<p>Hi
I'd love to go and do a PhD with funding in the USA. I recently left the London School of Economics with a high 2:1 (67%) in Government. I'd like to do a PhD in Pol Science. I will soon be starting a masters in politics at another top 10 university in the UK.</p>
<p>Do things look good so far? I know I have to do the GRE and i'll be working towards that plus i'll be getting involved in a number of academic societies and going to some conferences. </p>
<p>How can I increase my chances?</p>
<p>In my field, it is impossible to go to a good grad school with anything lower than 3.8ish, but it may be different in yours. I think it has been mentioned many times, get to know your profs, get great recs and improve your GPAs.</p>
<p>I've seen quite a few pol science college sites saying things like their average GPA for their PhD students is 3.6, so i think it may be different to maths. </p>
<p>By good do you mean Harvard, Yale or Brown, Columbia, Chicago level or both?</p>
<p>Grad schools know that UK grades work differently than in the US. I wouldn't worry too much about your grades, especially as you will be doing a masters in the UK. They will look at those grades more closely.</p>
<p>Apart from that, it's really impossible to give chances on US grad schools. Specific questions can probably be answered in the grad schools 101 thread.</p>
<p>As far as I know, admission to PhD programs in Political Science is pretty random, in some ways, and alot more hollistic than in other fields. Cream fo the crop schools such as Harvard and Princeton also have acceptance rates hovering around 9-10% so even with a solid GPA, you will be competing against alot of qualified applicants.</p>
<p>Daniel37 - My "Good" schools are Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Stanford. I don't think schools like Yale have strong math program, but it is definitely one of the best in poli sci, from what I've heard :)</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, do extracurricular activities matter? It almost seems like the admissions for poli sci is similar to undergrad admissions for ivies and others.</p>