Chances (comparative): Are top 10 schools too ambitious?

[sinni]

Hello,

I am sorry to be yet another annoying newbie on this site pestering members about chances.  However, I've been out of school for a few years and I am wondering if I am being unrealistic about my prospects. For personal and financial reasons I do not plan to apply to any programs not in the top 10-15, and I am wondering if it is worth to spend the money for the cycle if my chances are completely slim.  If anyone in comparative has experience with the last cycle or two, please share your opinion. If you can suggest ways to improve for next year please let me know. I feel that my main issue with working full time and travelling a lot is not having direct constant exposure to research in the field.  I am not sure how to fix that.

Programs of Interest: Comparative Programs (with Eurasia regional focus/research faculty)

Type of Undergrad Institution: Large Private East Coast Research University
Major(s)/Minor(s): Economics/IR double major —Undergraduate Thesis
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (cum laude)

MA: Ivy League Regional Studies MA (2 years)/No GPA calculated but decent grades – Graduate Thesis

GRE: V: 160, Q: 160, W: 5.5 (have been studying to improve, will retake in a month)
Any Special Courses:

·         Math (2 semesters of Calculus, statistics, econometrics)—planning to take linear algebra in the fall (was not mandatory in undergrad). Will try to take game theory too. 

·         Advanced Comparative Politics and History Courses both from undergrad (4) and grad (8).

Languages: 2 Regionally relevant languages (at full fluency)

Teaching: Teaching fellow for 4 semesters as MA student.  Was a TA for courses in Political Science (comparative) and Economic History. (excellent reviews from proffs and students)

Letters of Recommendation: I think should be good? BA thesis Advisor ( Tenured History/IR proff),  one MA Poli Sci Proff (tenured at top 5 department), MA thesis advisor (who is no longer in academia).
Research Experience: 

·         Besides BA and MA thesis mostly archival research from undergraduate.  Unfortunately no published papers in field of interest.

·         One summer research experience after graduate school cleaning and organizing data for a university political research lab.

·         Political Think tank research experience.

·         Couple of book reviews in academic journals.

Other: Currently work in international development non-profit (3 years), same regional focus as research interest.

SoP: Struggling to articulate a single focus, but am drawing on international development experience and MA research. 

Thank you in advance for any insight.

[uncle_socks]

Everything in your profile looks quite good, though getting a couple more points on each GRE section could be helpful. I'm sure that those will bring you beyond the first cut of prospective applicants. Beyond that, things are probably going to fall onto the quality of your letters and your SoP, which I can't really judge for you. 

[sinni]

Thanks for your input! I am also wondering how many schools I should apply to, as applications are quite expensive.  I am currently thinking 5, and trying again next year if it does not work out.

[uncle_socks]

I recommend as many as possible (that are a good fit, of course) if you're unsure about where you stand. Plenty of people apply to 10+. Most schools offer application fee waivers if it's a financial hardship. 

[sinni]

Thanks for letting me know.  Do you happen to know if any schools have a more quantitative bent in the top 10 vs others?

[Imperator Totius Hispaniae]

From my research, pretty much all of the departments in the top 10 have a very strong quant bent.  Since quant methods are considered the cutting edge of political science, and the top 10 I'm sure try to compete with each other on who can produce the most cutting edge research, I would argue most departments in the top 10 are heavy on the quant methods.  The CHYMPS schools probably have the best quant training methods though and would have a more quantitative bent.  How much more, that's not for me to say because I am not in any of those programs.  

[uncle_socks]

Of the top 10/near top 10, I'd consider that general ranking correlates highly with how strong the quant offerings are at a given department. Notably more quanty than meets the eye: NYU (check out their FAQ with their "if you're reading this soon enough, please take calc" section) and Stanford (relatively weaker at political theory than other top programs, and many dropouts and graduates go onto heavily technical roles). Notably less: Yale, Chicago (both historically schismed depts where the quants did not win), MIT (less dramatically schismed, but also not the math powerhouse that one may expect when one thinks about MIT the school). 

[Dwar]

On 8/13/2019 at 9:59 AM, sinni said:

Thanks for your input! I am also wondering how many schools I should apply to, as applications are quite expensive.  I am currently thinking 5, and trying again next year if it does not work out.

I would recommend applying to around 5 schools, assuming that you can find great fit with them. I would also advise you to maybe expand your search perimeters to the top 30 or so? Often times those schools have similar placements and great professors. 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Dwar
typo

[Mixedmethodsisa4letterword]

On 8/18/2019 at 12:15 AM, BunniesInSpace said:

Of the top 10/near top 10, I'd consider that general ranking correlates highly with how strong the quant offerings are at a given department. Notably more quanty than meets the eye: NYU (check out their FAQ with their "if you're reading this soon enough, please take calc" section) and Stanford (relatively weaker at political theory than other top programs, and many dropouts and graduates go onto heavily technical roles). Notably less: Yale, Chicago (both historically schismed depts where the quants did not win), MIT (less dramatically schismed, but also not the math powerhouse that one may expect when one thinks about MIT the school). 

Just wanna add that Harvard can be very quant but they are very friendly to applicants doing qual work in CP.

Chicago imo actually is fairly quant altho in a different way (formal) with people like EBdM and Luo&Gehlbach&Stokes joining the department. Other faculties in CP like Albertus are also quite quant. 

[sinni]

Thank you all for your input.  I am not applying to beyond the top 15 because I am not very wealthy, and not particularly young anymore, and I feel that my job prospects will be rather dire if I do not attend a top program. If it does not work out, then I am going to try doing something else with my life.