lechat

I am getting my BA in Psychology, but want to go in a different direction for my masters. Originally, I was going to go for a MA in criminal justice, but after further research found out it's limiting and useless for what I want to do. I am mainly considering MPAs because I eventually want to work in government/with an agency, and I feel like I can probably get accepted even with a BA in Psychology if I communicate exactly what I intend to do and score well on the GRE. My GPA is 3.7 out of 4.0 and as this is my last year, I expect to top out at 3.8. My GPA in my major is a 4.0, which will hopefully hold. My main interest is in International Relations, but I'm not sure if I should apply to IR programs. The problem is that I was financially unable to study abroad throughout undergrad. I attend a fairly pricey private college (35k/year) on nearly full scholarship, but the intl scholarships available still required me to pay $2000-3000 out of pocket to study abroad. That would have essentially meant that my disabled mother had no lights and no food. Even with jobs, as a full time student also supporting my mother - I was unable to even afford a plane ticket. Applying to IR programs is tempting for me, but doing that means that I would have to choose between MPA and IR programs at the same schools. I don't have any coursework in IR (though I will be taking a class in my last semester) because it is a recent addition to my college. Have you heard of anyone getting into a program like this WITHOUT international experience? Should I just go for the MPA? Does a degree in IR really make me any more of a "better" candidate career-wise? The only school I've run into that looks like it has a good MPA program (that allows IR specialization) is UT in Austin (MPAff), and maybe i'm selling myself short but I'm concerned I'm not competitive enough. Though, I do have very strong verbal skills and I expect to do well on the GRE in September (my earliest application dates are January 1-5, so I feel like September is safe.) I just feel completely lost and I would appreciate any little bit of direction or experience anyone would be willing to share.

Hi Here is my problem. I want to go to graduate school for criminal justice. My BA will be in psychology, and my college does not offer CJ as a majpr. Despite me looking for places during the school year - the pickings are essentially nonexistent in my area or are summer REUs that cross into my semester. I don't think it's just me, because my advisor has been looking for me as well. Most people are able to do research during the summer - but, that hasn't been an option to me because I've had to work each summer and it hasn't allowed me to go to nearby states. I graduate this coming spring and I would love to get some kind of relevant documented research (beyond class) under my belt this summer, and the summer after graduation (though I expect the latter to be done formally in a lab - but too late for applications). Has anyone heard of doing small scale research by oneself? Or advice for gaining this experience outside of an REU? I was also considering doing something like this - throughout the semester and this summer if possible. http://thehub.nd.edu...e-your-own-reu/ But it's complicated by the fact that the closest criminal justice lab that I know of (with research opportunities) is UAB and their REU program only accepted 12 students. Also looking into the one nearby college that does offer the degree - none of their faculty is doing research or actively publishing. Thanks.

I'm studying for the same thing and to me, it looks like princeton and kaplan has the best so far. Beware though, a lot of people are complaining about math errors in the PR one.

Hi I'm interested in pursing my MA in criminal justice. Right now, my top school is FSU. Followed by CUNY/John Jay (International Crime), USC, University of FL. However, I'm still looking into schools and trying to assess which programs would be the best fit. This may be too personal, so if so, just tell me and I'll be happy to edit! But, I was wondering, if there's anyone on here that's been somewhat recently accepted to any of these - what GRE scores did you have? I'm just wondering what breakdown I should shoot for. Thank you!

Thanks! I'm quite dependent on my calculator in order to double check what I'm doing. Because of my LD, it's very easy for me to make small mental mistakes. So, I'm leaning more towards the new GRE, despite the increased difficulty.

Hi all, I'm new here (obviously). I'll be graduating in Spring 2012 and going to graduate school in Fall 2012. I want to get my Master's in criminology/criminal justice. FSU is my top choice (with a combination of location, research, and notoriety). Here's my question, should I try and study for the old GRE and take it before August (I'm not even sure if that's an option at this point), and then re-take it with the new GRE at some point during Fall 2011? Or should I just focus on preparing for the new GRE, take it in August and then have to wait until November to get my results and possibly have to retake it early Spring? I'm not worried about the verbal at all, but I have a math disability (Dyscalculia) that makes math a bit harder for me than most. I have to do it very consistently to do well and word problems give me a panic attack. My plan is to get an above average verbal score, and an average math score. My gut reaction is that even though the new GRE is more complicated in terms of mathematics that I'll have a sufficient amount of time to study (May-August) in order to achieve an okay math score. Any advice on what I should do? Also, if anyone has any insight into applying to FSU's criminal program (Master's) - I'd love to hear from you. Thank you!