nic2017

Programs Applied To: UCSD GPS, Berkeley Goldman, American SIS, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Columbia SIPA, HKS, Georgetown MSFS Schools Admitted To: UCSD ($0), American ($0), SAIS ($0), SIPA ($4k in Work Study) Schools Rejected From: HKS, Goldman, MSFS Undergraduate School: UCSC GPA: 3.87 - Magna cum laude/University Honors Undergraduate Major: Politics (minor in History of Art and Visual Culture) GRE 1: 160 Verbal, 156 Quant, 5.0 AWA Years Out of Undergrad: 1 and a half years International experience: 8 months Spain (Study Abroad), 2 months around SE Asia (Conference and indp. research), Delegate to international political party event in Czech Republic Languages: native English, fluent Spanish, intermediate Russian, beginner Burmese and Mandarin Work Experience: 6 month internship with International Rescue Committee (Oakland), 7 months with Catholic Charities SF in social work position, 4 months with local Democratic Party, plus interspersed customer service experience to make ends meet. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Fairly strong, wrote individualized versions for each school emphasizing the aspects of the program, instructors, and student life I thought were most conducive to my career goals. Always get a friend, professor, and/or colleague to edit! Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Solid across the board. One from my thesis adviser who knew my work very well, one from a non-politics background but knew my writing and work all throughout college, one former supervisor (division director for a nonprofit), and another former professor in the diplomatic field. **CONCERNS: Obviously I didn't get any money from anyone. It makes the most financial sense to choose UCSD since I'm from San Diego and live here now - but there isn't a huge focus on human rights and humanitarian policy (my career objective) and the alumni network seems to be pretty focused on private sector and big Asia development firms. SIPA gave me a tiny amount of money but it would still cost more than SAIS, which is my #1 choice at this point since the curriculum is golden and the alumni network is broad-based and rooted in public, private, and nonprofit firms. Any advice from anyone out there who's about to take out $70k in federal loans??

Can anyone shed light on what to expect for conflict resolution concentrators? Is the program fairly big, or is it one of the more "tight-knit" communities? I'm looking at taking out the full amount in loans so I wanted to get some idea of what the alumni network and job prospects are for that particular concentration. Thanks!

Is anyone else considering the Tsinghua dual degree program? Or any alumni out there to share their thoughts?

I'm in the same boat here. Got into SAIS and SIPA but no funding for either. I emailed an appeal to SAIS financial aid but i'm not holding my breath for that to go anywhere. I have every intention of going to SAIS because it's a kick ass program and I feel like I'm more likely to get a job after graduating that will allow me to at least make minimum payments on a huge amount of student loans, but the question is... is it doable to take out enough federal loans to cover full tuition and cost of living in DC? I have very, very little money saved and I'm pulling minimum wage with no help from my family. Anyone have some insight based on past experiences with large amounts of loans?

Like many of you, I'm waiting anxiously for decisions to be released in the coming weeks and took to Craigslist to scope out housing opportunities in the D.C. area. And it's expensive. Assuming that any financial aid I may receive will go towards tuition, does anyone have advice for someone who's fretting about how paying rent will work out when you're in a full time MA program in an expensive city? Is it common for grad students to have outside employment, or are on-campus jobs common for Master's students (assuming student teaching positions all go to PhD candidates)?

Any early applicants to UCSD GPS hear back yet?

I'm a little stuck on what to write about for the JHU SAIS Analytical Essay. It's only about 2 pages about an issue of "national or international importance and its concern to you." I studied Burma/Myanmar in college and wrote my undergrad thesis about its political system, but I mention this somewhat at length in my personal statement. Would it behoove me to write about a completely different part of the world to demonstrate a more general field of interest, or would it do that much harm just to write about a human rights situation in Burma? Any input as to what y'all are writing about?

My early decision result from SIPA got "deferred" - did this happen with everyone who applied early decision and didn't get accepted? " We would like to further evaluate your application for the 2017 Fall term Master of International Affairs program. Therefore, your admission decision has been deferred; you will be considered with the full pool of candidates for the 2017 Fall entering class."

Figured I'd start a thread for American. Applying for the MA in International Affairs (Global Government, Politics, and Security), but also torn between that and IPCR. There isn't a spot in the application for a Statement of Purpose... do we not have to write one for consideration to American SIS?

Who else is waiting for the results of their Early Decision 2017 MIA/MPA application at SIPA? Does anyone know when decisions came out in previous years and if the "end of December" notification is a reliable benchmark? I know I should just wait but the suspense is killing me...

Hello! New to Gradcafe and throwing my qualifications (or lack thereof) in the ring: Program/Institution: MIA (UC San Diego, Columbia, American), MPP (Berkeley Goldman, HKS), MSFS (Georgetown) Interests: Human rights and humanitarian policy, refugee crisis, ethnic/religious conflict, authoritarian regimes Undergrad Institution: UC Santa Cruz Undergraduate Major: Politics Undergraduate GPA: 3.87 GRE: Quantitative: 156 Verbal: 160 Writing: 5 Age: 23 Years of Work Experience: 1.5 Work Experience: Interned with the IRC in Oakland doing refugee resettlement for about 5 months. Worked as an AA then as a Case Manager with Catholic Charities SF, working with HIV+ and homeless populations in a continuous care facility (January to July 2016), then moved to San Diego and worked as a Volunteer/Outreach Coordinator (after being taken on from an internship) with the San Diego Democratic Party during the elections. Language: Fluent in Spanish (studied in college, Latino background, studied abroad in Spain), intermediate in Russian (studied 1 year in college), and beginner in Burmese (self-taught). Awards: Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research April 2016; Elected Phi Beta Kappa, Upsilon Chapter of California June 2015; HAVC Porter Scholarship, University of California, Santa Cruz May 2015; EAP Scholarship, University of California May 2013; Dean’s Honors, University of California, Santa Cruz December 2011 – June 2015; UC Santa Cruz Grant September 2011 – December 2012; UFCW Union Scholarship July 2011 – July 2013 LORs: Two professors (one was my thesis adviser in the politics dept and one was a mentor in the Art History dept. that knew my writing really well), and two fmr. supervisors (one the division director of HIV Services at Catholic Charities, and one was my immediate supervisor at the Democratic Party) Concerns: I have very little quantitative experience (one course on climate and one on astronomy that covered the stats and math GEs - I took them both pass/fail and passed handily, but I'm planning on taking Macro and Micro at a community college this spring) and a brief (but intense!) segment of work experience. My essays are strong and so is my GPA, and I wrote a senior thesis, but I'm paranoid about the lack of quant/work experience coupled with middle-of-the-road GRE scores. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!