Elvidi

I'm definitely not an expert on this, but I would say if you have multiple recommenders on an application, having one outside your field who knows you well isn't a bad idea. I know I am including professors from my main department (IR) who knew me o.k., but I also have a professor from the German department who worked with me on a more personal level while I was finishing my second major. would love to hear other thoughts on this, though!

@rising_star, I did a lot of substantive work for both positions, and both supervisors gave me great evaluations. I guess the main difference is the supervisor from the smaller position had more time to get to know me and really understand my goals & strengths...

@EMPOWERgreRichC, I definitely think I can raise the scores ... I think I just see math and freak out! I am planning to retake mid-november, and I've just been using the ETS prep book/practice tests.

So a few of the schools I'm applying to require at least 1 professional recommendation. Since I am applying straight out of undergrad, I will obviously be using one of my former internship supervisors. My question is, would it be better to request a letter from a supervisor from an internship that was directly in my field at a high-profile organization, but where I didn't have much one-on-one contact with my supervisor, or from an internship at a small, local nonprofit not immediately related to my field, but where I worked very closely with my supervisor?

Hello all! Does anyone have advice for studying the quantitative reasoning material?? I just took the GRE for the first time after doing a decent bit of prep and while I'm satisfied with my verbal and writing (162/5.5), my quantitative score was abysmal (149). Clearly I need to try a new approach to studying for that section - does anyone have tips? Thanks! EDIT: If it's not obvious already, math is far from my strong point - I'm applying to graduate programs in International Affairs, with a focus in public diplomacy and communications.