<p>I was wondering if anyone knew if having a masters wil help or hurt me in my quest for a top 50 ph.d program in Political Science. My basic plan is to pursue a masters at a school like Cal State Fullerton. I am graduating with pretty good grades A 3.5 from UCSD(please dont blast on me 4.0 trolls ;0). I took the GRE but didnt do to hot (71percentile verbal, 98th analytical writing, 17 math ;(. I also have pretty strog recs and internships but I dont know if I am truely ready for a PH.d program. I was wanting to pursue a masters degree in a year long masters program in order to make sure I can dedicate myself to the next step, the 4-5 year ph.d program.</p>
<p>I was wondering if pursuing a masters while working and maintaing good grades can do anything but help me. I also figure with my GRE scores I will need to retake it to pursue a ph.d at my #1 school UCI, unless anyone thinks those scores give me a chance at all. If I had a chance with those scores from UCSD I may consider a ph.d at uci right after undergrad.</p>