YunaCamel

Program/Schools Applied To: Johns Hopkins SAIS, Georgetown MASIA, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher Schools Admitted: All! (I can’t believe it!) Johns Hopkins SAIS (29k/1st year), Georgetown MASIA (0 but will apply to FLAS fellowship which will give me 33k/1st year), Columbia SIPA (0), Tufts Fletcher (20k/both years) Undergraduate: Top 30 private university on the east coast, 3.62 CGPA, International Studies Major/Asian Studies & Economics Minor GRE: 161 Ver / 161 Q / 4.5 AW Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4 years Years of Work Experience: 3.5~4 years. Undergraduate internships in Consulate-General of Korea in Seattle, Korea Importers Association, U.S. Embassy Seoul, East Asia Institute; Samsung SDS (Business Development position, full-time) for 3 years with a focus on overseas business expansion. Currently a Research Assistant at the Sejong Institute (a leading IR/diplomacy think tank). Also 3 years of English tutoring experience and freelancing Korean-English Translator/Interpreter as a side-job... quite well-known on the Korean internet. Strength of SOP: Very strong. Had 25+ people including friends as well as current students & alumni of the schools I applied read/review/edit/comment/feedback my essays for me to revise and polish them. Strength of LOR's: Strong? 1 professional - the Vice President (my current supervisor) of the Sejong Institute whose connection is very well-established with the US-Korea Institute at SAIS; 2 academic - one from a PoliSci professor whom I've known for 6+ years and took 4 classes and received several LORs in the past and another from an Asian Studies professor who taught a course I enjoyed the most. Not sure what exactly they wrote. Others: Native Korean speaker, fluent Japanese, intermediate Chinese, several Japanese speech/essay contest awards, study abroad scholarships from the US government institutions, one-year exchange student to Japan during my junior year, violinist in university orchestra, and other random extracurricular activities. I believe the key factors for my admissions were my work experience and the essays because my GPA is very low (it's above a 3.6 but I have so many poor grades in fact) and my GRE is average. I probably could have gotten more funding if my GPA/GRE were higher... Career goal is to pursue a policy-oriented or intelligence-based career focusing on the Korean peninsula and East Asia in the US federal government. Will apply to the FLAS fellowship through Georgetown and see if I can get that 33k/year funding but will most likely attend SAIS since it's been my dream school! Either way, I'm so excited to be in DC starting this fall @Connie @ TheArtofApplying Thank you so much for your feedback and encouragement back in November!

@turkish coffee where are you attending instead? Congrats on your acceptance & funding

@Student007 ahhh omfg im really a mad frigging hugeeeeeee fan of Kim yuna and my nickname is definitely the name of the figure skating spin invented by her if u can guess that already ahhhhh I love her !! (But im not a lez i have a bf right now) anyway sais or gtown will be the most ideal choice for me in terms of my career goal but I really wished I had got some funding from sipa as well just in case it's NYC locations and ivy league name are indeed huge appeals to me ahaha

@MatteoChar Most likely SAIS but I am going to apply go the FLAS fellowship which will give me is 33k through Georgetown and will make a final decision:) Congrats to you too!!!

Got in but looks like there's no funding! Also in at Johns Hopkins SAIS with a 24k funding and Tufts Fletcher with a 20k funding and Georgetown with no funding so most likely leaning towards SAIS

@MatteoChar GOT INTO SAIS DC CAMPUS Korea Studies Program WITH A 24K FUNDING!!!!!!!! Also in at Columbia SIPA, and Tufts Fletcher too!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh super excited and still can't believe the results omgggggggg

GOT INTO SAIS DC CAMPUS WITH A 24K FUNDING!!!!!!!! Also in at Columbia SIPA, Georgetown SFS, and Tufts Fletcher!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh super excited and still can't believe the results omgggggggg

SAIS DC applicant for the Korea Studies Program.. I've been accepted into Georgetown's Asian Studies program but SAIS is my #1 choice.. fingers crossed...omg can't wait...

I'm another SIPA's MIA applicant. Do you know when exactly the decisions will be released?

