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Armadillo

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  • Location
    NY
  • Application Season
    2014 Spring
  • Program
    International Relations

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  1. Hi all, So far this forum has been extremely helpful, so hopefully someone will have some sage advice on this question. Does anyone have experience or knowledge about European University at St. Petersburg? I'm looking at a masters in energy policy, and right now the two schools that are of the most interest are Johns Hopkins ERE program and Stanford. However, since I'm looking to pursue a career that involves international work, either governmental or NGO leaning a bit towards the NGO side of the spectrum, I've begun to look at other options. EUSP is supposedly one of the only universities in Russia where the degrees are recognized in the States, and the ENERPO program has partnered with GWU so that after the 1 year ENERPO program, I can then take a 2nd year at GWU and get a 2nd masters. I've looked through the course work and thesis papers that have been produced by former students, and its right up my alley. The other bonus is the very affordable price when compared with US schools. The question though is whether or not employers would look any more or less favorably upon a degree from European University at St. Petersburg. Would this added international experience be beneficial, or would the fact that the school isn't a US school potentially be detrimental? Thanks in advance
  2. Hi everyone, Thank you for all of your responses, I just got back to the country and it's nice to see some feedback. I appreciate all of the information, both positive experience and negative. NPRjunkie, thanks for your perspective - as you suggested, Stanford is a program that I'm very interested in. My business is energy, on a local domestic scale, but I'm confident that my experience in energy as well as business development and strategic implementation could be parlayed into something reasonable on an international level, which is really my ultimate goal. With regards to a background in economics, while I have real work experience dealing with economics, I don't have a ton of course work dedicated to it, and I know that most schools want this. I've checked all of my options, and given my work schedule it looks like the only true option at this point is an online course. I'd really prefer not to take an online course as I like the idea of being in a class setting and have the ability of face-to-face interaction with the professors. With that in mind, if it's the only real option available, is it worth taking an online course from a local community college, or will this be looked at unfavorably? Thanks again.
  3. Hi everyone! I'm not extremely well-versed on Fulbright awards, so please forgive me if my questions are ignorant...I've read through a lot of the information online, but getting some knowledgeable, direct responses would be fantastic. So, I graduated from undergrad in 2009, and have worked full time since 2010. I work for a non-profit and am the director of an energy services program. Most of our programs are directed towards assisting low income people with energy efficiency means, which could be very extensive. With this in mind, I'm planning on pursuing a masters degree in international energy policy/international development (the Johns Hopkins ERE program through SAIS is my main interest), and I'm planning on applying for the fall of 2015. My idea is to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship to Iceland, with the very short version of the idea dealing with the development of alternative energy sectors and applying it to the developing world. It appears that I fit the credentials for the student application (less than 5 years work experience), but I guess I'm looking for some guidance in whether or not I truly do fit into this category, if I'd be better suited applying for this once I began my grad school, if I should do so now since it runs parallel to what I'm hoping to study, if I have no shot since I'm not currently enrolled and not in undergrad anymore etc. Any guidance for a newcomer would be immensely appreciated. Thanks!
  4. Hi everyone, Just wanted to post a quick update and get some experienced responses. So far, the information I've received throughout this forum has been really helpful. I've decided that I'm going to pursue a masters that involves energy resources and international security, with the most appealing being the SAIS program's ERE tract. However, I have very little background in economics, so I'll certainly need to take a few courses over the next year prior to my applications going out. My question is, are econ courses offered at community colleges (including online community courses) acceptable? My work schedule is pretty demanding during the week, and I won't be able to attend a brick and mortar session, as I don't get home until about 7pm from my job. Hopefully a community college option will be an acceptable option, but I want to make sure this is sufficient before getting too far along that path. I've reached out to a number of school's admissions departments, and am awaiting a reply. With regards to my GPA of 3.38, there was a strong upward trend over the last 2 years of undergrad, where I think it ended up being around 3.65 (awaiting official transcript to come in and check). Is that taken into consideration, since my freshman and sophomore years were like 7 and 8 years ago? Lastly, is it a stretch to say that my experience as the director of a non-profit energy program (where I literally have hands on control of the entire department including strategy, physical implementation of work etc) is "relevant" to energy policy? It's on a local level rather than federal, but my experience essentially represents the on the ground ramifications of federal policy. Thanks again for any guidance, it is greatly appreciated.
  5. Hi everyone, I'd love if I could get some feedback as to how to improve my chances for an application in the fall of 2014. Programs of Interest: Johns Hopkins - SAIS, Georgetown - SSP, Tufts -Fletcher, Columbia - SIPA, Boston U - College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate institution: Syracuse University Undergraduate Degree: BA in International Relations - Conflict and Diplomacy Track, Geographical focus on the Middle East Undergraduate GPA: 3.38 cumulative, 3.56 major Study Abroad experience: 6 months in Tel Aviv, Israel studying counter terrorism and Middle Eastern Affairs GRE: 163 V, 156Q, 5.0 Writing Years Out of Undergrad: 4.5 Years of Work Experience: 3.5 Describe Relevant Work Experience: - Director of energy services department of a local non-profit - Focus on community development - Experience with housing, foreclosure intervention - Multiple financial counseling certifications through HUD, as well as building science professional certifications Languages: English Hebrew - Conversational French - Basic SOP: In progress, but should be solid LOR: One from a former congressman, two from professional sources I have a couple of concerns that I'd love some feedback on. 1.) My background in Econ is very limited. I took one econ course in undergrad and got a B+. Should I take one or more summer courses at a local institution to bolster my background there? 2.) I think that my languages are a weak point, as I'm not fluent in French or Hebrew. Should I take a course(s) in preparation of applying, or is that something that won't hurt my application? 3.) I'm 26 now - and assuming I apply for grad school in a year, it means I won't be starting until I'm almost 28. Will this adversely effect my chances as I'll be a bit older than the average student? I do have strong work experience, but this would be a change in careers. Thanks to all who can provide some insight, it is greatly appreciated.
