What are my chances for top IR school? (...low GRE Scores)

[freewayK]

Hi there! I'm looking to apply for Graduate school next year. I'm not sure how competitive it is so I wanted to see what you guys think about my chances I am really hoping to get into a top IR school. I am interested in studying Chinese International Development and Foreign Policy in SE Asia. 

My list: JHU SAIS, Georgetown SFS, American SIS, GWU Elliot, Tufts Fletcher, UCSD IR/PS, UM Ford School, Yale Jackson

GPA: 3.78 from a Top 100 private university where I majored in Poli Sci

GRE Score: Q: 149 V: 159 A: still waiting to receive score

Work experience:
5 years of work experience with internships at international development non-profits and IR think tank. Spent 2 years in the Peace Corps.

International Experience:
Study abroad in China (semester), study abroad in the Philippines (semester), international UNICEF internship in India, 2 years with Peace Corps in Indonesia

Language Experience:
Intermediate Mandarin Chinese (4 years of study in college)
Strong Working Proficiency in Indonesian

Quant. Background:
Originally majored in Finance before switching to Poli Sci thus I took Macro, Micro, Accounting 1 and a couple Finance classes. Hopefully this makes up for a low Quantitative GRE score!

Other:
Hundreds of hours of volunteer experience with a commitment to community service and social justice.
Wrote an Honors Senior Thesis during my undergraduate years. Well received paper by faculty of my department!
Strong Letters of Rec & Statement of Purpose


*** The main thing I am worried about in my application is my lower / below average GRE scores. I studied a lot for them, but just not the best test taker in the standardized ETS format.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. This is my first post here. I know these "what are my chances/am i competitive" threads can get annoying but I think it is useful to connect with others and hear peoples advice, since I am new to this.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

[outofspace]

I can't really speak to your chances of being admitted with your current scores, but I will say that, in my opinion, the GRE is quite beatable with the right kind of study. Did you prepare much and take timed practice tests before you took the test the first time? Have you thought about re-taking?

[deletethisname]

Your GPA looks good. Your verbal score is pretty competitive as well. Some of those schools have internal minimums when it comes to GRE's and I do not know if the quantitative section means much to them. Hopefully you scored over a 4.5 on your AWA.

[freewayK]

I can't really speak to your chances of being admitted with your current scores, but I will say that, in my opinion, the GRE is quite beatable with the right kind of study. Did you prepare much and take timed practice tests before you took the test the first time? Have you thought about re-taking?

 

Thank you for your reply. To be honest, my study routine was pretty intensive and I took a Kaplan GRE course and took 7 practice tests. But my practice scores kept increasing but eventually stayed stagnate around the score I received. So maybe it was not the right prep. I will probably re -take it because I really want to increase my scores. So back to the books I go... Thank you!

[outofspace]

I would definitely re-take if I were you. I'm no expert on any of this as I'm just applying this cycle myself, but from what I've read, bumping up your quant score would definitely improve your chances of being accepted and also offered a scholarship (significantly?). I've had good success taking a practice test and then re-taking it again a few days later to kind of reinforce what you learned about how to approach the problem from solving it the first time. Good luck!

[freewayK]

Oh that is a good idea to remember the concepts better by re-taking the same test! Thanks for the tip! Good luck to you too! 

[Gov2School]

It's probably worth a retake, since you have plenty of time before you apply. if you increase your scores by even 3-4 points, that could make a difference. I was accepted to Tufts and Georgetown and SIPA with a quant score only a fee points above yours, so it is doable, depending on if the other parts of your application match what theyre looking for. You might as well give yourself a chance to improve.

You have an overall strong looking background and if you got good grades in your economic classes in undergrad, that at least shows that you're capable of doing the work you'll need to do, even if thats not so obvious from your GRE scores, so that can help. Consider writing about that in the "optional essay" on the application, where they give you space to speak to any concerns.

[freewayK]

It's probably worth a retake, since you have plenty of time before you apply. if you increase your scores by even 3-4 points, that could make a difference. I was accepted to Tufts and Georgetown and SIPA with a quant score only a fee points above yours, so it is doable, depending on if the other parts of your application match what theyre looking for. You might as well give yourself a chance to improve.

You have an overall strong looking background and if you got good grades in your economic classes in undergrad, that at least shows that you're capable of doing the work you'll need to do, even if thats not so obvious from your GRE scores, so that can help. Consider writing about that in the "optional essay" on the application, where they give you space to speak to any concerns.

 

 

Thanks for your advice Gov2School. I appreciate it!

 

Yeah my grades were A's in my quantitative classes so I'll be sure and write about that in the optional essay. thanks for that tip. Yeah I agree with you. I think it is definitely worth retaking to try and increase my scores even by a couple points and thus improve my chances.

[Karoku_valentine]

I think you could be competitive at IRPS/UCSD. However, a better GRE score might guarantee a fellowship.

[freewayK]

I think you could be competitive at IRPS/UCSD. However, a better GRE score might guarantee a fellowship.

 

Thank you Karoku_valentine for you response. Ah yeah that is one of my top choices because they really seem to stand out from other schools with their focus on the Asia-Pacific region. And I like the interdisciplinary nature of the program. I know IR/PS has qualitative and quantitative courses (which is a plus in my book!) I have experience in taking econ and finance classes (as I was a finance major for 2 years before switching to Poli Sci) so hopefully that will offset a somewhat avg or below avg GRE score. Since I have a lot of time until I apply, I'm planning on retaking it to really boost my quantitative score and slightly raise my verbal score.