<p>This is my first post on here, but the information has been extremely helpful so far! I have been deliberating for months about which graduate programs to apply to. I just applied to the Fletcher School Early Notification, which is my first choice for a program.</p>
<p>I went to Oberlin College for undergrad, GPA 3.4, and got 720Q and 590V on the GREs. My GPA is lower than it should be cause of some unrelated classes I took my first two years in college, also many of the professors at Oberlin are notorious for never giving out As. Oh well. I worked for an NGO on immigration issues for about 2 years and am currently teaching English in Korea to save money for grad school...have quite a lot of experience working on migration, development and human rights. I speak Spanish well and Japanese/Arabic okay. </p>
<p>Right now my list is more or less;</p>
<p>Fletcher School
Monterey Institute
Carleton University
London School of Economics
University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies
University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Are there other programs anyone can recommend? I plan to continue working in the NGO field, especially on migration issues. I'm also hoping not to go $100,000 into debt and am really not keen on the idea of living in D.C. </p>
<p>I'm also quite interested in programs like Harvard/Columbia etc. but I"m not sure whether it"s worth applying with my gpa and current job. Any advice on this? If it's pointless applying, what schools are out there that I have a good chance of being accepted to?</p>
<p>Sorry, another question that is a bit unrelated. A lot of the programs seem to ask for Macro/Microeconomics. Does anyone know a good place to take these classes online? I'm in Korea right now, so I will have to do it through the internet.</p>
<p>With your stats and work experience, harvard is pretty much out of the question. Columbia might take you, especially if you have an extra year of work experience.
As for the rest, the only one I can comment on is Carleton, where you should have no trouble being admitted.</p>
<p>Everyone knows someone unimpressive you got into KSG, which I suppose is a testament to the program itself. That said, I still dont see anyways the OP would be competitive for KSG at this point.</p>
<p>The OP's stats are by no means outside of an SD from the mean.</p>
<p>But as for your first comment, I dunno... I know unimpressive people who got into all sorts of places. I think it's the story of academia/life, in a way.</p>
<p>Most of the individuals I know you got into PhD programs were very unimpressive. The impressive people tend to get into business, impress people, and make cash. Not saying there aren't talented and intelligent people in academia, but alot of kids who pursue PhD's arent there because of any natural or raw intelligence, charisma, or other impressive personal attribute.</p>
<p>I disagree wholeheartedly. It's a different skill set.</p>
<p>"Making money" is not that impressive to me, on its face. While some wealthy-types impress me, the vast majority are using skills that are independent from the skills a talented researcher needs. </p>
<p>A lot comes down to what we currently value in America. The self-made man in the US is a hero. In other countries, not so much.</p>
<p>As I said, just my perception. Although I know a few talented, driven, and highly intelligent researchers and professoras, many of the younger folks I know who are applying or have been admitted to PhD programs just went thorugh the correct motions to get there. I have always felt that the most talented folsk are those who start and sustain succesful businesses. Not saying I dont respect academics, though.</p>
<p>Hi, thanks for the responses. UCL Ari, I have looked at San Diego but despite (or perhaps because) being in Korea right now, I'm not really interested in focusing on Asia. I'm really looking for a program that has more of a focus on Immigration, and also Conflict Resolution, which are the two fields I want to specialize in. Yeah, I'm still up in the air about applying to Harvard. I do agree that it's probably a long shot, and I don't want to waste my recommender's time writing letters for schools I'm unlikely to get into. Seeing as you guys seem to know a lot about the admissions process, are there any other schools you would recommend as realistic prospects for me? I might even be willing to consider DC at this point....oh and thanks for the tip on Santa Monica College!</p>
<p>Your recommenders will spend VERY little time adding an extra letter to the pile, don't worry. </p>
<p>If you like conflict resolution, I know that Chicago has some good people right now. If I'm not mistaken, Pape is there. I know for certain that Mearsheimer and Posner are there.</p>
<p>I'm not up on immigration much, though. Sorry.</p>
<p>The problem with Chicago, however, from what I have heard at least, is that your chances of ever actually SEEING Mearsheimer, Posner, or Pape are slim. Ive heard nothing but bad things about Chicago's grad programs in poli sci. Maybe I just ran into a few bitter people...</p>
<p>As UCLAri mentioned though, I doubt your recommenders will be ****ed to have to write another LOR for Harvard, even if it is a longshot. Profs write LOR's all the time, and it is part of their job.</p>
<p>To back up what UCLAri is saying, I also think that UCSD has a better name reputation in IR than most of the other schools on your original list. It may not have the same name drop impact that LSEor the Fletcher school has, but everyone who needs to know about IR knows about UCSD.</p>
<p>Well not wanting to be in DC automatically rules out two targets, GW and American. You might also consider University of Denver, Yale, and Duke. Just out of curiousity, why do you not want to live in DC?</p>
<p>Hey guys, thanks so much for the advice, this is all really helpful. So would you advise against U of Chicago then? I just started looking into their program and I really like the courses they offer...plus a 1 year MA sounds great to me, for financial reasons. As far as I can tell, their IR program is interdisciplinary, so is it just the PoliSci program that gets bad reviews...or their IR program?</p>
<p>As far as San Diego, that does look like an interesting program too, especially if I could do the Latin America regional focus, which is more relevant for me than Asia. But as UCSD is known for Asia, would it be worth going there to focus on Latin America...any thoughts UCLAri?</p>
<p>samsonite16, I didn't really want to apply to schools in DC because, well, I've just never gotten a good impression of the city from visiting. IAlso all the DC schools seem so expensive, and unlikely to give someone without a stellar academic/professional record any financial aid. But maybe that isn't true for GW and American, not being quite in the league of SAIS and SFS. Would you guys say that the GW and American programs are pretty comparable? I would probably just pick one of them to apply to.</p>
<p>Anyways thanks again...appreciate your time</p>
<p>UCSD's Latin America people are also very well-known, and the Latin America group represent a significant portion of the cohort each year.</p>
<p>However, if you think you'd have a tough time getting into SAIS and SFS, IR/PS would be rough as well (as far as I can tell, the admitted applicants are largely the same.) Still, as with any applications, it's all a long shot. I'd just apply to as many as you can afford the money/time for, and let the cards fall where they may. My buddy who got into SFS didn't get into IR/PS. Fit plays a significant role, and if you can convince adcoms that you "belong," any weaknesses in your application can be mitigated.</p>
<p>I think GW is better regarded than American, but not by much. I'm sorry you've never had a good impression of DC. I've lived in the DC area for most of my life so I'm obviously a bit partial, but perhaps you just haven't seen the right parts. A couple of neighborhoods like Georgetown attract a fair amount of snobs and *******s, but once you get out beyond those it gets a lot better. It is a transient city though, and in some ways very insular, so I understand where you're coming from.</p>
<p>Why don't you think of JHU SAIS. It may be a little above your range but it should be worthwhile to try. Also may be you may like to think of other public schools. What about Michigan for example? I know that they have a great political science program in there. </p>