mseto

Previous Schools: Top 5 Japanese University Previous Degrees and GPA's: 3.6 Political Science, IR GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V 600, Q 740, AW 4.0 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 1.5 years at Consumer Electronics Company Math/Econ Background: very basic Micro, Macro classes Foreign Language Background: Japanese (native), some Spanish, little Mandarin Strength of SoP: Though my working experience was short and the work there did not help me write something nice is SoP, my experience outside Japan helped me write a convincing SoP. Also, I had a friend who helped me with all the editing (English is still hard for me....) which helped a lot! Strength of LORs: Two from professors and one from my former boss Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MA in International Trade and Investment Policy (Development Econ) Long Term Professional Goals: Micorfinance institutions, Development banks Schools Applied to & Results: ACCEPTED: SAIS (Bologna, $), GWU Elliott, GSPIA ($$), UMD ($$), Penn State ($) WAITLISTED: none REJECTED: Georgetown, American ID Ultimate Decision & Why: GWU Elliott! It was a tough decision between SAIS and GWU - SAIS had been my dream school, and their alumni network seemed awesome, but their higher tuition (why are they so expensive??) and the fact that I had to live one year in Italy was a downer for me. When I visited Elliott, I was very impressed by the faculty and the curriculum. And plus, the location and the internship opportunities added the points.

I'm from Japan. I also received 10k for the first year!