somewhatslightlydazed

Congrats!! Yeah it would be ideal to have funding info but it's great to know you're accepted. I got my Fletcher and SIPA acceptances within an hour of each other so it's been a great afternoon

Anyone else here apply for Fletcher early? Based on previous years, decisions might come out in a few days (seems like it was 12/13 last year, 12/14 the year before that, though their website only says by 1/1) - hoping we hear soon! Some background on me: applying to the MALD program, hoping to concentrate in human security and Southwest Asia. I really like Tufts's culture and the flexibility of their curriculum, so if I get enough scholarship funds it'll definitely be one of my top choices. Feeling pretty good about my admissions chances (high Arabic proficiency, good GPA/GRE scores, felt like my interview went really well), but no idea how finances will turn out...

I'd recommend going with whatever region/language is most interesting to you, both because it'll make your time abroad more enjoyable and because you'll learn more if you're happy in the region. As someone who spent 5 years studying Arabic, I can say that the Middle East/North Africa is a really cool region to study in (I especially love Morocco, but I've also lived in Oman and Jordan and liked living there too), and I find Arabic to be a really fun language to learn (it's super pretty and very different than English, which is a cool challenge). It is one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn, so keep that in mind if you're not naturally good at languages. But that does mean that if you learn it successfully, it can be useful both for grad school applications and for certain international jobs. Hope this helps a bit, and let me know if you have any questions about learning Arabic or living in the Middle East!

Applied last night! Glad the application is out of the way, now onto the 4+ months of waiting... I think what'll bring down my chances of getting in/getting scholarships is my limited work experience (1.5 years, though plenty of internships in undergrad) but hoping that my academic stats will make up for it (3.99 GPA, 168/168/5 GRE)

Anyone else on here applying early for SAIS Europe? I had my interview with them last week and felt good about it, but the next few weeks of waiting are going to be rough... Do all the early decisions come out on the same day or are they different for DC vs Bologna?

Hoping to get some last-minute advice. I just submitted a Princeton (WWS) application yesterday (the deadline is tonight) and realized that one of my recommenders hadn't submitted. I emailed her to remind her but I'm not 100% sure that she'll see it today. I'm considering asking my current supervisor to write a last minute LOR for me instead, but I'd feel really bad about taking up her Saturday last minute, and it wouldn't be the best quality LOR because it would be rushed. Do you think it's better to take my chances on the original recommender coming through (she did submit LORs for my first few applications that I sent in a month ago) or to make this last minute request of my supervisor? Thanks!

For grad school apps it can definitely be over a page - most schools I've looked at say they recommend that resumes be 2-4 pages (I've kept mine at 2 because I only have a year and a half of post-undergrad work experience)

Thanks! That is the alternative I'm considering to finding more backup schools - I figured I'd give applications a shot now (since a lot of the schools I'm applying to say most people start with 1-2 years of work experience, though admittedly HKS and WWS skew higher), and if I don't end up getting enough funding at schools I'm excited about, I can wait a year or two to get more work experience and make sure I'm more competitive.

Thanks so much!! That pretty much confirms what I've been thinking, that I'm competitive for acceptance at most of the schools (WWS seems like the biggest stretch) but that funding is far from guaranteed. Right now for additional safeties I'm considering University of Maryland (went there for undergrad so I'd be comfortable on campus, plus I could work/intern in DC), Boston University (my parents live in Mass so I could save additional $ by living with them) or Syracuse (mostly attracted to their Atlantis program with the second year in Berlin). Any other schools that you think I should be considering given my profile?

Hey all! Hoping to get some advice on if I should add another "safety" or two to my list to ensure as much funding as possible. I feel pretty good about my admissions chances for many of the schools I'm applying to, but I'm not as sure about what my shots are at getting good scholarships. Schools I'm applying to: Heard back: Middlebury Institute for International Studies (accepted with $20k/year in scholarships, which is exciting but probably not enough to make it affordable) Applied early, waiting on decision: Johns Hopkins SAIS, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher Planning to apply soon: Princeton WWS, Harvard Kennedy, Georgetown SFS, GW Elliot, American SIS Undergrad: University of Maryland, College Park (Honors College), double major in Government & Politics and Arabic Studies GPA: 3.99 (4.0 in both majors) GRE: 168 q / 168 v / 5 aw Language: high Arabic proficiency, studied abroad 3 in the Middle East (1.5 years); also vaguely conversational in French Work Experience: ~1.5 years of full-time experience (began a summer job in June 2017, started at my current work in August 2017), working at a small DC nonprofit. Also had 5 internships in undergrad - combination of nonprofit/social work and terrorism research Letters of Rec: not 100% sure what they're like but I think they'll all be pretty solid - one's from my thesis advisor, one from my current supervisor, and one from an Arabic teacher who I later worked with, so I think it's at least a good range? Essays: working on tailoring them for each school (basically starting from scratch each time but occasionally reusing a paragraph or so when I talk about a specific experience), getting edits from family and friends Thanks for sharing any thoughts you have!