AKA34i9023 Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Greetings everybody! I am a second-year graduate student and I intend to apply for PhD programs in the 2017-18 cycle. I am specifically interested in the area of IPE. I would appreciate if anyone could evaluate my profile and give me some insights in application. Below are some of my experiences Undergrad: a Chinese university that is famous for IR research Major: English Language and Literature Undergraduate GPA: 3.60 Graduate School: a famous US university with top ten ranking in IR (according to Foreign Policy survey) Graduate program: MA International Trade and Investment Policy (Concentration: International Economic Policy Analysis) Graduate GPA: 3.80 (still in progress, hope to maintain and improve it) Quant prep: Statistical reasoning, a variety of economic courses, econometrics (plan to take it during the summer) Publication: One book review on a renowned peer-review Chinese journal; one article in an English academic journal managed by graduate students; one column article on a famous Chinese media outlet Presentation: Presented part of my research project in a graduate student club event at renowned international relations university in the US Research experience: BA thesis and a variety of papers for classes; plan to start a personal research project focused on IPE topics after finishing my studies Letters of Recommendation: Now I have four candidates: 1. My professor for international trade class. I am also doing program assistantship with her, so hopefully she will write me a good reference; 2. My professor for the class Corruption, Governance and Development who is a renowned scholar in the area of trade; 3. My professor for international finance who is among the top economists in the US (but I am not sure if it is useful for political science application); 4. My professor for international political economy. GRE: 151V, 165Q, 3.5W (plan to retake it and improve the scores) Scholarship: The Chinese government scholarship for graduate studies abroad; several scholarship of outstanding students in undergraduate studies SOP: Will start to work on it after graduation Writing Sample: Will be the personal research project focusing on IPE Field: IR, IPE, globalization, trade theories, China's role in the international economic system, identity politics and globalization Please give me some suggestions on how to improve my profile and what would be fatal disadvantages? Thanks for reading and evaluating my profile!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagnabbit Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 I would say your profile looks strong - obviously your GRE verbal is low, but from what I have heard this is often excused when English is not one's first language. It's really going to come down to the strength of your letters, SOP, and fit with the schools you're applying to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest56436 Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 3 hours ago, AKA34i9023 said: Greetings everybody! I am a second-year graduate student and I intend to apply for PhD programs in the 2017-18 cycle. I am specifically interested in the area of IPE. I would appreciate if anyone could evaluate my profile and give me some insights in application. Below are some of my experiences Undergrad: a Chinese university that is famous for IR research Major: English Language and Literature Undergraduate GPA: 3.60 Graduate School: a famous US university with top ten ranking in IR (according to Foreign Policy survey) Graduate program: MA International Trade and Investment Policy (Concentration: International Economic Policy Analysis) Graduate GPA: 3.80 (still in progress, hope to maintain and improve it) Quant prep: Statistical reasoning, a variety of economic courses, econometrics (plan to take it during the summer) Publication: One book review on a renowned peer-review Chinese journal; one article in an English academic journal managed by graduate students; one column article on a famous Chinese media outlet Presentation: Presented part of my research project in a graduate student club event at renowned international relations university in the US Research experience: BA thesis and a variety of papers for classes; plan to start a personal research project focused on IPE topics after finishing my studies Letters of Recommendation: Now I have four candidates: 1. My professor for international trade class. I am also doing program assistantship with her, so hopefully she will write me a good reference; 2. My professor for the class Corruption, Governance and Development who is a renowned scholar in the area of trade; 3. My professor for international finance who is among the top economists in the US (but I am not sure if it is useful for political science application); 4. My professor for international political economy. GRE: 151V, 165Q, 3.5W (plan to retake it and improve the scores) Scholarship: The Chinese government scholarship for graduate studies abroad; several scholarship of outstanding students in undergraduate studies SOP: Will start to work on it after graduation Writing Sample: Will be the personal research project focusing on IPE Field: IR, IPE, globalization, trade theories, China's role in the international economic system, identity politics and globalization Please give me some suggestions on how to improve my profile and what would be fatal disadvantages? Thanks for reading and evaluating my profile!! Notice the bold....please don't do this throughout your application, it won't be received well. resDQ and simonluo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKA34i9023 Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 2 hours ago, Comparativist said: Notice the bold....please don't do this throughout your application, it won't be received well. Thanks for pointing out the inappropriate wording. For sure I will not use them in my application; I was listing them for others to have a better judgment of my profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nooxhc Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 On 02/03/2017 at 10:19 AM, AKA34i9023 said: Writing Sample: Will be the personal research project focusing on IPE Must be really good I find the writing sample the most important one. This is here how they will evaluate international applicants english knowledge, research skills and field expertise. That is why they don't care a lot about Verbal Skills or Writing in GRE for international applicants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKA34i9023 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 On 3/3/2017 at 4:43 PM, nooxhc said: Must be really good I find the writing sample the most important one. This is here how they will evaluate international applicants english knowledge, research skills and field expertise. That is why they don't care a lot about Verbal Skills or Writing in GRE for international applicants. Thank you for your advice, really appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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