Low undergraduate GPA/ Very high Grad GPA - PhD Political Science/ International Relations chances in top schools?

[Shadowscholar123]

Hi guys,

 

First of all, my apologies to you if you are getting annoyed seeing yet another "what are my chances" thread. Honestly, I'm the kind of guy who would rather do all his research on previous posts on this forum and elsewhere before even considering writing such a post; however, I think I have an interesting situation and have been struggling to get an appropriate  answer ( I know, I know,, there is nothing called an "appropriate" answer.. but anything at this point would help!) about prospective admissions to top schools. 

 

I am thinking of applying to top Graduate schools in Political Science and International Relations in the US (Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Fletcher, etc) and the UK (Oxford, LSE, Cambridge, etc.) to start studies for the 2016 Fall session. Ideally, I would want to apply for a strong Masters degree (MPhil/MIA/ Msc/MALD) and then pursue a PhD from a top school, but I could also apply directly for a PhD (just not sure of chances and funding). The following are my stats: 

 

Undergraduate GPA: 3.01/4.00  majoring in Political Science and Economics 

Undergraduate institution: University of Toronto

Note: The combined GPA for my courses purely in Political Science were a 3.7. Its mostly because of two Ds in two Economics courses (one taken when I was working full time in the summer) along with some low 1st year courses that my overall GPA went down. Also, the grades for my higher level courses were mostly As (all in Political Science) and two B+ in Econ courses.

Offered the opportunity to write a Bachelors level thesis paper and received an A.

 

Masters GPA: 3.99/4.00 (Top of Graduating Class) in Political Science with a strong emphasis on International Relations 

Graduate Institution: University of Waterloo

 

GRE: Bombed the first time I gave it (scores are much horrible than you can anticipate!  ) but will give it again a couple of times for the coming year as I have quite some time before applying.

 

Work Experience (all Full Time):

1. Interned for half a year at the Canadian Consulate in Shanghai as a Junior Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Service Officer,

2. Worked for the Government of Alberta as an International Relations Officer (1 year), Policy Analyst for the Immigration Policy Department and the Department of Energy (2 years) 

3. Also worked as a TA in my Masters program, and an RA for the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

 

Undergraduate Extracurricular Record (assuming its somewhat relevant): Won awards in over 6 Model UN competitions held in the US and Canada (including at Harvard). Also awarded the "Ontario Volunteer Service Award".

 

Publications: Published a paper on Conflict Resolution in Africa for a Canadian think-tank and wrote newspaper articles on International Relations for a major newspaper in India

 

Languages: Fluent in English, Hindi and two other South Asian languages; Conversational in Mandarin Chinese (Reading - basic) and French.

 

I know that getting into the US will depend a lot on how well I do on the GREs, but I wanted to know what my chances of admission are in the UK for Oxford, LSE and Cambridge. I am very interested in the MPhil/PhD International Relations stream and wanted to know if my weak cumulative undergraduate GPA would destroy my chances of getting admission into a top ranked UK college accompanied with a strong scholarship. I researched the Clarendon Fund scholarship at Oxford and the eligibility criteria states that "an outstanding academic record at Master's level is necessary (noting that an outstanding Master’s degree can compensate for a moderate first degree performance)"; however, with the increasing competition for such MPhil/PhD spots ( including in the US), I am not sure how competitive my application would be given my weaker undergraduate GPA despite a strong performance in my Masters courses. Will any amount of work experience or publication suffice? If anyone could give me a hand with my situation, it would mean the world to me!

Edited December 22, 2014 by Shadowscholar123

[Karoku_valentine]

I would recommend you applying to IRPS at UCSD. They have a Poli Sci/Intl Relations program and highly value people with international experience.

[victorydance]

I think you have a good application. Obviously a 3.0 isn't great but you have gone back and proven you can succeed in a graduate level setting despite Waterloo not having the most extensive reputation. There are a lot more important things than GPA. 

 

The publication doesn't really matter. Publishing something with a think tank is better than nothing, but it's not an academic publication. But you have RA and professional experience which is good.

 

Just nail the GREs and apply broadly and you should be fine. 

[bsharpe269]

I am in a completely different field but have a very similar profile. My uGPA was 3.275 and my science GPA was only 3.0 (which includes the classes relevent to my PhD field). I am currently working on my MS with a 4.0 GPA, top of the class, amazing LORs. I put a lot of time into my SOP and think it is very strong. I also used Magoosh for about 4 months to study for the GRE and I totally recommend it. My scores after studying were 162V (89%), 168Q (95%) which helps I'm sure.

