<p>I'm a senior at a public 4 yr school who is graduating two quarters early- and thus, am planning on applying to grad school the end of next fall. I haven't taken the GREs but I"m stressing hardcore about my gpa, I work two jobs to pay for school by myself while attending full time- By the end of next fall I'll have my BA in political science but plan to go to grad school (perhaps thru school of humanities?) for international relations/foreign policy, NGOs, etc... I have studied abroad in germany, volunteered in central america for a month, work two full jobs, taking a grad level course, am in the polisci honors dept, volunteer in other non-profit local orgs, have a quarter internship with my congressman, etc.... but my gpa is a 3.5 which i plan to raise in the next couple quarters. I realize, at the moment, that's my biggest downfall- I'd really appreciate some opinions or suggestions on whether to wait to go to grad school and get some more experience under my belt, or to just pull internships winter, spring and summer quarter before i attend? ALSO, what would be a typical reach school for someone with my resume? Of course I know that GREs play a huge role, but I need some advice (other than studying for the GREs) of the next step I should take!! Any advice is appreciated! :)</p>
<p>a 3.5 GPA is fairly respectable. I wouldn't stress too much just yet (although higher is always better).</p>
<p>Studying for the GREs isn't impossible, but it's important nonetheless. People who take it without preparation seldom do well. Go to the store and buy a Kaplan study guide with a CD ROM supplement. Follow their recommendations because I found them to be very helpful.</p>
<p>It really depends what school you go to, and if you know big names in the field.</p>
<p>The George Washington University has excellent programs for your fields, and it's in DC - the center for this line of work. Your resume seems to correlate with what they expect - I'm an undergrad there - feel free to ask me more questions.</p>