Dreams

Hmm I used to have that feature enabled years ago. I would not want to receive a text showing that a school had sent me a message. Just imagine sitting in class or being out and about and being completely taken over with thoughts of what is in that email

I considered several things when applying to schools: 1. Location. I need snow and other cold elements. Any place that did not have this would make me miserable. 2. The programs' connections that would allow me to spring into the career I wanted. 3. The chances of getting aid. 4. Whether the learning environment was collaborative or poisonous. Rankings did not come into consideration (though it doesn't appear that way looking at my list). I spent countless hours weeding down schools, of which I applied to 5. While there were plenty of absolutely fantastic programs, their location knocked them off the list. If I am going to be living somewhere for several years, I need cold weather. So no Florida or Cali for me. I do realize I am in the absolute minority in this aspect though.

Argh that 8ball loves to hate me! Anyway, to the OP, linden is right. It is hard to predict such things. You also have to consider that scores of people with a similar backgrounnd to you will also be applying to Harvard's MPA/ID program. The key becomes then how you get yourself to stand out from the rest and how well you convince admissions to let you in. The Fulbright will definitely be an advantage, but it is not guarantee of admission. I know a guy who applied to Harvard and was also awarded a Fulbright. They turned him down and he went to a different school instead but is just as happy. Hopefully you have applied to backup choices too! Either way good luck

It could be good news. For some schools, the final confirmation for admission lies with the grad school dean. Though is most cases its ceremonial since they will follow the department's recommendations. Sit tight and be patient a little longer

Makes me a bit nervous in anticipation of it all too.

Pretty good. The variations of these letters get better each year

I think you already answered that. Those interested in the foreign service primarily, and international affairs in general. A long time ago I came across the profiles of past recipients. They were really interesting. You have the requisite "I lived abroad growing up and it sparked my interest in international affairs," as well as the "save the world" type. But there were also a lot of "average" folk applying for the fellowship. They update their list yearly, and you contact them to get a list of past recipients and the schools they attended. Yeah that's the good thing about it. It is designed to bring people into government service who otherwise may have chosen other careers or would have been turned off at all of the bureaucratic hassle of landing an initial position. Even more interesting is the fellowship for sophomores. Did you let the schools you applied to know you were also applying for a Pickering? I imagine it would likely make them give your application a little more consideration. Schools like to publicize those fellows for the prestige. Good luck with your application. I remember hearing last year that their cohort found out everything really late - like May late I believe. I would also be interested in hearing from current or former fellows.

On a side note, I just read an article talking about WWS dean Anne-Marie Slaughter's decision to step down for a position at State. She will remain on the faculty though.

Hmm, I like that idea.

Just a quick comment on CMU. It is a phenomenal program. I know two people who graduated from there with the MSPPM degree and I have to say they are among the best analytical thinkers I have ever seen. One of those people is my former boss. She attributes the program with helping her to pick even the most daunting policy issues apart.

Principal Investigator. You will usually find this term in the sciences. They are the people in charge of research projects and studies.

I also do not think it is too big a deal. I doubt the committees will verify your employment history, so there is no need to draw attention to it.

I second that. As it seems, both of you stand a much better shot than me.

What led you to switch fields this year?

I would never read my letters of recommendation. I would rather not see what my references are writing about me. I have in the past turned down chances to read them when offered. Any extras I have are either destroyed or sent back to the writers.

As others have said, I think you are extremely competitive for these programs. I too only just recently took the econ classes to satisfy the requirements. Furthermore, I noticed that each school had a different take on the classes. Some required the econ classes, and even specified the number of credits each class should be. Other programs either simply recommended or highly recommended the classes. Since I not too quantitatively focused, I stayed away from programs like Fletcher and SAIS that emphasized this. In your case though, again I say you have a very strong shot for admission.

I have already posted my profile here. I do not understand the paranoia about such things. I mean come on, it's not like we are doing anything that would jeopardize our applications to the schools.

We are all unsuccessful at one thing or another at some point in our lives. Why hide it? If any of the schools I applied to rejected me, I would not lie about it. I can accept that I will not get everything I want in life.

Like Master Onion from Parappa the Rappa... Ahhhh tatatatatata chaaaaaaaaa!

Your story sounds a lot like mine, except that my professors knew me well. Too well in fact down to the last weakness. When I first applied to grad school, I didn't know about these types of forums either. I was also really nervous, as I was applying to degree programs in different fields. None of my degrees are in the same field, purposefully. I knew I would be facing not only a huge hurdle getting in over someone with a degree in a relevant field, but also a huge learning curve during my studies. To top it off, the only person who read my statement, a professor, told me to tone it down and focus it more. It just added to my anxiety. Like you and others, I was worried I would not get into anywhere. In the end there were some acceptances as well as rejections. I have nothing against predicting a rejection or 3 I believe a little caution goes a long way, and helps to counter disappointment once decisions come out. I tend to mix optimism with reality. It makes a nice smoothie. If all acceptances come out of it, great. If not, then no biggie either; I am just not going to predict any rejections into existence!! For those of us who are willing to take a stab at it again if unsuccessful, the experience will prove very useful.

It's like a drug, you have to wean yourself off of it slowly

What baffles me is why everyone predicts such a high rejection rate. I know it is one thing to be cautious, but we are after applying to schools that we (hopefully) researched well enough to determine they were a good fit and likely to admit us.

I have found this to be the case at a number of schools. In fact, I was turned off from applying to many schools because of the two transcript policy. For me, I could not have afforded to request such a large number of transcripts because of the number of schools I have attended in the past. I would be in the poor house!

Kinda sorta. I am applying to a joint program with Anthropology.

That unlucky number 13! What a morale crusher. I hope you fare better this time around.