 

I am currently going through the application process for biophysics PhD programs and have already been offered 2 interviews at top schools in my field. Most of my programs send interview invites in January so hopefully I will end up with a at least a few more. Even though I'm in a different field, I thought it might help to see someone with similar stats doing well currently in the application process. good luck!

[Shadowscholar123]

Sorry for the super late response guys; I've been MIA due to a number of personal reasons.

 

Thanks a lot for your positive responses! I am really looking forward to applying to Ivy league schools and top UK schools and my uGPA had been giving me nightmares. I will be retaking the GRE this summer and have signed up for Magoosh as well; I will be aiming for 90s and keep my fingers crossed.

 

I was also wondering how much of an impact does a bad undergraduate GPA have on scholarships?

[Kleene]

Have you explicitly asked the UK universities whether you would be admissible? Oxford, for instance, requires a GPA of 3.7, and UK schools are not known for their leniency with GPA requirements. I suspect the fact that you will be applying for a masters with a decent masters, may make up for that, but if I were you I would want to have this confirmed.

 

In Oxford undergrad GPA is taken into account for funding. (To the extent that to increase my chances of funding I had to submit a proof of me coming first in every year of undergrad, on top of doing very well in an Oxford masters at the moment.) Usually, more people are admitted than they can fund and funding is given out based on a ranking of the candidates. Also, being an international student hurts your chances because research councils and such only fund UK or EU students (the latter partially). I don't think the Clarendon is within reach for us mortal souls, but maybe some departmental funding is.

 

Overall, I do think you will have a much better shot at top US schools than at top UK universities, simply because grades matter a lot more in the UK. I wish you the very best in your applications!

[Shadowscholar123]

I did email Oxford admissions and explained my situation to them including the fact that despite my low overall uGPA, my GPA in my major Poli Sci purely were a 3.7 on top of a Grad gpa of 3.99.  However, their response was rather vague as in "we take both undergraduate and graduate GPAs into consideration" nothing else. That wasn't helpful in terms of my admissions prospect and what brought me to Gradcafe.

 

I did talk with one of my professors back at undergrad who gave me assurance about my prospects despite a low uGPA; of course, he didn't mention anything about funding.

 

In terms of choices, I am definitely aiming for the US as top priority over the UK. And Yes, I was thinking of applying to the MPhil programs in the UK.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Shadowscholar123

[Kleene]

It is hard if not impossible to say anything about your chances. Your uGPA is below what would be admissible, you major GPA just about admissible, but then again you did really well in your masters. This may very well give you a shot at masters in Oxford. You will never know if you don't give it a try. Do you need funding for a masters? I am asking because masters funding is even more scarce than PhD funding.

[Shadowscholar123]

Thanks for your comments Mocha, Yes I would be looking for funding for my Masters. Again my priority focus are schools in the US over the UK, but I do like the MPhil programs that they have in the UK and would have loved to prove myself through them if I had a properly funded opportunity. Hehe.. but yeah I will definitely try for top UK schools and will keep fingers crossed.

[Crucial BBQ]

Off topic:  I find it humorous when responders refer to posters by their coffee style instead of their screen name.  I have seen this done a few times in various threads...

[Shadowscholar123]

lol.. I can't believe I didn't see that. Thanks Macc...Crucial BBQ Sorry not a very frequent responder on this forum.

 

I had another question guys, when university FAQs say that 'admitted applicants have generally had a GPA of 3.6 or higher" does that refer exclusively to 'undergraduate' GPA , or could it also mean Graduate GPA ?

Edited February 25, 2015 by Shadowscholar123

[Shadowscholar123]

lol.. bombed my GREs - 156V 158Q. I've been having a really hard time working full time and preparing for the GRE, especially keeping my focus on dense reading comprehension passages. I am considering giving the GRE again to bump up my score, but its becoming really hard with a full time job. Should I even fathom applying for top colleges? What do you guys think?

Edited July 9, 2015 by Shadowscholar123

[ssynny]

It was your first try! It's okay to not have an ideal score. Just think about what parts of the test you struggled with. Was it the passages, the vocab, certain math problems, or even the time of day you took the test, what you ate, pacing yourself, etc. I also worked a lot when I took the exam ~50 hours a week. I took the two days before my exam off to catch up on sleep and do a one day review of material.

I wouldn't give up on applying to the schools that you want, but as others have said, apply to a range of good programs, not just top schools. I hope this helped and I look forward to your update!