Should I even bother applying to Harvard for grad school?

[dobiegerl]

It's been a while since I've been on here, apologies if questions like this aren't allowed.

I’m in the process of applying to grad school right now (political science phd programs) and I’m considering applying to Harvard. I know that no matter what I could always apply and if I don’t get in, I don’t get in but I want to be realistic about the schools I’m applying to. I’m limiting myself to six applications (because applications are expensive and if I don’t put a limit I’ll just end up applying to every school that looks like it’s remotely a good fit, plus I don’t want to ask my recommenders to send letters to a dozen schools). I don’t want to waste time and money applying to a school that just isn’t even remotely realistic when I could have applied to another good program that’s more in my league. I’m wondering now, if Harvard should even be a consideration for me. Some background about me:

I went to a top 12 poli sci undergrad school and graduated with a 3.65 and honors
To graduate with honors I had to complete an honors thesis
I have several semesters experience as a ULA (similar role as a TA but undergraduate)
I have strong quantitative skills (several years experience with coding and advanced regression techniques I used in my thesis, I’d like to think teaching myself what ordered logit regression is counts for something)
I have research experience in economics at a dc think tank
I know my three lor will be strong and one of the recommenders teaches at Harvard in their econ department
Some of my weak points:
I had to withdraw from a couple classes in undergrad due to schedule mishaps (my advisor telling me I needed a class when I already had credit for it) and some rearranging (switching one class for another after the add/drop period) I can technically account for these withdrawals but I’m not sure how I would do that without making it seems like it’s a bigger deal than it is and I’m worried two Ws on a transcript won’t look good
I did pretty bad on the gre. I’m not great with standardized tests and even though I took it twice I just couldn’t bring my score up that much.

Anyway, based on this, do you think I should even bother applying to Harvard? If I should, what kind of chance do you think I’d stand on getting in?

Thanks in advance!

[Sigaba]

ICYMI, there's political science forum located at https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/36-political-science-forum/

There, your queries might generate more traction.

[ashwel11]

I'm not in the political science field, so this can be taken with a grain of salt. But I don't think that two explainable W's on your transcript should be a reason for you to not apply. I would think that an acceptance would depend more on your research interests and how well they fit into the program and your LORs (which sound like with be strong - which is great). Your GPA might be a bit on the lower end, but that should matter a lot less with your research experience. Hopefully other political scientists can give you more curated advice. But if you feel drawn to the program - I don't think you're out of the running by any means.