jjduval

I think I'll be taking Statistics or another economics course this fall to help offset my GPA deficiency. Do you have work experience, too?

I'll post and see if anyone can appraise me: Schools: GW Elliott, AU SIS Undergrad institution: Southern University, major in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies GPA: 2.7, yo GRE: retaking once I return to the US. Am currently in Asia. Gunning for a 170 in Q and V. Work/International Exp: 1 year on staff for the President's 2012 reëlection bid, 1 year as an English teacher in rural South Korea, and was just offered a Congressional internship. I also spent 2 months in Egypt back in 2010 as a study-abroad student. Language Skills: Spanish (fluent), Arabic (4 years of Uni study), French (high school study, remember some), Elementary Korean. Quant Work: classes it's an undergrad. I don't even remember. SOP/LoR: not an issue. I'm gunning hard for GW Elliott. I have obvious deficiencies, but, with my background and a high GRE score, what am I looking like? I'm also looking for full-time work relevant to my field of interest.

I'd love to work in India or Latin America, in something related to IDEV - education is my strong-suit at the moment. I'm an American, and I speak French, Arabic, and Spanish in addition to English. Surely, there has to be a market for a fella like me out there?

Hey guys, So, I'm currently an English teacher in Korea, but I'm looking to expand my horizons beyond, well, Korea. I'm really interested in volunteering/working with an IDEV NGO, but I have no idea where to even start looking. So far, all I can come up with are weird, non-professional looking websites. Can any of you point me in the right direction?

Rejected. Good luck, all. I shall return.

I still havent heard anything. This is nuts.

Howdy, Thanks for doing this AMA. I've got a few questions about your background, and how it's been applicable to your service: 1. I took the FSO a few years ago, just out of college. Since the Foreign Service allows applications right out of university, what are the benefits of getting an advanced degree before applying? More upward mobility? Higher pay? 2. I remember reading that, although incoming officer can ask for certain positions within the Foreign Service, no one is guaranteed a specific position. Does this still stand? If so, does the FS look for specific criteria in the applicant's background before making them Consular Officers, Economic Officers, etc.? 3. Does the FSO get any say in where he/she is deployed? How long are the stints abroad? And finally, 4. What do you enjoy most about being a Foreign Service Officer? I really appreciate you doing this, friend.

It's super frustrating for me, too. I'm an English teacher in S. Korea and have to make a decision soon about wether I'll be heading home for grad school or renewing my contract for another year. I'd really like to head back to the States, but won't do so without having something waiting for me (school, job, etc.). The way I see it, if my application was a "lol, no," then the admissions committee would have let me know right away, right? So I've tried to be as positive as I can about it being March 26th and still not having any news. Maybe I'll get some good news before April 15th, but it seems unlikely at this point. I just wish they'd pull the trigger so I could move on with my life.

Well, what are you hoping to do after you graduate?

I emailed the office of Graduate admissions. They told me that my application is currently under review, and that I should have my decision within the next two weeks. Since, I believe, the enrollment deadline is April 15th, I'm just going to assume that I've been denied admission and will plan the next year accordingly. Good luck to all of you. I hope you get good news soon.

Has anyone heard anything?

Yeah, the choosing sides thing is stupid, but it isn't a big deal if you aren't planning to play the politics game forever. Go in and get your experience, and walk out as a great candidate.

Hey. I was on-staff for the Obama campaign in 2012, in North Carolina. As you know (or have looked up), the President lost the state by 3 points. I worked from January until November, so my experience ran the whole gamut. Unless the whole thing blows up in your hands as a result of your own incompetence, it doesn't matter wether the candidate wins or loses. If you run your office well, you can use that experience to slingshot you into a number of positions. There are certainly some limitations (once you work for a party, you're blacklisted from working with the other), but the experience is applicable to a lot of different areas. Most everyone I worked with in NC has gone on to graduate school, or found a job in public policy, or remains on the political circuit. So just go for it.

Hey wolfie53, I've done research into how they do the admissions thing at AU, and, as far as I know, this appears to be the process - when they look at the applications, they make a decision on the first day: who they definitely want, and who they definitely don't. I think that this is evaluated by GPA, GRE, and years of work experience. These are also the candidates who are more likely to "get away," so to speak. Admission is offered quickly so that they can choose AU over whatever other institution may offer them admission. After that, they start sorting through the "maybe" pile. The committee carefully reads through CVs, SoPs, and LoRs. I think that this is where their "holistic" bit comes into play - In these reviews, low GPAs are balanced out by GREs, candidates with good numbers can be rejected because of a bad SoP, and applications can be saved by strong LoRs. So, I think that's where we're all at.

Someone posted a few pages back that they'll be working over applications until the end of August. I've poured through the previous admissions postings, and it looks like people hear back no later than the 24th.