@MatteoChar May I know how much fellowship you will be receiving if it says in the email? Also, what major did you apply for SAIS? Mine's Korea Studies Program... can't wait till Friday >.<

@MatteoChar Are you saying that your informal email of acceptance letter mentioned specifically that you received an Asian Studies Fellowship?! Congratulations!! My email only talks about a summer internship/language study funding of $3,000 and the FLAS. I asked a MASIA alum and was told that the official acceptance package can contain more details about fundings so I'll just wait and see, but I am still a bit worried. There is no way that I can pay a full 60k tuition per year to attend school. I am also still waiting to hear back from SAIS, SIPA, and Fletcher, so I'll see how things go. Nevertheless, so excited to have been accepted into one school at least!!!

Just received an acceptance email as well! For a second I thought why are these adcoms working on applications on a weekend? LOLz but so happy about this exciting news!!!!

I am a MASIA applicant too!! Can't wait to hear back from the school. Only a week or so left till the result comes out.... omg!!!

Program/Institution: M.A. in International Relations/Asian Studies (Professional Degree Programs such as Johns Hopkins SAIS, Georgetown MSFS, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher, etc.) Interests: US-Korea Relations, Korea-Japan Relations, East Asia Security/Political/Economics Undergrad Institution: Boston College Undergraduate Major: International Studies Major / Asian Studies & Economics Minor Undergraduate GPA: 3.62/4.0 (not too sure about major GPA but has has 2 C+s in Intro to IR & Microeconomic Theory courses... ugh.. My grades are mostly B+s and A-s. Quantitative Courses: Econ minor so 2 principles, 2 theory courses, 1 econ stat, and 2 econ electives Additional Education: One-Year Study Abroad Program at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan during 2011-2012 GRE: GRE: 161 V 161 Q, 4.5 AW Age: 26 Years of Work Experience: 3.5~4 years. Undergraduate Internships in Consulate-General of Korea in Seattle, Korea Importers Association, U.S. Embassy Seoul, East Asia Institute; Samsung (Business Development position, full-time) for 2.5 years with a focus on overseas business expansion. Currently in Sejong Institute (Research Assistant at a leading IR/diplomacy think tank) for 6 months by the time I apply. Also English tutoring experience and freelancing Korean-English Translator/Interpreter - 3 years... quite well-known on the Korean internet (side-job while working full-time in Samsung) Undergraduate Activities: University Orchestra, Asian-American magazine, Japan Club, Study Abroad Advisory Board, Conversation Partners Program... but these are not that extraordinary Additional Information: Dual-citizen Korean-American, Competitive Study abroad scholarships such as Boren, Gilman, Freeman-ASIA, Bridging Scholarships; merit scholarship at Waseda. Spent a significant amount of time living in South Korea.. Languages: Native fluency in Korean/English, professional fluency in Japanese, intermediate Mandarin Chinese.Passed the highest level in Japanese Language Proficiency Test with almost a perfect score, won multiple Japanese language contest awards. LORs: One from a PoliSci professor whom I've known for 6+ years and took 4 classes and received several LORs in the past Another from an Asian Studies professor, and third one from the Vice President of Sejong Institute Concerns: I am very worried that my horrible grades in the Intro to International Relations and Macroeconomic Theory courses will strongly affect my competitiveness in a negative way, which is even said on the SAIS website (individual grades will be considered more than the overall GPA and poor academic grades in political science or economics courses will hurt competitiveness.) I also have a W from a class I took in the final semester of college and it is also a concern even though it is not related to my major. I know that I cannot do anything more about it as I graduated from college 3.5 years ago. Due to mediocre GPA I wanted to get exceptional scores on the GRE to compensate for my weak grades and aim for fellowship/funding opportunities but I guess 161 V/Q are probably my limits. The thing is, my GRE and GPA scores do fit within the average range of admitted students into JHU and GT which are my dream schools, so I'd like to know that since my GRE is not too abysmal then GRE will not be much of a concern for adcoms or still higher score the higher chance? My work experience seems decent but not that exceptional or superior too... but I think it still demonstrates my steady commitment/interest in the field. How do my chances look in general for the aforementioned schools above? SAIS is my top choice and then GT. Also, what more could I do from now on to improve my chances from now on other than writing a solid SOP, getting strong recommendation letters, etc.? I would appreciate your responses.!!