<p>Anyone out there applying to the MA in Arab Studies at Georgetown?</p>
<p>I just wanted to throw in my $0.02 regarding the GW/AU issue (full disclosure: I’m an SIS grad) for this year’s applicant pool - there’s really, honestly no difference from a “basic reputation and job pov”. I got the same position as a number of GW grads with the same paycheck and the same responsibilities. GT and SAIS have their specific strengths, and if those are strengths you’d like to leverage (e.g. World Bank through SAIS), by all means go for it, but when it comes to GW/AU, there’s really no “real-world” difference. Just pick whichever program you like best based on the classes offered and the requirements of each program - you’re almost guaranteed to be equal out there in the job market, what’s going to matter is what you were able to do while in school (internships, jobs, research, publications, etc) along with your language ability and technical skills (if applicable).</p>
<p>Right now, I am a senior who is about to take one extra semester to minor in philosophy (at Rutgers). I want to go to SIS at AU or GW to study International Policy. However, like most people, I do not have those perfect grades or that Harvard level of success.
So for this coming summer, to raise my credentials, I was planning to study abroad at Korea University (2nd best university in the country and is partner school of AU) to take Intro to Macro (i need precal prereq at my school which I didnt do) and Intro to Philosophy (which will help me take one less class my last semester) and a East Asian IR class relating to Korea. This also comes with an internship opportunity to work in a Korean company for a month before I start the program. I did this program before and I would get special “alumni” status if I did it a second time. </p>
<p>However, after reading one of the posts, I find myself conflicted on whether to instead do the NYU Center for Global Affairs. It seems like a good idea and I also think it will help my chances a lot. It also has the classes I believe what AU is looking for and it looks awesome on your transcript. I live across the river from NYC so it wouldn’t be a problem getting there at all. </p>
<p>If I could, I would do both, however, there are obvious time conflicts with each program. Which program do you think would be the best suited for me?</p>
<p>*GPA: 3.105 (transfered, GPA reset/did Army ROTC first semester, got really sick and had bad first semester) - Still have two more semesters to raise it.
*GRE: didn’t take the GRE, studying the LSAT but not going well so I’m going to drop it soon and switch over to the GRE.
*Political Science/History joint major. Minor in Philosophy (at Rutgers, ranked 1st)
*Studied abroad at Freie University in Berlin in European/German politics and also German language - I still continue with German for 4 semester equivalent. Also moderate fluency in Korean.<br>
*I worked for my study abroad office and for the DAAD (German academic exchange services in NYC).
*I have to rethink who I can ask for a recommendation. I was never the student who visited the professor 24/7. Never researched with a professor either.
*Never failed a class, but I got a C in a math class, a science class and a history class. (two of those Cs are from that bad first semester)
*Was part of the student government at my old university. I was a legislator.
*Took a number of courses for my major regarding IR and the US from Political Science and History. (Conflict Resolution, Causes of War, History of the Cold War etc)
*Only “W” grade I got was from dropping out of the ROTC military courses.
*Worked in Philanthropy in a social fraternity. </p>
<p>So as you can see, I have a lot of ups and downs. I want to have the best possible credentials before I begin to apply to grad schools the end of this year.</p>
<p>kigali: “I just wanted to throw in my $0.02 regarding the GW/AU issue (full disclosure: I’m an SIS grad) for this year’s applicant pool - there’s really, honestly no difference from a “basic reputation and job pov”. I got the same position as a number of GW grads with the same paycheck and the same responsibilities. GT and SAIS have their specific strengths, and if those are strengths you’d like to leverage (e.g. World Bank through SAIS), by all means go for it, but when it comes to GW/AU, there’s really no “real-world” difference. Just pick whichever program you like best based on the classes offered and the requirements of each program - you’re almost guaranteed to be equal out there in the job market, what’s going to matter is what you were able to do while in school (internships, jobs, research, publications, etc) along with your language ability and technical skills (if applicable).”</p>
<p>I hate to be contrary, but of course a SIS graduate would say that. However, in my professional experience, far more GW graduates get roles above AU (Elliott over SIS) and are generally of a higher quality academically and professionally. AU is fine as a backup but GW is closer to GTown than AU is to GW.</p>
<p>Returning to the threads original purpose of a couple years ago, I thought people could list what grad schools they’ve gotten accepted/rejected/waitlisted to, and what their stats are. In the next couple months lots of decisions should be coming, and people may have already heard from some early decision notifications.</p>
<p>Applied to: Fletcher, SAIS, Gtown
Accepted: Fletcher, SAIS (previously accepted, reapplied for Fall 2011)
Waiting: Gtown</p>
<p>-GPA: 3.88, SUNY Geneseo (2009), majored in International Relations and Economics
-GRE: 670V (95th percentile) 750Q (82nd Percentile) 5.5 AW (94th percentile)
-Current Peace Corps Volunteer
-Interned Dept of Commerce, two summers studying abroad in Moscow
-Proficient in Armenian, Intermediate in Russian</p>
<p>Anyone else out there who got accepted via early notification to Fletcher?</p>
<p>Grats on your acceptances! From the boards I’ve been reading, Fletcher seems to be more selective than GT. I’ve seen users post comparable/slightly higher stats than yours be rejected from Fletcher. SAIS is a great name-brand program too-- I kinda regret not applying.</p>
<p>Here’s my deal:
Applied to: Fletcher, Kennedy, BostonU, Gtown
Accepted: no responses yet</p>
<p>Stats:
-3.4 GPA, Hawaii Pacific Univ (2000)
-Masters Enviro Mgmt (UMaryland)
-GRE: 620v, 510q, 4a
-11 years military experience
-Associates degree in French & use it daily at work, fluent in Portuguese
-currently working in a US Embassy in Africa, also served in Afghanistan & Germany.
