<p>So for those of us who have applied to GW we should be receiving decisions within the next couple of weeks. Mid-March is what they say. Hopefully we don’t have to wait much longer beyond that. I also applied to American and George Mason. </p>
<p>I don’t know what my chances are for GW, I feel more confident about American because they seem to place more stock in the Peace Corps and well George Mason is my backup school. International Development at GW is the dream of course but everyday my confidence level changes.</p>
<p>My undergrad GPA is a bit lower than their average 3.5, I ended up with a 3.35 from a respectable school in International Studies. And my GRE scores are nothing to write home about except that my writing score fits right into their average. But the one thing that gives me a fighting chance is that I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine and made it to an Advanced High level of Russian language, which is still considered a critical language. I wrote a grant, conducted seminars, and worked with the PC Ukraine security coordinator aside from my primary assignment of teaching English. One of my recommendation letters is from my regional manager in Ukraine. Plus I studied abroad for a semester in Moscow while I was an undergrad. Also, I know exactly what I want to study right down to the concentration (Governance and Democracy) and in particular with a Eastern European twist. So I feel that my purpose statement is strong and communicates a clear direction of study. If I didn’t have PC I know there would be no chance but I do know a volunteer who served with me and got into the Security Policy studies program, which is also under the Elliott School, with a GRE score in the 1000’s, which is even lower than what I scored. I don’t know what his GPA is, but probably not stellar. So I keep looking around these boards where people say if you don’t achieve at least this or that score on the GRE you have no chance or if you don’t have a 3.8 you’re not getting into a top school…yada yada. It depends on the whole package and what you’ve done in the real world can make all the difference.</p>
<p>Wow, this thread has gone way past what I ever expected. Cool.</p>
<p>Just want to wish the future IR school students and grads good luck.</p>
<p>Also, a bit of an update of how yours truly’s life turned out, post-MA.</p>
<p>So, I didn’t exactly end up where I thought I would (who ever does?) but I’ll say that it all worked out pretty well for me. I work today for a cellular carrier from Asia (a big, big one) in corporate strategy and business development. While I don’t exactly deal with a lot of big political problems, my training in finance and business in general in UCSD’s international management track has been very important to my career.</p>
<p>More than anything, I found that being flexible about my goals was the greatest thing I did. Prior to this job, I worked for NHK doing business and economic news production and reporting.</p>
<p>My advice? Stay flexible if you can, and remember that an “international” career may not mean government or working abroad. </p>
<p>in addition to your GRE scores and GPA, what kind of relevant work experience did you have coming into UCSD? Did you feel like it was a major factor in the admissions process?</p>
<p>Congrats on having success post-graduation btw. It’s nice to know that even if the dreams of government or non-profit work don’t pan out there are always more options.</p>
<p>Just to comment on UCLA’s comment that no one in the states would know LSE is utter bumpkis. As a Hopkins grad who was studying IR and just recently was accepted into LSE when I told my professors I got into LSE the first they told me was LSE is only topped in its IR by Georgetown and our very own beloved SAIS, when I go to conferences to present my research or for networking the first thing people say when they see that I am a LSE masters candidate is a “wow wow wow wow” including a guy from the State department on the China desk. So don’t listen that no one will take you seriously in the government if you go abroad. The guy from the China desk was telling me besides his SAIS intern his best guy working for him graduated from Science Po. The world is a very small place guys. Yes if you want the connections SAIS and Georgetown are THE places to be. But don’t think that you won’t get clearance if you end up at an allied nation’s school. It might be a bit more bumpy but still totally possible.</p>
