<p>Hi, I'm now a sophomore/junior at Umich AA, an international studies major. I got suspended last year because of a 1.8 GPA and got back last fall. I'm trying to graduate at the end of 2013 (if I was not suspended I should be graduating at 2014), yes, it is ambitious and I'm now having 28 credits online and on campus (I actually need to earn 70 credits this year and ace 40 of them). And I'm trying to take spring, summer and fall.</p>
<p>So my question is, if I got
a 330+5 GRE,
a 3.5 major GPA,
a 2.7 cumulative GPA (the best I can get),
a speedy graduation,
an internship in a foreign government,
and a self owned company,</p>
<p>would I be able to get into any decent (say top 30) grad school of international relations/affairs or public policy? </p>
<p>If the GPA is getting me cut-off at the door, I will re-consider my plan of getting academic.</p>
<p>The career I'm thinking is to get into a think tank (government/private), then the UN. They require at least a master's degree.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>“Speedy graduation” and “self-owned company” are irrelevant for IR graduate school purposes.</p>
<p>I would guess that your chances right out of undergrad of being admitted to a top-30 school with a 2.7 GPA are not good. If you really want to follow that path, I would suggest taking a couple years off to pursue further internships and professional experiences in the field.</p>
<p>Also, jamming your schedule full of a zillion online courses is not going to impress a graduate admissions committee. Why are you in such a hurry? Slow down, take fewer courses, build relationships with professors. If you apply with a strong record of improvement and good recommendations, you might have a shot somewhere.</p>
<p>I don’t know your situation and why you had a 1.8 GPA, but I’m going to assume that overloading yourself with classes is not a way to raise it. When you are overwhelmed, you are less likely to do well, not more. I don’t see how you are going to get an A in 40 credits worth when you are taking 70 - that’s over a year’s worth of credits in one semester.</p>
<p>But anyway, IR and PP programs value work experience more than they value grades. If you have a 3.5 major GPA and 3-5 years of work experience in government, non-profit, or other IR/PP related work you have a much better chance of getting in than straight out of undergrad with that. There are think tank jobs you can get with a bachelor’s.</p>