MastersHoping

Is it better to have full-time experience? What if you did work while you were in school? I did some pretty significant work with a relevant organization while I was an undergrad, for example - can that count as "work experience?"

I know a bunch of people at SAIS since I go to a master's program down the street from it (I'm at Georgetown), seems like a wonderful program so first of all congrats! About Ph.D, as far as I understand most people in SAIS master's are trying to go into policy or government or think tanks or something rather than Ph.Ds, but I'm sure it's been done. If I had to take a guess, I would say it most definitely will not harm your application. In fact, if you do well in your academic classes, and get great recs, it'll not only be of help but great help in applying to doctoral programs. Good luck!!

Wow, this makes me feel a LOT better! I have around a 3.3 gpa from undergrad, albeit from a very well-known and well-regarded university, and am freaking out about not getting into places because of it.

Hello everyone! I am not going to UIC but want to apply this year for a Ph.D in Political Science. So hopefully see you around next year. Also, I went to undergrad at the University of Chicago. For those of you from warmer climates, be prepared for some extremely harsh winters!

Based on your first post, IMO the second option (interning unpaid in the country while learning the language) is the better option. It's great to get experience before going back to school (I wish I'd done so...my master's is really expensive, though at least I got a fellowship for the second year and at least it's good quality), having an intimate, first-hand understanding of the country is great, and knowing the language of the country you're interested in will always be useful. Also, mini rant because I've gotten a lot of shit about this before, but in terms of language, it really bothers me when people say "language is not that important, because you have interpreters and translators." Sure, you can get by, and sure don't let lack of language hold you back, but IMO it'll never hurt you to know the language of the country you're studying and will more often than not be of use. So if you have the opportunity to learn a language, do it!

This is really interesting advice. I had two W's in the same term on my transcript from undergrad, and when I was applying to master's programs, my advisor told me to mention it. I didn't end up mentioning it (not because I didn't want to draw attention to something negative, but simply because there was nothing to explain - I messed up those two classes and it was entirely my fault). What is the general consensus? Is there even a general consensus on this? When I apply to Ph.D programs soon, should I mention those two W's, especially now that I have a master's transcript with a 3.6 GPA? ​

To revive a dead thread, does anyone know anything about UCLA's Ph.D program in the department of Asian Languages and Cultures (ALC)? I stumbled across it recently and looks like it would be interesting for me (plus, the chance to experience sunny LA weather after having grown up in Canada and spent undergrad in Chicago sounds very enticing XD )

It's certainly not going to hurt, and can definitely help, even if indirectly. I agree with eteshoe - do it! My parents are from China, and I'm currently there for break. There is a lot to do, to see, to discover! It's a lot of fun and the food is really good and cheap.

Ah c'est cool. I learned it from a young age too, but my level is probably only around a high school level of fluency. Yeah I speak Chinese and am learning Korean. When I said I'd trade French for Korean or Japanese, I meant that I'd give up the level of fluency I have in French for an equivalent level in Korean or Japanese.

I speak Chinese, and am intermediate in Korean - I just happen to be fluent in French. I want to keep with up with learning Korean and it would be nice to add on Japanese. For CP, I'm interested in some particular policies that China has toward North Korea. And you're right about the list of schools - they are indeed ones that are very much focused on their MAs! Edit: Lol wow kaykaykay's post really sparked a lively debate XD I appreciate your advice kaykaykay, and I will definitely research more before applying. As for subfield, I'm still pretty sure I wanna do comparative. But these schools are, as you mentioned, ones that have had an MA focus. Maybe it's just cause I'm in an MA program right now that's very much focued on diplomacy. Meh. And for the topic, there's a particular topic I'm interested in, and regionally it's in NE Asia.

Thanks for your suggestion! Are you applying to 6 schools total? Btw, je parle francais moi aussi. How did you become fluent in French? Are you native or did you learn it? Though it has been useful for me, I still wish I could trade it for Japanese or Korean, seeing as how I want to do East Asia comparative politics.

I'm at Georgetown for Asian Studies right now. It seems that political science is in a better state right now, but I'm not totally sure so you should double check on that. That's just my hunch. If you do end up at Georgetown, though, we are very strong for politics and political science. What are the other three Middle East languages you want to master? If you do end up mastering Arabic and the other three you're interested in, that's pretty impressive!

But he's also a 29 year who I am willing to bet has had dating experience before, at least more than the OP has. The OP has made it very clear that she's interested in him and he is probably well aware of this fact. Since he isn't interested in her any further, it is very possible that he is exploiting her feelings for him to satisfy his desires for carnal pleasure. I don't know this for certain, obviously. But that's how it seems to me. Regardless, whether he's just using her for sex or not doesn't really matter. What matters is that he's obviously not interested and that the OP shouldn't waste her time with him.

I ended up winning the FLAS

I was in Buffalo for high school and almost went to UB for undergrad. It's a nice school and Buffalo is a severely underrated city with lots to discover!

Hehehe. I think Mongolia is a fascinating place too, although my knowledge of it is fairly limited. My only familiarity with it is the fact that a lot of North Korean defectors use it to get to South Korea (my research interests are in North Korea/ North Korean defectors). Do you speak any Mongolian? I currently go to school in Washington, D.C. and there's a large Mongolian population here for some reason!!! But I also see you're from Chicago (which is where I went to undergrad), so the cold shouldn't be a huge surprise for you lmao.

Psychology is not my field, but it seems to me, from an outsider's perspective, that you have more than adequate academic preparation. Just get some research experience, have some kick-ass SoP and letters and I would bet that you have a fighting chance at a lot of great places.

I agree with both sentiments of your post. I would also like to point out that in my original post, I said that if he was taking advantage of her or just using her for sex, that definitely would make him a d-bag. Had to point that out since my first post seems to be where people are getting this word from.

Not being interested in her doesn't make him a douchebag. Using her for casual sex and taking advantage of the naivete of a 19 year old undergrad does. If that's what he's doing, then yes I'd say it's a pretty dick move of him.

^Some less impactful journals. Not top journals. Perhaps the Georgetown Journal of Asian Studies (which is still fairly new) and things of that caliber. And don't worry about being "mean" as long as you're being honest. I know that you, as an anonymous stranger on the internet, have nothing against me personally, so as long as it's constructive criticism I won't be offended or take it personally.

Thanks for this piece of advice. So let me see if I understood correctly: you are advising me to apply to programs with topical research matches rather than regional interest matches?

Okay, in that case I think my research interests are pretty well defined and I have a decent amount of evidence to back that up. What do people who graduate from lesser-ranked programs like the ones I listed and don't get academic jobs end up doing?

Yeah I was aware that my GPAs were below average, which is why I feared that they would get me into the reject pile right off the bat - although I had no idea my grad was actually worse than my undergrad lol. Glad I don't have to retake the GRE then! And thanks for the tips, I'll definitely consider applying some better-ranked programs then, and see what happens.

Okay, thanks for all your input! I feel a bit better knowing that my stats won't get me thrown out automatically. I'll work on a draft of the SOP over summer, and work on getting good recommendation letters. What does it mean to have hashed out research interests? Good luck to you!

ah yeah you're right. I definitely should think it through carefully. Good thing I have all summer for that! Also, my parents and I are all naturalized American citizens, it's just that I'd be interested in, actually might even prefer, to move back to my parents' home country for a career in the future. Assuming that ultimately I decide this is the right path for me, do you think I have a shot at getting into at least some of these programs, like JHU and GWU? What about some higher-ranked ones like UPenn, Yale, WUSTL, etc (not necessarily these particular places but universities of that caliber and rank).