  6. Thanks for the replies, it is much appreciated. I got my office GRE scores back recently, and scored a 163V (91st percentile), 156Q (65th percentile), 5.0 writing (93rd percentile), which I think are pretty close to optimum level...I know I could do a bit better in writing and verbal, but the math is probably maxed out, so I'm not going to take it again. That said, I decided not to apply for this round because when I dug deep into it, I felt that my desire to go to grad school was more a way to escape my current career (which I'm totally sick of in its current state), and my goals were far too broad to make an educated decision. My biggest conundrum now is...is grad school worth it? It's quite the investment, of course, and many of the recent grads from reputable institutions have struggled mightily in finding a job due to a pretty severe saturation of the market, coupled with government sequestration and general economic uncertainty throughout the country. I want to make a very educated decision here, and not pursue grad school strictly as an escape mechanism. For those of you who have pursued a master's in this field, did you have a "dream job" that you had identified, and therefore were pursuing credentials that could make that a reality, or was a broader range of interest? I'm confident that I can put forth a strong resume given my work experience and accomplishments in the working world, but I'm a bit concerned about my Q GRE score (156)...I've read mixed reviews, some saying that a lot of these universities hardly care about the Q score, while others may weigh these heavily, particularly those with a strong economic facet. Sorry if this is scatterbrained, I guess I just have a lot of questions that I'm trying to find answers to before making a decision. Thanks for any input.
  7. Hello all, I'm new to the boards, so hopefully posting something like this is not against etiquette. So, I'm looking into pursuing a Masters in International Relations, specifically dealing with the fields of conflict management and American foreign policy. but I'd love some input from those of you who have already gone through the process, plus I'd love to get some feedback on my chances. I have 4 years of work experience in the non-profit sector, where I am now the director of our agency's energy services department, which specifies in doing energy retrofits for severely low income families, mixing aspects of humanitarian aid with green energy and business development. I'm a little worried that while I have work experience, it will be detrimental that it's not in the field I'm seeking to go into. Additionally, a lot of the schools I'm looking at (SAIS at John's Hopkins, Stanford etc.) place a lot of importance on economics. I'm not opposed to that idea, but I have very little background in economics from my undergrad days (I think I took one macro course at Syracuse and got a B+). There also appears to be a language requirement in order to graduate, and while I was decent in Hebrew (studied Middle Eastern Affairs and Counter Terrorism in Tel Aviv for a semester), that isn't one of the languages that would count. Will not having a background in something like Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese or Russian be significantly detrimental for my application? Obviously I'd pursue one of these languages if admitted. In terms of LORs, I have two good professional LORs, and one LOR from a former US Congressman, however the one from the Congressman (from when I interned there) is from about a year or so ago. Is this letter still appropriate to use, since he's not in office anymore (retired in 2012)? Lastly, my GRE scores (unofficially, I took them for the 2nd time yesterday) are 163V, 156M, writing TBD, but the first time I took the GREs, I got a 5.0. My undergrad GPA was a 3.34, with a major GPA of 3.56. So, any feedback on my "resume" or about I.R. programs would be terrific. My work schedule is pretty intensive so finding some time to seriously devote to research is a bit difficult, and few people I know have pursued something like this. I initially really wanted to be in D.C., but the more I'm looking into it, the more I'm worried it'll be a bit "rat race-esque", with a saturated market. Is that a fair assessment, or am I being too negative? Thanks in advance, and sorry for the novel.
  8. Hello all, I'm new to the boards, so hopefully posting something like this is not against etiquette. So, I'm looking into pursuing a Masters in International Relations, specifically dealing with the fields of conflict management and American foreign policy. but I'd love some input from those of you who have already gone through the process, plus I'd love to get some feedback on my chances. I have 4 years of work experience in the non-profit sector, where I am now the director of our agency's energy services department, which specifies in doing energy retrofits for severely low income families, mixing aspects of humanitarian aid with green energy and business development. I'm a little worried that while I have work experience, it will be detrimental that it's not in the field I'm seeking to go into. Additionally, a lot of the schools I'm looking at (SAIS at John's Hopkins, Stanford etc.) place a lot of importance on economics. I'm not opposed to that idea, but I have very little background in economics from my undergrad days (I think I took one macro course at Syracuse and got a B+). There also appears to be a language requirement in order to graduate, and while I was decent in Hebrew (studied Middle Eastern Affairs and Counter Terrorism in Tel Aviv for a semester), that isn't one of the languages that would count. Will not having a background in something like Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese or Russian be significantly detrimental for my application? Obviously I'd pursue one of these languages if admitted. Lastly, my GRE scores (unofficially, I took them for the 2nd time yesterday) are 163V, 156M, writing TBD, but the first time I took the GREs, I got a 5.0. My undergrad GPA was a 3.34, with a major GPA of 3.56. So, any feedback on my "resume" or about I.R. programs would be terrific. My work schedule is pretty intensive so finding some time to seriously devote to research is a bit difficult, and few people I know have pursued something like this. I initially really wanted to be in D.C., but the more I'm looking into it, the more I'm worried it'll be a bit "rat race-esque", with a saturated market. Is that a fair assessment, or am I being too negative? Thanks in advance, and sorry for the novel.
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