freewayK

Thank you Karoku_valentine for you response. Ah yeah that is one of my top choices because they really seem to stand out from other schools with their focus on the Asia-Pacific region. And I like the interdisciplinary nature of the program. I know IR/PS has qualitative and quantitative courses (which is a plus in my book!) I have experience in taking econ and finance classes (as I was a finance major for 2 years before switching to Poli Sci) so hopefully that will offset a somewhat avg or below avg GRE score. Since I have a lot of time until I apply, I'm planning on retaking it to really boost my quantitative score and slightly raise my verbal score.

Thanks for your advice Gov2School. I appreciate it! Yeah my grades were A's in my quantitative classes so I'll be sure and write about that in the optional essay. thanks for that tip. Yeah I agree with you. I think it is definitely worth retaking to try and increase my scores even by a couple points and thus improve my chances.

Oh that is a good idea to remember the concepts better by re-taking the same test! Thanks for the tip! Good luck to you too!

Thank you for your reply. To be honest, my study routine was pretty intensive and I took a Kaplan GRE course and took 7 practice tests. But my practice scores kept increasing but eventually stayed stagnate around the score I received. So maybe it was not the right prep. I will probably re -take it because I really want to increase my scores. So back to the books I go... Thank you!

Hi there! I'm looking to apply for Graduate school next year. I'm not sure how competitive it is so I wanted to see what you guys think about my chances I am really hoping to get into a top IR school. I am interested in studying Chinese International Development and Foreign Policy in SE Asia. My list: JHU SAIS, Georgetown SFS, American SIS, GWU Elliot, Tufts Fletcher, UCSD IR/PS, UM Ford School, Yale Jackson GPA: 3.78 from a Top 100 private university where I majored in Poli Sci GRE Score: Q: 149 V: 159 A: still waiting to receive score Work experience: 5 years of work experience with internships at international development non-profits and IR think tank. Spent 2 years in the Peace Corps. International Experience: Study abroad in China (semester), study abroad in the Philippines (semester), international UNICEF internship in India, 2 years with Peace Corps in Indonesia Language Experience: Intermediate Mandarin Chinese (4 years of study in college) Strong Working Proficiency in Indonesian Quant. Background: Originally majored in Finance before switching to Poli Sci thus I took Macro, Micro, Accounting 1 and a couple Finance classes. Hopefully this makes up for a low Quantitative GRE score! Other: Hundreds of hours of volunteer experience with a commitment to community service and social justice. Wrote an Honors Senior Thesis during my undergraduate years. Well received paper by faculty of my department! Strong Letters of Rec & Statement of Purpose *** The main thing I am worried about in my application is my lower / below average GRE scores. I studied a lot for them, but just not the best test taker in the standardized ETS format. Any advice is greatly appreciated. This is my first post here. I know these "what are my chances/am i competitive" threads can get annoying but I think it is useful to connect with others and hear peoples advice, since I am new to this. Thank you in advance!

Chinese International Development and Foreign Policy in SE Asia.

Hi there! I'm looking to apply for Graduate school next year. I'm not sure how competitive it is so I wanted to see what you guys think about my chances I am really hoping to get into a top IR school. My list: JHU SAIS, Georgetown SFS, American SIS, GWU Elliot, Tufts Fletcher, UCSD IR/PS, UM Ford School, Yale Jackson GPA: 3.78 from a Top 100 private university where I majored in Poli Sci GRE Score: Q: 149 V: 159 A: still waiting to receive score Work experience: 5 years of work experience with internships at international development non-profits and IR think tank. Spent 2 years in the Peace Corps. International Experience: Study abroad in China (semester), study abroad in the Philippines (semester), international internship in India, 2 years with Peace Corps in Indonesia Language Experience: Intermediate Mandarin Chinese (4 years of study in college) Strong Working Proficiency in Indonesian Quant. Background: Originally majored in Finance before switching to Poli Sci thus I took Macro, Micro, Accounting 1 and a couple Finance classes. Hopefully this makes up for a low Quantitative GRE score! Other: Hundreds of hours of volunteer experience with a commitment to community service and social justice. Wrote an Honors Senior Thesis during my undergraduate years. Well received paper by faculty of my department! Strong Letters of Rec & Statement of Purpose *** The main thing I am worried about in my application is my lower / below average GRE scores. I studied a lot for them, but just not the best test taker in the standardized ETS format. Any advice is greatly appreciated. This is my first post here. I know these "what are my chances/am i competitive" threads can get annoying but I think it is useful to connect with others and hear peoples advice, since I am new to this.