jjiffy Posted September 18, 2020 Posted September 18, 2020 Hi everybody! I am currently in my last year of undergrad and new to the forums. I'm putting together my application materials and I'd like some input on what schools are reasonably in range for me. Thanks in advance! Undergrad Institution: Mid-size private 50ish. Well-ish ranked PoliSci program, top-10 international affairs school. Major/Minor: International Affairs (focused on PSC classes)/History GPA: 3.7 total and major. GRE: 168/160/Pending. First attempt was 166/159/4.5. Special Courses: Research Methods, Junior/Senior research seminar, 2 year research fellowship cohort junior/senior year. Lots of seminars. Independent study of graduate theories of international relations supervised by well known professor. LORs: Will get a very strong letter from my fellowship project advisor who is one of the top/most respected profs in the field, a strong letter from adjunct my research seminar advisor who is not well known, and a letter from my independent study prof who also taught me in another course. I'm not sure if the last one will be outstanding. Writing sample: Unsure what to submit. Will likely rework my research seminar final paper from junior year. My main funded project will not be ready and is not what I want to focus on in grad school. Research experience: 2 year research fellowship cohort - working on the final paper. Have won $5,000 grant to work on it over the summer and throughout the remainder of the year. Research seminar in spring of junior year. The final paper will be submitted for review by the time of applications. I was slated to give a presentation for that paper at our undergrad research fair but it was cancelled due to COVID. Other: My biggest concern is my lack of quant skills. My undergrad research has all been qualitative and I got a C+ sophomore year in my only stats class. I did receive an A in my IA research methods class however. I want to do a PhD in international relations with a focus on international security and conflict. My current list includes UChicago, Stanford, UCSD, Berkeley, Ohio State, MIT, Georgetown, and Duke. Are these within reach? Are there others I should be applying to? Thanks!
PoliSciGuy00 Posted September 18, 2020 Posted September 18, 2020 I think those schools are within reach. I might suggest you re-take the GRE one more time to see if you can increase your quant score a bit, although a 160 certainly won't get you rejected at any of those schools, I don't think. Then again, if you only have limited time to prepare apps, I'd say work on your writing sample and your personal statement. I don't think a 160-> 162/3 will make a huge difference, whereas a polished writing sample is very important. I'll plug for my own school here and suggest you apply to Minnesota if you are comfortable with the cold. ? sloth_girl 1
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