kaseyleigh

I wish they would too!! Each day is torture. I want to start making plans! I applied for their mid-career Master's in International Policy and Practice program. It is just a one year program... I got into the MA in Intl Affairs program last year but decided to hold up and hopefully do this one year program instead. Planning to focus on Russia and national security/intelligence/political risk if I am admitted. Fingers crossed for all of us!

Last year the decisions were released March 16 for most people. I don't think it matters when you submitted your application really, because they are almost all released on the same day. Just have to wait a bit longer!! Which program did you guys apply to at GW?

I'm applying for a just one-year program so I wouldn't have time to study abroad again anyway, but I am seriously considering doing at least one of the short-term courses abroad if I get in. That may be something to look into at your program as well! They are only for a little over a week or so, so you wouldn't be leaving for a significant period of time, but still give you a really cool experience, something interesting to add to your resume, etc.

Hi! Thanks for your post and willingness to help! I am super interested in research at a think tank, but recently spoke on the phone to a deputy director of a program at one of the major think tanks and it sounded to me like you can't advance super far in a think tank unless you 1. have a PhD or 2. worked as a senior government official first. Do you find that to be the case? I am applying for a one-year mid-career master's because I already hold a JD and, since I only have one year if I get in, I will have to make the most of my internships. It sounded to me like I would be better served getting a government internship rather than a think tank internship because of this (I can work my way up in government and then switch over to higher level think tank work later). What do you think about that? Does this ring true for you?

Hi everyone! This question is for those who may specifically have some knowledge of the various programs at the GW Elliott School. I applied last year and got in to the MA Intl Affairs program, but decided to wait a year and get more work experience. I am preparing my application for Fall 2016 now, and I am trying to decide which program to which it would be the most appropriate to apply. After applying last year, I discovered the MIPP program for those with sig work experience and/or an advanced degree. I do have a JD and it is a one-year program, so I really like that, but I am a pretty recent grad and don't have a ton of work experience. I want to do something in Russia and/or security/political risk arenas, so I am also looking at the MA in Security Policy or MA in Europe and Eurasian Studies. Clearly, it is really nice to only pay for one year of grad school (esp with loans already from law school, though luckily not TOO much), but the MIPP program seems to be kind of an overview of intl policy, whereas the other programs are more specialized. Right now, my work is not relevant to intl affairs and I would be using the master's to springboard me into the field. Any advice on which route seems most logical would be appreciated. (I am also more worried about being accepted/getting scholarships in the MIPP than the general MA programs, since most of those in the MIPP program have sig work)

I have also been thinking about applying for the PMF for the coming year (though I do want to do it for federal work). If anyone has little jewels of wisdom for applying/who they accept, it is much appreciated!

I really appreciate your thorough answer! It's all just fascinating. I am thinking of meeting with our regional Diplomat-in-Residence tomorrow. Thanks for your insight!

Hi! This has been a really interesting post. Thanks so much for answering questions! I am not sure that being a FSO is my end goal, but it is certainly fascinating and this post has got me thinking about it a little more. I think my primary worry is safety, and I know you already touched on danger posts a bit. You mentioned that typically you won't get sent to an unaccompanied post unless you specifically ask for that. Was this just for those with children, or is this for anyone? I know you said your first post was a danger post... did you specifically request that place? I appreciate your insight!

