Which of these schools would you choose?

[RafJacob]

Hi,

I'm completing an MA in Political Science this year from the University of Quebec (I'm a Canadian citizen) and will be applying for PhD programs in a few U.S. universities. Given the amount of time and money each application requires, there are only so many schools I can apply to. I have narrowed it down to about 10-12 programs that interest me, based on a host of different factors.

To provide you with a brief background, I had an 3.5 GPA as an undergrad and currently hold a 3.8 GPA as a graduate student (I'm fairly confident I will be at 3.9 by the time I send in my applications). I have relevant work experience (e.g. research fellow in a research chair, policy analyst in a public policy think tank) and expect to have three strong letters of recommendation. I'm taking the TOEFL and the GRE later this month, so I don't have the results for either yet.

Which program(s) from the following list do you think present me with the best odds of both being accepted and getting funding?

*Washington University in St. Louis

*UMass - Amherst

*Johns Hopkins University

*Binghamton University (NY)

*American University

*George Mason University

*Virginia Tech

*University of Virginia

*Florida State University

*University of Kentucky

*University of Cincinnati

*University of Illinois - Champaign

Informed feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Raf

[balderdash]

Sorry, but it's entirely dependent on your research interests. If you're a post-structuralist African knowledge systems theorist, I'm guessing George Mason isn't for you.

If you're approaching the admissions process from a numbers perspective, I would recommend switching to a "fit"-based set of applications.

[Aunuwyn]

If you want to be in Academia, American shouldn't be considered. Depending on your field choices, and interests, I could suggest a proper order of schools from those.

[Adornopolisci2012]

To my knowledge, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati only run M.A. programs currently. Your GPA looks good, my guess is you'll be fine as far as funding goes if you get into some of those places. It does seem like an eclectic mix though; care to share research interests? I'm sure folks on here would be in a position to better advise you if they knew a little more about your "fit" at a particular place.