Nico Corr

Thanks for the reply. I figured there would be a caveat of some kind, I will try to figure out how recent these stats are. Thanks

I am interested in going to graduate school Fall of 2017 to study International Affairs and I have been doing research to see which programs most interest and best fit me. I live in the DC metro area, and am particularly interested in going to one of the grad schools in the area. GW is of particular interest to me. WHile conducting my research, I came upon a site called Peterson's that has information about school admission's percentages, cost of attendance etc. I noticed that for many of these schools, GW included acceptance rates seemed higher than I thought they would be. Is Peterson's a reliable source for information pertaining to acceptance rates and such? https://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/the-george-washington-university-elliott-school-of-international-affairs-000_10049512.aspx

Is taking courses as a non-degree seeking student at a school you eventually want to apply to a good way of gaining admission? There is a particular graduate school I want to enter to study conflict resolution, and I was told taking courses there first as a non-degree seeking student was a good "Trojan Horse" strategy for gaining admittance. I have a gpa of 3.7 when taking into consideration my last 60 credits, but before had a not so great gpa of 2.5 and I'm worried this will keep me from gaining admittance. I figure taking courses first for no credits would be a good way to show I can do the work.

I'm looking to apply to some international relations programs with a projected Fall 2017 start date. I started out at almost ten years ago, and had originally aimed to major in Psychology. After two semesters and abysmal grades in psych and anatomy classes, I decided to switch to majoring in Government. I had started out at a community college, and left there with a 2.5 gpa. I'm in my last semester of my four year university and I am currently maintaining a 3.7 gpa. I've had to put in a lot of hard working going to school and working full time, but I am happy with where I'm at right now. My question is, what do grad school admissions care about more, my cumulative gpa or my last 60 credits? Since transferring, I have gotten a full time job assisting foreign, diplomat, military and business families register their kids for a public school system, have done an internship at a public policy think tank in D.C and have taken numerous courses in foreign policy, getting all A's. I am a little worried my past failures will keep me from being competitive in the admissions process. Anyone go through this or know someone who's gone through this that can give me insight?

Does anyone know anything about Boston University's Pardee school of International Affairs? I talked to a representative from at a graduate school fair a week ago and was impressed with the program despite it not being a "name brand" school. I hope to go to grad school in IR, specifically studying conflict resolution in the Middle East, but my sup bar CC gpa drags my current four year 3.7 gpa down to about a 3.1 and I am looking for alternative school choices if I can't get into my top choices (Elliot, SAIS, SIS, Gtown SFS, Fletcher, Maxwell.), I am wondering if Pardee could be a reasonable alternative. Can anyone that goes there, went there or someone familiar with their program give me insight?

Thanks for the response TakeruK. I am trying to get into the field of International relations and more specifically conflict resolution.

I was thinking it would be wise to keep in contact with the counselor from my current top choices, and I've read it before, but does being in touch really increase your chances? Is it true that they could potentially remember you when admissions roll around, perhaps put it in a good word for you? How can I keep in touch with them without seeming like a pest?

I went to community college for five years before I transferred to a four year university. Back then, I wasn't sure what I wanted to study, had a hard time juggling full time course load, and working full time. As a result, I got poor grades my first year 1/2- 2 years of community college. My low light was when I got an F in Biology. Over one summer, I did some soul searching, got focused and got good grades thereafter. I left the CC with a 2.5 gpa. Four years later, I am entering my senior year of my four year university degree where I will graduate next fall and currently hold a 3.7 gpa. I want to apply to graduate schools in Foreign policy and am specifically interested in SAIS, Walsh school, SIS and Korbel. Although I am showing an upward trend in my grades, and am holding down a pretty good gpa, I am concerned with how admissions boards will view my community college grades. I figure can graduate next fall with a 3.8, but even then my cumulative gpa will only be raised to about a 3.3-3.4. Given that those bad grades will be four or five years old, will admin boards care more about my current success than my past failures? Does the four year university gpa carry more weight than the CC gpa?

I always see people on Grad Cafe talk about how important good LOR's are and others boast of the "solid" LORs they possess. What exactly constitutes a good LOR? is it the reputation of the recommendee? Or the contents of the LOR? I want to go to grad school for conflict resolution/ International security and plan to apply next fall. I can get letters from professors who have considerable experience in these fields. I have one professor who was a Soviet diplomat in the 80's and 90's who partook in the START treaty that I could get a LOR from. I have another who has decades of experience in the field of European-American relations and commerce and another who wasn't a practitioner in the field but is respected in the Foreign Policy/Leadership arenas who I could also potentially get letters from. Would these be considered good LORs?

Hello Ashley, I'm in the same boat as you. I'm graduating from Virginia next fall with a degree in Sociology and although I have taken courses in government/ IR I was nervous that not having a bachelors in that field would hinder my chances. From what I've been told however by people in that field and by talking to admin associates, they care more about what you bring to the school than what your degree is. The admin official told me she got a bachelors in Music education before she decided to go to grad school to study International Public Policy at SAIS. Another person I talked to got a media & communications degree from South Carolina before applying and starting a degree in Middle Eastern Studies. What they want is well rounded students who will bring contribute something unique to the flavor of the program so don't let your background or degree deter you from applying! Knowing a language or two other than English can help your chances and having a few econ classes can help you too. If you can, try to get an internship or two under your belt as well.

