icedweller44

Hello, I am getting ready to attend the Elliott School of International Affairs this fall as a master's candidate in international affairs. However, as the summer quickly draws to a close, I have been experiencing increasing reservations about attending GWU. Just to give you some background information, I recently graduated from a major public university this past May with a BA in English and a minor in international studies and French. I have strong undergraduate credentials: a 3.99 GPA, Highest Distinction, a variety of honors and awards, and plenty of research experience. In addition, I have good GRE scores and solid letters of recommendation. My ultimate goal after graduate school is to obtain a job in either the governmental or private sector where I can work on resolving international conflict in some type of diplomatic or arbitrational role. I thus want to specialize in conflict resolution and international law / organizations. Here are my reservations about attending GWU: * In all honesty, my graduate school search was somewhat rushed. I was so busy finishing up my undergraduate degree that I didn't have time to research everything as thoroughly as I perhaps should have. Thus, I only applied to three schools which seemed to fit my academic preferences: Whitehead School (Seton Hall), Korbel School (Denver University), and Elliott School (GWU). GWU was, by far, the best school out of these three. I thought about applying to higher ranked schools (namely Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia) but I didn't meet the economics prerequisites of these schools. Now I kind of regret not at least attempting to apply to higher ranked schools. * Perhaps my biggest reservation is my future financial situation. GWU isn't giving me anything: not a single fellowship or scholarship. This was extremely disappointing. I thought with my exemplary undergraduate record that I would be able to drum up at least a little financial assistance. Instead, I am taking out the maximum amount of federal loans (Stafford and Graduate PLUS) in addition to a private alternative loan. I will probably be $100,000-120,000 in debt by the time I receive my master's degree. This sum, on top of my undergraduate school loans, greatly perturbs me! * My last reservation stems from the program itself. As you probably know, all of my classes will be in the evening and meet mostly once per week. This leaves the work day (8am-5pm) completely free to pursue a job / internship. I think this set up could be potentially advantageous. If I could attend class and work full time at a paid job / internship I could gain valuable professional experience while simultaneously earning my degree. However, I am concerned that my lack of direct political / international experience will make it difficult to find a decent (and paid) job or internship. Since I wasn't a political science major in undergraduate school, I might need a program that emphasizes coursework more than job / internship experience. So here are my two options: 1.) Stay the course and maintain a positive attitude. After all, I already have my school and an apartment in VA lined up. Despite the fact that I will be thousands and thousands of dollars in debt upon graduation, I will nevertheless have a competitive master's degree from GWU and, hopefully, some direct professional experience. OR 2.) I could stay put for a year, take a micro- and macroeconomics course in order to beef up my resume, research everything (both careers and programs) a bit more thoroughly, and reapply to a wider range of more competitive schools (e.g. Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, etc.). What do you all think? I would appreciate any advice / information that you might have to offer. Thanks a lot!