Rochester, Penn State, Wisconsin-Madison and other Quantitative focused Sociology and Political Science Phd Programs

[quant_social science]

 Profile

PLEASE GIVE ME HONEST TAKES

 

• Undergrad: BA Econ, Turkey :GPA 3.2/4.0 — tough grading; top local school.

• Math/Quant: Calculus (multivariable and single), linear algebra, probability, stats, and econometrics (no time series though), plus a machine-learning elective. Advanced Macroeconomics (growth theory; endogenous growth models, and building upon that, focusing mostly on Ramsey-Cass-Koopman. We used Barro's textbook ) and Differential Equations, a proof-based discrete math course (introductory stuff).  

• GRE: 164 Q / 135 V / NS (will retake; hoping for 166-167 Q, and gonna do the writing and verbal this time).

• Next stop: got admitted to MSc Econ at a Russell-Group uni in the UK (starts Sept). Coursework: time-series, microeconometrics, data analysis ( half the coursework is on econometrics and data analysis), etc. Planning a thesis on political economy/ industrial policy using econometric methods, heavily empirical.

 

Target Programs (quant/pol-methods heavy):

Michigan, UCSD, Rochester, WashU-StL, Penn State, plus a few “safer” bets like UNC, Ohio State, Iowa, Rice. Maybe LSE Methodology (or Manchester, Sheffield) if I stay in the UK.

 

Questions

 

1. Realistic shot at the Rochester or LSE?

2. With a Distinction in the MSc + 166 Q GRE, what do you folks think my chances look like at Wisconsin-Madison / WashU / Penn State?

3. Any other quant-friendly poli-sci or social-stats PhDs I should add that won’t murder me on acceptance rates?

Edited July 26, 2025 by quant_social science
forgot to add some courses i took

[A Dalek]

I can't really give you odds since it depends on what the rest of the applicant pools looks like.

I'd swap out Iowa for Texas A&M, UT Austin, Notre Dame or another similar program. Iowa has some good people, but they're on somewhat of a decline due to budget issues. They've hired some new junior folks but it'll be a bit before they're at the advising stage.

[Senochka]

Hey there,

Most US schools have grade inflation, so extremely rare CGPAs like 3.7+ - esp. in tough subjects like economics - are quite common in the U.S. So, make sure that one of your recommenders is from your undergraduate institution, and make sure that they attest to the sheer rarity of such a GPA in a subject like econ. in Turkey, in their letter. It would serve you best if this person taught you 2+ courses, was your academic advisor, or thesis advisor if you wrote a BA thesis. Top econ. programs in Turkey take in the top 1-3% of over two million students taking the national entrance exam in what is called the "EA" category in Turkey. If you ranked anywhere near that, mention it in your CV or SoP. It will shine a different light on your GPA. Despite the harsher grading in TUR though, there are some barriers a 3.2 GPA cannot jump over as some state schools have application cutoffs between 3.0 and 3.5 (Uni. of California system, UT Austin, Maryland, UIUC are a few that comes to my mind.) So it is imperative that your master's GPA is higher than 3.5, and is ideal if it is over 3.7. 1-year master's programs are fast, and it is hard to build solid relationships with faculty in that time. But two of your LoRs will come from them (one from your thesis or capstone project advisor and one from another prof.) Make sure to build and maintain good relationships with them without being suffocating. 

As per your GRE scores, your quant score is good as is, but regardless of how quantitative-leaning a political science or econ. PhD program is, a verbal of 137 is unacceptable. At the level of schools your are mentioning, anything below a 155 is a huge red flag, but in order for you to be considered seriously, you should aim for at least 159. The truth is, anything below a 149-152 does not hold even in good engineering programs, and despite the departments' methodological preferences, political science and economics are still social science disciplines, and hence, they still require excellent English comprehension and writing skills. Memorize as many GRE words as you can, as the vocab. questions are the lowest-hanging fruits in the entire test. Buy a year-long Khan Academy subscription or couple Princeton Review/Kaplan prep. books and focus on question types. Start doing a timed AW exercise once a week three months before your exam. 

One last thing I want to say, or one notion that I see recurrently in especially international students' posts; DO NOT assume you have "safe" or even "safer" bets. This is PhD territory, so even the schools with quite modest entrance requirements at undergrad level become BRUTAL. No T30 has an acceptance rate over 8%, and only a few in the T50 have a rate over 12%. This is especially true for OSU (it's a top 25 program.), but still holds true for Rice and UNC, among the ones you mentioned. That said, your GRE quantitative strength is promising, and if you can bring your verbal score on par, and complete your master's degree successfully - which I'm sure you will - you will have the odds on your side.

Best of luck!

 

[anonymousname]

I would place good money on getting into Rochester.