mei

Thanks! Yeah, I think I will focus on the core classes and take a bit more time thinking about it before committing to a decision.

I will be joining UCSD IR/PS for the Master of Pacific International Affairs this Fall 2010, and I would like to seek out some advice/opinions/insight in regards to the issue of choosing a career track and regional concentration. If any other IR/PS students out there would like to share their background, their career track/regional concentration, career aspirations, and why they chose their career track and regional concentration, I would really love hearing it. I am having a bit of trouble deciding, and I think that learning about other peoples' decisions and/or concerns would definitely help me. Thanks!

I've worked as a researcher in DC for 3 years, and it seems like IR/PS has a solid reputation - my friends/contacts working in various sectors have all highly recommended UCSD when I was on the fence of even applying there. This list of alumni and where they are now helped me get some sort of idea: http://irps.ucsd.edu/alumni/featuring-you/spotlights/

Was provisionally accepted last week via email. Haven't yet received my package yet though.

I know, all of these different factors are making things so complicated! I'm actually making an excel chart listing pros/cons to my options and try to organize my thoughts a bit better...nerdy, but I hope this helps guide my decision! To 2Shieh - my stats: Double major in Literature and Poli Sci at a top public university 2 yrs work experience in Washington, DC and other programs I applied to is listed in my previous post (above). If you'd like some more info, feel free to PM me. My career goals are either to work in consulting or eventually get a phD.

Anyone know much about this program? Any alumni or current students? I just got accepted with funding, and I'm kind of confused about the program and its reputation and caliber. If anyone can share some insight - both good and/or bad - I'd greatly appreciate it. I do have some interest in going for a phD in political science in the long run and am wondering if this would be a good stepping stone.

Thanks for your advice - I did actually an email to Admissions about a week ago and was told that I'd hear from them via postal mail by the end of the month. So, I guess all I can do at this point is wait. :T Oh well - only about a week and half left. What part of the states are you located? I'm currently in the east coast, so I'm wondering if that might be a reason why it may be taking a bit longer. In any case, I hope I hear back from them soon. I also applied to Yale, SIPA, SAIS, UCSD IR/PS, NYU, and the New School for Social Research (NSSR). I got into NYU, NSSR, and UCSD - now just waiting for USC. I'm on the same page with you on studying PD - I'm a bit iffy about studying it too. I've been interested in going into strategic communications/Public relations/government relations for a consulting firm or PR firm, and thought that PD might be a good background for it. However, I still have my reservations since I may very well change my career goals slightly while doing my MA, and I don't want to close too many doors. There's a lot of thinking to do!! In any case, I just hope I hear from them soon so I can speed up my decision and get moving!

Hey Rachel C, Thanks for the reply. Congratulations on your acceptance!! I haven't heard anything from USC yet - it's the last school I'm waiting for, and am very anxious to hear. I did receive some sort of supplemental form request from USC financial aid office, but I think it's separate from admissions and has nothing to do with my decision status. Hopefully I'll hear something from them soon.

Congrats! I applied to the standard deadline and still have not heard anything from them yet. Would you guys mind sharing your stats?

Hi Allisont- I'm still waiting to hear back from USC Annenberg's MA in Public Diplomacy program - do you happen to know anyone who heard from them yet? I know that they are still accepting late applications, and I am soo anxious to hear from back! Congratulations on your acceptance, though! Must feel great.

Has anyone on this forum applied to the MA in Public Diplomacy? And, if so, have you heard anything from USC yet? The deadline was Dec 15th, and still no word...

Thanks for the great feedback everyone - all super helpful and definitely helping me feel a bit more optimistic. Good luck to everyone!

I just checked the UCSD IR/PS FAQ page and I found this: The priority MPIA admissions deadline is December 1, and the round 2 MPIA admissions deadline is January 12. Decision notification for the early deadline can be expected by the first week in February. Decision notification for the round 2 deadline can be expected by the first week of April. So that sounds about right . Still a long way to go...sigh!

Thanks for all your comments. Most of the program websites assure that there is not GPA cutoff, and that they look at the "whole package." I guess this obscurity of what that entails is what makes me uneasy about whether my background (GPA/GRE, Work experience, everything combined) might make me somewhat competitive. Oh well...I guess we just have to give it our best and cross our fingers! I'd love to hear from people with acceptances into Policy/IR/Poli Sci MA/MPP programs that might have some encouraging stories to tell... Gazelle, I also applied to UCSD IR/PS! Do you have any idea when results may come in?

Thanks for the reply/thoughts! I've already sent in all my apps, so not much I can do to reverse that, but I'll definitely keep your advice in mind if I end up having to re-apply next year. On that note, how much do you think Letters of Rec, Work Experience, and SoP matter in relevance to GPA/GRE? I've had 2 years out of undegrad working in very relevant places - the most recent one doing research and consulting for a foreign government. My letters of rec are all very strong, one from a US Ambassador, one from a foreign Ambassador, and one from my undergrad professor. I also speak 2 foreign languages fluently, and 2 others limited conversationally. I was a double major in the arts as well, and so I have a lot of extracurricular activities/awards/achievements from that side of things. Do you think these will all hold much less weight, or even worse, not even looked at, because of my GPA/GRE?

I have a similar profile in terms of GPA/GRE stats...what kind of programs have you applied to, if you don't mind me asking? I've applied to about 8 schools, but my top choices are Yale MA in IR, Chicago's MA in IR, Columbia SIPA's MIA, and USC MA in Public Diplomacy. From peering into older threads, I did see some encouraging posts from people with lower GPA/GRE stats who were successful in getting into the top schools through LOR, SOP, and solid working experience...but, I'm still pretty intimidated/terrified and still have nightmares of getting 8 rejection letters!

Hey all! I'm a newcomer to this forum, and I've been browsing around the various threads to get some information on different schools, other candidates' backgrounds, etc, to gauge my standing as well as a Fall 2010 applicant in IR grad studies. As an applicant who doesn't have stellar GPA or GRE stats, I'd really love to hear some stories of others, who have applied to or are already attending grad school, who don't necessarily have the standard high GPA/GRE scores but still were competitive and able to get into some of the top programs. What kinds of work experiences did you have? Did you address your weak GPA in the application? What aspects of your application do you think made the case for you when being accepted to these programs? Any thoughts/encouragement/discouragement/constructive advice would be awesome, since I'm getting more and more paranoid as each day towards March/April draws nearer.... Thanks in advance!