mab9ve

I get a "minus 1" for being honest, lolz.

You should probably keep this to a minimum, do you honestly want all the obsessed gradschool cafe student population knowing about funding opportunities to make competition that much more stiff? Help yourself and keep the knowledge to yourself~ My two cents.

If people don't think that paying 100k for a masters, albeit, from Columbia, is a cash cow, then they're really kidding themselves.

"I got accepted to Chicago's MAPSS last year, as well as a mid-level PT program and declined both rather than use the MAPSS to boost my app for this year (where am I going to come up with $45,000?)" MAPSS is def. not the same as CIR and the OP has said he got half of a full-ride to Chicago so I don't know how he would be used as a "cash cow". I wouldn't go to Georgetown, if you want to enter academia, you probably want to go somewhere much higher ranked and not to a school that is known to be a degree mill. With a Chicago M.A. this might actually be possible (the Chicago brand name by itself will carry you further than a Georgetown PhD), look at the placement that Chicago CIR has in top PhD programs...it's actually pretty impressive. A friend of mine applied to PhD programs two years ago, he got only into two schools (medium-ranked schools), he decided to go to Chicago, did well and he got admitted to UPenn and started his PhD in political science last year. And for the record, there's nothing wrong if the OP feels like he deserves to go to a better school, academics are prestige-whores...people should get used it. PS: CIR is a 1-year program, not 2.

Program Applied To: MA in International Relations, MA in Latin American Studies Schools Applied To: The University of Chicago, Stanford University, Columbia University Schools Admitted To: The University of Chicago (1/3 funding) Schools Rejected From: None Still Waiting: Stanford, Columbia Undergraduate institution: Top Public Undergraduate GPA: 3.8 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9 Undergraduate Major: History, French GRE Quantitative Score: 570 (ouch) GRE Verbal Score: 620 GRE AW Score: 5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 2 Years of Work Experience: 2 Describe Relevant Work Experience: Big firm job in DC Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): LOL, I made a HUGE typo...I'm surprised I got into UofC. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): My profs. loved me so I'm hoping good. Other: I speak 4 languages fluently (not how Americans like to describe "fluently", but actually fluently and another one semi-fluently.