profile evaluation (institutions, development, environemt and China)

[reedlei]

Dear friends! I am interested in apllying for PhD in political science in 2016 fall. My major focus will be institutional analysis, economic development and environmental governance. I am an international student (Chinese national) now studying in a US university for my master degrees.

Type of Undergrad Institution: a college in Mainland China
Major: English and Economics (double degrees)
Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (converted by World Education Services)

Type of Grad: MPA and M.A. in Economics (double degrees) in the University of Southern California. The MPA program has a good rank, not so much for the Econ program.

Grad Focus: development economics, environmental policy, institutions
Grad GPA:  3.87
GRE: 157 V, 170 Q, 4.0 AWA
Any Special Courses: basic maths for econ majors (calculus I&II, linear algebra, probability, statistics, real analysis), multivariate statistical analysis, operations research

Letters of Recommendation: All three letters come from full professors. One comes from my thesis advisor at Econ department. He also taught me a graduate course (A, second highest score in the class; the highest is a PhD student) and we are now coauthoring a paper (undergoing). Another one comes from my faculty advisor of MPA program; he taught me for 2 semersters. I am his RA and he promised to write me a strong letter. The third letter comes from the former dean. He taught me an environmental policy course, and I got an A. This letter will not be as strong as the previous two since we do not have further connections besides the course and few offcie hour meetings.

Research Experience:  1. master thesis undergoing; it was presented at a workshop at Peking University this summer chaired by Prof. Justin Yifu Lin. 2. a working paper coauthored with my advisor about Chinese industry associations and their influence on the economy and firms' behavior. I am responsible for the data work and empirical analysis. 3. RA for my another advisior for his book project.

Teaching Experience: one semester TA for a graduate course (operations research)
Subfield/Research Interests: institutional analysis, economic development, environmental governance, political economy of China
Other: native in Chinese

My target is to get into a top 30 political science program. My major disadvantages are: (1) GRE is below the average, especially for verbal and AW, but I think this is the best score I can do... (2) My recommendation letters come from Econ department or public policy school. I do not have a letter from a political scientist. (3) I do not have formal training in comprative politics or political methodology.

Questions: (1) I am now a little confused about statement of purpose. I wish to be specific about my research perspective and hence write it a little bit academic (since I cited some academic work) and people advised me not to. I am not very clear about the function of this writing. Given that I have some shortcomings in my package, I would love to get some advice on this writing to improve my chance of getting into a top program. (2) Please recommend some programs to me or tell me which programs are 100% sure out of my reach. Here are the programs I am interested in: Stanford, UCB, U of Michigan, MIT, Cornell, NYU, U of Wisconson-Madison, U of Washington in St Louise, Indiana University (3) any thoughts about improving my application is welcome!

Thanks!

[wpg205]

Hey Reedlei, you took a look a look at my profile so I figured I would reciprocate.  Overall your profile looks very strong. I think you are correct that your verbal and AWA are going to pose a challenge, but you are a foreign student so I think they will take that into consideration.  Do you have a strong TOEFL score you can submit as well? That may help. 

For your statement of purpose remember that it is supposed to be about you.  It is your one chance to speak directly to the entire department and weave a common thread through your education, research, work experience etc.  I think adcoms want to see that you are familiar with the literature and have good ideas, but spending a lot of the SoP on something other than yourself would be a waste.  Keep the description of your research interests and how they tie into the field down to a paragraph or two.  

I don't have any advice on which programs are appropriate.  Given your application I think you should have a good shot at most programs.  I would focus on making sure your writing sample is strong (this is another opportunity to show your written english is strong), and maybe getting a third rec from someone who knows you better.  Good luck.  

[Determinedandnervous]

I would concur with wpg205 here. You have excellent stats and research experience, so the low score on the verbal gre will likely be cancelled out by the wealth of research experience you have. You may, however, run into a problem with funding. I know some programs have a cutoff for certain percentiles.

In terms of your SOP, this is advice I got from a professor of mine - it should introduce you as a knowledgeable scholar and show you have a relatively defined research interest. At the same time, do not make it too narrow of an interest. Citing certain research perspectives may alienate faculty rather than achieving the desired effect. Also, don't be afraid to be personal. I'm not suggesting talking about your childhood, but it's ok to convey passion for the subject.

[reedlei]

Hey Reedlei, you took a look a look at my profile so I figured I would reciprocate.  Overall your profile looks very strong. I think you are correct that your verbal and AWA are going to pose a challenge, but you are a foreign student so I think they will take that into consideration.  Do you have a strong TOEFL score you can submit as well? That may help. 

For your statement of purpose remember that it is supposed to be about you.  It is your one chance to speak directly to the entire department and weave a common thread through your education, research, work experience etc.  I think adcoms want to see that you are familiar with the literature and have good ideas, but spending a lot of the SoP on something other than yourself would be a waste.  Keep the description of your research interests and how they tie into the field down to a paragraph or two.  

I don't have any advice on which programs are appropriate.  Given your application I think you should have a good shot at most programs.  I would focus on making sure your writing sample is strong (this is another opportunity to show your written english is strong), and maybe getting a third rec from someone who knows you better.  Good luck.  

Thanks very much! I think you suggestions are pertinent. Good luck on your applications too! Let me know if you are admitted to Stanford later. I think your profile is really strong and fit into their program very much.

[reedlei]

I would concur with wpg205 here. You have excellent stats and research experience, so the low score on the verbal gre will likely be cancelled out by the wealth of research experience you have. You may, however, run into a problem with funding. I know some programs have a cutoff for certain percentiles.

In terms of your SOP, this is advice I got from a professor of mine - it should introduce you as a knowledgeable scholar and show you have a relatively defined research interest. At the same time, do not make it too narrow of an interest. Citing certain research perspectives may alienate faculty rather than achieving the desired effect. Also, don't be afraid to be personal. I'm not suggesting talking about your childhood, but it's ok to convey passion for the subject.

Hi! You are right about my GRE grades. I think that is what I have and will not retake it. I will take your suggestions for SOP and talk about my passion for the research.

[GradSchoolTruther]

Avoid talking about your passion for your research. Everyone writes that. Write about what you see your future contributions to the field are and how the program can help you contribute.

[Determinedandnervous]

I'd like to follow that up with agreeing with gradschooltruther. When I said convey passion for your research, I didn't mean say it explicitly (that would be a little cliche). Let the passion show in articulating why what you want to research is important to examine, and why your research is an excellent fit with the mission of the department and professors you want to work with in it.