Political Science PhD - offer some perspective on good fit?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi all, </p>

<p>first post here...although with the grad school process unfolding...I'm sure I'll be back. </p>

<p>I will be applying for Political Science PhD programs for Fall 2012. I have done research regarding which programs are the most academically rigorous and fit my interests etc. What I'm struggling with is trying to see which would be a good "fit" in terms of my past academics etc. So I humbly ask for a few reccomendations. </p>

<p>I graduated from Rutgers U. (NB) in Spring 2010</p>

<p>Double major: Economics and Political Science
Major GPA (Econ): 3.8+
Major GPA (Poli Sci) 3.8+
Cumulative GPA: 3.83 - Magna Cum Laude (as a transfer student from a small liberal arts college, this changes to around a 3.77 when my freshman year is averaged in). </p>

<p>GRE Scores: Q. 610 V. 640 (taken in 2009 with little prep, was working on thesis paper. Just retook them but as its the revised GRE, I have no idea what my scores will be)
Expect strong LORs (including one from an econ prof who taught me econometrics and econ forecasting, and another from a poli sci prof I took a grad class in Game Theory from which resulted in an A.) and have a fairly well defined SOP. </p>

<p>Since graduating I've been working for a major, easily recognized Wall Street firm doing light to moderate analytical stuff. (not talking quant engineering)</p>

<p>My interests lie with primarily with positive political thought. Specifically using methods such as mechanism design to study democratic insitutions, voting, etc. I've done some research and decided on applying to U.Chicago (1st choice), Princeton, U. Michigan, U. Wisconsin, and U. Rochester. There appears to be pretty strong consensus that this is the top tier that I'm reaching for. Knowing how fickle this process is, I hesitate to ask for "safety" schools, but what would you consider schools that "fit" well with my academics, work experience etc.? I've heard UC Davis mentioned, but beyond that?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance,
Justin</p>

2

<p>Hate to say this, but you may not get into any of the programs you’re applying to right now so you definitely need to add more schools to the list. The top 10 have become very competitive and a 610 on the quant side of the GRE is a danger signal that you might not be able to handle the math, esp. at the programs you’ve listed (Rochester in particular is noted for its brutal methods sequence). The fact you’ve got LORs that can speak to your methods ability is good, but may not be enough. Are your letter writers well known? As stupid as it sounds, prestige matters for a lot of the people making these admissions decisions. </p>

<p>I’d also recommend that you be more specific about what you’re hoping to study- democratic institutions and voting are pretty broad topics. Are you hoping to focus on American institutions or Comparative ones (i.e. compare different countries)? Though the division between American/Comparative is rather arbitrary, it’s a big part of the current organization of polisci in terms of everything from hiring to presentations, so I’d recommend at the very least narrowing in on one of those areas. </p>

<p>As far as other schools to apply to, cast your net far and wide- research some of the Midwestern state schools (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, etc.) and see if any of those might be good fits for you. They tend to have decent finaid deals (unlike Wisconsin, which is notoriously stingy) and fairly large departments where you can find someone to work with in any area. Think carefully about where you’d want to live for 5+ years, but also consider that having competing offers can often help you negotiate a better deal, so any offer is a good offer. Certainly apply to some of the schools on your list right now, but don’t get your hopes up. </p>

<p>Wish I could be more optimistic for you, but this process is notoriously soul crushing and finicky. Good luck.</p>