Bunsen Honeydew

Looking here will give you a feel for how much funding each school provides. You can also find people with your similar background and see how they fared. LBJ, Korbel, and Maxwell seem to give out a lot of full-ride + stipend offers comparably to other schools.

I recommend joining the Kurdish Resistance in Syria. Should really round out your resume.

@outofspace- You'll have a strong application if you can link your past experience and interests to a future career in IR. Your GPA is a little low, sure, but I think your GRE makes up for that. As for work experience- remember many of the people that are applying have internships as their only work experience. Go through the boards and see. An internship carries little/no responsibility and is simply an extension of school. If you've been working in South Korea for a decade, your experience likely crushes most applicants. Because your experience is diverse, I don't think you'll have any issues finding a good narrative. Long story short, you're a professional, not a pretender or a student- I feel this weighs heavily with the admissions boards.

I won't be taking the waiver test, but I have been studying to catch up my economics baseline before we start the term. To review basic concepts- I'd suggest Khan Academy ...Macro- https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics Micro- https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/microeconomics For more advanced stuff- there are full courses here: http://www.saylor.org/courses/#Economics ITunes U has a good class on finance theory: https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/finance-theory-i/id630698158?mt=10 Hope this helps.

Ok so- obviously your main strength is in your academic background. That said, you need to knock out your GRE (aim for 160+ on both) to really round that side out. You don't have any work experience, which isn't a deal breaker. A lot of people look at their summer internships and say "look at all the things I've done!", but in reality an internship is just an extension of school. You've also got a lot of the relevant coursework you need. Assuming you want to apply directly after undergrad, you won't be able to add any significant work experience (by significant I mean 2+ years of a full-time position in your field). That said, you need to focus on those things that you can change. The essays come to mind. Do you have a story to tell? Do you have new perspective to give? Try to focus on what you can contribute to the field rather than why you want to go into the field. Crush the GRE, your essays, and choose your LORs wisely- and you've got a good shot at it. This response is just based on what I've read about other people from your background through the boards here. Personally, I had a much different background, wherein lack of educational pedigree was counteracted with extensive work experience. There are definitely more qualified people on here to answer your inquiry.

This is great stuff. Thanks for the review.

@xenophonics- Thanks, and yes I have decided to attend SAIS. With the GI Bill and scholarships from both universities, the financial aspect played much less of a role than I envisioned. I sent my notice of decline to the Wolcott Foundation today- so hopefully they will be selecting someone else to receive it. The letter I got said there were 70-something applicants but didn't say how many offers were made.

I got a letter a couple days ago- will likely be declining though.

Can't make it- working in another country and can't travel right now. I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

Anyone else made the decision on attending Bologna?

I just received an email from the Wolcott Foundation and an attached file that appears as though it was created with a typewriter. They offered me a Fellowship. I won't be accepting as I just matriculated with JHU. And the thought of being indebted to the masons seems more unsettling in hindsight. Anyone else receive one of these?

Rejected...womp womp...

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Military Language School; Distance Programs; Previous Degrees and GPAs: Spanish, Intelligence Studies- 3.85 GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 165, 160, 4.5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 8 years, military and defense-related work after Math/Econ Background: Micro/Macro, took them during the fall before applications were due. Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Spanish Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Strategic Studies Long Term Professional Goals: I have them; they are private. Schools Applied to & Results: Johns Hopkins SAIS (Accepted +$20k/yr), George Washington Elliott (Accepted + $30k/yr), Georgetown SSP (Rejected) Ultimate Decision & Why: Starting the process, I had two goals: 1) I didn't want to pay to go to school and 2) I wanted to find a university that accepted a well rounded approach to strategic understanding. The first goal was aided by GI Bill, essentially making both SAIS and Elliott free to attend. The second goal was aided by my SOP- which clearly defined my thesis and outlook for study in grad school. This was manifest in my rejection from Georgetown (in my estimation). Ultimately, I've decided on SAIS- 1yr Bologna/1yr DC. The economics focus at SAIS was really the deciding factor. Bologna also offers a break from the grind of both living in destitute countries and the fast-paced DC life. Advice for Future Applicants: To all veteran applicants, I hope my application season can encourage those that have shit undergrads. I got my degrees while in the military, so you do what you can. You hear guys tell stories all the time about how they were accepted to this school or that and decided to join the military instead. It doesn't have a 'this or that' decision. The GRE was key. I studied ~ 3 months for it and did well enough on the first try to make me competitive. Choose the right people for your LORs, not just those in high authority positions. I happened to get lucky and found a person of great influence that was very familiar with my operational contributions. As far as the SOPs, no one wants to hear a dramatic story about a firefight in Helmand. Use your experiences but make sure you're connecting them to your overall goals during grad-school- not just boasting about how cool you were. Don't be afraid to go bold, make strong statements, and let your worldviews show through your essays. I probably wrote 20 versions of my SOP, many starting from scratch. Write until its the best thing you've ever written. If you get sick of reading it, its probably not good enough. Lastly, know why you want to go to grad school before you apply. In all honesty, I started my search for schools due to being burned out from working in high-risk areas. I needed a break. In addition, grad school offered the opportunity to erase the 'education gap' from my resume and focus on studying the regions in which I intend to work. Finally, grad school was a prerequisite for a lateral career progression. I started with all these things in mind and that helped me focus where to apply and how to shape my brand.

The guy from the registrar's office made it seem like SAIS contributed $4k. From that I'm not sure if he's including the VA matching or not. Yeah the GI Bill contributes ~24k + 1800/mnth stipend + 1000/yr for books + yellow ribbon ($4-8k???). So essentially if you don't get aid, you're looking at covering the $16k/yr tuition and then any additional expenses. I would guess that it would end up costing $35-40k over the two years depending on the location. Depending on where you want to work, that may or may not be a sizable debt to overcome. Private sector, no issues, you can pay that off in a few years. Gov't work its going to take a bit longer.

No need to worry, introductory economics courses are super-easy. I took both micro and macro before applying last winter and they were not difficult. From what I understand, the 'principles' course is just a blending of the two. I highly suggest going to Khan Academy and watching all the micro and macro videos. He goes over just about every concept you will get in an introductory level course. www.khanacademy.com