junebug42

wow...that sucks because i need to decide soon whether to take this job offer or not... well, my academics and credentials weren't impressive at all and considering the large number of applicants, i'll just assume that i wasn't accepted and take the job???

to be honest, gwu is much better located and has better connections to the think-tanks and government affiliated organizations than american university. although i was an undergraduate student, i had internships at the woodrow wilson center, csis, and on capitol hill (that was a bust - i hated my life then) and most of my classmates had great internships as well - they worked with aei, brookings institute, human rights watch, and state department. while the prestige of the university and grades are important, internships and experience are the things that make you stand out from the crowd. i'm not well informed about au's graduate program but most of the graduate classes at gwu take place in the evening and meet only once a week. when i was an undergrad at gwu, i took a few graduate level courses at the elliott school and i remember that the majority of my classmates were full-time employees who would attend classes as soon as their working hours were over. to those who may be concerned about college debts, there is the option of working during the day and studying at night - but gwu is known to give out great scholarships and financial aid packages. good luck with whichever decision you make.

i just graduated from the elliott school's undergraduate program and i took quite a number of its graduate level classes to fulfill my requirements. although the school has amazing and well respected professors, it's academic quality can sometimes be questionable. most importantly, the professors and staff are extremely supportive and willing to help their students find internships/jobs and write letters of recommendation. as an undergrad, i was annoyed that the classes were late at night and that it met once a week for among 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours but it makes sense from a graduate perspective. the graduate classes are set up in a manner that allows the students to work during the daytime and study in the evenings. furthermore, the location of gw is prime - it is located so close to the state department, csis, brookings institute, pearsons institute, human rights watch, etc. during my college years, i had a number of internships at a couple of think-tanks and i noticed that gw probably has the largest reach and connections within these institutions. for instance, many of the research fellows and program members at the wilson center and csis were alumni or professors at gw. overall, i highly recommend going to gw but this is also coming a recent graduate who may have a biased opinion of her alma mater. i wish you luck with whichever choice you make and congratulations.

hey...i applied to the psia human rights and humanitarian assistance program back in april. i got an email in mid-may stating that they received my transcripts and letters of recommendation and i was wondering around when i should hear back from them. it's been a really long wait and i'm getting really, really anxious. thanks.