<p>I was poking around another forum this morning and found a thread dedicated to GW Elliott School decisions. The way they do it is send out an email letting all applicants know that the decisions will be available online in a few days. So the thread was from 2 years ago, at that time the original poster got that email on March 17 saying that Friday the 20th was the day, but also mailings will be sent out too. If they always put up decisions on a Friday, the closest Friday to that this year would be the 18th, so theoretically we could be receiving those emails on the 15th (next week!) to let us know that our decisions will be ready on the 18th. Or even if not the 18th, then certainly the following week. But it feels really good to have a better idea of what to expect and when to expect it rather than waiting on pins and needles everyday until the point where you’ve checked your email or app status for the thousandth time on any particular day this month. I’m very hopeful, but not too confident about GW, but either way it’s just time to know.</p>
<p>I had a year abroad in Japan teaching English… so yes and no. My internships helped a lot, though!</p>
<p>BlueJayBJ,</p>
<p>I’m willing to accept if I’m wrong. I’ll definitely add that in. Thanks for the heads up! </p>
<p>However, I never said “nobody.” I said most. I still think that’s true, don’t you? </p>
<p>Also, I didn’t say you won’t get a clearance. It just gets harder. </p>
<p>I do think, however, that outside of certain communities, LSE is a harder sell than G’Town or JHU. If you end up going private sector, I think SAIS and SIPA really sell well.</p>
<p>SIPA doesn’t sell compared to the DC schools, as a child of a Columbia alum and someone who nearly went there and was force fed everything COlumbia for 15+ years lol, SIPA is the least connected and least respected of the Columbia schools according to the mainly alumni I have had the pleasure and displeasure to meet, mainly because Columbia’s institution based structure makes it hard for area studies. SIPA is still a good school but when people think Columbia SIPA isn’t one of the schools that first come to mind. I also blame it on the stream of Deans that haven’t tried to incorporate SIPA more with its focus of theory and area that SAIS and Walsh both enjoy. FYI LSE beats SIPA and can run equal to SAIS in the private sector.</p>
<p>That may be true-- my experience here in NY is that Columbia in general does quite well. </p>
<p>I’m not saying that any school necessarily “beats” another. I think if you’re selling a brand, some are “easier” than others to sell. Usually the best known brands sell better, because people know who they are. </p>
<p>I don’t expect employers to know much about schools outside of the US, because I think most people rationally focus on domestic schools.</p>
<p>I know you’ve seen a million of these posts, but I’m brand new, so bear with me. I am thinking of applying to a grad school MPP program for Aug. 2012 admissions. </p>
<p>640V, 690Q
3.75 ugrad GPA, journalism major, minors in business and Spanish
I’ve taken Calculus, stats, and three sequences of economics, like everyone suggests.</p>
<p>Four years of WE for a financial company. I can make an argument that it is related to my desired field of study, but will be a bit of a stretch. Will be five years experience when I apply. </p>
<p>I have solid “real world” volunteer experience, in my opinion (international board position, committee chair for a leadership conference, president of my local ugrad alumni chapter, volunteer consulting work, etc.).</p>
<p>You have a great shot. I wouldn’t worry about getting into at least one program. What is your “angle?” That is, your area of interest you plan on selling in your statement?</p>
<p>Just do yourself a favor if you get into at least two, and consider cost calculations. All of those programs are fairly expensive, and it’s important to be careful with your debt load.</p>
<p>I’ve been waitlisted for GW International Development…I wasn’t that confident but man that was hard to take. Might as well be a rejection. Plus I won’t know about admission for a while, by May 21st is what they say, that’s really far away. I know my 3.35 GPA and no micro killed it for me…you’d think a former Peace Corps volunteer would be pretty dedicated to International Development though.</p>
<p>What do I do if I accept an admissions offer from another school and then May 20th roles around and I actually get an offer from GW? How will that work with financial aid?</p>
<p>Anyway, still hopeful for SIS at AU and if I don’t get into George Mason I know I’m really going nowhere.</p>
<p>Looks like a lot of new undergrads are getting acceptance emails from American, I wonder if graduate decisions have already been made to, I really can’t wait until this process is over, I promised myself I wouldn’t poke around for information this weekend, to just drop it for a few days…but since being waitlisted by GW, I’m on edge. According to AU website and my online status, decisions will be mailed, not emailed…so I guess we’re in for a wait.</p>
<p>I just got accepted to GW Elliott for the MA in International Trade and Investment Policy. I’ve been reading some of the threads on this website and others, and even though GW is consistently ranked in the top 10 by everyone, it’s also often referred to as a “second tier” IR school. I don’t understand how a #7 program can be considered second tier. Are these people just being major snobs or is Elliott really that inferior compared to SIPA, SAIS, etc?</p>
