Profile evaluation request. What programs are feasible?

[StarkDark1]

Undergrad GPA: 3.98.  Honors program, specialization in comparative politics.  Uni is #70 - #80 in US.

MA GPA: 3.95.  Small cultural studies program.  Uni is #6 - #10 in Canada.  Decent but little name recognition in US.

GRE: 165 verbal, 155 quantitative, 5.0 writing.

Writing sample: Decent I guess.  Well-written but probably not as original or innovative as I'd like.  A paper on Nietzsche.

LORs: Decent.  I never became very close with them, but they appreciate my work.  Not stellar or highly individualized, but they will be good recs.

Research experience: Honors thesis for my BA and an MA thesis.  No published papers or conferences (this is probably the big downside of my application)

I want to do my PhD in political theory.  Right now my list includes Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Boston University, University of Washington, and University of Colorado Boulder.  Are these within reach? Also what are some examples of programs that you'd say are within range?  

Edited July 27, 2020 by StarkDark1

[Theory007]

I think you would have a chance at almost any program you would apply to. If you could increase your quantitative score on your GRE that would help even if we all agree this is less important for theory, which is the subfield I assume you are interested in. Based on your list of universities, I assume you are interested in Continental Though. And yes those programs are all within reach. You will almost certainly get into Boulder, which has scholars on contemporary gender mainly so if that is your thing that might be a good place for you. If you are not super interested in gender I really don't think political theory at CU Boulder has anything to offer. You might add UCLA to the list. I would also apply to 2-3 top programs since you will have an at least decent chance of getting in.

One thing to keep in mind is that a writing sample on Nietzsche may make it look as if you are more interested in philosophy than political theory. If you are interested in continental thought broadly, and not contemporary work on race, gender, power, I think more mainstream programs would suit you better than at least some of those you have listed.

[Artifex_Archer]

On 7/27/2020 at 3:12 AM, StarkDark1 said:

Undergrad GPA: 3.98.  Honors program, specialization in comparative politics.  Uni is #70 - #80 in US.

MA GPA: 3.95.  Small cultural studies program.  Uni is #6 - #10 in Canada.  Decent but little name recognition in US.

GRE: 165 verbal, 155 quantitative, 5.0 writing.

Writing sample: Decent I guess.  Well-written but probably not as original or innovative as I'd like.  A paper on Nietzsche.

LORs: Decent.  I never became very close with them, but they appreciate my work.  Not stellar or highly individualized, but they will be good recs.

Research experience: Honors thesis for my BA and an MA thesis.  No published papers or conferences (this is probably the big downside of my application)

I want to do my PhD in political theory.  Right now my list includes Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Boston University, University of Washington, and University of Colorado Boulder.  Are these within reach? Also what are some examples of programs that you'd say are within range?  

Schools: Those are all within reach, and I agree with @Theory007 that you should consider UCLA, given what I recall your interests being. Brown might also be a contender. A lesser-known program that actually sounds like quite a good fit for you is UCSD. Unless I'm confusing them with another four-letter acronym university in California [there are several...], they've got a very strong social theory program sandwiched between their philosophy and polisci departments.  

GRE: It's a slog, but I strongly suggest getting both your V and your Q up. The GRE is learnable—and even lovable. It's also hotly debated whether it matters at all, especially this year. I belong to the 'it matters and it's worthwhile' camp. 

LoRs: Probably matter more than I initially thought. A lot of people underestimate the importance of rec letters; I think it's easy to do because it's not something that feels as directly manipulable as an SoP, GRE, or what have you. Is there any way to reach out to your writers and provide them a bit of additional information, especially any current accomplishments, that would help them to individualize and strengthen the case they make on your behalf? Have they indicated that their recommendation will be 'very strong,' or simply 'good'? The two major factors to consider when finding letter writers are strength of the letter [often, a function of the nature of your relationship to the writer], and the clout of the writer themselves. If, by finding a different writer, you can dial up one of these factors without turning off the other completely, it might be worthwhile to consider switching out a letter. Also, I'm not sure whether this made any difference or not, but even for those schools that accepted letters from Interfolio, I always felt better when my writers uploaded their letters directly onto the school's portal. 

POIs: If, hypothetically, you've applied to one of those schools on your list before... it's a very good idea to keep in contact with your POIs there, as well as to write to POIs at your other target institutions soon. This advice is more valuable—or at least it was in my case—than it seems at first blush [disclaimer: yes, some people will say that you shouldn't write to profs; and no, you shouldn't always expect to hear back if you do write, especially now]. It doesn't have to be a daunting task, either: last cycle I put together a basic template that I used to make initial contact with faculty members, and of course I tweaked it quite a bit depending on the particular professor/school. Sort of like... grad application ad libs? Ugh. Anyway. I'm always happy to circulate that for use as a general guidepost [with the obvious caveat that it will sound infinitely better when put in your own words]. 

To make your application stand out, I would focus very strongly on tailoring your SoP to each school, developing a rapport with faculty members if possible, and leaving no stone unturned when it comes to any 'optional' materials like diversity or cluster statements. [Yay, the Northwestern Cluster Statement: long may it reign.] 

Sending lots of good thoughts your way this cycle. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Artifex_Archer

[central dogma]

For theory, you might want to consider Michigan State as well. They have a strong theory department and also an undergraduate honors college which has a ton of theory professors from different backgrounds.