My first year at college a lot of emotional stuff happened and it lead to my GPA being a 1.84 by the end of the year. But now my GPA is a 2.39 after getting a 3.68 last semester. I switched my major to Political Science from cybersecurity. I expect my grades to be like that almost every semester since I actually care about what I am learning and I am a lot better mentally and emotionally. But I am afraid this still has wrecked my chances. Even if I got 4.0 every semester, I feel my overall GPA will never represent who I am.
I also participate in multiple clubs, I am the founder and president of College Democrats at my university and I have a relatively strong resume with a few clubs, a study abroad experience for this summer and I plan to do a second internship and maybe even a third if I can fit it in the summer after my study abroad, I also plan to help on a political campaign when I can for 2020.
But I still feel my overall GPA is going to impact my chances of getting into schools like Columbia. Columbia is my reach school and I am only a sophomore so I am not thinking about Grad School too much right now. But I wonder what kind of GPA is needed to get into the Columbia International Service school since I want to get a masters in International Affairs.
Columbia’s school is called the School for International and Public Affairs, or SIPA.
Most people who go get MIAs have several years of work experience, and Columbia is no exception. The average age of entry is 26, and they say that most of their students are between 25 and 35 - which means most have between 3 and 13 years of work experience prior to entering SIPA. That’s also your best option for making your GPA matter less - going to work after college, ideally in a field related to international relations, and doing really well.
When you apply, you can also point this out in your statement of purpose or a supplemental essay. If you have a GPA that’s otherwise strong but is brought down only by your first year GPA, you can explain that personal difficulties and not being in the best major for you resulted in poorer performance than you are capable of, and then point out that since you found your passion in political science that your average cumulative GPA is 3.68 (or whatever).
Unlike in undergrad, your participation on campus doesn’t matter as much for graduate schools. Professional schools like SIPA will care a little more about certain things - like your study abroad experience, and perhaps your involvement with College Democrats depending on what you do with it. But things that are unrelated to international affairs (or clubs you don’t have leadership positions in) won’t really register as significant strengths for your application.
Be aware, too, that the degree can be costly. Do you have a way to pay for it? How much money will a graduate from SIPA make? Is it enough to pay for loans?
SIPA does have several fellowships. Knowing this ahead of time might allow you to prepare.
http://admissionsblog.sipa.columbia.edu/tag/flas/
https://sipa.columbia.edu/taxocsvsubcat/generalall-fellowships
The FLAS fellowship is a great one to aim for. They award for advanced foreign language study in a target language. check the list of target languages, you might already be on your way.
One thing to consider is that between undergrad and grad school you can go to your country of interest and work. Often there’s a way to go teach English abroad. Japan has a JET program. Korea has similar opportunities etc. Working abroad will give you a chance to work on your language skills, your cultural fluency, and your understanding of the political issues.