brandnewtothis

Wow I just looked the guy up, and the University of London placement is SOAS! Definitely not a bad placement at all!!!

Yeah, it's pretty interesting to see that range. I think it's probably a combination of student performance/ambition (honestly) along with the department's change. What do you guys think of the NRC rankings, where GWU jumped up to the top 25 in political science, and even ranked above some more established programs likes UCLA's? I honestly do believe in GWU - I just need them to believe in me and get me off the alternate bench! Tell you friend to formally decline them ASAP!!! We can't wait forever!

I'm on the alternate list as well btw - hopefully we both get in with full funding mr. white!

Here's their placement history: http://www.gwu.edu/~psc/grad/placement.htm As you can see, it's definitely a mixed bag. Some okay schools, some lower ranked schools, CRS, a LOT of foreign universities, and a lot of defense/intelligence colleges.

Do you think the new classes will place better? I'm honestly a little nervous. GW has some great professors that I really want to work with but I of course would like that to translate into something for the future.

This was briefly mentioned in another thread but I think this is worth discussing. I am considering GWU over some other schools despite its currently low rankings and weak placements. I think the political science program has been revamped and they are currently picking up more professors and pushing the program to improve their ranking and reputation. I don't know if it will be a top-tier program any time soon, but I think they are worth more consideration than what their rankings and current placements suggest. What do you all think of the program?

Thanks for the advice! This is very reassuring. How important would you say the admit open house is? I have a pretty serious conflict with it, especially considering the travel involved. Given my situation, do you think going to the open house would be critical? Or can I expect that I can make meet all the faculty and make appropriate adjustments in the fall?

Hi GradCafe, I looked over the faculty again and I realized I overlooked a few people. There are some faculty members that I now realize are much better suited to my interests than I previously realized. I didn't mention them at all in my letter. How can I go about approaching them after the fact, and will it cause tension and/or bad first impressions?

Hey everyone, It looks like DC has changed and the housing market has changed since this was last an active discussion. I think this needs a revamp. I've been looking through Craigslist and it's really hard to find good but affordable housing in a lot of the areas mentioned here, especially along the blue and orange lines (which I need.) I've also noticed in terms of crime, different neighborhoods have shuffled numbers around, even in just the past 2-3 years. In 2010 there was an article about a neighborhood being a quiet, safe, rural town, and this year there was an article announcing that crime has gone up and that its metro stop is not officially the most dangerous metro stop. So, what's up with DC? Anyone got any advice for housing along the blue/orange lines? If that doesn't pan out well, does anyone have an idea for how to find affordable housing along the red line?

I can pretty much guarantee that no one worth your while will give a crap about this. They'll just look at it, and then close the email. The only way that your first impression will in any way be tarnished by this is if YOU bring it up and even worse apologize for it. If someone else brings it up, be yourself and explain what you were thinking, just like you did in the first post. Not because that's the "American" thing to do or anything, but because you seem like a nice person and it will show if you just be yourself and they will probably just go "hm" and move on, or chuckle with you if you laugh it off. Zero fxs given. And if anyone acts like a douchebag to you because of this? Well you just saved yourself like 6 years of trying to please a jackass.

I was wondering about this. For people that decide not to do a PhD, or don't apply/get in right away, can CIR/MAPPS really provide good job opportunities? What kinds of doors can it open? Would it be viewed comparably with any other MA in international relations or politics?

Hello GradCafe, I recently got some promising acceptances and I feel so lucky. But one thing about one of my acceptances confused me. The letter mentioned my graduate advisor, but this person has none of my research interests. None of the professors that I DID mention that I wanted to work with were mentioned in the letter. I am confused. Is this a graduate advisor whose function is different from being my advisor (i.e. someone who guides me through my research and my work)? If so, that makes sense. If not, I have no idea why they're my advisor. I feel too shy to ask this person directly. Can someone please enlighten me? Thanks, DD