intlrlns

I'll be applying to the Norton one...which means I should be writing essays NOW. mehh

On a similar note, did anyone get an email from the Fletcher Admissions Director about their application? I got one yesterday where the Director said she enjoyed reading my application and suggested I check out their website etc. She mentioned my school etc. so it wasn't generic but I'm not sure if she emailed her fav applicants or what.

I agree with the previous post. You'll be surprised to know how much of the 'substantive' jobs are also just fluff. Make a good case for yourself and sound confident about your future plans. You have the relevant work experience so don't underestimate your profile. Take some part-time econ classes to make your quant background better. They would like to see that you're making an attempt.

WE=work experience I was also an international student (did my BA then worked for a little over a year in the US) and I understand your doubts and concerns. But don't attend a school that won't offer you opportunities in the future just so you can stay back. You have solid GRE and grades and with work experience you could do a lot better. Besides, if you're really serious about an MPP you will probably need some WE to get into good grad schools. Evaluate your priorities. If your priority is to continue your stay in the country and think about the next step after you're done with the Bush School and then go ahead and do that. But sooner or later, lack of work experiences will be an issue for employment . On the other hand, if you can get some solid experience in your home country (or another country, even if it is NGO work) go head and explore your options. An MPP program should complement your career choices so take some time to formulate that choice. If you get into Bush and decide to attend it, explore the possibility of taking a year off before enrolling (if they offer that option). That way you are guaranteed to come back with a better understanding of your goals. Good luck!

I think most people have made valid points but remember that the application pool also matters. They may ask you to take additional classes before enrolling if your bad experience with quant is offset by work experience and they see an aptitude for math. I know of people who didn't have experience with any econ/math courses in undergrad but worked really hard to get decent GRE scores and got into SAIS. It is definitely quant heavy for a number of classes and they really take pride in that. I didn't do very well on the GREs either (69th percentile but good enough for SAIS median) only because I'm terrible at standardized testing... but I have significant quant experience. I think it will come down to your competition and there's no point speculating now. Just hope for the best, good luck

Some schools take updated resume. So if there's something you have to add to yours send them an email with your updated resume with edits. However, the 2012 error may be something that you would want them to be aware of? The formatting mistakes are not as important and would probably go unnoticed.

One of the nicest generic emails I've read though!

Does anyone remember if there's an additional financial aid form to be submitted for HKS? I'm losing my mind keeping a track of everything...

You didn't have to send your GRE scores through ETS...but since you have it will be useful if you're admitted. They just ask you to report your scores on their application and it should agree with the official scores submitted through ETS after admission.

I'd like to think that I'm a competitive applicant but it seemed like a generic email.

Just sound confident about what you 'think' you want to do..present a strong case for your interest in the Middle East, citing examples of how you already have some academic/professional experience in the field (if you do)...what kind of an institution your grad school degree takes you can be facilitated by your networking skills and the school's career services/alumni network. But if you're unclear on the issue you're interested in then consider taking some time to work at an NGO/think-tank to narrow down your interests and institutional preferences. Better to do that before you invest in an expensive grad school degree.

You may want to check with the professor to see if he would call you a 'research assistant'..I've had a few research opportunities with my professors in college and I was RA on payroll...I don't know what else you would call this position, perhaps just 'researcher'

I am a little neurotic, unfortunately. I guess it comes from really wanting to get in....I've been careful about proof reading since then and because I did my undergrad+job in the US there are no excuses to count as international Thanks for your all your thoughts and comments. I discovered this forum a bit too late... I actually noticed the typo when sending out my SIPA application (due later) which used some material from the other SOPs...

I've just submitted my applications to WWS, HKS and SIPA. Looked back at my SOPs and found a typo in all the applications!! I missed deleting 'the' in one of my sentences and never noticed it when proofreading! Neither did the others who looked at my essays..I'm hoping that this mistake will go unnoticed but I've already given up on my chances at these places Any words of wisdom on terrible this looks in an application? Definitely going to be careful for the rest but my mind is a little uneasy now....