HereIsHoping

@img_league Yes, I'm still waiting. A poster in another thread mentioned that they heard about the Boutmy Scholarship just a couple of days before their decision deadline. Mine is coming up soon, so I'm hoping that will be the case for me as well. When did you get your acceptance?

Hey! I think I've pretty well narrowed it down to LSE and Sciences Po for generally the same reasons you've mentioned. Georgetown treated me the same way Columbia treated you, and there's no way I'm going to pay off those loans with the types of jobs I want to have. I am still certainly holding out for Oxford also, since I'm very interested in the academic route also. And that's good news about the timing for the Boutmy Scholarship; I'm very hopeful--but since w our interests are so similar they may have already filled that niche when they consider it! Congrats on all your acceptances also! Look forward to (maybe) meeting. Good advice about staying in country after--I hadn't thought about that yet. I still think the international experience and connections make the risk well worth it, plus the cost. Thanks for the tip about Geneva. That had not come up on my radar. I'll look into it. I am very interested in Pitt, but I don't think they gave me any funding (another thread mentioned that all fellowships have been offered). The Human Security program there looks so cool! Thank you both!

Nope, not yet.

Hey all. Oh man, I'm just experiencing the best kind of problem: too many acceptances. Unfortunately not a crazy amount of funding. I'm interested in International Affairs, particularly refugee studies and governance of migration. My dream is to work at the UN. As an American, I have a steep hill to climb for this. Any ideas about any of the following programs, any insight that can be provided, would be very welcome. But, I have been accepted to the following programs: - Sciences Po: Master in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action (no funding yet) - London School of Economics: MSc International Social and Public Policy (Migration emphasis) (no funding yet) - Georgetown: Master of Science Foreign Service (no funding) - New York University School of Professional Studies: MS Global Affairs (no funding) - The New School School of Public Engagement: MA in International Affairs (Hefty funding package) - University of Texas - Austin LBJ School: Master of Global Policy Studies (no funding) - Texas A&M: Master of Arts in International Affairs (hefty funding package) - University of Pittsburgh: Master of Public and International Affairs (no funding yet) I'm still waiting on Oxford: MSc Refugee and Forced Migration Studies and George Washington Master of Arts in International Affairs. I am legitimately excited about all of these programs, and all for different reasons. Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Ahh makes sense. I guess I didn't quite make the cut for fellowships, but at least I got in! Congrats on your acceptance and your award!

I got accepted! But I haven’t heard anything about financial aid, my portal says to come back in two weeks. @MPPhopeful322 how did they tell you about your tuition reduction?

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, and congrats on the interview even if you decide not to attend! Your gut read on the program matches what I've found in my reading as well. I'm pretty ok with it not being all international affairs related; I'm interested in the intersection between international and domestic policy so programs like this and the LBJ school where international affairs is nested within larger public policy schools is rather appealing to me. I've decided that I'm going to attend the conference for MIA and see what they have to say about the amount of flexibility of choosing tracks and combining a national security emphasis with other fields. It really seems like a great program in many regards, and for the cost mixed with name recognition it seems hard to beat. I've heard the same things about the Aggie network. I wonder if this is advantageous when considering internship opportunities and connections during the program... I've got to assume that with such an extensive alumni network getting internship opportunities in federal/international organizations should be pretty doable. I've read some discussion that the program has a decent reputation in DC for federal jobs, even when compared to many of the the DC schools. Know anything about that? Yeah, I'm doing the same thing, just looking for insight, especially anything more recent. Hence this post! But congrats on the interview!

Hey all. Figured I would put this out there, since I haven't seen anything from this year yet, but has anybody else received an interview invitation for TAMU's Bush School? I got mine on Friday afternoon. I will be attending the in-person conference for the MIA on Feb 22-23. Anybody else going to be there? It would also be pretty great to hear about anybody who has done it in the last couple of years, to see what their experiences were! I haven't been able to find many particulars from the past couple of years. I'm also interested in any information about the program itself from anybody who may have attended, especially as it might compare to others... from the outside it seems like an interesting program, but I am worried about an international affairs/policy degree from a University in College Station, Texas--not exactly a hotbed of international affairs. I'm sure I'll learn more at the conference, but insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, all. Just trying to get an idea of my competitiveness, especially given that I'm a little bit of an nontraditional student very much trying to switch gears from my current career. My goals are to work in US foreign policy/aid (Think USAID or State Dept) on policy work, largely related to migration, human security, and national security. Alternatively, working on those similar topics for an international government/nongovernmental agency (think UN or International Organization for Migration). Applying to: UT-Austin LBJ; A&M Bush School; American U in DC; Georgetown WSFS; Johns Hopkins SAIS; Columbia (not sure which yet, kind of confusing programs); NYU Global Affairs; University of Denver Korbel School; The New School; Seton Hall University; also thinking about some of the other New York/DC/New Jersey schools and, maybe, Ivies (Princeton seems very appealing given their history of public service jobs; Jackson at Yale seems like a very good fit for my interests also). Undergrad: BA International Studies, History Minor from a middle of the road state school, at one of the larger urban campuses (not its flagship campus). However, it was over the course of six years as I was working full time during my entire undergrad career. I also attended another school for a semester, but could not make it work with work and funding so I withdrew and returned to my original school. GPA: 3.68/4.0. Consistent Dean's List. Granted Latin honors (not sure what level cum laude or magna cum laude yet) for undergraduate research thesis. Quant: Almost none. Some Macro/Micro economics, but nothing past that. Nothing was required and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I grew up. GRE: V-162, Q-149, AWA-5.5 Language: Intermediate Spanish Work Experience: Nine years as a paramedic, doing 911 emergency ambulance type stuff. Did a lot of teaching through there. The city I am in is rather large and multicultural, so there was a lot of exposure to all types/nationalities of people who I served. I also interned and then had a year-long contractor job at a local nonprofit working on a local/international social justice issue. I have been working with that organization for two years now. LOR: Two from professors, they tell me they will be "glowing", one from the nonprofit I have worked with. SoP: Work in progress. I'm trying to explain my lack of quant and international experience. I think I can make a good case for the latter, but the quant I just have to make up for prior to matriculation. Seems many places offer this opportunity and I will make that clear in my SoP. Thoughts: Weak on quant. Weak on international work experience. But a fair amount of international travel. Thanks for any thoughts! Or any suggestions for programs that might be a good fit.