Likelihood of admission as an international student

[Warelin]

7 hours ago, Monody said:

Thanks for that information. Maybe it is just the media attention, but the recent months were rather frightening regarding Chicago, especially to someone who comes from a country where you simply don't have that kind of violence.

Any major cities will unfortunately have similar coverage. The media has an obsession with blowing up crime rates in major cities.

 

On another note, you've mentioned interest in:
Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, NYC, Duke, UCSD, MIT, Princeton, and maybe Emory.

All of these while prestigious universities are very different in terms of surroundings. USCD and Stanford don't have 4 seasons as it is hot for most of the year. Princeton and Duke have 4 seasons and it can be very cold. NYU and Columbia are in huge metros; Princeton has a population of roughly 12k.


Do they all have a few professors interested in the same things you are?

As a slightly outdated reference, the school's average quant GRE are listed as the following in Political Science:
Harvard: 160
Stanford: 163
Columbia: 156
NYC (I assume NYU?): 160
Duke: 157
UCSD: 158
MIT:  157
Princeton: 158
Emory: 155

These scores were converted into the new scores using https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf.

It's important to keep in mind that GRE scores are only a small piece of the admissions puzzle and that there are many other factors that are more important such as your overall fit with the program, your writing sample, your statement of purpose and your recommendation letters.

[Monody]

Thanks for your effort. I have to say that I don't care that much about the surrounding. I lived in small cities and capitals and in warmer and colder regions. I made the experience that I mostly don't care about the area in which I live as long as I can easily shop groceries and find my way to the library.

The GRE score shouldn't be an issue. As I said, I will take the test in roughly 2 and a half weeks and got about 162/162 on practice tests nearly two months ago. I am currently focusing on the quant part with about 2 hours everyday to get it up as high as possible. 

I am currently in the process of contacting profs and in general the feedback so far was good. Those with less overlap are probably Harvard and NYU, but I will probably swap NYU with PennState and Harvard maybe with another.

Again thanks.

[Monody]

So, last couple of days have been great. My SOP is done for the first university after I got feedback from two profs, I finished my thesis which I will use as my writing sample, and I also took the GRE today and am still thrilled that I got 163/169 out of it. Sure, verbal could have been better but the second part after the adaption was really hard and at least it is not terrible and won't immediately disqualify me. Now I can finally begin to concentrate on my paper while finishing the other SOPs.

edit: I just noticed that 163 is only in the 92% percentile in the verbal range and that most universities have a higher average qualitative than quantitative score. Is that a potential issue? 

Edited September 22, 2016 by Monody

[BillyJoel182]

Hi Monody,

congratulations on your GRE results!  Given that you are in the 90+ percentiles for both parts, you should not worry about your score. In fact, I know several (German) applicants who got into top-7 programs with lower scores in both sections. If you are concerned about your verbal score, you can always get close to 120 on the TOEFL to prove your language proficiency.

Keep up the good work & viel Glück!

 

[Monody]

Thanks. Ive to say that I was quite nervous before the test itself, because I certainly wouldn't have wanted to take it again. My TOEFL score is 114 which seems to be fine for most program. I also got my final results for the GRE just now and am in the 93., 98., and 97. (5.5) respectively so that is taken care off. Five of the seven to eight statements are done and yesterday evening I wrote a 5 double-spaced pages summary of my thesis and prepared the online appendix as well. So two more statements to go and another version of my thesis shortened to 20 double-spaced pages. Ive to say that I am happy that at least NYU asks for a 30-50 pages writing sample. All in all, two more weeks to go and then I can finally get back to my normal stuff.

[Monody]

So for the last post with which I will probably bother this forum until the admission season, I just wanted to get some feedback on my choices regarding the likelihood of being at least accepted into one of them and whether I may be well advised to apply to some universities further down the line. I already got a lot of feedback I am really grateful for, but I am now practically done with all the tests, statements, LoR writers, and so forth that it may merit this post. The first post in this thread also was a mess so I am sorry for that

Undergrad: one of the most well-known universities in Germany for Political Science, 3 year BA

Major: Political Science only

Undergrad GPA: approx. 3.77/4.00 (4.00/4.00 when using WES); I will hand in a certified conversion sheet which transfers to the former when using letter grades

Graduate School: NA

Graduate Program: NA

Graduate GPA: NA

GRE: 163V, 169Q, 5.5W 

TOEFL: 114/120

Letters of Recommendation: one from the prof responsible for methodology at my first university which is known for methodological rigor (I had a lecture with him as well as discussion regarding the letter. He will also talk to a TA who wanted me to teach undergraduates before I transferred.), one from a prof at the university from which I am graduating with whom I had two advanced courses, one from a prof for whom I am currently working as a research assistant (for free btw; he is not well known but a nice guy and does research in my field)

Research: undergraduate thesis which doesn't mean much as it's only about 7000 words and the research assistantship since the beginning of August; if I am lucky, another one may realize in the next two weeks

Research interests: civil war and particularly patterns of violent behavior by insurgent groups and their determinants

