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Posted

Hey guys, I am a junior in college now (double-major in Economics and Sociology), and I plan to pursue a PhD in Sociology right after college. I have already taken the GRE, and I got V: 160, Q: 170 and AW: 4.5. I still have a lot of time to retake the GRE if I need to, and I really want to get into a top 10 PhD program with full financial support. My GPA is 3.70 as of now. Do you think my GRE score is competitive enough for a top 10 program? Should I retake the GRE in my senior year? Thank you so much in advance!

Posted

That's a terrible GRE.  How do you even show your face? :P

 

In all seriousness, GRE and GPA seem to be used mostly to disqualify students.  Your scores are high enough to avoid that cut in the application process.

 

The real question is: do you have any research experience, conference experience, or publications in the works?  Will you be able to get fantastic references?  Do you think you'll be able to write a strong SOP that clearly defines your goals?

I've found those things to be more important factors on whether you get accepted or not. 

 

I must also mention fit.  If your research goals don't fit in with the research goals of the program, they are very unlikely to accept you. 

Posted

That's a terrible GRE.  How do you even show your face? :P

 

In all seriousness, GRE and GPA seem to be used mostly to disqualify students.  Your scores are high enough to avoid that cut in the application process.

 

The real question is: do you have any research experience, conference experience, or publications in the works?  Will you be able to get fantastic references?  Do you think you'll be able to write a strong SOP that clearly defines your goals?

I've found those things to be more important factors on whether you get accepted or not. 

 

I must also mention fit.  If your research goals don't fit in with the research goals of the program, they are very unlikely to accept you.

Thank you so much! Speaking of strong references, is it very important to get recommendations from professors who graduate from prestigious programs? How about professors who graduate from the programs that I am applying to?

Posted

Hey guys, I am a junior in college now (double-major in Economics and Sociology), and I plan to pursue a PhD in Sociology right after college. I have already taken the GRE, and I got V: 160, Q: 170 and AW: 4.5. I still have a lot of time to retake the GRE if I need to, and I really want to get into a top 10 PhD program with full financial support. My GPA is 3.70 as of now. Do you think my GRE score is competitive enough for a top 10 program? Should I retake the GRE in my senior year? Thank you so much in advance!

Amazing! I've never met anyone with my same double major :)

I have no other comments, sorry. Good luck!

Posted

Amazing! I've never met anyone with my same double major :)

I have no other comments, sorry. Good luck!

 

We have the same double majors? I have never heard of anyone else who has the same majors, even though I think they share a lot in common! Hand shake  :) Are you in grad school now? For Sociology or Economics?

Posted

Thank you so much! Speaking of strong references, is it very important to get recommendations from professors who graduate from prestigious programs? How about professors who graduate from the programs that I am applying to?

From what I've seen, it seems to be more beneficially to choose professors who know you the best and who can speak about your talents.  I hear it is beneficially to choose professors who graduated from the program you're applying to, BUT you want to make sure that 1) they know you well enough to write about your strengths and 2) the school they graduated from likes them and/or they still have connections with the department. 

 

As for prestige, the argument goes back and forth on whether that's helpful or not.  But 1 and 2 still apply. 

Posted

From what I've seen, it seems to be more beneficially to choose professors who know you the best and who can speak about your talents.  I hear it is beneficially to choose professors who graduated from the program you're applying to, BUT you want to make sure that 1) they know you well enough to write about your strengths and 2) the school they graduated from likes them and/or they still have connections with the department. 

 

As for prestige, the argument goes back and forth on whether that's helpful or not.  But 1 and 2 still apply. 

 

Thank you so much! This definitely makes a lot of sense! Most programs ask for three recommendation letter, including two from professors in the major. For the third letter, is it better to be from a professor of another major, or from the employer of my internship? Since I am applying to PhD programs, is it better to have three letters all written by professors in my major?

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