I’m applying to top international relations professional schools for fall 2017 admissions
and I’d like to hear what my chances of acceptance would be. Here are my background & stats:
My dream schools are Johns Hopkins SAIS/Georgetown MSFS (Asian Studies) and I’ll probably apply to
Columbia SIPA/Tufts Fletcher/GWU Elliot and mayyyyybe Princeton WWS/Harvard Kennedy School as well.
Ethnicity: Asian-American (dual citizenship)
Undergrad: Top 30 private school on the east coast
International Studies Major / Asian Studies & Economics Minor
Cum laude with a CGPA of 3.63/4.00 but has 2 C+s: Intro to IR & Microeconomic Theory courses… ugh…
Also withdrew from a non-major course in the second semester of senior year… ugh…
GPA is my biggest concern. Really could have done better at school but let bygone by bygone…
Native fluency in Korean/English, conversational fluency in Japanese, intermediate Mandarin Chinese
GRE: 161 V 161 Q, expecting a 4.0-4.5 on AW. Worth retaking it? I’m thinking late November
One-Year Study Abroad Program at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan during 2011-2012
Summer Internships: Consulate-General of Korea in Seattle, Korea Importers Association,
U.S. Embassy Seoul, East Asia Institute
Work Experience: Samsung (Business Development position) for 2.5 years with a focus on overseas business expansion.
Sejong Institute (Research Assistant at a leading IR/diplomacy think tank) for 6 months by the time I apply.
It is non-paid, so I expect it to demonstrate my commitment in the field as
I gave up on a high-paying, prestigious job for a non-paid position?
Freelancing Korean-English Translator/Interpreter - 3 years… quite well-known on the Korean internet.
Scholarships: Boren Scholarships, Gilman, Freeman-ASIA, Bridging Scholarships; merit scholarship at Waseda.
passed the highest level in Japanese Language Proficiency Test with almost a perfect score,
multiple Japanese language contest awards.
Some Extra-curricular activities: Orchestra, Asian-American magazine, Japan Club, Study Abroad Advisory Board, Conversation Partners Program… but these are not too special.
Recommendation Letters: one from a PoliSci professor whom I’ve known for 6+ years and took 4 classes,
Another from an Asian Studies professor, and third one from Vice Director (supervisor) at Samsung.
Questions.
How do my chances look for SAIS/SFS/SIPA and IR fellowships such as Pickering/Rangel, etc?
Will having two C+s in the key major courses and having mediocre-decent grades mostly B+ and A- hurt?
Is it worth retaking the GRE for scores around 165 for both V and Q? Maybe higher chance of admission & funding?
Also, what more could I do from now on to improve my chances from now on other than writing a solid SOP,
getting strong recs and achieving high GRE scores? I would appreciate your responses.