<p>im looking for addmission in MA IR .pls help me out if u knw abt a good school in nj.nigeria.</p>
<p>Steph you sound like a fine candidate for the best IR schools, Harvard is in desperate need of diversity for example. What is your experience like? Do you speak English as well as Nigerian? Cheers</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I’d like your advise please. For a number of reasons I am only considering a one-year Masters program related to IR. I searched high and low for programs that fit my criteria and eventually applied for the MA in International Relations at Chicago and MA in International Law and Global Security at Georgetown. I am now in a dilemma as to which offer to accept, if any at all.</p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<p>1) How reputable are each of these programs and how would you compare them to other top IR programs in the country?</p>
<p>2) How would these programs compare with a similar Masters program at a top UK university, say LSE or Cambridge?</p>
<p>3) Are there any other reputable one-year MA in IR (or related fields) programs in the US?</p>
<p>Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>What are my chances of getting into UCSD if:</p>
<p>-my GPA is 2.8 (I know it’s quite low)
-GRE score: 580 in verbal, 610 in quantitative, 4.0 in analytical
-plan to focus on Southeast Asia because of my familiarity with the region and fluency in Vietnamese
-double majoring in International Studies and History
-got 3 letters of rec, 2 from “prominent” professors in their field of study (does this even matter?)
-wrote a decent personal statement I think</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>2.8?</p>
<p>Really?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I’d imagine most [all?] decent grad schools would want a 3.0+ GPA.</p>
<p>Try UK schools, much cheaper [even as an international student, unless you are a CA resident], and GPA wont matter so much.</p>
<p>Anteaters, </p>
<p>How much work experience do you have? This is key. If you don’t have then take some time off and try to find a job. You can improve your GRE score that’s the easy bit. If you can’t find a job then move to Vietnam and teach English or do some business there.</p>
<p>Hello Guys , I am new to this forum …</p>
<p>Recently i have started to think abt further education and thus i wanted to get some clarity on this area here … </p>
<p>My profile </p>
<p>Nationality : Indian
Current location : Austria
Profile </p>
<p>first degree Engineering in IT , had math, economic courses from no so known college in India( Top regional college though) ( My biggest negative ) </p>
<p>grades: top 10% of class ,first class honours with distinction</p>
<p>Soon after my engineering , i did something which not many indians get to do . I left for portugal and did a 6 month internship in It services firm . It was life changing in terms of international exposure ,personal growth and devlopment </p>
<p>After portugal , i joined fortune 10 blue chip in energy sector in Austria in a leadership analyst role. The big takeaways are International work ex in management , global cross culture exposure., Here is where i also started my passion to learn and travel . </p>
<p>I was always keen on history , geography from childhood but its was only after living in Europe , i started real life experience with travel and learn … </p>
<p>Having visited 25 countries and cities in 5 continents , i became fascinated by studying more about countries relationships, regional and golbal s . Soon I started exploring how i could learn more about international devlopment and understanding of world issues . </p>
<p>I got a chance to participate in a international environmental leadership to Antarctica with experts, students , researchers, top business and govt leaders was experience i can never forget. It was a life changing experience in terms of personal development. In Antarctica I got a chance to work in expedition team as communication member .I. I believe this was crucial experience for me understand my passion to learn abt world issues and international affairs… </p>
<p>Apart from these, i was active during my undergrad, worked as freelance writer for 1 year and supproted my family income , worked in india’s top outsourcing firm during college . led college oratory board and mentored new members , avid quizzer :represnted school on regional television quiz show, part of world’s largest youth leadership org and faciliated international exchange between India and Portugal .
worked in organizing Asia pacfici leadership conference during my stint with org . </p>
<p>So now with 3.5 years international work ex (next year whn i plan to apply) and my stint in Antarctica and world travels , i am thinking to consider my education in IR
i am yet to decide on GRE/GMAT . Is GMAT allowed for the application ? </p>
<p>i was researching some schools and i was thinking on KSG, SAIS, Georgetown in US and LSE, Oxford and Cambridge .
Am i aiming too high ? do u think not having eco/pol background will hurt me badly ?
