irapplicant1776

Program Applied To: MA/MIA/MALD Schools Applied To: American, Columbia, Denver, George Washington, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and Tufts Schools Admitted To: All Schools Rejected From: None Undergraduate institution: Big public school in the South Undergraduate GPA: 3.97 Undergraduate Major: International Affairs, Spanish GRE Quantitative Score: 153 GRE Verbal Score: 167 GRE AW Score: 5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 5 Years of Work Experience: 5 Describe Relevant Work Experience: 5 years teaching English abroad, two of which were in the Peace Corps in a critical needs language country. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): They must have been good enough! I tried to tailor the SOP to each school, and had multiple people look at each one. I usually tried to get straight to the point. I connected my Peace Corps experience to my grad school and career goals. For schools that had an "analyze an issue" essay, I tried to use a style similar to the Economist. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Again, must have been good enough. One was written by a professor who I have remained in contact with since I took his class in 2009, the others are my supervisors. Other: Don't count yourself out of any school! And retake the GRE. When I first took it I had a sub-150 quant score. Retaking it may have been worth $40-50,000 in merit aid for me. Final decision: American University. Though it's hard to turn down such prestigious schools as Georgetown and Johns Hopkins, after talking to people in the State Department and AU alumni, I've decided to "take the money." State Department employees have all told me that university prestige is not a factor in getting hired (not that AU is totally lacking for prestige), and the AU alumni at State that I talked to only had great things to say about the program. Most importantly, I won't have to get into debt for an international affairs degree!!

I mean, one of the most basic definitions would be some sort of position where you directed other people, such as leading a club, leading a team at work, etc.

Take the full ride from SAIS!

I'm a bit torn. One the one hand (and I'm saying this as an FSU alum), I think an MA in International Affairs from AU (where I will also probably go, btw) will give you a lot better career prospects than an IA degree from FSU. AU is an APSIA member and is in DC. I don't think you can meet many people working in the IA field in Tallahassee. On the other hand, AU is so expensive. If they don't think you're good enough to accept now, I doubt they would give you much funding after passing a couple classes. Personally, I would never pay sticker price for an MA at any school. Would you?

Seven schools. I wanted to give myself options and increase my chances of getting a big fellowship. I'd say that JHU and GU, and perhaps Columbia were my reach schools, and Denver was my safety.

Since you seem to be concerned about student loans, have you considered gaining work experience before heading straight into grad school? Two advantages would be: One, you would be more competitive for a fellowship. Two, experience abroad could help you focus on what exactly you want to study and make you more competitive for employment. It's my understanding the the international development world doesn't take people seriously who have only studied I-dev and have no experience in the field. The Peace Corps is a good option, if you're interested in it.

7k a semester as well. Congrats everyone! Just waiting on the Pickering now.

They keep playing us with these emails!!

UCSD 13th, UC-Berkeley 17th, UCLA unranked. Don't know if any of these programs are known for being good for Middle East studies. Obviously these rankings aren't the end-all-be-all of reputation, but they're a good starting point. http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/top-twenty-five-schools-international-relations/?page=full

You might want to consider retaking the GRE to raise your quant score. Study for a month, retake, get a higher score, and you'll have a much better chance of getting funded. The GRE is often one of the ways they decide who gets what fellowship. Also, you haven't told us what work experience you have.

No problem! Yeah, Georgetown and SAIS are certainly the most talked about on this board (and for good reason - they're amazing schools). But for the the kind of work we want to do, I think if you have a chance to go to another great school that will get you where you want to be, paying little or no money for tuition, you should take it. $60,000 is no joke, especially when you would (presumably) be earning a salary in pesos. Bueno, si acabamos en el mismo sitio, que nos conozcamos!

Generally, not more than you expect to make with your first year's salary. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/your-money/student-loan-repayment-calculator.html?pagewanted=all

Looks like we're in the exact same situation. I've been emailing FSOs (my career goal) asking for advice and American alumni (some of which are FSOs) to ask them how they liked the program. Every single AU alum I've talked to has only had good things to say about the program, from their classes to their career prospects. Additionally, all the FSOs I've talked to (who studied at many different universities) have told me that university prestige does not matter in the public sector. They did mention that it can open up doors in the private sector, if that's what you're interested in. Also worth noting is that AU has had more Presidential Management Fellows (fast track to the federal govt) than any other school in the country for the past two years. In your situation, having that $25k scholarship does change things a bit. How much debt would you actually need to get into? You'll need to decide what the marginal cost worth paying to go into a more prestigious program is for you, consider which program is the best fit in terms of your career goals, and your tolerance for debt. For me, unless I get the Pickering, talking to people in the sector I want to work in and talking to AU alumni has convinced me that SIS is the right choice. I think, once I graduate and start working - whether as an FSO or in some other capacity - I'll be so happy to not have to pay off student loans, and start saving. As far as NYU goes, sorry, no idea!

I'm in with 18k! I can't believe it. It seemed so impossible at the start of the process. Really though, that seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of attendance. I'm gonna wait to see what happens with the Pickering, otherwise it looks like I'm going to American (unless GWU throws a wrench in things).

At this point I feel like no one is gonna give me more funding than American, and I feel good about going there. I just want to hear from GW and Georgetown already so I can make a final decision. The only thing that would be a game changer is if I got the Pickering.

Sounds like typical DCers!

Faced with the exact same dilemma. I've emailed people working in my desired field to see what advice they have. Still waiting to hear back. From 2013: It's worth noting that this year and last year, SIS had more Presidential Management Fellowship finalists than any other school in the U.S. Although it's not as highly regarded as the other big three in DC, AU is a great school. Also, AU's International Development program is one of the best. I'd go to SIS.

Wait, so you've already heard from Pickering and Georgetown?

Yeah I know, that will definitely influence my decision. Korbel...great school but I think it's overpriced unless you get a huge fellowship. Less opportunities for internships and networking than in DC.

Sigh, I'm going back and forth. My family is advising me to choose American, but after getting into SAIS I started re-reading about their program and got really excited. I'm emailing Foreign Service Officers to see what advice they have, as that's my goal after I graduate.

Haha I feel you. I'm in the Peace Corps. It sucks that money will be such a big factor, but that's life I guess.

It looks like everyone got in but no one can afford it!

Admitted! No word on funding. Wow! Only one school left.

$26,000 in first year funding! Hmm... I'm going to have to decide how much more SAIS and (possibly) MSFS are worth marginally than the other top IR schools.

Are decisions coming out today?