I went to a grad school open house a few weeks ago and met someone from the Maxwell school's admin team. I was already familiar with the school and its excellent reputation as far as public policy goes because I have a friend who's father was a professor there and his sister went their for a degree in public diplomacy. The admin official presented a positive image of the school and although its located in Central NY what I have read so far about its reputation and the quality of the training is ranked pretty highly in IR. Foreign Policy ranks Maxwell's IR program as number 15 and I have read they have a number of alumni in high ranking diplomatic positions, which is what I want to do after graduating. I however have not heard from anyone who has gotten a degree in IR from Maxwell and was wondering if there was anyone on here that is familiar with the program who could tell me their thoughts and why they chose it?

I am eligible for dual citizenship through an Italian Great grandfather and am doing the paper work for that. Government work is precisely what I want. I have a friend who is consulting for numerous European governments in the realm of arms deals in the Middle East. I am fluent in Spanish, Italian and proficient in Arabic. I would like to learn German. True the European economy isn't all that great at the moment, but no one really is.

Thanks for the response. I'm not really sure where I'd like to work. I'd like to have the option of anywhere in Europe (though I'm leaning more towards Germany, Britain or Italy) and the States. I'd like to have the flexibility to work in any of those places.

I am looking into grad schools for next spring as I will be obtaining my undergrad degree in the fall of 2016. I am really interested in the international relations graduate programs at the London School of Economics, Hertie School of Governance, the University of Munich and Sciences Po. I am not quite sure if I want to start a career in the States or in Europe. I want to have the option of working in either, but I have concerns with whether employers in the U.S e.g Department of State, Booz Allen etc would recognize the credentials of European schools. Would a degree from European schools be recognized by employers in the United States as well as Europe?

I have thought about doing both. I thought at the time that the extra cost and time it would take to complete wasn't feasible but if it is about the same as you are saying, then that's something I'll have to reconsider. Thanks

I was thinking of taking both, but now I'm not sure if that would be enough to get a score conducive to admissions, like you just stated.

Thanks for your feedback Went_away. I went to a grad school open house earlier in the week for IR programs and I was actually amazed to learn from admissions staff that there are quite a few people who make the jump from education to IR. Compensation isn't so much important to me as doing something that I love. Thanks for your input. I really like the person I talked to from Fletcher. Some people were a little concerned about it not being anywhere near DC or NY or other hubs of IR traditional activity but I thought the curriculum and the internship opportunities they pitched were spot on.

I'd say your academic background and work history are pretty solid. I wouldn't worry too much. I actually went to graduate school open house earlier in the week for public/foreign policy school and had the same concern as far as coming from a "nontraditional" background. I was told not to worry at all about it. Two of the admissions people particularly told me about their differing backgrounds, and one told me she got a bachelors degree in music and after teaching history of opera and drama for seven years, she decided she wanted to study urban development and social policy and got into the first school of her choice! Another I talked to said she had studied media and journalism, worked at a law firm for three years then applied to and got into several choice programs. So you are not at all on the wrong path. I actually envy your pedigree. I myself came from a community college and got atrocious grades my first three semesters. I pulled it together and transferred to a respectable state school where I am holding down a 3.7 gpa and hope to graduate next fall. I have been working in the field of education for seven years but want to get a graduate degree in IR and have almost zero experience in that field. I have a lot of work to do to get there. If I were you though I wouldn't worry too much. You seem to have the drive and you certainly have the grades. You just have to do well on the GRE and you'll be set.

Thanks for your input. Sorry this is so late. I'm not quite sure how much time I can commit to studying for GRE right now. I am pretty busy with work and the course load I'm taking as is. I won't graduate till next fall, so I have a little time before I have to start thinking about that. I went to a grad school open house earlier in the week, and a student advisor told me its best to give yourself two months to study the GRE to get an optimal grade. So I'm thinking an hour or two a day once I finish my major course work in the spring would be sufficient. I might just wait till after I take the GRE to start studying for LSAT. Thanks again.

I don't know much about Kings College, UCL or Oxford in regards to an MPP/MIA, but I have heard nothing but good things about LSE, Sciences Po and Grad Inst. I have heard especially good things about LSE in regards to public policy, especially if you are interested in the finance part of it. Hertie is one of the up and coming schools in Public and International Policy and I have heard many say it is one of the most innovative schools in the field at the moment.

I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to apply to law schools to study International Law or apply to grad schools to study some other aspect of International Relations. I know most Grad programs won't take GRE scores in lieu of the LSAT and Law schools won't except GRE. Does it make sense to take both the LSAT and GRE?

Naso, Thank you for your insight. I realize I am going to have to do more research to narrow down which programs are a better fit for me. I am most interested in the Eastern Mediterranean and conflict resolution. I would like to join the foreign service and eventually down the line teach at the college level.

I'm a non traditional student and am enrolled in a respected state school's distance learning program. I will graduate in the spring with a Social Sciences degree and project I will have somewhere between a 3.7-3.8 gpa by the end of undergraduate studies. I have always been fascinated by International Relations and foreign policy and I take as many classes as I can in these subjects. I have over eight years work experience in child care and education administration and I am actively applying to jobs in my interested field but have so far been unsuccessful. I plan to continue actively pursuing jobs/internships in the International relations field to buttress my applications, but does anyone have experience with or know of any non-traditional students getting into top IR grad schools? I have been looking at Woodrow Wilson, Fletcher, Gtown, SIS,SIPA, SAIS, Hertie and GPSIA specifically.