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Big state schools for both undergrad and law school Previous Degrees and GPAs: Bachelor's in Journalism with a 3.68 GPA. I graduated last May from law school, so I have a J.D. and my law school GPA was about a 3.6. GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): I didn't have to take the GRE since I have an advanced degree. I decided to apply late, so I only applied to schools that let me waive the GRE requirement. Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): I've done some unpaid (or very low wage) internships- a congressman's district office, immigration law with a nonprofit, general counsel intern for a state house of representatives, law school admin. I have very little full-time work experience, but I currently work full-time in law school admissions. Math/Econ Background: Very little. Journalism majors and law students really don't have to take math and econ classes. Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): I am at an intermediate level of a critical language. I've received both the Critical Language Scholarship from the Dept of State and the Title VIII fellowship to do an intensive summer program (which was through the Dept of State, but, unfortunately, they are no longer funding it). Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Affairs- Foreign Policy Long Term Professional Goals: I ultimately would love to be a foreign policy advisor, and was hoping to work with some think tanks on my way there. I would also love to get a PhD eventually. Schools Applied to & Results: American SIS- accepted with 6 credits of tuition remission a year and a research assistantship stipend. George Washington- accepted with $20K fellowship over two years. I only applied to these two schools because I could waive the GRE portion, they allowed part-time study at night (was planning to work full-time) and I knew I only wanted to be in DC. Ultimate Decision & Why: I decided not to go to grad school this year! The more I thought about it, it just doesn't fall into place for me right now. Instead, I have been interviewing for a legal job in Dubai (cross your fingers) that would make much more sense for me at this stage and, even if I don't get that job, I am going to try to find something else that makes sense like that. I pretty much applied to grad school on a whim to see if I could go for free or something, and, though I did get some scholarships, they would almost triple my current debt. I decided that isn't worth it to me, and, if I'm going to end up in DC eventually, I will need to already have a full-time job when I move there. I just can't be an unpaid intern again and work my way up, so maybe someday I will have the connections and experience for it to all fall into place. Advice for Future Applicants: I think the number one thing I wish that I had done was taken the GRE. I decided to apply really too late to study for and then take the GRE, and I didn't want to just try to take it without studying because I have like no math background and would've totally bombed that section. Applying to grad school was such a last minute thing for me that I don't know that I would've taken the GRE even if I'd have thought about it earlier because it is expensive and it would've taken so much of my time to study (I wouldn't care about this so much, but I took the bar exam last summer, which basically sapped me of all my time and money in the next few months after that), but I don't know that you can really get a large amount of funding without taking it. I think my law school background likely helped me get in and get the amount of fellowships that I did, but I think the GRE is really key to getting even more. I also wasn't eligible for some big fellowships, like the Wolcott, because I already have a graduate degree. My choices of schools were also limited to ones that will waive the GRE requirement, so I wasn't even able to apply to Georgetown or HKS to see what I could've been offered. I definitely think it helps having people to talk to about the process, like friends going through it (I met some when I went to visit the schools) or this forum, but I think you should kind of take this forum with a grain of salt. It has good insight, but discussion forums like this tend to freak me out, and they did for law school as well. People on these are all really type A (including myself), so they all want to go to the best school ever and have the most fellowships ever, and that is great, but you have to remember that everyone needs to do what is best for them and everyones' situations are different. Ultimately, you have to take into consideration only the factors that matter for you. Best of luck!

I'm sorry to hear that! Did you email them and they wrote back to let you know that you didn't receive one, or did they send you a generic letter? I ask because it seemed like in the past the committee for the Wolcott only sent letters to those who received the fellowship, but they didn't send out letters to everyone else letting them know they didn't receive one.

I got two essentially equal funding offers. I would just love to negotiate a higher fellowship, but it seems like I won't really be able to, since I can't leverage anything (I can't really say the other school gave me a higher fellowship, because it's not true). Does that seem right? It seems like I'm pretty stuck with what I have.

I haven't heard back from it. I even emailed them asking if they had already sent out acceptances, and I haven't heard back.

Hi there, I graduated from law school at the University of Oklahoma and currently work there, so I don't know a ton about schools in NJ, but I can help you out a bit in general. First, LSAC has a law school guide that allows you to put in your GPA and LSAT scores and see your chances of getting into each ABA-approved law school in the US. You can find it here: https://officialguide.lsac.org/release/OfficialGuide_Default.aspx. I put in your undergrad GPA (that is what school's will weigh and have to report, not your master's GPA, though clearly they will take it into consideration), and a 150 LSAT score. It looks like you have around a 25% chance of getting into Rutgers-Newark. Most law schools weigh LSAT scores more heavily than GPA because LSAT is supposed to be the most accurate predictor of first-year law school grades. The fact that your GPA is above their median is a good thing, though, so hopefully they will consider that very positively. However, the fact that that LSAT score falls below even their lowest 25% makes you less competitive. I would definitely put an addendum to your applications explaining reasons for a low LSAT score, the fact that you did below average on the GRE but succeeded in grad school, etc. I myself didn't take an LSAT prep course, but I really liked Powerscore's prep books, so you might check out their prep courses. Definitely study as much as you can and take a lot of practice tests!! Best of luck! Kasey

Hey guys, just FYI for those of you who also got fellowships requiring you to be full-time: I saw somewhere that GW has a policy against being a full-time student and also working full-time, but I emailed the admissions office and they said it is possible to be approved for part time study and to also still receive your fellowship. They said you have to submit a formal request to be approved for part time study and the Director of Graduate Admissions will review it, then they will go from there.

