Target Programs

[jwstay]

Hi everyone, 

 

This is my first post and I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice as to what my target range of programs would be. I don't have a ton of money to use on applications so I don't want to waste any. I know that the process is highly subjective and admissions committees consider fit, SOP, letters and writing sample but If you could just give me an idea of my prospects that would be tremendously helpful. 

 

GPA-3.55 (3.77 since freshman year) from crappy state school

GRE- 161 V 158 Q, don't know my writing score 

Writing sample should be good (African population growth- quant heavy) 

1 great letter, 1 good letter, and one TBD 

SOP should be good 

Worked throughout school, interned at State legislature,  speak portuguese, no publications but I've written a few 30+ page papers 

Research interests- Developing countries, US foreign policy, Terrorism, Conflict 

 

I'm not expecting Harvard or Stanford any of the top 20 for that matter. But tell me what you think. top 50, top 100, 100+, funding or no? 

Specific schools that I would love to hear about are UTexas, UVA, and UC Irvine, UGA

Tell me what you think. 

 

Thanks

[eponine997]

At some point we really should just "pin" one of these threads... or someone needs to make a thread called "before asking 'what are my chances!?!?'"  

 

No one, I repeat, no one on this forum can tell you your chances at any school (other than that you have a non-zero probability) unless they are on the ad com at said school or they read you SoP and letters.  Have a look at the "Profiles/Results" threads from 2013 and 2012.  Here you will see that people with similar GPAs to you got into top 10 programs.  You can look at the results board and see people with GPAs and scores higher than yours who were rejected from middle- to low-ranked programs.   

Different programs weigh these factors (scores, GPA, pedigree, etc.) differently.  Some will look more closely at your final two years rather than your overall GPA (and you'll see on the application where they ask for this), some will look at your major GPA, others will look at grades in relevant courses.  Nearly every school will reject an applicant with perfect scores and grades if they cannot clearly express their research interest or their research interest don't fit well with any of the department's graduate faculty.  

 

As for "top 50? top 100? 100+" there is a thread elsewhere on the forum (non-discipline specific) asking people what their regrets were in the application cycle.  An overwhelming number of people said they wished they'd applied to better schools (or not excluded schools because they thought they couldn't get in) because they got in at place they thought were "a reach."  I know smart people with good scores, resumes, and grades who struck out because they only applied to 5 schools, and similarly, people on this forum who applied to 15ish schools and only got one or two acceptances (though I cannot speak to their intellect, credentials, etc.) and there is no way they could have known ahead of time which those would be.  Sometimes you are paying that $100 application fee so you won't be left wondering 'what if...' later on.

 

Find places you REALLY want to go, and don't apply to any place you wouldn't attend if accepted.  Can the place help you achieve you intended outcome?  Consider what you want: do you want to be a professor at an R1? at a small lib arts college? a junior college?  or work at a think tank? or for the government?  Look at recent placements and see if that is a reasonable expectation at schools to which you are considering applying.  Is there someone there who can supervise your research or whose work really interests you who you could to learn from?  If there isn't, then it's probably not a good place to apply.  

"Funding or not?"  Don't go if you are not funded unless you are independently wealthy.  A 5 year PhD program is a lot of debt, and does not lead to an extremely lucrative career that will facilitate paying back that debt very easily as, say, medical school does.  

 

Good luck

[jwstay]

Thank you for the reply. I'm just having a hard time finding the specific information I'm looking for. As a former prospective law student, the lack of hard and fast admissions data on Political Science grad school is killing me. 

[kameldinho]

I feel your frustration. I spent my entire undergraduate career preparing for an Economics PhD and now I suddenly decided I'll apply to Poli Sci programs as well. There is a wealth of information available online for prospective Econ applicants, but an absolute dearth when it comes to Poli Sci. The most I can say is that being fluent in a foreign language is definitely a plus, especially if you're interested in comparative politics with a regional focus where that language is spoken. Your GPA is a bit on the lower side, but that can be somewhat forgiven if you have taken some hard classes, particularly math/stats/economics. I think a large chunk of Poli Sci admissions is based on SOP, LORs & writing sample - things which we are not privy to here - and as such it will be hard to suitably advise you. It might also explain why it is so hard to get admissions data since such a large part of the admissions process cannot be quantified. Its a sharp contrast to Economics, where your math gpa & GRE quant score determines whether or not your LORs will be read or if they should toss out your application prematurely.

[jwstay]

My GPA is low because I started out as an engineering major and some chemistry classes really hurt me, and compounded by the fact that I was just a poor student. Thankfully my intro to govt. class got me interested in Political Science and my grades improved significantly. I think I'm going to retake the GRE, I know I can get a much better Q score, need to brush up on my geometry. 

 

As for career goals, placement doesn't really concern me. I will be fine anywhere as long as I get to be a Political Scientist. 

Edited September 8, 2013 by jwstay

[kameldinho]

The political science job market is in a dire state, and there doesn't seem to be any signs of improvement in the near future. Especially with congress intent on de-funding higher ed (and poli sci research ... damn you Coburn), combined with the current arms race between colleges trying to build the most luxurious student centers/dorms instead of investing in tenure track positions, adjuncts and VAPs will continue to be the norm. NYU is a top 15 school and last year 5/11 of their placements were post-docs. A post-doc placement from a top 15 Econ program is almost unheard of!

 

Regardless, placement should concern you - I'm sure you don't want an adjunct/VAP/post-doc position after living the past 5-6 years in poverty. Personally, a tenure-track at a R1 is the only job market placement that I would be happy with.

[jwstay]

The political science job market is in a dire state, and there doesn't seem to be any signs of improvement in the near future. Especially with congress intent on de-funding higher ed (and poli sci research ... damn you Coburn), combined with the current arms race between colleges trying to build the most luxurious student centers/dorms instead of investing in tenure track positions, adjuncts and VAPs will continue to be the norm. NYU is a top 15 school and last year 5/11 of their placements were post-docs. A post-doc placement from a top 15 Econ program is almost unheard of!

 

Regardless, placement should concern you - I'm sure you don't want an adjunct/VAP/post-doc position after living the past 5-6 years in poverty. Personally, a tenure-track at a R1 is the only job market placement that I would be happy with.

I would definitely prefer to have a tenure track job, but it would not completely disappoint me if I had to start out doing something else, even outside academia. 

[Thompson]

jwstay: I understand where you are coming from. I'm in your boat as well: I'd rather not spent $1500 or more on the application process alone, not to mention other expenses and opportunity costs involved. Unfortunately, we suffer from certain information asymmetries. We don't know how programs are going to value our applications. For this reason, we need to play the odds. I intend to apply to a broad range of schools - ranging from top-5 to outside the top-30, as a result. You should too.

 

Decisions that impact what departments we end up at will inevitably be some of the most important in our professional lives. Applying to 5 schools or applying to 15 schools is a $1000 decision. I sense that you're still in college, so that seems like a lot of money. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't. Bite the bullet, find the money, and apply to as many schools as you can. The difference between a tenure-track job and one of the other options listed above is worth a whole lot more than $1000.