TakeMyCoffeeBlack

Regensburg is a great city! Except that the Deutsche Bank ATM ate my debit card there... that was a big panic moment für einen nervösen Austauschstudent. I'd definitely suggest Baden or Rheinland-Pfalz if not Bayern (meine deutsche Heimat). Ach, I want to get back to Germany so much.

All three are fantastic choices. If you get a chance in Bavaria, check out the Naturpark Altmühltal - it's an expansive nature park between Nuremberg and Ingolstadt. I lived beside it and could see part of the hiking trails from my apartment (which I would, from time to time, venture through on a lazy Sunday). Best of luck!

Anyone looking at south Germany (Bavaria or Baden)? I'm not an ETA candidate (full grant in Tübingen), but I lived in Bavaria last year and it was so amazing. Thuringia would also be a great Bundesland, I'd think. But Bavaria is pretty unique in Germany because of it's history, and so has a lot of amazing cities (Nuremberg, Regensburg, Munich, Würzburg, etc.) disproportionate to its size - and is a hop away from Austria and Switzerland (for those Germanophiles).

How long have you spent in the countries cumulatively? My FPA said that they prefer <6 months, otherwise you've already had extensive opportunities in that country (so a simple study abroad wouldn't hold you back, but a master's degree done in that country might). That isn't 100%, but it's a factor.

Recommended! Full - Germany

...waiting...still waiting... I have plenty I could do to put my mind off of it, but I'm too distracted.

I think you'll be fine. I imagine you might be able to have your school include some kind of sheet showing the school's average grades. The awful thing about this is that grade deflation would actually be a good thing, except that it can disadvantage students. Regardless, your political science GPA and GREs are great. Make sure your SOP is very good and you shouldn't have any problems. It may just come down to whether committees needs your area of interest - and that's why you should do a lot of research on programs and profs this summer. Good luck!

Ach, dafür sollte ich mich bewerben. Ich war aber in Deutschland als Austauschstudent und das Fälligkeitsdatum war schnell vorbeigegangen... Ich wünsche euch auf jeden Fall viel Glück!!

Fully aware that most of my programs won't begin alerting until mid-Feb (based on previous year patterns)...I still check my e-mail every day about 20+ times.

Forwarded by my FPA:

Do you like what you're doing now? Does it make you happy? Or is the only thing keeping you there the financial security? If it's the latter, then it'd be worth spending the next 5-7 years learning about something you love and making a slightly smaller salary to enjoy yourself. And if money is an issue, you can go the (as you said) think-tank/consultant route.

Semester is about to start, so I'll be keeping myself very busy with new research, regular classes and many events and trips. When I hear, I will most certainly treat myself to a fine bottle of red wine and put my feet on the table. And maybe get the lady to take me to dinner.

Entering the fray. Applying for full research grant to Germany.

Hey everyone - been reading these forums for a few weeks now, dropping by with some info. Called Pitt to see if it was too late to submit writing sample (it's optional and has to be hard copy). The secretary explained to me that I could still send one, but that the applications were already under review by committee. Additionally received an e-mail from GWU. Apparently my writing sample was MIA, but the individual e-mailing me allowed to supply it for my application via e-mail (which is being sent for review to the department, is this the first hurdle?). That made my heart drop...