Hey everyone! I just made the decision to apply to schools for Fall 2015, and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on schools.
Undergrad: Graduated in 2011 from state school, 3.4 GPA in International Relations, Minor French
Work experience: 1.5 years as a consultant for a NGO at the UN, currently working for the U.S government (since spring, so just started a few months ago) analyzing data--not super related to IR, and teach kids on the weekends as part-time job (for 2+ years)
Volunteer experience: Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine, partnered with U.S Embassy and local community to focus on civics projects for youth, wrote a few grants for projects in village
Languages: Russian (Advanced--currently taking class), Ukrainian (intermediate), French (intermediate)
I still need to take the GRE (probably at the end of the summer), and I have not so great grades in econ from undergrad (B- in Macro, B+ in International Trade and Finance). However, my job right now is very quantitative (obviously in a different manner, but hoping this can somehow compensate?) I'd take another class in econ but I don't think I'll have time before January. Also, I understand my GPA is on the lower side, so trying to keep this in mind when applying to schools.
My goal is to work for an international development agency or organization, creating/monitoring/analyzing projects for youth (especially in Eastern Europe).
I'm looking into the "classic" schools like Georgetown, American (SIS), GWU, Korbel, UMaryland, and Columbia, but I'd also like to apply to a few schools that are good matches/"safeties" considering my low GPA--only applying to the big name schools makes me nervous.
What are all of your thoughts? Of course, it'll be hard to say until after I take the GRE, but assuming my scores are not absolutely terrible, what else should I consider? Also open to attending school abroad.
Cheers!
