Does a no-name LAC look bad on Political Science PhD applications?

[DrGonzzo]

I am new here, so I apologize if this topic has been beat to death.

 

 I received my undergraduate degree from a no-name, low ranked LAC because of some issues I had in high school. I accepted this less than ideal situation and tried to do my best while I was there. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.93, and I was the top ranked political science student in my class, not that there was many. I got As in statistics, methods, all my poli sci classes, and I wrote a heavily quantitative departmental honors senior thesis I hope to refine and use as my writing sample. I have been working for the last two years as a Chief of Staff for a state legislator, but my goal since sophomore year has always been to get a PhD and go into academia. I have three professors, not the most famous, who I have gotten to know incredibly well. They pushed me to do a PhD, so I am hoping for three great LORs. As of now, I have a strong idea of what I want to study and how I want to study it. Other than that, I am going to take some online calculus classes to refresh my math skills and, obviously, aim for as high a GRE score as I can possible get. I have already started studying for the GRE with hopes to apply to programs this coming cycle. 

 

I am just wondering if my undergraduate alma mater is going to bar me from acceptance to the top 25 programs?  Beyond that, my current target schools are University of Virginia, Brown, and George Washington which obviously rank outside the top 25. So any advice on how to improve my application?

 

Also, thanks for your patience and congrats to all that are receiving admission letters. You deserve it.

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by DrGonzzo