I know that American sent out an email offering some partial travel assistance, but I haven't heard anything about that from GW. Is it weird to ask a school straight up if they have any assistance, or is that acceptable? Anyone already know if GW has assistance available?

FYI just realized the research RA stipend is $4500 over a year, instead of each semester. That just isn't going to be enough funding, so I will have to be working full time and turning that down.

Russia/Eurasia has been my strongest regional background. I wasn't necessarily going to concentrate in that during school, but those are my language skills, etc.

Well, I don't want to narrow my options down too much, but I would just love to work at a think tank, State Dept., even maybe a consulting firm, etc. I was planning to do a foreign policy concentration. I think anything internationally-focused (or even just something policy-focused) would be great for during grad school!

Thanks so much for the encouragement, everyone, and I'm happy to hear that other people are in my same boat! It is easy to get overwhelmed thinking about all the different scenarios, so it is nice to commiserate. If I were to take the RAship, does anyone (maybe people already working in DC) have a sense of how difficult it would be to find another job, hopefully relevant, to do part time? I'm not looking to work retail or as a waitress or something. One of my main concerns with the RAship is that it would not cover holidays, like the summer, so I would have to switch over to doing something full-time then. It just sounds complicated, though the RAship would definitely be fantastic experience.

Hi guys, I was hoping to get a bit of feedback about working full-time as well as studying full-time. I am in at GW and American with about the same amount of funding, and both have the majority of classes in the evening, which is regularly touted as a plus, since it allows students to work or intern in the day. Clearly, it is not ideal, but I need to work full-time for my living costs- I do not want to take out that much more in loans. Both of my scholarship offers require me to be a full-time student as well. I'm wondering, then, if it is do-able to take 9 credits of class per semester at night, and work full time during the day. My only other option is that American also gave me a $4500 research assistantship and you have to do up to 10 hours of research assistance, so I could do that and then find a job for the other three or four days a week or something. I'd love to hear thoughts on this! If you need any clarification, please just ask.

Are you planning to work full time and go to school full time for grad school?

Maybe someone in this exact forum going into policy will be the change!

You're right... to me, it would probably be worth it to pay more in the long run, but have low monthly payments so I can still do all the things people have mentioned, like buy a house, have children, etc. I don't really want to bank on the public service loan forgiveness, either... it will just be nice if it eventually happens. It's hard to say whether it is worth doing a better program, though. You said your state program is still a good program, though it may not have the exact program you want. I would say research the fully-funded program more and see if you will be able to get the kind of internships you want, the kind of employment you want after you graduate, etc. If you are fully funded, but you always regret it because you end up getting a job that isn't at all what you wanted and you never get to do what you want to do, then it might be worth it to go to a different program. I think that your state school could be what you make of it, though, so as long as you hustle and do everything you can to set yourself up for success, it would certainly be really nice not to have any debt!

Exactly. You aren't necessarily going to have to pay $1200 a month, with the different repayment options (which are for everyone, not just public service). There are income based repayments, and you could pay it out over 25 years too. That is a super long time, but your payments could be relatively low. $100K over 25 years is about $333 per month. My roommate right now has a substantial amount of law school debt, but she is paying it over 25 years so she pays almost the exact same amount a month that I do currently (about $220 per month). She is able to put away a ton of her salary already. I don't absolutely love the idea of paying things off over 25 years, but the hope is that by that time my salary will be substantial enough that that little payment a month will just automatically be taken out without even really noticing. Right now I have probably the lowest salary I will ever have in my life, but that $220 a month just gets taken out automatically a month and I don't even really think about it. So, I think it's do-able.

I've noticed the same thing, so I know where you are coming from. For me, I can tell you why I am leaning toward GW over American. I don't know a ton about the job prospects at one versus the other since I'm not currently working in DC, but I'm not really looking for a full-time student experience. If I were just going to be a full-time student, I would probably want to go somewhere where I could make a bunch of nice friends to hang out with, where I can get involved in a bunch of student organizations, etc. Though this would still be nice, I already did this in law school, so I'm now looking for somewhere I can take some classes from great professors, that allows me to work full time, and is easy to get to from work (and will allow me to get a great job also after I graduate, or even during school). Because American is a bit further out, it seems like it would be harder for me to get to quickly from work, so that is a major reason I am picking GW (and the flexible curriculum is also a big plus for me). I have heard that GW is more of a school where people just come to take class and to get the degree, and it looks like I'm also falling into that stereotype. I think if you are looking for a nice all-around student experience, American seemed to me like a really nice place to be.