Ay opinions on how to improve would be great </p>
<p>thanks </p>
<p>silentcacophony</p>
<p>ps:sorry for the long post</p>
<p>UKdude-</p>
<p>I graduated with a 2.9 and so far I’ve gotten into Korbel, SIPA, and NYU. I’m still waiting to hear from Fletcher and HKS, but work experience counts…so much. My quant score was really low, 610 the first time and 560 the second time, but I heard from SIPA today and was admitted. I worked at a high profile international NGO for three years and there was positive movement from a really crappy first year at undergrad to a strong final two years, but they look at much more than just the GPA itself.</p>
<p>Nice to hear man. But with the GPA you have, you are the exception rather then a typical case if you are really getting all these admissions.</p>
<p>Hey guys - I’m new to this forum but would love to get your opinion/feedback.</p>
<p>I was recently accepted into Yale IR program as well as the Georgetown MSFS (no financial assistance from either). I’m thrilled to be accepted by both and trying to figure out which one would be a better fit.</p>
<p>I’m interested in working in international development after my Master’s either for a non-profit or USAID. I live/work in DC. I’ve heard that Yale is strong academically but is less policy focused. Your thoughts? </p>
<p>What are the main advantages/disadvantages of each? Which school offers better IDev track? </p>
<p>Would you pick Yale or MSFS if you were me?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I thought I’d do a followup post after so many months (years?) of neglecting this forum.</p>
<p>Well, it’s been a long and hard road, but I’m finally “gainfully employed.” </p>
<p>Am I making huge money? Not really. I enjoy a good standard of living, my career is moving rather quickly, and I’m happy overall. </p>
<p>That said, will the MA pay off in the long run in dollar terms? I’m not so sure. </p>
<p>Furthermore, I’ve further strengthened my belief that people should not spend more than they have to on these degrees. Even with my “average” debt load, I spend around 15% of my monthly take-home income servicing my debt. I will spend the next 10 years of my life paying off my grad school debt, and that’s money I could have otherwise spent on a car payment (and then some…), homeowner’s associate fees, 401K, etc. It’s a huge burden unless you can swing a sizable income. My cardinal rule is: don’t take more debt than your expected yearly income. Do you expect to go non-profit and make $35K a year? Then don’t take more than $35K in debt.</p>
<p>Finally, I still struggle to explain to employers why I chose this degree over other degrees. Hell, even the government, which was my original goal, prefers JDs and MBAs for a lot of positions. </p>
<p>In the end, IR MAs are not “bad,” but be realistic about what they’ll do for you and for goodness’ sake, keep that debt burden as low as possible.</p>
<p>I’m another exception! Been accepted to Korbel and SIPA, waitlisted at SAIS. Expecting to hear from Elliott and American next week.</p>
<p>I had a 2.96 GPA, but that was eight years ago and since then I’ve lived abroad, learned Chinese, then worked and volunteered for a series of NGOs. Some high profile ones, some low profile ones, but got some management experience which led to my current solid job and some encouraging admissions. I got a 590v730q5.5awa on the GRE.</p>
<p>I didn’t expect to do this good in the application. It just goes to show how much emphasis these places put on work experience, recommendations and the SOP, which were all solid after a lot of work. I bet if I’d taken some online micro and macro econ classes before application, I could’ve swung SAIS as well.</p>
<p>As a recent graduate, I second what Ari said. I would also suggest that people who plan to work for the US government don’t play too much into the supposed brand and connections that their school has, as neither will give you a leg up with the government’s cumbersome HR practices.</p>
<p>Hello~I am writing this from South Korea. I am new here and I’ve got something to ask you. Since I don’t know the opnions and atmosphere in US, I want to get some information from you who live just right there and thus know a lot more about IR schools in US. For your information, Currently I am a graduate student doing my first semester in GSIS at Yonsei(not sure if you know) in Korea. </p>
<p>Recently, I’ve been accepted from Korbel, GW, UCSD, USC and am still waiting from JHU(done interview last week), Georgetown, American, and Syracuse. Waitlisted by Tufts also. I am really interested in International Development, international orgarnizations, and NGOs. </p>
<p>At this point, the problem is that I don’t know and lack information which school will be best for me among 3 schools which have given me an admission. I asked to many people around me but the answers were all different. As for Korbel, people around me(mostly Koreans) do not know well and has somewhat lower reputation compared to GW and UCSD, I personally like it though. For GW, I am not sure if it is good and considered one of the top 10 programs. Not only that, but also I doubt if I will be able to get many opportunities in DC while studying in GW because I am not sure about my English proficiency for working there. I am also still thinking about UCSD because they focus on Asia more than others, which is beneficial for me to find my future career somewhere in Asia since I am pure Korean with little international experience. </p>
<p>Any thoughts or any comments for me, then it would be really appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>ps. If you guys have something to ask me about grad schools in Korea(like Seoul National, Yonsei, and Korea University) or whatever, feel free to ask :)</p>
<p>sogaji0629,</p>
<p>If you’d like, feel free to contact me via e-mail and I can see about getting you in touch with some alumni of mine from UCSD who were from South Korea. They’ll be best equipped to answer your question, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Carpec, did you hear from SIS & Elliot yet?</p>
