ce1234

Jackson has been graduating students for 10 years, and prior to being an official institute Yale was graduating students in their IR program. So the alumni network is actually much bigger than you might think, although the programs have always been small and tight-knit so it will never match SIPA's in terms of sheer volume.

Now that all my decisions are in, updated above! Given Yale Jackson is providing me full tuition plus a living stipend, it looks like I will be in New Haven the next two years. I'm super excited as it was one of my top choice programs due to the mix of practical and academic work.

I'm also in, and my letter said funding decisions will be released separately by the actual program. Hoping that comes out soon as well!

Hello! Notifications are rolling in, so thought I would provide my stats for some use down the road. I know everyone's submissions have been really helpful to me so I hope this will be helpful to others in the future. Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MIA/IR/MPP/MAs in IR/MALD Schools Applied To: Johns Hopkins SAIS, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher, University of Chicago CIR, Stanford Ford-Dorsey, Yale Jackson, Harvard Kennedy, Princeton WWS, Georgetown MSFS. Schools Admitted To: Johns Hopkins SAIS (early, half funding), Columbia SIPA (early, a little over 2/3rds funding), Tufts Fletcher (early, half funding), University of Chicago CIR (2/3rds funding), Stanford Ford-Dorsey (this program doesn't offer funding at all). Schools Rejected From: None yet, but I am expecting waitlists/rejections from a few. Still Waiting: Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown, Yale Undergraduate institution: McGill University Undergraduate GPA: 3.81/4.0 Undergraduate Major: Double honors major in International Development and Russian Studies GRE Quantitative Score: 161 GRE Verbal Score: 169 GRE AW Score: 5.5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4 years Years of Work Experience: 4 years since college, 2 years of internships in college Describe Relevant Work Experience: Government affairs/policy and federal consulting Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I went really specific on what I wanted to study and linked my undergraduate research to the work I want to do in grad school (Russian identity politics and their influence on strategic international relations goals). I tried to link specific classes to each essay and identify why I thought the school's curriculum would be useful for me or where it could augment some of my weaknesses/knowledge gaps. I also discussed why I am looking to move back into IR policy specifically, as opposed to staying in general government affairs. These took me a long time, to be honest. I had to work really hard to make sure they were tight and concise, especially the schools that required policy memos (SAIS and WWS- wrote about nuclear export treaties). I had the hardest time with Columbia's-- describing my commitment to public service in 200 words was really difficult without leaning on cliches. My favorite essay to write was definitely Fletcher's essay on where you're from. I had friends and family read these over before I submitted, but other than that and my own editing, I didn't have a ton of other reviewers. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I used two academic references where applicable (I wrote two undergrad theses, and the profs both supervised a thesis). I also used my former boss as a LOR. I think two letters were very strong (one prof and former boss) and one I am not sure about (second prof). Everyone was very willing to write me a recommendation and I provided each of them my transcripts, resumes, and a "cheat sheet" of schools I was applying to with deadlines and why I was applying to each school, what I thought they could highlight about me in each school's recommendation, and what the schools were specifically looking for from the recommendation. I think this ended up being pretty useful to my recommenders. Other: I have proficiency in French and Russian, and one of my internships in undergrad was with the State Department. I talked a lot about my eventual goals of foreign service. I also did interviews wherever available (Tufts, SAIS), which I think helped.