Which schools are feasible for me?

[mariahbal96]

Hi everyone!! So this is my first round of applying for a Sociology PhD, and I am just trying to gauge which schools of the eight I am applying to seem the most feasible for me given my application criteria. 

I am currently an undergraduate student at the University of Connecticut with a double major in Human Rights and Anthropology

My GPA is a 3.73 with my major GPA being 3.8

GRE scores are 155 verbal, 153 quant, 4.5 writing

I have 3 strong letters of recommendation

Research interests: Social inequality, social policy, immigration, refugee policy, social movements

I studied abroad in London for four months where I completed two internships related to my intended field of study (one at a charitable law center where I was an immigration liaison between lawyers and clients, and one at a refugee center where I taught English and helped with application to transfer from an asylum seeker to the legal status of refugee.  

I am active on campus with various social justice organizations and am in one major leadership role

I have a strong SOP with a clear goal of what I want to study

My writing sample is a 20 page comparative analysis of different countries' refugee policies (this was also completed by doing an independent research program -- research experience)

Schools I am applying to: Uconn, NYU, Boston University, Boston College, Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Princeton 

Concerns: Are my GRE scores too low to even be considered for most of these schools? (Really nervous this is going to play a huge role in getting rejected)

Which of these schools are most feasible for me simply based on these criteria? 

[mfafiction2019]

I'm applying for Fall 2018 too and I think that the fact that you've shown a clear interest in immigration, refugees and social policy (per your research project and your internships abroad) reflects very well on you. Also the fact that you've done independent research as an undergrad is a plus (I'm assuming you're coming straight from undergrad).

As for GRE scores, I'd recommend searching for all the schools you're applying to for sociology here: https://thegradcafe.com/survey/. This has helped me a lot, since the GRE scores of admitted students can vary quite a bit, so perhaps those with lower GRE scores had something else going for them. Also GRE scores aren't the end all to be all, like many have told me, bad ones can definitely keep you out (think in the 140s for both sections), but excellent ones won't automatically get you in (I've seen a bunch of students with perfect GRE scores get rejected from the same programs that have admitted students with often times much lower scores). 

Good luck!

Edited November 30, 2017 by qualsoc2018