<p>Also for the DC IR schools what does “waitlisted” mean, and why wouldn’t they just reject you?</p>
<p>I’m curious as to what peoples’ opinions are regarding programs specifically in International Development. I’m a returned Peace Corps volunteer who has received a couple of acceptances for Fall 2010, and I’m interested to hear thoughts about this specific area of the IR field. And to be even more specific, what ID programs would be best if I want to focus on Africa (East Africa in particular - I spent 3 years in Tanzania with the Peace Corps, speak fluent Swahili, and want to return there to work).</p>
<p>My two current acceptances are to Georgetown’s MSFS and American’s SIS. I’m also waiting to hear from UMD and Brandeis. Brandeis is very much a runner-up at this point, I think, partly due to location and partly due to my impression that the program isn’t as strong academically as the others. I also think I’d prefer GU or AU over UMD in terms of the program itself, but I am hoping for an acceptance at UMD because it would be nice to have a low(er)-cost option to choose from.</p>
<p>I spoke to a GU student, and asked her about the ID concentration since it’s much smaller than the IR one. My concern, specifically, was that since the ID concentration is somewhat small, does that mean that it takes a back seat to the IR concentration? She didn’t think so, and actually said that due to the smaller size there’s more personal attention in the ID concentration than in IR. Makes sense on some level, but interested to see if other people feel differently.</p>
<p>The other thing that I wonder about is that American’s degree is actually an MA in ID. But at Georgetown, I’d be getting the standard MSFS with a concentration in ID. At least on paper, American would seem to have the more “established” program in ID. Georgetown, in some respects, seems a bit more like a school where people with slightly different interests would want to go (Foreign Service, for example). Maryland is the same, in that ID is a concentration, not an entire degree.</p>
<p>Is all of this truly important, however? Certainly it’s hard to turn down Georgetown because it’s such a highly-ranked program and it’s an amazingly-good school overall. But ultimately, I want to go to the school with the best ID program. I don’t want to work for State, or the IMF, or the World Bank. I am absolutely sure I want to do development work, and while I think getting a broad exposure to different aspects of IR is great, the bottom line is I want the best preparation for the field I want to work in.</p>
<p>Kilimanjaro, I’m not an ID student at SIS, but many of my friends are. FWIW, they all LOVE it - they’re crazy about the program and the professors take very, very good care of their students. The program’s definitely very well-established and everything I’ve heard about the professors has been extremely positive. Lots of people get jobs/job offers by the end of their first year, too.</p>
<p>kigali - </p>
<p>Thanks for the info! As I posted in the other big thread, the more that I read about the actual programs at the two schools, the more and more I’m starting to prefer American.</p>
<p>Just the fact that I’d be getting an MA in IDEV (as opposed to the MS in Foreign Service at Georgetown or an MPP at Maryland if I got in there) is nice, and to me indicates that American is more serious about teaching the subject than other schools, where IDEV is just a concentration in a larger program.</p>
<p>But more than that (getting an MA in IDEV is meaningless if it doesn’t actually prepare you well), I’ve been looking at course listings, and that’s where the differences really show up. American has such a large selection of IDEV courses to take, on a huge variety of topics. And they have courses on education development and on children and development, which are two areas which I have specific interest in (I’d like to work for UNICEF some day, though oddly enough a professor from Georgetown was just named its new head). In other words, there are a significant number of courses at American that I’d really be interested in taking.</p>
<p>But looking at Georgetown and Maryland, it’s just not the same. I looked at Georgetown’s course offerings for the Spring 2009 semester, and I could count maybe 3 courses that I’d be interested in taking (and that would be relevant to IDEV). And those 3 weren’t even strong interests. The rest of their course offerings were dealing with foreign policy, security, foreign relations, politics, and those kinds of topics. Which makes sense, since the IR concentration is the largest one in the MSFS program, but I want to be at a school which really has a good focus on IDEV.</p>
<p>So I don’t know, I’m still confused. After all I’ve been through (especially with my undergraduate record), turning down Georgetown just seems like an absolutely crazy thing to do. But when I step back and look at it rationally, American just seems to have the flat-out better IDEV program. It’s also somewhat cheaper than Georgetown, which is a very nice benefit as well.</p>
<p>Any other thoughts about IDEV programs specifically? I’m definitely going to the open houses for both schools in mid-April, and I’m sure that will go a long way in helping finalize my decision. Are there other aspects of the programs that I should be considering? I don’t want to make myself totally nuts over this, but it’s obviously a huge decision and I want it to be as well-informed as possible.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This was actually a running joke between us folks outside of ID - “oh goody, all of the security classes we want to take are on the same day at the same time, but fear not, we have approximately sixteen thousand ID classes to choose from!”. </p>
<p>
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<p>Keep in mind that unlike at the undergrad level, where you want to go to the better school overall, at the grad level you want to be at the best program for what you want to do. So, for instance, nobody’s going to deny Yale is a fantastic school overall, but it’s probably not strong in ID at the grad level.</p>