ZebraFinch

What program?

Honestly? Depends on your learning style... I have no attention span for videos so magoosh did nothing for me. Best prep for me was the Manhattan 5 Lbs book.

I just got an email asking me for transcripts that don't exist (long story), but beyond that nothing. hope to hear soon.

Hey if any finalists would mind shedding some light on the interview process, that'd be much appreciated! If I don't get either fellowships this year, I definitely want to re-apply.

Given your GPA I'd say try to ace the GRE, but besides that you look like a competitive candidate, but with these programs many are competitive candidates.

Retake if possible.

I'm not surprised you're a finalist, ajak, you have a lot of experience! I'm straight out of undergrad so maybe I'm being a bit too ambitious and should seek work experience, and apply to these fellowships later on. Thank you for your kind words and I hope you kick butt in your interview!

No-go from Rangel. Extremely sad. Thought I'd make it as a finalist at least. Thought I had a better shot at Rangel than Pickering so I'm going to consider the Pickering a no-go too. I can't attend grad school without financial aid so I guess this means deferring another year.

That makes two of us! I applied for both Pickering and Rangel but would prefer the Rangel.

I had forgotten it was tomorrow . Where did they indicate it was tomorrow? EDIT: This is on their Facebook: "Congratulations to everyone who submitted an application for the 2015 Rangel Fellowship! The application period closed last night at 11:59 PM. We are now busy reviewing all the applications and preparing them for the selection panel. If we have questions, we will reach out to the applicants. Applicants can expect to hear whether they have been selected as finalists by the end of the day on February 20. Interviews this year are March 10 and 11. Thank you all for taking the time to apply and good luck!!!!"

This is my first time applying for grad school, but I have a close friend who got into SAIS, Georgetown, and GWU (with some funding from all) with no work experience whatsoever (straight out of undergrad, she had internships and volunteering experience only), a very bad quant GRE, and no quant/econ coursework whatsoever. She ended up deferring to work for a few years, but she got in. I think people online either inflate their states, hide their "red flags", or mostly lurk and not post.

The two days before the January deadline. This school was a huge longshot for me, so I'm thinking they sent those emails to those who had applications more worthy than just being thrown in the trash.

I feel you. I self-reported one score and then ETS changed my scores online (the number, percentage is the same). Woo! I think the ETS reports should be enough. Anyone can make a typo.

I did not get it from Tufts (sadly, this is my dream school), but did receive similar emails from Korbel and Georgetown. I'm of the belief that any non-negative news is good news, so, take it as a good sign!

Tufts Fletcher is my dream school. I've heard nothing at all so I assume I've been rejected across the board.

Oh, rationally, I know that's not it, but I'm suffering from impostor syndrome and so, yeah, I think the worst.

U of Denver sent an email about external funding opportunities that can be used "wherever you end up" (something like that), so of course my mind is taking this as proof of an upcoming rejection...

Hello, maybe you should look into the "Am I competitive?" thread pinned on top

I applied to Fletcher as well, the MALD program. It's my top choice but I'm sure my GRE scores will be a dealbreaker.

Contact ETS.

I applied to three. My GRE was awful and I don't have much experience so I didn't want to spend money applying to a ton of schools. I barely have a shot at the three I applied to. And because my husband is an immigrant, certain areas of the country are out of the question (like DC because all jobs in his field require a clearance), so geography played a huge part too.

Yeah, there's a part of me that fills with ire when people here complain about 160+ scores... I also haven't had much luck in the job search as well; the grad schools keep saying they want people with relevant work experience, but I'm having a very tough time finding anything relevant in my area (Greensboro, NC).

We're in a similar boat. First time I took the GRE, scored 6% on quant, second time, 25%. Both scores are awful beyond reason but I hope they see that I can improve. I do have all the coursework for an econ major, so I hope having good grades in those classes offsets the horrendous GRE. Hopefully we get in

I am, in a way. I want to get a PhD in the future, maybe ten years from now.

It's really just strange, everything I've been taught is to keep it simple. Maybe the graders get so fed up with grading these essays they assume long = better.