<p>I'm currently a Junior at a top 40 school. I have a 3.4 GPA and Major GPA's above 3.5 in in Economics, Political Science, International Studies, and Geography coupled with a Certificate in GIS. One of the big reasons that my GPA got pulled down is because in my Calculus class fall of sophomore year I got a D, I have since retaken it and got a B but the D is still going to show in my transcript. Ever since I've been attending college I've had to work 2 jobs to get me by. I want to apply to the best International Policy schools out there, the Columbias and John Hopkins of the world, and I was wondering if anybody can tell me my whether I have a shot.</p>
<p>You have achieved a lot and have good academics. The top IR / IP schools will also care about language skills and work experience. Not that you can’t go right away, but your chances increase significantly with international experience (work or volunteer, and to a lesser extent, teaching).</p>
<p>Look at these schools’ average class profiles to see where you are at or above average and where you are below average to get a sense of how much you look like the enrolled class. It doesn’t tell you your chances of admission, but is a good way to get a rough idea of what qualifications people bring.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the reply! I was looking at their average GPA’s of the schools I want to apply and they are about .2 higher than I have. Just have to keep working at it this next year and a half.</p>