<p>Rory, </p>
<p>I just heard back yesterday by email (good news - yay!). I don't know if they are telling everyone at once but if not, I suspect you will hear early next week.</p>
<p>Hey questionable, </p>
<p>I got in Friday as well! Is it your first choice?</p>
<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>Yes, I think it is my first choice (99% of the time it is, but then there's that other 1% of the time when I question myself). Feel free to PM me if you want to chat.</p>
<p>Congrats, guys. Now figure out the money. That's the tricky part.</p>
<p>Thanks UCLAri. Congrats to you too questionable! (wow, that was rude of me before, huh?)</p>
<p>Fletcher is up on my list, but I wonder about the atmosphere. I know its very tight-knit, community-ish, and that puts me off a little. None of my good friends are in the same field as me, and I like it that way! I might find Fletcher a little suffocating, but that's what open houses are for. On the other hand, it seems like a great place to prepare for a PhD (my ultimate goal), so we'll see.....</p>
<p>I think I'd probably take WWS (fat chance) or Yale (slight possibility) over Fletcher, just because they are my top choices for PhD programs, and I'd get to know the profs there. Then again, Yale's program is tiny...but there are so many other departments, I feel as if I can branch out friend-wise.....ahhh, thinking too far ahead....I thought the Fletcher admit would make me calmer, but now I'm itching for the other decisions.....long wait to go....</p>
<p>My off-the-cuff suggestion is that you choose the program with the best quantitative preparation, as most of the best poli sci PhD programs in the US today are very much concerned with quantitative skills.</p>
<p>Congrats to both the Fletcher admitees! Quite an accomplishment.</p>
<p>I re-read this thread because I had been considering an application to KSG, then decided against it. I sort of independently came to the same conclusion as those who surmised that KSG isn't really and IR school. True that some focii are clearly IR, but I was put off by the idea that IR was a specialty within a larger public policy degree. Better, in my mind, to attend an IR focused program that allows the student to truly specialize.</p>
<p>Isn't Princeton WWS the cheapest program since they fund almost all their students?</p>
<p>What type of work expierience/ec's would I need to get into Princeton WWS (I'd probably major in health policy) and Harvard Medical School.</p>
<p>collegehopeful,</p>
<p>ECs aren't really a huge factor in grad school admissions. But don't worry about that now. Just keep your grades up and get yourself internships you enjoy. Don't worry about grad school until you're done with undergrad.</p>
<p>I know that but some relevant ec's are needed. I screwed up getting itno a top college. I don't want to screw up getting into good grad schools. Are there any EC's that would help me get into a public policy school and a medical school. Would a job for a health orginization such as Red Cross help me get into Princeton WWS and HMS.</p>
<p>collegehopeful,</p>
<p>Do what makes sense. Don't worry so much about anything but what you think would apply. Health policy is way outside of my area of expertise, but I think that a few years with ARC would be favorable. </p>
<p>Don't think of them as "EC's." Think of them as career builders. The days of EC's are over. Now it's the big league.</p>
<p>I think even calling them "EC's" is misleading because it makes it sound as if you can go do a bunch of unrelated activities that aren't relevant to your field such as girl scout guide, basketball coach, or volunteer at the county fair, and see these activities pay dividends in a grad school application. Althogh there is nothing wrong with doing such activities and no one should shy away from community involvement, grad schools want to see "EC's" that are straight up work experience, almost the same way MBA's want to see a directed, coherent path of work before they admit an applicant.</p>
<p>In the case of an IR applicant, this usually means work with organizatiosn related to the specific subfield of IR you wish to get into. The more selective the program, the more experience you need, obviously. If you look at the profiles of some of the WWS students, alot of them have several years of work experience in high levels of government. Some of them even worked directed under the Prime Minister of Japan, if I recall correctly.</p>
<p>My experience (at a top 5 PhD program in IR) is that top students at Fletcher, WWS, SAIS, SFS, Oxford, etc. get in. Any of these programs are gateways to a PhD in Political Science if you do well enough while you are there, and if you are strategic about who writes your letters. So the quant skills are worth considering, but they are not the only relevant issue.</p>
<p>So would I have to take time off to get work experience? Or can I get it during the school year/summer? Since I want to get an M.P.A and an M.D I will be in school unpaid for long enough. I don't think i can afford to take a few years off.</p>
<p>what does it take to get into grad school for international studies?</p>
<p>I'd really love to get an MA in international studies, but right now I feel like my chances are VERY slim. English is the only language I speak fluently (I'm currently working on my Korean and I speak a little French) and my experiences abroad are pretty much nonexistent. </p>
<p>I still have one more year as an undergrad, and I'm planning on studying abroad next spring quarter...what else should I be doing to prepare myself for applying to grad school? I thought I was preparing myself by majoring in international studies, but it seems like that's not going to help much. :/</p>
<p>You need work experience, ideally something related to whatever subfield or IR you are interested in. Seeing as you don't have much international experience, you might consider trying to work for an NGO somewhere outside of North America and Europe (this would also help with your lack of language skills). Unless you are a real superstar, don't expect to get into the top programs without a couple years of substantive work.</p>
<p>Question for all:</p>
<p>Can anyone provide some insight into the competitiveness of the International Affairs program (M.A.) at Marquette University? It's location is obviously not desirable, but I'm curious as to how it stacks up among the rest.</p>
<p>"You need work experience, ideally something related to whatever subfield or IR you are interested in. Seeing as you don't have much international experience, you might consider trying to work for an NGO somewhere outside of North America and Europe (this would also help with your lack of language skills). Unless you are a real superstar, don't expect to get into the top programs without a couple years of substantive work."</p>
<p>I'm in a similar boat to the guy you responded to (except that I studied abroad for a semester) -- how does one go about getting 1-2 years of work experience abroad? How does one go about working for an NGO abroad?</p>
<p>"I'm in a similar boat to the guy you responded to (except that I studied abroad for a semester) -- how does one go about getting 1-2 years of work experience abroad? How does one go about working for an NGO abroad?"</p>
<p>One applies to four or five positions a week. After one finds oneself getting very few interviews, one begins to ponder the Catch-22 one is apparently stuck in.</p>
<p>Guys like us are in greater supply than jobs guys like us need to start IR careers.</p>
<p>To be (slightly) less cynical, there are a few things you can do, like applying for shirt-term, unpaid overseas internships or volunteering for local aid or policy NGOs. I have relatively little international experience (an internship with the State Department and a study abroad) combined with some of the aforementioned volunteer experience. </p>
<p>Since education and experience seem to be gateways into each other, I've decided to apply to schools AND employment; you should consider doing the same.</p>
<p>Is SAIS for masters only or also for undergraduate? Also if you apply to JHU and you get in, do you automatically get into SAIS (this question only applies if it is also for undergraduate).</p>