Chances with low undergrad, solid other work?

[IRguy]

Hey all,

So I'm just finalizing my apps and I'm really feeling like I won't make the splash I hope to here. I am applying from an MA in political science to a PhD in the same, IR subfield. I study perception in security studies and political economy. I've done lots of methods work as well as solid coursework on a variety of theory and regional specialties.

The trick for me is that my undergrad GPA was atrocious, 2.75 at a top school, because I was seriously ill for a huge part of my time there. I got better and it shows in my grades, but still. I got into a decently good MA program, where I have a 3.8 and my GREs (the same from my MA apps) is about 1360. Have three great references from professors in grad school and the VP of a major think tank that I've researched with. I also have one undergrad prof who loves me write one reference with some perspective on my illness.

I've got one peer reviewed journal article, a number of book reviews in good journals, an editorial position on a grad student journal and quite a few short articles on security policy topics, including regular contributions at a major foreign policy magazine. And a solid writing sample and sop i think.

My list of schools are: Duke, UNC, UVA, GW, G'town, Penn and Brown.

I'm really honestly a bit worried that I won't have a shot anywhere. Do I have any chances? Do admissions committees actually see past things like that undergrad GPA in the light of other facts?

[Penelope Higgins]

The MA GPA shows me you can do grad-level work. With a good explanation (preferably in one of your letters rather than in your own statement) for the low GPA, I'm willing to look past it. Some of your schools, though, are much more competitive than others. And funding is a really issue at the DC schools, which will be a problem for you since competition across departments for funding at the university level is based on purely numerical things like GPA and GRE scores. If I were you I'd add a couple of lower level schools to this list to feel safer.

[IRguy]

Yea, I definitely hear you about the DC schools' funding. I've been hearing about that. So you believe that the undergraduate GPA is a serious enough component of the application (with respect to my graduate GPA, publications, presumably well-written SOP, etc.) to make me uncompetitive at these schools? Do you have any other schools you'd suggest?

Anyone else?

[Mnemonics2]

I'd be really interested in hearing opinions about this too. I had a fairly low undergraduate (~2.9), focused in a couple of semesters around when my dad died, but my MA gpa is significantly higher, around 3.75.

WIth solid recommendations and a good statement that talks about real research interests and practical research goals for the PhD, what are the chances? I'm looking at some of the same schools, Duke, virginia, penn, etc....

[catchermiscount]

Penelope can speak on this far better than I can. However, personal experience indicates that strong performance in graduate school helps minimize the negative effects of a spotty undergraduate career. My undergraduate GPA was far lower than those mentioned here---I flunked out not once but twice. It's possible. You just have to really convince them that you're ready: apply to schools where you have a strong fit, write a convincing statement, have a strong writing sample, make your overall package "unified" and indicative of thought on the big picture.

[Mnemonics2]

Ok well that sounds doable. As for fit, are we just looking at similar interests to professors, research interests that the department sees as relevant to the course they are taking?

Also, coach, what kind of program did you get in to? Ranking, subfield, large/small, etc...

[IRguy]

Another follow up to this...

I have been writing my SOP, and I feel that it shows a good fit with most of the programs I'm applying to. Like I said, I was distinctly ill for a time in undergrad, skewing my gpa. Should I mention this in my SOP? Obviously it would be a mention, nothing to overshadow the whole point of the statement, but is it good to mention it?

[catchermiscount]

Ok well that sounds doable. As for fit, are we just looking at similar interests to professors, research interests that the department sees as relevant to the course they are taking?

Also, coach, what kind of program did you get in to? Ranking, subfield, large/small, etc...

The program I got into was a reasonably good, mediumish-sized (cohorts of 10-15), Big Ten school ranked in the mid-20s on the US News rankings.

Perfect substantive fit isn't necessarily the goal, and I think people overstate the importance of The Perfect Committee as it relates to the dissertation they think they already have written. Interests will change and questions will evolve, so it's probably better to think about departments' core competencies rather than hair-splitting. The school I got into had existing strengths in American politics and in methods. I am in IR and wanted to do qualitative work at the time. Interestingly, the SoP prompt at that school said "make sure to list your weaknesses." So I told them that I knew nothing about methods (I didn't) but that I was open to learning more about them given the reasonably good training available.

So, by "fit," I think I mean alignment of their strengths and your needs. That requires having a sense of what they perceive their strengths to be. Tricky.

To be honest, I think more than anything I was lucky. Looking back, I have no idea why they accepted me. I asked one member of the committee about it before I left, and she said she pretty much looked at the quantitative GRE score and went from there. YMMV.

[IRguy]

Actually, let me ask a specific question about how to deal with this. I've heard several professors talk about a cover letter or addendum document that can be uploaded and used to briefly explain circumstances for something. As a result, it doesn't take up space or focus in the statement.

Is this a done thing, or would this be looked at as an even worse attempt to rationalize being sick vs. performing poorly during a period?