-former missionary in Brazil</p>
<p>Looking forward to seeing where i can get in!</p>
<p>Hey! Newbie here.</p>
<p>Did any other SAIS applicants receive emails from them regarding the summer 2011 programs and/or the upcoming event “Turning Foreign Policy Ideas into Foreign Policy Practice?”</p>
<p>Yeah, bluenote, I think all applicants get them.</p>
<p>Pall Mall, in response to your post:</p>
<p>“I hate to be contrary, but of course a SIS graduate would say that. However, in my professional experience, far more GW graduates get roles above AU (Elliott over SIS) and are generally of a higher quality academically and professionally. AU is fine as a backup but GW is closer to GTown than AU is to GW.”</p>
<ul>
<li>I have not seen this, nor have I experienced this personally, and from my experience both with colleagues and with interns, I haven’t found this to be the case. I applied to SIS (and only SIS) because it was the only program I liked, and many in my cohort turned down GW for SIS because they liked the program more. I’ve never heard of an SIS graduate getting passed over in favor of a GW grad simply because the latter’s degree was from GW. What I have noticed, however, is that SIS generally tends to attract a younger crowd, and in a neighboring thread I’ve noted that this may account for some of the discrepancy in jobs - an SIS graduate who went straight to grad school out of undergrad will come out at, say, 24, and be eligible for entry-level IR positions. A GW grad may come in with 2 years of work experience, for instance, and come out at 26 with a position closer to mid-range (3-5 years of work experience). This does not, however, mean that the SIS graduate will still be in their entry-level position by the age of 26, and by the time each of our hypothetical graduates has reached the age of, say, 28, they’ll likely be in very similar positions.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you were a undergrad IR/Chinese language major with a a concentration in East Asia and Global Economics and Business, how valuable would a Economics minor be in Graduate School admissions process? I’d appreciate your thoughts.</p>
<p>I think American’s program is stronger than GW’s in any event. Congrats.</p>
<p>The Econ minor wouldn’t matter. Grad schools IMHO care about how you put the knowledge to use. If you are a chinese major but speak bad Chinese and never spent real time in china they might question how interested you are if you put down you want to study east Asia. It all really depends on what type of ir you want to study. Econ won’t matter that
Much unless you want to study int Econ. Do well in your classes, get some experience, and you will be fine. :)</p>
<p>Thanks BlueJayBJ. So what if the OPI on Chinese is very high…extensive experience abroad…would the Econ minor help the application? Sitting with 9 hours of econ…9 more would secure the minor…</p>
<p>It wouldn’t really matter the gre is used to test quant and as long as you do macro and micro for sais you’re fine. But if you want to study east Asia ir at the top schools you need a stellar stellar application. Schools like Sais gets a lot of people wanting China studies and the people now that get that I know are crazy resume people.</p>
<p>Here are my stats which are pretty non-traditional, so I hope they help someone better understand where they stand.</p>
<p>-Graduated a military academy 10 years ago, science degree, 2.5 GPA
-GRE: 650/750/4.5 (slightly above average for the good schools)
-Good letters of Recommendation, one especially good from the Embassy’s Defense Attache (immediate superior for PEP officers). One from a DLI instructor, another from an old superior.
