cnreves

Hi guys. I won't be able to attend the Grad Day tomorrow in DC for various reasons, so I would really appreciate it if anyone who attends could post their reactions and/or any relevant information you've learned about the program. Thanks so much, and hope you have a great time! cnreves

Hey guys. I'll be attending grad school in DC in the Fall at American University, and I was hoping to get some help finding housing that is convenient for AU students. Which neighborhoods would be best for an AU student? I'm moving with a few people, so we were hoping for a group house type of thing, or something like it. Any help would be great. Thanks! cnreves

Just received this as a response: "Official notifications for your program are currently being proof-read and processed through our office. We expect to be able to mail these notifications within the next week or so. Please continue to be patient, and you should receive your notification soon. We will only be sending notifications in hard copy, through the postal service. Sincerely, Georgetown Graduate Admissions" Guess I've still got to wait. Maybe i'm not outright rejected, though, since they didn't just come out and say it. But really, who knows. Oh well. Guess I'll wait.

@Leica Thanks so much for offering your help! I would love if you would answer a few questions. I'm pretty sure I'll be at American in the Fall, so this would help me a ton. First, is the Grad Day (April 12th this year) really worth it to go to? I'm living in Mississippi, so I'm debating whether or not to buy a plane ticket now. The invitation mentioned that those attending could register for classes in the Fall, which would be really nice. Secondly, what neighborhoods are best for AU students to live in? I don't mind riding the subway in the morning to class, so I suppose anywhere near a relevant subway line would work, but where do the majority of students live? I just need somewhere to start when I'm looking for housing. Thanks for your help!

I still haven't received any information about my application, so I just sent an email out to gradmail@georgetown.edu requesting info. I hope this was the correct email address. @Kokobear, I completely agree. Georgetown has been extremely unprofessional about this. They've had ample time to make decisions and send letters out to everyone.

Nope, didn't hear anything today. I'm just about ready to commit to one of my other schools...wish this would just hurry up.

Same here. I was away for the weekend and returned home in hopes of a letter from Georgetown, but there was just a Netflix DVD. Ugh. I live in Mississippi, so maybe it will be here tomorrow. One can only hope.

I'm still waiting as well. I'm not delusional and thinking that I'm in or anything...very unlikely. Oh well. Still, I would like an email or something. This seems sort of unprofessional to me.

I still haven't received an email regarding the Open House...I know I'm accepted, so I just assume it's coming soon. Hope so, because I'd like to try and make it.

Any of you admitted students going to the Open House event on April 12th? I'm thinking about it but will have to find an affordable plane ticket first. If I go, I just want to make sure it's worth it and all. Anyone know what these events are like?

Still nothing from SIPA, and little help from the admissions blog as of late. Getting sort of frustrated at this point. When would be the appropriate time to call and ask for an update from admissions? I don't want to pester them or anything, but it's difficult having to wait so long after decisions already started going out.

No insider info, just wishful thinking. I'm leaving the country for 7 days starting Tuesday, so I was just hoping to hear back from some schools before leaving. I don't plan on checking admissions decisions while abroad because it's a vacation, and I don't want to ruin it by stressing over grad school decisions too much.

Don't worry...I still haven't received anything either. I've applied for the Comparative and Regional Studies program. Hoping to hear back from them by Monday.

Agreed. I'm probably A as well. I'm just out of undergrad with little to no work experience, so I'm not expecting to get in exactly. But wouldn't it be nice if we were in the B category?

Still have yet to hear back from SIPA. I'm wondering if there is any order to this process though. It seemed on the first few days (at least according to the Results Search) that a vast majority of the decisions were admits...then there were several rejections in the days afterward. Are they saving rejections until last to give out? Probably not, but if so, it seems a cruel trick. Ugh...as much as i try not to read too much into everything, it's hard not to.

I'm writing my senior thesis partially based on the research of a professor there...not sure if that helps or not, hahaha.

A friend of mine is a first year at SIS right now, and he told me he received his admission during the second week of April last year. Hopefully it will be sooner this year...

Not me...still waiting.

Looks like they started sending out admissions offers on March 7th last year: http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=SIS&t=a&o=&p=3 Hopefully it will be the same this year...I'd love to hear soon-ish. I'm vacationing in Africa March 15th-March 24th, so I wouldn't be in contact at all then.

Agreed. Every time someone comments on these topics, I get an email and automatically rush to check the post on my iPhone. Then I freak out because I think that it might be an email from a grad school. This waiting is going to kill me...

Boo! Just read the admissions blog and they stated that no decisions had gone out yet...bizarre.

Someone posted today on the admitted forum that they had received their acceptance today. Oh lord, oh lord. Any news to back this up?

Thanks, Leica. That is one of the main reasons that I am applying to grad schools straight out of undergrad. Students in the cohorts ahead of me are all having EXTREME difficulty in finding jobs after graduation. While I realize that my program does not necessarily have name recognition, APSIA representatives that have visited our program has commented that it is an upstanding program that can compete academically with some of the upper tier schools. Despite this, not many students have been able to find jobs. One has a job with the Department of Veterans Affairs because his dad was previously employed by them. Another student worked for the National Democratic Institute doing research on Latin America for less than $10 an hour, but then was unable to continue past one semester because she was unable to pay her bills on such a small salary. My point is that the job market for IR is not looking so great from what I can tell. The jobs that I would have been able to get out of undergrad just a few years ago are not taken by people with Masters degrees (presumably because all of the better jobs are taken). I'm still looking for jobs (i.e. if anyone has any job leads for me, please feel free to message me), but I think that grad school is a much better option for me right now because of the job market.

You guys are crazy, hahaha. There's a lot more tension on this board that I would expect on a board about academia. Anyway, I appreciate everyone's responses. I'm glad everyone was honest about my chances...honestly, as you could see in my post, I'm not necessarily optimistic about my chances just because I know the odds are against me. I believe I read that SIPA admits something like 5-10% straight out of undergrad which is something like 50 people. I feel like I can compete against these undergrad types, but I know I don't compete against people with the work experience that you guys outline. Also, I hope that all of academia doesn't have the pompousness that I've seen on parts of this board. It will be a sad state of affairs if this is so. Seriously people, step off of your pedestal. Regardless, thanks for all of your responses. I'm sure I'll post back when I get any info from my grad schools whether it be an acceptance or rejection.

Undergrad: Croft Institute for International Studies at the University of MississippiMajor: International Studies, concentration on East Asia/China GPA: 3.65 GRE: V 660 Q 740 AN 6.0 Hi guys, first post. I'm applying to IR grad schools directly out of undergrad, so I realize I'm already at a disadvantage. Anyway, I had a few questions about my competitiveness. I've studied Mandarin Chinese for all 4 years of my undergraduate career including a semester abroad in Hangzhou, China through Middlebury College. Classes in China were taught only in Chinese. Anyway, since my work experience is seriously lacking (only had a summer internship at an international environmental NGO), I was hoping that my Chinese language experience would give me an edge of sorts. It seems like everyone speaks Spanish/French/etc these days, so I was wondering whether or not my Mandarin language capabilities would help me to get in. I feel like I made a strong case in my Personal Statements for my interest and competency at East Asian politics, and for some applications, I included descriptions of my undergraduate thesis on the politics of religion in China. I've applied to Johns Hopkins SAIS, American University SIS, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher School, and Georgetown Masters of Foreign Service. Any commentary would be extremely appreciated by me. Thanks again.