Calatoara

I was wondering about that myself. I didn't see mention of it either. Maybe it is only awarded after April 15 once they know who they have for sure?

This is for MPA, yes. I'm not sure about fellowships, but research and teaching assistantships are open for application as far as I understand my email. Anything that would provide tuition coverage and a stipend would supersede the merit award originally offered.

University of Washington Evans School just started sending out emails (with funding offers included).

Considering I've gotten 2 significant funding offers from other top programs, I'm really hoping GWU will offer something. It would be really hard to turn down that kind of $$ at the other places since I'm not really dedicated to working in DC as a life-long career.

My funding offer came attached to an email.

Admitted to MPAff!

The funding decisions haven't been made yet, according to the email I got. I actually calmed down enough to read through it, and it says that I'll get another email in a few days from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences to log on and view my official admissions notification letter. I'm not sure if funding decisions will be listed in that letter, or if it will still be a bit before I hear about it.

Yeah. It's weird. I got the email, but my status in the online application says I'm still in review. This is probably where I'll go since I just moved to DC due to landing an awesome job.

Trachtenberg has started sending out admittance emails!

Still waiting to hear :-( MyStatus page says I'm still "in review."

My concern is not so much about getting into programs or not. I'm fairly certain my applications will warrant acceptances; however, I'm mostly looking at out of state schools such as UW Evans, UTAustin LBJ, and IndianaU-Bloomington SPEA. My goal is a to get an MPA with focus on non-profit management/public administration. Since out-of-state tuition can amount to the same as an entire entry-level annual salary, I would really need some form of scholarship, fellowship, assistantship, or other financial aid to attend a program full-time. I recently took the GRE and I'm debating whether or not to take it again to improve the quantitative score. I let myself get distracted by one problem and ended up running out of time to answer all of them. The estimates were V:165/Q:158. I'll find out the AW in a while, but I'm not concerned with that since my SOP will better demonstrate my writing abilities. Here's some other background: Undergrad: State flagship school, 3.91/4.0 GPA, graduated Magna cum laude, social science degree. Classes in micro/macroeconomics, statistics, social research methods, political science, etc. Work experience: 3+ years volunteering abroad with Peace Corps, great background of accomplishments and projects, as well as additional domestic work/volunteering with animal welfare NPOs and youth development NPOs LOR: professor, counterpart/site supervisor, country director I'm not sure how much GRE scores will play into award decisions, but I do have the chance to take the GRE again before the deadlines of several institutions. Would it be worth the money to take it again and hopefully get a better score? Any experience or insight would be appreciated

The one thing I heard over and over again going in was that "your service will be what you make of it." It's good to talk to current and returned volunteers, but keep in mind that every person will have a different perspective. Once you get your site assignment and you're sworn in after training for about 3 months in-country, it's pretty much up to you. I got maybe one phone call and one visit from someone on PC Staff per year. People who go into education or are placed with a well-functioning NGO will have a more regular schedule of "work" than volunteers who are generally assigned to a village. I can honestly say that I was not happy every day of my service. There were plenty of times when I felt frustrated, when I believed there was no purpose for me being placed where I was, that I was viewed as a show-pony rather than a valuable resource by my host country national colleagues. But I always had to keep in mind that I was not in the first world anymore. Things don't always work the way we want, expect, or even need them to do when you're working in development. When a problem arises, however, unless it's a threatening situation, PC staff often took the approach of "YOU need to figure out a solution." As Dupont stated, the onus is completely on you. Depending on your situation, you might even act as your own boss for 2 years. As a volunteer in the TEFL education sector, I was required to show up and teach my assigned classes each week. Beyond that, I was able to choose what I wanted to pursue and how. Many PCVs spend the first year just figuring out HOW they can make anything work in their sites. Successful work in PC requires a lot of relationship building, and that's what I did for most of the first year. I just went around getting to know everyone, learning the intricacies of the local culture and aspects of life, and developing my credibility as a reliable community resource with good intentions. By the 2nd year, I was able to get a lot done, but even then there were a lot of ups and downs and bumps along the way. I do admit that there MAY have been a 2-week period in August at one point when all the summer camps had ended but school hadn't started and I went through 4 seasons of Breaking Bad on my laptop while staying indoors to escape the 100+ degrees heat outside. And if you're in a cold weather country you might find yourself reading books you never thought you'd read while huddling next to your wood-burning stove. One thing to keep in mind is that the programs in Peace Corps are not centralized. For example, youth development can go in a lot of different directions, even within one country. I knew YD volunteers who worked with a Roma services NGO, a 4-H club, a school for the blind, a NGO that provided services to adults and children with developmental disabilities, a NGO that focused on helping those with limited mobility get a wheelchair. They were in the same training group, in the same country of service, but all of them had VERY different experiences both in their day-to-day activities and in their interactions with PC staff. So whatever you hear from anyone about their service, always take it with a grain of salt, and never assume any of it will be true for your situation. Another thing to keep in mind is that the American staff of PC is rotated out at least every 5-7 years. PC employment is term-limited, in order to keep fresh minds and new ideas constantly flowing into the organization. My country director arrived in country barely 3 months before my training group. If I had talked to any of the PCVs in the previous training group, their experience with staff was dramatically different from the new 'regime' so-to-speak. Interpretation and implementation of policies and procedures will vary among directors. I knew people who left because they were frustrated with the "bureaucracy," some who left for love, some who were asked to leave for failing to comply with PC policies, and a few who decided they were wasting their time. My group lost about 25% one way or another by the end of 2 years. Everyone is different in what they can and can't handle and what they will and won't tolerate. As for the "stain" that you think is attached to the end of your Americorps work...I'll just say this. Peace Corps recruiters aren't looking for reasons to tell you no. They're looking for every reason to tell you yes. I had a "stain" on one part of my application, I had to talk it over with a placement officer at the DC office, and while she said it was a little concerning, it wasn't concerning enough to deny me an invitation. So I would say don't think of that as an instant "DENIED" stamp waiting to drop. They'll likely want to hear if/how you tried to improve or work through a less-than-ideal situation. If you can generate a good problem-solving narrative around the experience, that would be good.

