Transnational Organized Crime, Insurgency, Drug Policy, and the right PhD Program

<p>Hey everyone. I really want to get a sense of where I fall within the grad school competitive spectrum. As much as I would like to apply to 10 or 12 programs like I have seen people doing, I do not have the financial means to do this myself. So I want to narrow down my list of potential schools so I don't bankrupt myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>I graduated from a respected state LAC with a 3.68 GPA with a major in Political Science. My GRE scores are 650 verbal, 720 quant, and 6.0 on the writing section. My areas of interest include transnational organized crime, insurgency, and drug policy with an emphasis on the current drug war that is raging in Mexico. I have been the student president of my campus' Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter, a intern for the Drug Policy Alliance, and a campaign organizer for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies' campaign to ease the government restrictions on marijuana research. While I feel like I have relevant work experience for the field I wish to study, I am worried that these controversial organizations might hold back my application.</p>

<p>I am thinking of applying to UCSD, UCLA, UC Irvine, UT Austin, Northwestern, and NYU. I have already ruled out Berkeley as an impossibility. UCSD and UCLA are reaches, UT Austin and NYU are targets, and UC Irvine is (hopefully) a safety. Any feedback on my chances to get into these school will make my day. Also, could someone give me further input as to which schools have a specialty in this field.</p>