<p>got my package from American today: in, with full funding + stipend!! This is pretty awesome as I have only recently begun thinking about how to finance life/school in D.C. for the next two years. </p>
<p>I’ve already seen that table, which is where I got the #7 ranking from (minus LSE), and I don’t think it answers my question. Law school tiers are divided into sets of 50 and some people would kill to get into a top 10 law school. If GW is solidly in the top 10 of IR schools, and even considered by some to be in the top 5, what makes it so sub-par?</p>
<p>On different note, I would really like some advice, as I have a pretty tough decision to make…</p>
<p>I’m currently a senior in undergrad and I applied to grad school last semester thinking I wanted to get my Master’s degree right away, but now I’m having second thoughts. I talked to one of my professors today who told me he thinks it’s a terrible idea to go straight to grad school without full time work experience because I won’t get as much out of it and when I end up graduating with a Master’s degree and 0 years of experience I’ll only be able to get entry-level jobs fit for a Bachelor’s degree. I have no idea what to do since my profs have been telling me that getting work experience would be best, and my mom is, of course, pushing me to go straight to grad school and she is even flipping out over the idea of deferring my acceptance for a year.</p>
<p>I applied to (and was rejected by) SIPA, Fletcher, and HKS. I got into Elliott and have yet to hear from SIS. I was accepted for the MA in International Trade and Investment Policy and I applied for that program in particular because it’s what I would like to do in the short run. In the long run I want to be a diplomat and/or politician, and neither one necessarily requires any specific concentration. Anyway, Im guessing my lack of full time work experience in the “real world” was the reason I didnt get into these schools, since my stats are well within the 25th-75th percentile ranges of those of the schools that rejected me </p>
<p>Majors: Economics and Political Science
Minors: French and Business Administration
Certificate: International Relations
GPA: 3.5
GRE: 660V, 730Q, 3.5A (<— not sure how that happened)
Foreign languages: Romanian, French
Experience: I’ve been working part time since I was 14 and throughout college I’ve been an Econ TA, I have done Econ research for a couple of professors, and I am currently interning for a local political campaign. I’ve also had major leadership roles in Model UN and have been pretty consistent about doing volunteer work as well.</p>
<p>So it seems like my options are:
Go straight to grad school and just intern/work part time
Defer GW’s acceptance for 1 year (the max they will allow) to work full time
Turn down GW’s offer in order to work for a few years and then reapply to these programs that rejected me</p>
<p>Do you all think it would be a waste of time and money to go to grad school without experience? Should I just go for it and see what happens? Would I really have a chance of getting into HKS or Fletcher with work experience? Any advice would be much appreciated!!</p>
<p>Well, if you’ve seen this study, you should probably have an idea about the methodology of the ranking system. Referring back to the “best terminal masters program” question in this study, you see that the aggregated % of IR scholars who consider GU, JHU, and Harvard to be the top terminal masters program is 40%+ worldwide. Gtown and JHU are even more highly regarded in the US, with 54% and 49% of IR US IR scholars rating them to be the top terminal masters programs. Tufts, Columbia, Princeton (and LSE) all draw down 25%+ from IR scholars worldwide, and about 30-40% of US IR scholars. Then you have GW with 16%, worldwide, 18% in the US. </p>
<p>The results quite clearly demonstrate a tiering of the top 10: the top three (or two, depending on your vantage point), the next three, and the remainder. </p>
<p>So, I think part of the answer to your question is that the falloff from GW from the next closest ranking is significant enough for notice. Whether or not this makes GW a “second-tier” IR school, is another discussion altogether which requires more precise definition of school tiering.</p>
<p>one thing that i’ve always wanted to see is job placement upon graduation percentages for different IR programs. i read the TRIPS survey but that only has subjective rankings–rankings heavily skewed by an ivy league respondent population. does anyone know of the best programs in terms of job placement? or are they more or less the same as the traditional rankings (sais, gt, harvard, sipa and then schools like gw and american)?</p>