Publication: in the process of writing my first paper which I will submit early next year and which I describe briefly in my SoP to introduce my research question

Presentations: NA

Teaching:  NA

Other/Misc: spent/will spend one year each at three different universities which I explain by pointing out the specific aspects of the departments that I needed for my scholarly development (first uni, transfer to second uni, exchange year); I am currently taking a year-long econometrics courses, and more classes in microeconomics and advanced game theory and modeling next semester which I mention in the SoP; I also speak 5 languages to varying degrees and did a very large number of courses so far (more credit than I would ever need for my program even though I am now only in my third year); last is an extracurricular activity to support students from low-income households

Programs I'm Looking At: Columbia, Duke, Princeton, MIT, NYU, Stanford, PennState

I wrote personalized SoP for each program but all began with a few words on my passion for research, my substantive interest, and why an academic career is right for me. I then went over my educational background on to describing the research project I am currently pursuing (general argument and testing procedure). This leads to the research question I intend to work on later and also the methodology I want to use. The last 300-400 words were mostly spent on describing how the program will help me achieve my research question by mentioning course work, the structure, and faculty members with whom I like to work with (how their work relates to mine and mentioning the work they wrote and I read). I generally finished with a few concluding remarks. 

Ive to say it was a lot of work and I will be glad once it's over but I also have to add that I learned a lot about my own interests and the specific programs. For example, I kicked Harvard and San Diego out of the set, because either nobody is working in the area I am interested in or the faculty members appear to be somewhere but not at the department doing research for quite some time.

As I said in the beginning some feedback on my chances would be highly appreciated.

[BillyJoel182]

Your GPA/GRE/TOEFL scores are good, which will make sure that your application is considered carefully. Strong quantitative methods + five languages should be a plus.

I understand that it can be quite tough to get much teaching and research experience during your undergraduate studies, but I am convinced that many of your competitors will apply with more TA and RA work. This only means that the people writing your LoRs will need to do a great job at emphasizing your ability and willingness to conduct (cutting-edge) research. Having a person who is known in the US write a letter would definitely help - however, such professors seem to be somewhat rare even at the more prestigious German universities (Konstanz, Berlin, Heidelberg, Mannheim,...). Of course, you can also signal your aptitude for research with an excellent writing sample and top SoPs. As these are the parameters that you can control, make sure to continue working on them until December.

Overall, I think you have high chances of getting admitted to Duke/PennState, decent chances at NYU/Columbia, and moderate chances at Stanford/Princeton/MIT. However, my focus is not on civil war research, so I can hardly judge how good the personal fit is. One question: Why are you not applying to Yale? I thought they were quite strong in that area.

 

[Monody]

Thank you for your response. I studied at Humboldt in Berlin and luckily they have an exchange program with Duke and the prof also studied there for some time. I also took a course with a PhD student there with whom I am still in contact. I mentioned that in passing in the SoP. That may be a plus in that case. The two others, specifically the second one are able to speak positively from good experience, but are certainly not well-known. Can't help it.

Regarding the writing sample, Ive to say that the more I think about it the more miserable I feel. It is not bad based on what I learned so far, but I aim to specialize in formal modeling and quantitative methodology and for that it is really underwhelming. I mean I make some novel adjustments to an existing model based on an arguably good argument, derive hypotheses, and test them on a large dataset that I (painstakingly) built. Nonetheless, I didn't do equilibrium analysis or anything like that simply because I don't know how to do it, because they never offered courses in that area at my universities and the courses I will take at my exchange university haven't begun yet. 

The SoPs are good in my opinion. In the beginning, I thought that I would write one master version and adjust it, but now I have 7 different pieces that are all fine-tuned to the different requirements of the programs. I also got two profs to look over it and they gave me good feedback.

I have to say that I particularly decided against Yale, because of their focus on qualitative methodology and the feeling that even though someone like Kalyvas may be a great advisor I overall wouldn't get the methodological proficiency I am aiming for. 

Edited October 3, 2016 by Monody

[PoliticalOrder]

What worries me about your application are two things (and they are kind of interrelated):

1) It will be extremely hard to judge the quality/comparability of your education (foreign school, 3 year BA). And you also have a fairly inconsistent undergrad record (three schools in three years isn't normal)

2) Your letter writers are probably not well known and, in some cases, standards for LORs from foreign institutions/professors can be quite different from what they expect for Ph.D. applicants.

Obviously, these are two things you can't change/control right now. Many foreign students decide to come to the US for a masters' degree to address these concerns (I have quite a few profs that have done this). That being said, if this application cycle doesn't go as you want it to, you should definitely consider doing this. Not only will you be able to rectify concerns about your abilities to succeed in the American education system but you can also improve your application in many ways (including getting stronger letters).

I would check out and apply to some American MA programs as a backup if I were you.

BTW, Yale is not qualitative. Like most top programs, it is a good balance and you can get good training in whatever methodology you would like. 

