<p>I am a recent grad of Rutgers University and I had a double major in English and Poli Sci, with a minor in Econ. My GPA was a 3.85, I had a fellowship which was competitive and selective and for which I wrote an honors thesis for. The thesis combined a the work of a legal theorist, Robert Cover, with the tv show "The Wire." I have other awards and one 1k scholarship, and experience at two political internships. </p>
<p>I'm looking to get into a top grad school for political theory, namely Harvard, Princeton, Chicago.</p>
<p>What are my chances and what do I need on the GRE?</p>
<p>I would appreciate any help at all, it is very hard to find any info on poli sci grad programs</p>
<p>Before you even contemplate this, know that there is NO market for political theory. Folks just don’t hire in this field any more. More and more often, the undergraduate political theory classes are taught by specialists in entirely different areas.</p>
<p>If you still insist on going to grad school for political theory, find out where your favorite scholars teach. Then apply to those departments. There is no magic GRE score, and your extracurriculars don’t matter.</p>
<p>To be precise, there were 22 political theory tenure track jobs advertised this year at US universities, and 16 entry-level hires last year. So it ain’t quite zero, but Professor X is right: the job market is awful.
But if you love the subject matter and have your eyes open going in, no reason to not pursue it.
The schools you mention are the top schools for a certain kind of political theory. They accept less than ten percent of applicants. GRE scores matter because they ensure that your file gets read, but they will not make your case for admission on their own. Talk to your professors and your thesis advisor about where else you should be applying: it depends on the style of political theory that you want to study.</p>