Rory

a Harvard acceptance is up...

I just meant that the committee members had made their decisions, not finished (or even started, really) with their notifications....

That's great news, Brouhaha... Seems like Yale is pretty much done, hopefully they will put me out of my misery sometime this week...

Exact same thing happened to me. High 2.1 translated to a B. I asked my department if they had a UK/US conversion table, which they did. For my department (maybe its different for others), my 2.1 was, according to them, a US A-minus. For the schools that required the formal grade conversion, I sent in a separate note explaining the grading system of my department specifically, and the names and contact info for my advisors who could attest that my GPA was more of an A- than a B. We will see how well that works out.

Based on numbers, LORs, and quality of writing samples, here are my predictions: Accepted: 2 Rejected: 5 Waitlisted: 2 (this is more wishful thinking than anything) But I think in the end my obscure topic of interest will either make or break my applications - if I get into one of my top choices, it will probably be due to my research proposal.

I couldn't agree more with rising_star - do not go to grad school just to defer loan payments!!! IR programs are expensive and you'll just be adding to the burden... As for Pamphilia's response - yes, a good chunk of IR grad student are in the 25-27 range, but that is because they graduated at 22 or 23, then got a couple of years of work experience - if you are in an IR-related job, then after 2-3 years of working a graduate degree usually becomes necessary to advance - the next rung on the ladder almost always requires an MA of some sort, especially at NGOs and IGOs. I definitely suggest that phaselli get some work experience prior to a Fletcher-type degree, but because of his/her young age, an extra year or two in a more academic Masters program may not be ill-advised (especially if scholarships are available). That is why I suggested something like Chicago CIR.

6-10 years? No, not true at all. I was accepted to Fletcher, SAIS, SIPA, etc. and certainly didn't have that much work experience, and neither did the majority of my classmates. To the OP: 2-3 years (ideally overseas work) should serve you fine. Yale or Chicago CIR might take you right out of undergrad, but the question then becomes how much you can really get out of one of these programs without work experience. If you want a more academic program, if you are looking for a pre-doctoral Masters or something, then you could be fine right out of undergrad. Why do you want to attend a grad IR program?