<p>Hi folks. Been lurking on this fantastic site for a few months and now I thought I'd finally post my query here to get some tips and advice. Despite all sorts of information available here I've been having trouble deciding regarding my graduate degree options. I've been really keen on pursuing an MSc in Economics from one of the better reputed colleges (such as NYU, LSE, UCL, Warwick, etc) and later on, if possible and if my funds allow, a Phd in the same field. </p>
<p>But the thing is that as an international student from the South Asian region, I did my undergrad from a local university which is thankfully internationally recognized (ranked 1st in my country if that counts for anything) as well. Also due to personal reasons my CGPA was a bit lower than what I would have liked i.e. 3.28 in my BSc (Hons) in Economics and Political Science. I finished my undergrad half a year back and took some time off to work a bit to gain some experience in the social development sector in order to help improve my chances of getting into some of the better programs. At the moment, I'm currently working as a regular intern (internship that leads up to a confirmed job after 6 months) for an NGO which is directly responsible for building the capacity of development professionals and poor communities across my country, as well as working with most UN agencies, the World Bank, and other INGOs. I'm also preparing for the GRE which I plan to give in 2-3 months. </p>
<p>So what I've been hoping for is to get some advice on what you folks would recommend that could further help improve my chances of getting in? What do you think are my current chances? Was my decision to work a wise move in your opinion? Or do you think I'm just wasting my time by doing some social development work? Also, I am well aware that GPA is not the only thing admissions people look at- references, personal statements and GRE scores matter as well. But then the top colleges have stringent entry requirements that might filter out my application based on the GPA alone.</p>
<p>And to go slightly off topic what do you think is the market value of a Msc Finance and Economics degree (If feasible, I might pursue the MBA route after a few years if I opt for this)? My main aim is to get a graduate degree from a reputable institution along with the chance to work abroad in order to gain a more colorful sort of experience. I may have been a bit vague in some of the information I gave but that's mainly because of the dilemma I'm facing. I'm not sure exactly how to proceed and am rather confused. I've been reading up on graduate programs requirement but there's so much information online that I feel like banging my head against a wall. Not to mention, the amount of investment needed for a graduate degree is huge and I want to think carefully as to how to proceed. </p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to read through this huge "wall of text" that I posted. Any advice will be gladly appreciated. Cheers :)</p>