Profile Evaluation - 2016 Fall PhD in Political Science

[ArchieLi]

Greetings everyone.  I have just finished my master degree and applying for fall 2016 admission. My advantage is my political science background - I majored in politics and International Relations in my bachelor and master degree, and I have conducted an independent research on policy analysis as my master's thesis and received a decent grade. 

My biggest concern is that as I went to a vocational school before university and received some credits, I finished my bachelor degree in only two years (16 courses) and got relatively less training than other applicants. My GRE Verbal and Analytical Writing score is also a weakness (English is my second language). Also,I earned both my bachelor and master degree in Australia, whose stringent grading policy might place me a disadvantage, and I don't entirely trust WES GPA calculator. I'm just wondering what my chances are for getting into first class US political science programs, or should primarily focus on second or lower tiers. 

Profile:

Type of Undergrad Institution: La Trobe University (2015 QS ranking 151-200 in politics & international studies)

Major: Politics

GPA: 71.8% (3.82/4 as calculated by WES)

Type of Grad Institution: Australian National University (2015 QS ranking #7 in politics & international studies)

GPA: 75.3% (4.00/4 as calculated by WES)

GRE: v160 q168 aw4

Letter of Recommendation: Three strong letters, one from my master's thesis supervisor, two from master coursework senior lectures.

Research experience: a 15,000 words master's thesis on policy analysis, received 77%.

Teaching Experience: N/A

Research Interests: International Relations, Comparative Politics, with a focus on China. 

Publication: N/A

[Determinedandnervous]

I wouldn't worry about the finishing your bachelor's degree early part counting against you. I'm finishing my degree a year early as well, and I've been told that it has little effect either way. With your experience in mind, you are definitely in the running for top programs, so definitely apply. Your verbal GRE might be on the lower side, but the high quant will likely make up for it. If you have any publications or manuscripts in the works, that would also be a plus for you.

[ArchieLi]

33 minutes ago, Determinedandnervous said:

I wouldn't worry about the finishing your bachelor's degree early part counting against you. I'm finishing my degree a year early as well, and I've been told that it has little effect either way. With your experience in mind, you are definitely in the running for top programs, so definitely apply. Your verbal GRE might be on the lower side, but the high quant will likely make up for it. If you have any publications or manuscripts in the works, that would also be a plus for you.

Thank you for your reply! Now I'm a bit more confident!