PhD in Political Science right after Bachelor

[selo]

I am currently on 3rd year of international relations as a bachelor. I decided to become an academic, now I am really trying to lift my GPA up via retaking the courses and doing summer school. I will have a gpa around 3.10 when I graduate. I don't know if it is enough to get a PhD but I have really a strong personal statement explaining the earlier F's and D's on my GPA with 1 Year of work experience in a top consulting firm, how I decided the business world is not for me and the particular issues I want to do research on political theory etc etc, also letters of recommendations from professors who has political theory background. 

 

What do you think about my chances to get in a top Political Science PhD program in US?

 

thanks 

Edited June 5, 2017 by selo

[Accumulated_Bambi]

Many, though not all, PhD programs will provide minimum standards which applicants must meet to be considered. They will also make it clear that these minimums are not necessarily enough to be actually admitted as they receive a great many more well-qualified candidates for just a few spots. I think the first step for you would be to make a list of the top five or ten schools you are interested in, go to the poli sci department website for each school and find information on the admissions process and standards. This is more rare, but some schools also publish the profile of previous years' incoming class. Compare this information to your current profile and make a plan for how you make your application more competitive. A lot of programs will say that a weak gpa can be compensated for with outstanding GREs and/or writing sample.

[selo]

4 hours ago, printerdrop said:

Many, though not all, PhD programs will provide minimum standards which applicants must meet to be considered. They will also make it clear that these minimums are not necessarily enough to be actually admitted as they receive a great many more well-qualified candidates for just a few spots. I think the first step for you would be to make a list of the top five or ten schools you are interested in, go to the poli sci department website for each school and find information on the admissions process and standards. This is more rare, but some schools also publish the profile of previous years' incoming class. Compare this information to your current profile and make a plan for how you make your application more competitive. A lot of programs will say that a weak gpa can be compensated for with outstanding GREs and/or writing sample.

thanks!

[oakeshott]

I also had concerns about my undergrad GPA. A few suggestions, based in part on things that worked (or at least seemed to work) for me:

1. A masters degree can be an excellent way to make up for a less-than-stellar undergraduate GPA. It might be worth looking into some options. The one caveat is that, all else being equal, this is probably not a smart tactic if it involves a big financial investment on your part. 
2. If your grades in relevant subjects (PT? Political science more generally?) are significantly better than your overall grades, then that can help assuage the impact of your 3.10. Make sure you point that out explicitly and, if possible, in some detail. I personally added an additional document highlighting my major GPA and the grades I received in each political science class I took. 
3. As stated above, a great GRE can also help. Make sure you crush that thing. All of it. 
4. In terms of explaining earlier grades, my personal opinion is that that stuff belongs in the letters of recommendation. Why? Because it gives the explanations greater credibility, because it avoids the appearance of you trying to make excuses, and because it doesn't take up precious SoP room. For what it's worth, I got into (almost every) school for which I followed this strategy, and got rejected from the (2-3) places where I myself addressed early weaknesses in my transcript. 

In general, I am a strong believer that a less-than-great undergrad GPA can be overcome. A great SoP, a great writing sample, and—above all else—great letters of recommendation are key. With that being said, sometimes admissions committees face constraints that they truly aren't able to do much about. Some universities, for example, tie funding to minimum GPA requirements. So my final bit of advice echoes @printerdrop's: look into the programs you are interested in to get a better sense of what is and isn't doable. If possible, try to go beyond whatever information is publicly available and talk to people at those places / people who know those places well. There is a lot that departments don't say publicly. 

Good luck!

Edited June 5, 2017 by oakeshott

[selo]

On 6/5/2017 at 6:07 PM, oakeshott said:

I also had concerns about my undergrad GPA. A few suggestions, based in part on things that worked (or at least seemed to work) for me:

1. A masters degree can be an excellent way to make up for a less-than-stellar undergraduate GPA. It might be worth looking into some options. The one caveat is that, all else being equal, this is probably not a smart tactic if it involves a big financial investment on your part. 
2. If your grades in relevant subjects (PT? Political science more generally?) are significantly better than your overall grades, then that can help assuage the impact of your 3.10. Make sure you point that out explicitly and, if possible, in some detail. I personally added an additional document highlighting my major GPA and the grades I received in each political science class I took. 
3. As stated above, a great GRE can also help. Make sure you crush that thing. All of it. 
4. In terms of explaining earlier grades, my personal opinion is that that stuff belongs in the letters of recommendation. Why? Because it gives the explanations greater credibility, because it avoids the appearance of you trying to make excuses, and because it doesn't take up precious SoP room. For what it's worth, I got into (almost every) school for which I followed this strategy, and got rejected from the (2-3) places where I myself addressed early weaknesses in my transcript. 

In general, I am a strong believer that a less-than-great undergrad GPA can be overcome. A great SoP, a great writing sample, and—above all else—great letters of recommendation are key. With that being said, sometimes admissions committees face constraints that they truly aren't able to do much about. Some universities, for example, tie funding to minimum GPA requirements. So my final bit of advice echoes @printerdrop's: look into the programs you are interested in to get a better sense of what is and isn't doable. If possible, try to go beyond whatever information is publicly available and talk to people at those places / people who know those places well. There is a lot that departments don't say publicly. 

Good luck!

thanks!