u/Greatsmellflavor

Am I cooked for this PhD application cycle? Applying to some pretty competitive polisci (political theory subfield) and sociology programs (Brown, UW-Madison, Berkeley, UMass Amherst, and some others of the critical ilk). Might try to cram in a retake in before the winter, but I’ve got two jobs and the first time around was tough.

How much is this score going to hold me back if I don’t retake?

I’ve got 2 really strong LORs from profs with high citation counts (the 3rd LOR is from a lesser known scholar but someone who can speak to my ability to sustain a research project), 4.0 undergrad GPA, 4.0 Masters GPA, a writing sample I’m proud of, and a very clean SOP. Any reflections, insights, thoughts, or advice would be much appreciated.

Am I cooked for this PhD application cycle? Applying to some pretty competitive polisci (political theory subfield) and sociology programs (Brown, UW-Madison, Berkeley, UMass Amherst, and some others of the critical ilk). Might try to cram in a retake in before the winter.

How much is this score going to hold me back?

I’ve got 2 really strong LORs from profs with high citation counts (the 3rd LOR is from a lesser known scholar but someone who can speak to my ability to sustain a research project), 4.0 undergrad GPA, 4.0 Masters GPA, a writing sample I’m proud of, and a very clean SOP. Any reflections, insights, thoughts, or advice would be much appreciated.

Hello community!

I’m planning to apply to several Political Science (subfield political theory) departments this fall and am torn between two works to submit for my writing sample.

I don’t have any “sole-author” publications, so I’m now evaluating a condensed chapter of my masters thesis and a separate work I completed as a term paper.

The thesis is primarily exegetical and offers a phenomenological reading Marx’s Capital Volume III. There is some original argumentation but I’m worried that because it simply traces the logic embedded in the book, pulling out my reading from there, it will be insufficient to prove my ability to sustain an original, truly novel argument.

The other piece is an analysis of the mutual interpenetration of political subjectivities and the labor process, mapping the history of interactions between the two from feudalist Europe to the platform economy of the present.

I’d really appreciate any feedback as to how I should be thinking about my writing sample and whether one of these pieces is more aligned with what committees are looking for. Thanks!

Hello community!

I’m planning to apply to several Political Science (subfield political theory) departments this fall and am torn between two works to submit for my writing sample.

I don’t have any “sole-author” publications, so I’m now evaluating a condensed chapter of my masters thesis and a separate work I completed as a term paper.

The thesis is primarily exegetical and offers a phenomenological reading Marx’s Capital Volume III. There is some original argumentation but I’m worried that because it simply traces the logic embedded in the book, pulling out my reading from there, it will be insufficient to prove my ability to sustain an original, truly novel argument.

The other piece is an analysis of the mutual interpenetration of political subjectivities and the labor process, mapping the history of interactions between the two from feudalist Europe to the platform economy of the present.

I’d really appreciate any feedback as to how I should be thinking about my writing sample and whether one of these pieces is more aligned with what committees are looking for. Thanks!