ayasofaya

I got 162V 156Q so we're basically twins! I have an unrelated undergrad major/work experience and a decent GPA at best (4.45) so my aim is to try to take the things I can still control and make them as top tier as I can. I know I can score 320+ I just have to actually do it lol. I got into half the schools I applied for last time around, so there is the relief of knowing it's at least good enough for a few top programs, but there are other goals I could be working toward (and more funding for the programs I know I can at least be admitted). All of this means nothing if I don't get the fellowships this year, because then the plan is to follow Ye Olde "Do what you would be doing if the Foreign Service didn't exist," which means getting an MBA.

Yeah I just got the no-invite for the FSOA so this is my next deadline. There's a lot I want to rework for this year's app (including another GRE retake) so I need to hit the ground running to prepare.

You can use Score Select submit whichever scores you choose to. The thing to remember is that Score Select doesn't work retroactively, so once you submit your scores, the school will have them for as long as they are valid. To give my own story as an example, the first time I took the exam, (of the schools you have on your list) I sent my scores to Fletcher. The second time I took it, I got a slightly better score, and sent only the better scores to Fletcher and SAIS. Fletcher has both sets of scores on file, and SAIS only has the one. Programs can't mandate that you send all scores because ETS allows you to choose the ones you send, so if you only send the best ones, they will have no way of knowing how many times you had taken it up to that point. To kind of answer your second question, I got funding for both of these schools with a good, but not stellar score, 162V 156Q. I was told on the "Am I competitive thread" that my QGRE was way too low and that I should basically give up any hopes for funding. This was especially surprising given SAIS's econ focus and that I took no quant coursework in undergrad. My advice is to do as well as you can, apply, and see what happens, and don't listen too hard to the people on forums like this that say that you need to have "at least 320 minimum" to not be thrown away in the first round. The fact is the people on these forums are by and large very well qualified and have high standards for themselves. It's easy to see them as your main competition and to get overwhelmed. I know I did. I hope this helps and good luck!

@yucateco Nope! Just list the programs you plan on applying for. I got an application fee waiver for a few schools last year so my list changed a bit by the time apps rolled around. This is okay. There should be a separate place to list prospective schools after you hit no.

I haven't opened the portal yet for this year but from what I remember from last year they asked identical or nearly identical questions. At the risk of oversimplifying, if they ask the same questions, I will write the same responses. I simply wouldn't have any guidelines to be able to discern what should be different/better fitted for each if they have the same selection criteria. From what I understand, Howard and TWC had different unspoken and internal ways of reading applications, but it's hard to tell the differences if the published information is going to be similar. At least in the past, with the different deadlines, if you didn't get the Rangel you could revise in the effort to make it "better" for Pickering, but even that doesn't pan out with the current timeline.

@m7752neI'm thinking the number of applicants would be about the same if not less. I'm thinking of others like me who may need the time to prepare their pickering application and now don't have it, or others who may not have even heard the announcement because pickering isn't on their radar until later in the year, and will miss it altogether lol. I think you're going to have an increase in people who use identical essays for both, and since it's the same institution administering both fellowships, the redundancy of this seems so silly. No one is going to apply to one and not the other if you're handing both apps to the same people at the same time.

@m7752ne The Rangel Fellowship has been administered by Howard and has a September deadline. Moving their deadline to September allowed them to start the Washington portion of the requirement in the summer before starting school, allowing the fellows to have all of their requirements fulfilled (save the 5 years of service) before graduation. Because of the timeline of graduate school applications, some applicants would have scheduled their GRE for the late fall or winter, to take advantage of study time. They made the GRE optional for this reason. The Pickering fellowship was administered by TWC, and had a January deadline. Since you should have taken your exam by then if you were planning to apply for funding, the GRE requirement was reasonable for that time frame. The real question is, now that both the Pickering and Rangel are BOTH administered, by Howard and have the same application dates, how does this affect the competition of the applicant pool?

I had recently decided that the Rangel deadline was too close and I would only apply for the Pickering Fellowship.....only to find out that the Pickering Fellowship was acquired by Howard and is now also due in September (source). I want to cry.

@mrs12 @Dan_H HOW WAS IT????

Yup, my point was more of a "if it was important, they would make sure you knew" kind of deal. I take my classes at Goethe! I highly highly highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn the language, and to anyone hoping to get some conversational skills before heading out there. I took one year of classes at Brown and then placement-tested into B2 level when I wanted to take more classes a few years later. They're also (and I'm not sure if it varies per location), verrrrry well priced for the amount and level of instruction. My instructor was a really great resource during the Fulbright app process and he also holds a linguistics PhD so he made a point to observe the language-learning patterns of each student and optimized each class period accordingly.

Germany ETA semi-finalist here! They had us find a German instructor and have them submit a language evaluation form - This is a separate form completed in addition to the recommendations you already had to submit, and speaks specifically about your German proficiencies. I take private classes so I had my instructor submit both the language form and a regular recommendation.

I applied to German ETA and just talked about soccer a lot. I love soccer. It was a no-brainer to me. Instant fan of whatever local team. Done and done. Cliché maybe, but 100% truthful.

THIS IS AMAZING AND I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! What did you do differently this year that helped? Actually didn't you skip Pickering last year? It may have just been a better fit than Rangel the whole time.

I'm suddenly very stressed out. Not that this was a shoo-in or anything, but the Fulbright ETA just went from something I wanted to something i need. Not only to boost my profile for next year but to approve me to defer admission (has to be SAIS now) so I can have that in my hand at re-apply. The Fulbright ETA and $3,000. Both of which are long shots at the current moment.

It's a no on Pickering for me this year :((((((((((