Getting Into a Good Grad Program from CSU Long Beach

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I'm currently a senior at CSU Long Beach. My major is International Studies and my minor is Russian. My geographical area emphasis is on Russia and Central Asia. I predict that my GPA will be a 3.5 when I graduate. I've worked 2 internships, 1 with Congress and another with a major U.S. port doing government affairs work. I plan to study abroad next year in Russia and Kazakhstan or possibly both for the Summer and Fall of 2014. I haven't taken the GRE yet. I've done Air Force ROTC for a year and a half but couldn't complete it due to undergraduate coming to a close. Also, in my senior year, I have already started and will continue to do research on Russia and Central Asia writing a number of research papers and aiding my professor who is a recognized scholar in the area. With all this being said, CSU Long Beach, although a highly ranked CSU, is still a CSU-and to dull and shallow people, this means that it isn't on par with many other so-called "top tier" schools. And I want to know what emphasis grad school application reviewers at top schools notable in DC put on the name value of a school.</p>

2

<p>Having a LOR from a recognized scholar in your field should go a long way. My friend from CSU Fullerton went to Cal Tech for grad school with good research and a LOR from a prof who happened to go to Cal Tech.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your input, it really assures me that I’ll be ok!</p>

4

<p>Grad programs don’t care where you went to undergrad; they are much more interested in what you actually did in undergrad. At most top professional schools there are students from all kinds of educational backgrounds - from Ivy educations to regional public universities like your CSU.</p>

5

<p>The distinction between a UC and a CSU is pretty much a California thing. Graduate schools in the DC area are unlikely to know or care what the difference is between a CSU and a UC as long as you have a strong academic record.</p>