Admission Chances and Profile Evaluation: PhD Poli Sci

[politicsandreligion]

Hi all,

First time poster. Thank you in advance to anyone who replies. I graduated this past May from a not well-known liberal arts college (regionally ranked but that's about it). However, I did well enough there to graduate with a 4.0 GPA majoring in Political Science and Finance (yes, I know this was a weird combination). Since then, I have been working in the financial district in New York for a big bank. After re-evaluating my professional goals and interests, I have decided to pursue a career in academia as a political science professor (hopefully).

I took the GRE my senior year just in case I would ever need them for business school in the future (more time for studying in school than in my current position), but now will be using them to apply to Ph.D. programs (155 V, 163 Q, 5.5 AW). My research interests lie at the intersection of politics and religion, which to my understanding is not an extremely popular niche as compared to race or gender as a determinant instead. I am applying to the following schools:

-Rutgers

-Kent State

-Penn State

-University of Virginia

-Northeastern

-Notre Dame

-Stony Brook

I know these schools are not top 10 institutions for the field, but I believe they are appropriate for my admission profile (not attending a well-known undergrad institution, poor verbal score, no master's degree or publication, working in a different industry for a year). Uva and Notre Dame are definite reaches, as is Stony Brook. But Stony Brook very much interests me due to their political psychology concentration, where I could research political attitudes based on religious affiliation and devoutness at more of an individual level. At other schools, I would be under American Government Politics and research attitude formation and behavior at the group level.

Do I have a chance at these schools or will I be laughed out of the room of an admission committee? I would like to know if I would be better served applying to master's programs instead and not having to wait another year before re-applying if I were to get rejected by every school on my list.

[cooperstreet]

1 hour ago, politicsandreligion said:

(not attending a well-known undergrad institution, poor verbal score, no master's degree or publication, working in a different industry for a year).

In order: 1) has a neglible effect. 2) The GRE is learnable, presumably your verbal can be improved 3) Doesn't hold people back. No one has publications worht anything at this point 4) this has nothing to do with admissions

[politicsandreligion]

1 hour ago, cooperstreet said:

In order: 1) has a neglible effect. 2) The GRE is learnable, presumably your verbal can be improved 3) Doesn't hold people back. No one has publications worht anything at this point 4) this has nothing to do with admissions

Thank you for the input! Feeling a little better as a result

[TrapQueen]

I am a current Stony Brook student your GREs seem fine - your Verbal is slightly lower than mine was but your Quant is higher (my scores were pretty average - I didn't study for the GRE at all but i did have research experience). I don't know about the other schools but it is hard to get into stony brook with just an undergrad degree (but not impossible) you just need research experience and really great letters of rec. The program also has a heavy methods component so if you are not into methods then you might want to look somewhere else. Having worked in industry will not hold you back at all. 

 

If you are interested in politics and religion you may also want to look at some social psychology departments with professors that study religion and politics - this may broaden the pool of potential programs for you

[alphazeta]

1) Those GREs are fine.  Obviously, a few more points wouldn't hurt, but your file definitely gets a read with those scores.  

2) Even if your school isn't well-known, graduating with a true 4.0 is impressive and that gives you a boost.  With a perfect GPA, I imagine you'll also have an easy time getting strong letters of recommendation, which is important.

3) Aim higher.  The ranking of your graduate program is a huge determinant of your later job prospects.  I know the application fees can really add up, but applying to the top programs that fit your interests most closely is a good investment (e.g., Berkeley for religion and politics).  The job prospects out of Berkeley are simply in a different league than those for someone coming from UVA.  There's a lot of randomness in the process and it's always worth taking a shot - nothing in your profile suggests that you can't get in at a top program.