ryzzofoshizzo

Hi all, I was wondering what you all think about the reputation of Irish grad schools in the United States. The reason I ask is because my fiancee is applying for Irish citizenship, we both have strong family ties to the country, and are considering moving there at least for a year or so and seeing how things go. If we really love living there then I could see us staying indefinitely, but who really knows how things will go and would could, of course, end up moving back to the States. In that case I would want to be sure that the Master's degree I would be working toward in Ireland would be viewed positively by employers in the States. I know that the Irish have in recent years invested a lot into education, and that an increasing amount of U.S. students are going abroad for post-grad education. Additionally if anyone is aware about the reputation of Irish universities in the rest of Europe (UK, France, Spain) that would be good to know too. For some background, I would be pursuing something along the lines of an International Relations/International Development degree, potentially even Latin American or South Asian studies. I've lived and worked in Washington for over 5 years now so I have a lot of work experience (supervisors gave me a lot of responsibilities), so I just want to make sure that I am able to continue growing and making myself more marketable in the workplace while finding a way to better enjoy my life by spending some time abroad. Any thoughts are much appreciated, thanks!

Hi, I went to undergrad in Washington and have been living here now for about seven years, so I'll give you my opinion on your situation. As you're probably aware, Washington, DC is one of the most competitive markets with an overabundance of highly qualified professionals, which is not to say that it's hard to get A job, but really raises the bar for each position. Same goes for the area grad schools - they are very competitive, so first of all congratulations on getting in! Unfortunately what that means is that, like a lot of the top International Relations/Government grad programs they rely not only on academic achievements but also on professional work experience. I can certainly understand this since, while I worked very hard in school and graduated magna cum laude, I learned so much more in my first year of work than I had in the previous 4 years. People applying to the Elliot School are probably a diverse body of candidates ranging from recent grads to people with 5-10 years' experience or even more. These programs are likely to divert fellowships and other aid to the most accomplished candidates because their experience and success in the working environment represent a high probability of future success (and consequently potential donations in the future to the school). Additionally this is their bargaining chip to get high-quality candidates, but unfortunately it some times takes away from people who could really use it. My point in this is that by spending a year working in DC you may find that the additional work experience helps to make you more marketable to the grad schools because it demonstrates that you have been able to obtain a good job and learn a lot of the workplace skills. This might help you to get some financial aid if you were to reapply. If you haven't had job or internship experience in Washington (this city is practically crawling with interns during the summer!), it might be to your advantage to do that first and get your foot in the door - even if it's just for a few months. To be honest, my internships led to my first job so it was a little easier for me to get going here, but I have a lot of friends that weren't in the same situation that were able to find jobs without too much trouble. In any case despite the reputation Washington has as a city where you get by on connections, I've found that most employers rely on hard-work and a good personality ultimately when hiring. On your second point, it seems like you are well-prepared to handle the intensity of working full-time and going to school, and I know more than a few who have done it at the Elliot School, but I must warn you that all have reported that it is pretty tiresome to do for. You might consider a fellowship or paid internship to give you professional experience for a few days of the week without sacrificing your mental well-being! All of the strong grad schools in DC (American, GWU, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins) have great alumni networks and their own websites for only GW students where jobs are posted (I've posted jobs and internships there for previous employers, so it is used extensively), so I think if you are persistent then you will certainly find a job relatively quickly. Rent in DC, as I'm sure you are aware, is among the highest in the country so you'll definitely want to have some sort of job, especially if you aren't able to obtain financial aid. As far as applying to more schools - that's totally up to you but I can confirm that the Elliot School has a great reputation in DC and always looks good on a resume. To be honest what employers are really looking for here are the work experiences and skills you have and not the school that you go to, so in that sense I would say that between GWU and Columbia there is very little difference. That may seems hardly believable, but I can tell you for a fact that if a hiring decision was between someone who went to Harvard with little work experience and someone who went to GW with a few really solid work opportunities, 9 times out of 10 the GW grad will get the position. Everyone I know that has gone to the Elliot School has been very happy with the coursework and skills that they obtained from it, so whatever you decide will certainly be a good move. Hope this is helpful, and if you have any other questions feel free to shoot them along!