If you want to get more immediate contact and maybe some face-time, there are recruiters placed at two campuses in NC, Chapel Hill and Raleigh: http://www.peacecorps.gov/meet/offices/washdc/campus/ You might have a better shot with them. They're usually grad students with a part-time job as a PC recruiter and RPCVs themselves.

Hi Tim, As someone who just finished with Peace Corps and is now looking to apply for Fall 2014 admission, I thought I might add another perspective. 1. There's actually an option where you can do BOTH Peace Corps and earn your Master's Degree. It takes about 3.5 years. The program is called Master's International. Each program is different, but generally you go to grad school full time for one year, then do your 27 months of Peace Corps service, and then return to school to finish off a last semester. You'll meet a foreign language requirement by the end since you'll learn one during your PC service. I did not personally do this because I was unsure of what I wanted to study. What I've heard from alums of the MI program is to make absolutely sure that you are getting the Masters degree you REALLY want, and not just picking a program because you wanted to do both things and couldn't choose. For example, I know that the LBJ school of UT-Austin has an MI option. You can look up more of them here: http://www.peacecorps.gov/learn/whyvol/eduben/mastersint/ . Carnegie, Duke, IU-Bloomington (SPEA) are just a few others I can think of off the top of my head. 2. Feel free to contact a Peace Corps recruiter at your regional recruitment office. You can look up that information on the Peace Corps website. They're more than happy to talk to you about what you're looking to get out of the program, what your long-term goals are, and whether or not the MI program or service in general would be the right fit for you. Also, while some say the Peace Corps isn't competitive, it is true that they get far more applications than they have openings on a yearly basis, and it does take longer to place a married couple. Especially if you're going for anything that isn't health or education (like community economic development), there are very limited openings because these are not what most countries request. Additionally, each country can set requirements for volunteers in the different sectors (i.e. China will only accept Masters degree holders or candidates for their education volunteers ***this might not be true, it's just an example). A PC recruiter will know the requirements for the various sectors and countries and will be able to tell you what you can do to make yourselves more competitive for those openings. 3. Most people who had a successful PC service will say it was life-changing. Many of those with whom I served and who already had Masters degrees ended up wanting to switch fields by the end of their service and are now getting their 2nd Masters degree. I'm no exception. I went into PC service thinking I would do International Relations or law school afterwards, but 3 years later (I extended my service for a 3rd year) and I'm fully committed to getting an MPA degree. It's something to consider. 4. On the other hand, now that I'm talking to admissions officers and grad school recruiters post-service, their eyes totally light up when I mention my Peace Corps experience. At a grad fair recently, one of them told me I could write my application into any school I wanted with my Peace Corps experience and great undergrad academic performance. Whether or not this is actually true I cannot say. I won't know if I'll be admitted and get the financial aid I need until April or May of next year. 5. Several grad schools have Fellowships exclusively available to Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. After asking around, it sounds like each school has a limited number of these fellowships, they're awarded on a combination of your Peace Corps service activities and academic merit (high GPA/high GRE), and they vary school to school. They often require a form of service work with a community organization (typically coordinated by the school) while you study. 6. I can't attest to the statistical fact of this statement, but of the married couples I knew in the Peace Corps, none of them served in the same organization or school with one exception. That exception was a couple who extended for a 3rd year, negotiated the placement directly with the organization, and got it approved by the Country Director. Peace Corps likes to spread the love, so to speak. If they find a site with 2 separate openings, they'll place you there. Conversely, you might get placed somewhere so small and remote, there isn't even reasonable transportation to a 2nd nearby area. Then you might work together. Peace Corps is becoming a bit more open of having a dialogue with candidates about which country/region they'd like to serve, but your specific site placement and assignment will be determined after you've landed and no earlier than halfway through your pre-service training. Then it depends on the local staff whether or not your preferences will be taken into consideration. Just some thoughts. Be sure to check out facebook groups and talk to as many currently serving and returned volunteers as you can in order to get the best picture of the highs and lows of service. You can feel free to PM me for more info.