Good enough for the top?

[nimitz]

Hey all,

So I'm a senior undergrad, poli sci major at UCLA. I just took the GRE in Sept and got my scores back. Got a 165 (96%) in Verbal, 155 (69%) in Quant, and got a 5.5 on the AWA (96%). I think these are pretty darn good scores, but then again, i don't know how the grad schools will look at this. I'm looking towards getting into a MA program in poli sci, preferably something like Johns Hopkins' SAIS program. I have a 3.38 GPA (got railed in my last qtr by two terrible teachers, got all As and Bs before that qtr), but should be raising it to a flat 3.4 by the end of this Fall qtr.

In regards to other, non-numbers stuff, I have interned at a major government consulting firm for two summers and can get very solid letters from people high in the executive ranks. In high school I also interned for my local chamber of commerce, and during college I've done a few philanthropies here and there with my fraternity on a consistent basis, as well as during my consulting internships. I am sadly lacking in strong faculty letters, a lot of the faculty I knew have left the campus (visiting professors) or retired (have been going for 4 years, just my luck).

tl;dr Is my GRE ok for top tier colleges, and will my GPA and faculty letters hold me back?

[converse3]

I would wait a year or two before applying, atleast for SAIS. You've got some strong GRE stats. I'd be concerned because the GRE isn't everything and your GPA (especially coming straight out of undergrad) and work experience tend to be as important, if not more important than the GRE for SAIS. Or atleast that's what one of the admissions officers from SAIS told me. Your GPA (3.38) is competitive and you had a few internships here and there is as well, but without more extensive work experience you may get passed over. They tend to expect more in terms of GPA/GRE/ internships from kids straight out of undergrad than people who have been out for awhile.

Edited November 8, 2011 by converse3