[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

Your stats are quite similar to mine. Did you apply for this cycle or are you applying next cycle?

 

I can only speak of LSE but from what I have seen they don't put too much emphasis on work experience so as long as you have good grades (which you do) in a relevant field you should be good. I think Oxford might be a bit more rigid and want GPAs above 3.8 but you are very close so with the right letters of rec and personal statement, you can definitely get in!!

 

If you did apply this cycle, did you hear back from any schools? Best of luck to you!

I got into Columbia's Human Rights Studies program and actually decided to pull my Oxford app (thinking a policy degree may be best for after an MA). Still deciding whether to accept.

Best of luck to you too! Where did you apply?

[The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING]

Program: MA/MSc/Phil (Social Policy/Human Rights-related)

 

Schools being considered: Oxford (MSc/MPhil Comparative Social Policy), Columbia (MA Human Rights Studies, considering SIPA next year if apps unsuccessful), LSE (Social Policy & Planning), other Canadian inst.

 

Undergrad Institution: top-tier Canadian school

 

Major: Joint Honours Political Science/Canadian Studies

GPA: 3.78 (3.85 for last 2 years)

GRE score: none (not needed for programs applying to)

 

Years since undergrad: graduating this term

Work experience:  1 year as full-time elected executive of university student union representing >20,000 people (ample policy advocacy/writing experience at University & student union level); volunteer: 2 other years as unpaid elected student representative, 1 summer internship with federal political party, 2 years on executive of an undergraduate journal, 1.5 years on exec of political party campus group

 

Coursework: one intro-level microeconomics course (A), one mandatory empirical research course for Honours Poli Sci (B+), one econ-related international relations course (A-)

 

Language skills: some French

 

Statement of Purpose: focusing on policy advocacy area of interest, linking academic interest in area with policy advocacy skills from work experience

 

Letters of Recommendation: director of one of my Major programs, director of program in a related field at Uni I took transfer courses at, non-academic Dean (student advocate; professional colleague)

 

Concerns: minimal quantitative/econ-related coursework, minimal off-campus internships/experience, no paid research experience (just Honours thesis & independent study course). Considering taking a year off to get more research/work experience.