Help Needed- International Student

[izmir]

Hello everyone,

I am kind of new here. I am junior studying PSC at a US college. I want to go to grad school and study Authoritarianism-Public Opinion- Voter Behavior mainly. I started preparing for my application so I have a couple of questions for you.

 

1. Although I am in a good range in Q (163-166) , my verbal is not that good (around 153-154). I will do my best to improve it until I take the test this summer but I don't know how hard I should study for it. Do you think having a lower score on Verbal would hurt my chances a lot given that I am an international student?

 

2. I am searching for grad schools with a focus on Middle East-Authoritarianism as I suggested above, do you have any program recommendations for me?

 

3. Lastly, I am so desperate about my chances for getting into a T20 school. My profile is below, what do you think?

 

Major:Political Science Minor: Statistics 

GPA=3.98

LoR= All from tenured professors. One with a professor that I RA'd before.

Research: I will be doing a research this summer on a grant from my school and am hoping to use it as my writing sample.

I speak Turkish fluently and German at an advanced level.

 

 

Edited March 2, 2017 by izmir

[VMcJ]

1. Yes. You should try and get your verbal score to the 160s. You're going to be exempt from the TOEFL, so you can dedicate more energy to it. My first simulated test got me at 156 on both parts. Eventually, I got V162 Q168 at my first attempt, but only because I studied considerably for a couple of months. Verbal questions are usually a pain in the ass, but you shouldn't let that drag you. And make sure your Analytical Writing is not awful (4.0 minimum).

2. I'll let other people suggest programs, as I am not familiar with that particular literature. But you should, if you didn't already, consider also your subfield. From what you said it could be Comparative, or IR with a behavioral dent, etc. Sometimes your best fit is where your probable future theoretical approaches are, not particular subjects or topics. That being said, take a look at the Comparative and IR faculty in the Top 20 programs to get an idea.

3. You should be fine. My file is worse at some counts (really lower GPA from an international university) and I got three Top 30 offers. If you do everything very well, particularly SoPs and get around your GRE problem, you should get into the right Top 20 programs and maybe even Top 10.

[Monody]

On 2., Yale may be an option. Slovik is there as far as I can remember. 

[terefere]

9 hours ago, Monody said:

On 2., Yale may be an option. Slovik is there as far as I can remember. 

Svolik

[izmir]

As I realized during my research, Cornell has 3-4 faculty that have research interests on Authoritarianism but their focus is South Asia or Latin America. My interests are focused on Middle East and historical comparisons of Authotarian regimes. Do you guys think, I would have a shot at Cornell given that our focuses differ? Secondly, I think Ithaca can be good place to do Phd but do you think it is a livable place for 5-6 years? Thanks y'all.

[guest56436]

6 minutes ago, izmir said:

As I realized during my research, Cornell has 3-4 faculty that have research interests on Authoritarianism but their focus is South Asia or Latin America. My interests are focused on Middle East and historical comparisons of Authotarian regimes. Do you guys think, I would have a shot at Cornell given that our focuses differ? Secondly, I think Ithaca can be good place to do Phd but do you think it is a livable place for 5-6 years? Thanks y'all.

For what it's worth...they currently have an offer out on ME comparativist. That doesn't mean they will actually accept it, but they are trying to hire in that area.

I would definitely apply but frame your interests in a substantive way, not by area.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Comparativist

[izmir]

 

3 minutes ago, Comparativist said:

For what it's worth...they currently have an offer out on ME comparativist. That doesn't mean they will actually accept it, but they are trying to hire in that area.

Wow, if they hire someone in that area, Cornell would be a perfect fit for me. Thanks 

[izmir]

14 minutes ago, Comparativist said:

For what it's worth...they currently have an offer out on ME comparativist. That doesn't mean they will actually accept it, but they are trying to hire in that area.

I would definitely apply but frame your interests in a substantive way, not by area.

I am not sure if I understood what you meant by a substantive way. Can you please open it up a little bit?

[guest56436]

29 minutes ago, izmir said:

I am not sure if I understood what you meant by a substantive way. Can you please open it up a little bit?

Generally comparative applicants seek out POIs for two reasons: they work on research topics that are close to their own and/or they have expertise in the area that the person studies.

If you are going to apply to schools that don't have any or a lot of faculty working on your area you want to make sure to especially highlight how your research interests closely align with faculty members and potentially "play down" your interest in the ME.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Comparativist

[MyWay]

Take a look at Professor Jamal at Princeton.