unagi

Hey everyone! I am applying later on this year and I recently took my GRE. I scored 158v 158q and 5.5writing. I have done about 162+ on the quant section during practice tests and I was a wee bit disappointed by my performance (even though I faced some really weird problems I hadn't encountered while I practiced). I had been studying moderately-intensely for 3 months. I am thinking of retaking it but at the same time, it seems like a lot of time/effort into something that might not be that horrible (not to mention $$). I have a 3.79 GPA in Economics and have 2-3 years internship experience (NGOs, research, and a little bit internationally as well). Would you retake the GRE if you were in my situation? I am looking to apply to schools such as: LSE, SAIS, Georgetown, George Washington, IHEID, SOAS. Please any advice will help!! Thank you and have a great day!

Hello guys! I'm a prospective LSE applicant (for 16/17 school year). I graduated this past spring but I am working on getting some experience under my belt before I get super set on applying to LSE. Can past/current/future applicants share their concerns (GPA, work experience, LORs etc etc) on here? I think it could be a great resource and more importantly, a media for venting/stress release!! To start off, I will outline my background and concerns: Undergraduate institution: Top Public US Undergraduate GPA: 3.79 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.85+ Undergraduate Major: Economics; Spanish GRE Quantitative Score: pending GRE Verbal Score: pending GRE AW Score: pending **taking my GRE in Feb*** will only submit to LSE if I score 160+ Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 1.5 (at time of application) Years of Work Experience: ~3 years volunteer/internships; no "real" experience Describe Relevant Work Experience: 1 year local NGO internship, 4 month research assistant position, 1 year youth advocacy internship, 3 months working with refugee community, 4+ months working in developing country Languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Nepali I want to apply to the following programs at LSE: MSc Political Economy of Late Development MSc Social Policy and Development I'm primarily concerned that I won't be a strong applicant for LSE (maybe higher GPA required? stellar work experience?) Anyone else?

Hi pavlik, Thank you so much for your suggestions. I am going to apply in a year or two, so in the mean time I am trying to get some work experience under my belt. I will for sure study for the GREs and hopefully do decent. Because I am going to take my time with applying, I hope I can improve the work-experience part of my application and really get some meat on my personal statement about why I want to attend the respective schools.... Anyways, thank you so much for your advice! I will definitely take it into account!

Thank you for your advice! I will definitely be studying for the GREs really hard this summer. I am thinking of applying in 1-2 years so I'm not rushing to apply. During that time, I hope to gain some work experience in my field, which is why I am waiting to apply. Thank you so much for your advice!!

Any advice guys?

Programs of Interest: Johns Hopkins SAIS, LSE, SOAS Development Studies, Columbia SIPA, GWU, Brandeis Heller School for Development Studies, IHEID Development Studies Undergraduate institution: Public Ivy Undergraduate Degree: BA Economics, Spanish (Certificate in International Economics) Undergraduate GPA: 3.78+ (3.85+ in the last 2 years of undergrad) Study Abroad experience: None GRE: Yet to take Years Out of Undergrad: Currently finishing last quarter of undergraduate Years of Work Experience: 2.5 years relevant internship during school Describe Relevant Work Experience: - 1 year experience interning with social justice organization focused on El Salvador - 1+ year experience with youth mobilization organization - Working with a professor, helping with research studying inequality in the US (not international...but it shows my research skills?) - Will gain more international experience this summer, working abroad Coursework: Intro/Intermediate Micro/Macro Applied Econometrics International trade International macroeconomics Developmental Economics Multivariable calculus (the entire series) Statistics Political science International human rights Undergraduate independent research course Languages: English Spanish Hindi Concerns: I'm not sure how I stand in terms of the schools I am interested in....Any feedback will help. I know it's difficult because I haven't taken the GREs yet but any advice/comments are helpful!! Thank you!

Haha very funny I just replied!

Oh wow! Congrats!! LSE will be a wonderful experience, I'm sure! Do you mind sharing your stats? I'm not sure you have already or not, but I am new to this thread!

Thanks! Now that you have know where you've been admitted, where are you thinking of going? LSE is my absolute dream school so it would be a no brainer for me But still....

Hi dpgu800, Thanks for all of your input. I really appreciate it! This entire thing is such a scary process! European schools appealed to me because they don't require GREs. For sure I will try my best to do well but if I don't perform well, I hope I still have a shot. Did everyone here submit their GRE scores even if the schools didn't require it?

Hey guys! I have been stalking this thread for a while so I thought I would come out and introduce myself! I'm in my last quarter finishing my undergraduate studies (in Economics and Spanish) and I plan on applying to graduate programs in the coming years, as soon as I gain some work experience. I was wondering if you guys could give me feed back about applying to the schools listed on this thread? Any comments/suggestions help! Programs of Interest: JHU SAIS, Gerorgetown, LSE, SOAS, IHEID, Brandeis Undergraduate institution: University of Washington, Seattle Undergraduate GPA: 3.78 Undergraduate Major: BA, Economics, Spanish (Cum Laude, Departmental Honors (Spanish)) Years of Work Experience: 2-3 yrs internship experience plus simultaneously working as a fiscal specialist (irrelevant) Describe Relevant Work Experience: 1 year working with grassroots organization focused on social justice in El Salvador 1+ years working with US-wide youth network, focusing on international relations and global participation Independent research experience (evaluating conditional cash transfer programs), under faculty supervision Research with professor about wealth inequality in the US (coming quarter) (Hopefully more international experience here) Languages: English (Native), Spanish (Fluent), Hindi (Native), Nepali (Native) Thank you so much!!