<p>Hello Everyone,</p>
<p>I was hoping someone could help me make a decision. I am a 20 year old student majoring in IR attending a decent state university currently studying abroad for a year in Japan. I have always dreamed of being a Foreign Service Officer and only a Foreign Service Officer, and will be taking the FSOT in January. However, due to their capricious and obstinate hiring practice, I thought it best to explore other options in case I was not accepted into the Foreign Service (as that is more than likely).</p>
<p>So I would like to apply to grad school but my stats are nowhere up to par. I have a 3.0 (though a much higher major gpa) with a minor in Japanese (this is what tanked my gpa). I did a summer semester in London studying economics (and have an A in all 8 of the economic classes I've taken bar one B), and am currently finishing another year long study abroad in Okinawa (with a firm but by no means fluent grasp of the language). The programs that seem to fit most squarely into my interests are SAIS-Bologna, SIS, SFS, and Elliott, though from the forums and what I've seen from their websites I do not have a snowballs chance in hell of being accepted to any of these places.</p>
<p>So I was thinking that I should try to get an internship or two after graduation, which would give me another chance to take the FSOT again in case I did not pass this up coming round. But I find it rather painful to work in another capacity when I already know what I want to do. And being a low income student, I would NEED a paid internship which would be almost impossible to obtain with my stats. But my parents cannot assist me in any way, shape, or form, so unpaid internships in DC are totally outta the question.</p>
<p>I would rather study than get an internship, but I rather get an internship than study somewhere else than those above schools. I've looked at the course offerings and program aims for the top 10 or so IR schools and those 4 seem to have exactly what I'm looking for. And as stated before in the thread ROI drops off pretty high in IR Grad Schools.</p>
<p>My end goal is to become an FSO, and all this could merely be said to be biding my time until I become one, but like with everything else you gotta apply. So any advice? Any paid IR-related internships I should look at or could even get with my stats? Or should I just try to apply to schools?</p>