- Pretty good essays, highlighted my experience learning about the US’s leadership role toward other countries (see below), and my new-found understanding from Korea about how other countries perceive US policy (good and bad) and where they hope to take advantage of the US (by piggybacking mutual interests)
- took micro and macro online in the fall, received A’s</p>
<p>Experience:
-Spent 8 years as a pilot, flew in both wars and a couple other hot spots (been around the globe a couple times)
-Went to the Defense Language Institute to learn Korean
-Served as an exchange officer (PEP program) to South Korea
-A lot of personal travel off the beaten path</p>
<p>I think my GRE and economics grades helped overcome my rock-bottom GPA. I also added a separate note explaining that I am more mature now. I worked really really hard on my personal statement (it was more of an pro-me argument). I think knowing a unique language (Korean) instead of spanish or french probably helped. Since I am currently in Korea, I didn’t do any interviews, or interact with any of the admissions departments even once. I just sent my stuff in and waited.</p>
<p>RESULTS:
(I also have the GI bill which is good for about 10k/year in MA and DC)
Fletcher - accepted ($7k from school, 5 more from the yellow ribbon program = 12K)
SAIS - accepted (no $$, just loans offered)
SIPA - waitlisted (???) this was actually my first choice, b/c of NYC!
Elliott - accepted (pretty much fully funded)
SIS - accepted (no idea on funding yet)</p>
<p>I was pretty surprised I got into SAIS and Fletcher, but I think the fact I received so little funding from them indicates it was close. Then again, I also make a pretty good salary as an officer, which might have decreased their help, and I have the GI Bill. I was feeling pretty good about my chances at Elliott and SIS. I’m surprised I got into SAIS/Fletcher and not SIPA, not sure why.</p>
<p>Anyhow, I am accepting the Fletcher offer but I’ll have to defer a year because I won’t be able to get out of the service before school starts.</p>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Posted this before on another thread, but didn’t get any responses so am trying my luck again. </p>
<p>I’m interested in applying & (hopefully getting accepted) to a top grad program in international relations or policy with an international relations focus. I’d like to apply to Princeton, Harvard, and Hopkins among others and I was hoping I could get some feedback on my chances based on my credentials.</p>
<p>I graduated in 2009 from a small state university, I have a BS in finance with a GPA of 3.9</p>
<p>I have several yrs working experience as a beach lifeguard, have had over a 100 rescues, several emergency situations, etc…</p>
<p>I am a public school teacher in an urban school system (very difficult setting), and by the time I apply to grad schools I will have about 2-3 yrs experience in the position. To do this I got accepted into a very competitive region specific program through which I am taking educational courses and will receive my professional teacher certification, but will not have a Masters out of it or anything.</p>
<p>I have not yet taken the GRE yet, but I plan to study hard and hopefully receive a strong score, I also plan to have about 9-12cr of Spanish by the time I apply and will have decent recommendations.</p>
<p>I have little international experience, aside from a couple months living in Puerto Rico (which is U.S. territory I know). I was considering teaching abroad in Europe or elsewhere for a year before applying to programs, but it would complicate my personal time-line as to being able to matriculate right when I come back. If possible, I would choose to study abroad while enrolled in such Master’s programs.</p>
<p>Any feedback is greatly appreciated, would very much like to get accepted into a prestigious program.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance!</p>
<p>Hey, I just found this thread and I think it’s very helpful.</p>
<p>I’d like to know if anyone can give me an educated idea where I’m at.</p>
<p>GRE: v166 (~680) q164 (~780) w5.0 (translated numbers according to GRE)
GPA: difficult, I have 3 undergrad institutions, one foreign.<br>
My domestic cum is 3.42…don’t know if the foreign is included-it’s pretty average.
Half of my credits and all my upper level courses are at my final school. My cum. there is 3.85, actually a spotless 4.0 in Econ courses.</p>
<p>My Majors are Economics and International Studies, Minor Philosophy.
I Have Intermediate MicroMacro, Stats, and Econometrics and a Capstone in Econ, as well as Calc 2 for their quant. desires. Strong background in Polisci and Philosophy.</p>
<p>I have studied 4 languages, specifically a pretty advanced level I of Spanish and intermediate-advanced French.
For abroad experience, I spent 3 semesters overseas attending a British university. Other than that mostly traveling alone through Western Europe.
I currently do advertising for a local restaurant, and I’ve also been a high school soccer coach for 2 years in a large urban school, where over half of the team are immigrants.</p>
<p>What do you guys think?
I’m trying SIPA and SAIS, I’ve also put in for LBJ at Texas, and CIR at Chicago (where I have an affiliation, for whatever that’s worth.) I may do a few other lower-tier schools and Yale, I fear my WWS app didn’t get completed in time.</p>
<p>I’m so ignorant about this process.
Thanks for the help, this is really informative.</p>