Is Going for a Masters in Israel in Middle Eastern Studies enough to secure me a spot

Graduate School
1

<p>at a top IR masters program in the US if my gpa, gre, lors, and SOP is up to par, but I have no work experience?</p>

2

<p>Well, I know nothing can really guarantee me a spot at a top ir program, but would i be at equal footing with someone who has work experience?</p>

3

<p>Probably not</p>

4

<p>ok, so how about doing the masters then living in Israel for another year? I’d expect it to be just as good if not better than the peace corps since I’ll already have a masters in middle eastern studies which would be my specialization.</p>

5

<p>Why don’t you just apply anyway instead of spending for 2-3 years pursuing another MA and living experience? There isn’t any restriction about applying year after year if you don’t succeed the first time. Plus, I can’t imagine why top IR MA programs (versus PhD) would favor another MA elsewhere over work experience. Don’t spend money and time pursuing a MA degree in order to get into another MA program. Instead, if you have the undergraduate GPA, the GRE score, just spend those times doing internship and you should be fine. It’s probably cheaper too.</p>

<p>Edit:
About peacecorps, I don’t know how seriously it is considered, but many people I know from Georgetown, GWU, and American University are peacecorps alum. Not sure if the people who do peacecorps are just naturally inclined toward IR programs or they get preferential treatments. Either way, I wouldn’t cross peace corps off the list if you want to get into a top IR program.</p>