Edited October 3, 2016 by PoliticalOrder

[Monody]

Thanks for the considerations.

Regarding 1): My first university had a good methodological training, but they had literally no-one working in my subfield and not even really anyone working in anything security related. The second one had a very good focus in my research area, but when I asked whether I can get additional methodological training beyond what I did at my first university, they flat out told me that even at the master level they only focus on qualitative work and most despised rational choice. My third year is an exchange year at a respectable university where I am able to do both. That is basically how I describe it in the SOP. It was intentional even though in hindsight I should've probably known my specific field before I started my studies. I hope that this issue is somewhat relegated by the fact that Ive a LoR from each school which should strongly indicate that there was nothing questionable going on.

Regarding 2): I think that standard wise it shouldn't be that much of an issue. All of the writers indicated that they know what committees are looking for and some of the departments I wrote too even indicated that they had some successful applicants from the university from which I will be graduating in recent years. 

I will certainly apply for master programs, since I know that nothing is guaranteed in this context and I will begin looking after Ive sent away all these applications. The only issue is that I can't take up anything without funding which again is much rarer for master programs as far as I know.

You are probably right about Yale, but when I had a look at their faculty and the courses they generally offer it didn't strike me as particularly quantitative. I mean I would like to apply to Rochester, but I know that this would probably be a waste of money since none of the universities Ive been to offered me any training in formal modeling (which is again the reason for my exchange year) and even though I only got A+s in my statistic courses (4) that probably wouldn't suffice either way.

Also a note on fit maybe: All of the universities would be a great fit and some of the faculty actually work not only on civil war but particularly in the smaller niche in which I would situate my research question. 

[Monody]

So everything is submitted and I already feel like a very stupid fool. I just noticed that three of my statements had the same two mistakes. "specialized" instead of "specialized in" and dyadic --- dyad. I must have overlooked it, even though I spent the literal last two weeks working on these texts. Well, I probably have to hope that someone is having a great day when reading the applications to overlook this. But overall I am very relieved that this is over and I finally can go back to the usual stuff.

[polscimajor]

Wow you submitted the applications already???

I'm also preparing for the applications in political science 2017 and still haven't finished writing the SOP/ filling out application details...

 

[resDQ]

1 minute ago, polscimajor said:

Wow you submitted the applications already???

I'm also preparing for the applications in political science 2017 and still haven't finished writing the SOP/ filling out application details...

 

 

Same here.

[Monody]

Well, nothing to be proud of considering that I failed to upload error-free material to 2 programs (MIT lets you change things after submission). I also began in early July with the writing samples, the SoP, and the GRE preparation, and I told my recommenders that I would give them all the material early enough so that they don't have to rush anything. Anyway, send me a PM if I can help you with anything.

[polscimajor]

Well the errors you mention don't seem to be that critical. Don't worry too much about it =)

And I sincerely do envy you for being able to go back to your normal life!

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

Having not background in a given methodology, but showing a keen and preliminary interest in it should not preclude you from applying anywhere. Many people begin a program with no programming experience, and extremely limited knowledge of statistics and quantitative methods. Unless they have a degree in economics or math, few people come in with any knowledge of formal modelling either because undergraduate training in that field is extremely rare. I would argue that you have a good shot. Everyone I know who is current pursuing formal modelling as part of their degree came in with very limited knowledge of it, and those who are in their 5th and 6th years specializing in it also came in with no training but a strong desire to pick it up. So I wouldn't cut Rochester out the equation, especially if you're applying Princeton.

[Monody]

Thank you for your thoughts on this, but I have to say that I am now just happy if I can get an acceptance at any of these universities and even though that may sound stupid do not want to spend any more time on additional applications that further eat into my wallet and my time. I spent the last 3-4 months on it and I am happy with the results that I submitted.  In addition to that, I am sufficiently close to submitting an article (solo-authored) for review before the submission deadline and would be immensely happy if that were to work out so that I can sleep comfortably that I may have increased my chances of admission by a few percentage points. 

Edited October 21, 2016 by Monody

[Shadow70]

Your profile looks very good so I think you can relax. Talking to faculty both in my previous university and universities I am applying to, it seems after admitting numerous European students year after year ad-coms at American universities understand our grades and the classifications, so no need to worry about that either. And they know that students from European universities don't have enough chances to conduct independent research except if we write an honor thesis or we do a Masters. But Europeans we are certainly in a better position than non-US, non-EU applicants (I don't mean to underestimate universities elsewhere -there are amazing universities in Asia and Oceania as well, but it's the truth that in academia usually it's USA alongside UK, then rest of Europe, then rest of world).

Btw your GRE score is certainly better than mine and you seem to be confident about what you are going to do if admitted. Good job on that!!

Just out of curiosity - seeing that you wanted a more methods intensive program and you being from Germany have you ever checked the double masters program of Kostanz and University of Essex? I remember faculty sorting out the details when I was doing my MSc at Essex and they were going on about how intensive it was going to be.... 

In any case 'Viel Gluck' in your applications! I need to finish mine as well