd advise that you do the GRE to keep your options open. It's a small cost that could benefit you greatly. Without it, you'd also be putting a lot of faith into getting into McGill. I think you will, but it's never guaranteed. Chicago would be better for getting into PhD programs for pretty much any field in Poli Sci, though McGill would certainly not hurt. 

You should also keep in mind that McGill offers no tuition reductions or scholarships. Therefore, since the program at McGill costs just under $30,000 CAD for fall, winter and summer tuition, it's roughly equivalent to a 50% tuition reduction at U Chicago. Of course, this doesn't account for the difference in cost of living, so to be safe, you could say that a 70% or greater tuition reduction at Chicago would be roughly equivalent or better, financially, than McGill, as well as offering better academic opportunities.