Mria

Hello everyone! So I'm here of course because I thought asking all you amazing people for advice would be a better solution than to frantically have a nervous breakdown over applying to Grad Schools! Now you all have other stuff to do so I'll make this as easy as possible: I want to pursue a Masters in International Relations/ Foreign Services/ Global Affairs (something in that vicinity) Cons: -GPA 3.24 (Now, I started of Undergrad at a 2.6 and ended at a 4.0, so I'm hoping that counts for something. I'm an Economics major, I mostly did very well in my major and my dissertation has gotten a lot of positive feedback so I'm hoping that counts for something). WIll this really hurt my chances? -GRE: DESPISE standardized testing, so I'll be doing this end of October, right now I got a 306 so I'm assuming it'll go up by like 5-10 points? Pros: -I've travelled a lot, and moved around a lot too! Something that gives me invaluable life lessons and of course guides my interest in International Relations -As I mentioned before, my thesis! Not many undergraduates actually write and publish one! And the concentration was under international relations so hopefully gives me a leg up! -I speak 5 languages and I am also learning another one! (during my gap year) -I have volunteered (a while ago, I might declare) and have international work experience (perhaps not exactly the humanitarian experience most people have but banks yay?) -Taking a gap year and not doing much (I'm not lazy, I'm just recovering from surgery which is basically why I took a gap year!) -Lots of extracurricular activities! Columbia has always been my dream school, so any tips that could get me there would be really appreciated. I will also be possibly applying to: Georgetown, NYU, Brandeis, GWU, Tufts. I know I am overreaching a bit, but I think if I sell myself well enough and gain the proper experience I could potentially get there? What do you guys think? Any tips? I've been very confused recently about how to go about this (the low GPA, GRE score, SOP etc.) so any ideas or advice anyone has would be amazing! Thank you!