changemylife

Thanks, Steve. It's good to know that other people have gotten in with similar scores. I was just worried because my quant score is below average for most of the schools that I'm applying to. I'll still consider taking it again though. It's a lot of money, but even if I get in to graduate school I'm pretty sure no one would offer me funding. Mrgreen, I actually took the FSOT last year and passed, but I was dropped in the second round. I didn't get around to taking it again this year, but I was hoping that completing a degree in PD and getting an internship would give me more fodder to write about on the personal essays. I had a related internship with the State Dept. in undergrad, but that was five years ago. Also, I wouldn't mind working in civil service. Thanks again for both of your responses! I guess all I can do is try to make the rest of my application as strong as possible and hope for the best.

Thanks for the advice. I'm surprised you had to take the GRE- isn't that requirement usually waived if you've already completed a Masters? I guess Georgetown might be out of the mix now. I looked back over my transcripts and saw that I got a B- in both Macroeconomics and Statistics, so that won't look good either. As far as the rest of my application, I have no idea how I'll measure up compared to the rest! I think I can crank out a pretty good SOP expressing my interest in the field. I'll have spent 5 years abroad (teaching), which is somewhat related experience. I might have some trouble getting a LOR from a professor since I graduated a while ago, but I'll have good professional references. Actually, I want to go into public diplomacy (for which Georgetown doesn't even have a concentration), so the programs I'm looking at are technically international communications. Maybe quantative skills aren't emphasized as much in these programs? That would be nice.

I have the exact same question. I had planned on applying to Georgetown, GW, and American, but I took the gre today and got 151 on quant (verbal is fine I think, 166). I studied for it, but it was probably not my best effort. I took a five-week trip this summer and brought my materials with me, but suffice it to say I was pretty distracted. Should I retake the gre? I'm starting an intensive Chinese program this fall and that is going to take up most of my time. I was hoping to be done with the gre studying by now so I could focus on my language acquisition. Will I still be considered wih my current scores?

Thanks Imhotep, I just messaged you. Might be a possibility. If anyone else has ideas I'd love to hear them. Any placement agencies you know of? I found this organization the other day that posts related internships http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/. The only problem is I've been out of school for a while, and while I'd be perfectly willing to do an internship to get the experience, most are unpaid and will only accept current students. Also, am I going about this in the right way? Do these D.C. schools care more about work experience, languages, or is there something else I should be doing?

Thanks Imhotep, I just messaged you. Might be a possibility. If anyone else has ideas I'd love to hear them. Any placement agencies you know of? I found this organization the other day that posts related internships http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/. The only problem is I've been out of school for a while, and while I'd be perfectly willing to do an internship to get the experience, most are unpaid and will only accept current students. Also, am I going about this in the right way? Do these D.C. schools care more about work experience, languages, or is there something else I should be doing?

Thanks for the props. I have heard of the Peace Corps/Masters program at American University, but given my only experience is in esl I'd probably get a placement teaching and that's exactly what I want to get away from. I'm sure I could get accepted to do a Masters in TEFL, but I want to change fields completely. So I'm wondering what I can do in the next year or two to show how serious I am. Like I said, I'd like to find an entry level job to get some experience, but even for entry level it seems like people want a Masters degree or relevant work experience. That's why I got into teaching in the first place, so now I feel like I'm back at square one I've been looking at Idealist.com, any other ideas of where I could look? I know all of the schools in D.C. have pretty solid reputations. Georgetown is my first choice, but I think it's a long shot. I also want to apply to American and GW. My undergrad gpa was pretty good and I'm planning to study my butt off for the gre. I'm just worried that when these schools look at my history, they'll realize I've basically been little more than a babysiter for the past four years.

Hi Everyone, I'd be really grateful if any of you could give me some advice on my situation. I graduated in '09 with a degree in Foreign Affairs. I got really frustrated when I couldn't find a job soon after I graduated, so I went abroad. I spent 2 years in Cairo teaching English and I'm now in my second year in Shanghai working as a homeroom teacher at an international school. Next month I'll have completed a distance certification program in K-6 education, but I think that was a mistake. Teaching the same things over and over again is making my brain leak out of my head and I can't do another year of it! Everyone I've talked to has said that if I want to break into foreign affairs I have to go back to graduate school, but I don't think I'm a competitive candidate. I'd only want to go to a school in the D.C. area (most accessible to internships, and it's where I'd want to work), but all of the schools seem to look for candidates with relevant work experience. That's what I don't understand- if I had relevant work experience I wouldn't feel pressed to go to graduate school because I'd already have a job in the field I'm interested in! So what can I do over the next 1-3 years to become a better candidate? I'm considering taking a year to do the Huayu Enrichment Program in Taiwan to become more proficient at Mandarin. I think it would be better to get some work experience, but where do I look for entry level jobs? Thanks!