Dreams

Congrats to those who have already heard, and to those who will get the good news shortly. Also, let's not forget about the waitlist. As tortuous as that purgatory is, especially given the low pull rate, there is always a chance some could be pulled from it.

A school's rankings won't matter in the long run. But just in case you are concerned about whether people will know about the program, trust me in the "Maxwell Mafia" is pretty well known in the policy world

There aren't too many schools with a concentration specifically international focused that come to mind. Two I can immediately list are Columbia and Monmouth. Have you considered a dual degree between SW and IR?

The Rangel program has a very quick turnaround time, and if she said that they will convene on the 22nd, then you will likely receive the phone call if you are accepted that week. People who are waitlisted will also receive notice to standby in case someone declines to move forward. The Pickering has for the past few years not began until the Rangel process has ended. This is for several reasons, one of which being that many of the people who apply to the Rangel also apply to the Pickering. They wait until Rangel notifies them of the selectees so those people can be witdrawn from the Pickering process.

Great stories. Mine pales in comparison. The first time I took the GRE, I fell asleep at the beginning of the verbal portion and was only awakened by the 5 minute (or something similar) dinger. Needless to say my score in that section was not hot at all.

You can send in a copy of the FAFSA for the current school year, along with the EFC sheet that you fill out on the FAFSA site.

I concur with the previous posters. Not only will your MPH show you can handle graduate level work, but you experience shows that you have been clearly committed to the field up to this point. Go for it!

I will chime in as the voice who will tell you (in case you have not already done so) to go ahead and apply to the doctoral programs. Not all schools require a masters level public health degree, and your work experience will work in your favor. Take my case: I have an MA in a field totally unrelated to public health, but I have work experience in multiple areas of PH. I applied and was accepted to several top PH doctoral programs. Just be sure you make the case on why you are pursuing the degree. Good luck.

rockchalk did a great job giving information on preparation for grad studies in the field. I will simply add that there are several paths you can take once you graduate. They include focusing on linguistics (including translation and pedagogy), literature and culture, and area studies (including comparative studies). These opportunities exist both on the masters and doctoral level, and you can find more info on US programs here http://www.aatseel.org/graduate_programs. You are in a tough spot between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. There are pros and cons to choosing each. MGU is a good university, but Moscow is also a very expensive city. You are also likely to run into a lot of English speakers there, though the same can be said for Saint Petersburg. The Polytechnic university in Saint Petersburg is home to a very large contingent of foreign students, who study in a block of the university away from the Russian students. You may want to take that into consideration, as it will require more effort on your part to meet natives. I think overall though either choice will be fine, just be sure not to fall in the common trap of only associating with people from your program or falling back on English during tough times. That is the surest way not to maximize your acquisition of Russian. Also, here is a link to a blog with a sample of jobs that require use of Russian. Russian Opportunities

gender-studies

So long as you are equally interested in attend all of the schools you apply to, go for it. What really matters is the strength of the application so that you will not only get admitted, but be eligible to receive any scholarships schools may offer. Good luck.

No, it's not necessary so long as you are not outright copying blocks of material from a source.

It isn't necessary, and won't help you when it comes to admissions. If you are looking to get more info int he programs, it would be better to contact the admissions offices of the schools you are interested in.

Congrats. Hopefully this will begin a chain of good news for everyone.

Try posing the question in the Government Affairs where people in a similar boat as you will be more likely to see this. My question would be what do you want to accomplish with your degree? I ask that because the some of those schools have differing orientations. Secondly, working for a major government or intergovernmental institution of not necessary for a strong application to those schools; but a strong commitment to public service, broadly defined, is. Your application will be competitive so long as you keep that in mind.

While more work experience is typically better and makes for a stronger application, it should by no means be a deterrent from applying to programs now if you choose to do so. Experience can take many forms: from studying abroad to really focused internships. If you show yourself as having carved out a trajectory toward public service during your time in undergrad, then it will work in your favor when applying.

I would say your chances are good for all of the schools you applied to, but I think you know that already. The admissions folks will be aware of the difficulties in completing science and engineering degrees verses other disciplines. All of your other experiences further strengthen your application.

Columbia is indeed very stingy with aid. I would suggest doing three things if they do not give you an acceptable package. 1. Strongly consider deferring and lobbying them for more aid for the following year. or.. 2. Finding a different department in the university who would be willing to offer you an assistantship position. 3. Petitioning for a paid field placement. Likely one of the three will pan out. I lobbied for more non-loan aid and Columbia boosted it to over half my total tuition and fees for the first year. If you can claim financial hardship, then number 3 might be achievable. And as for number 2, a friend in another department managed to snag an assistantship that zeroed out his tuition. So if you are determined, then there is a way. You just have to be very creative. Good luck!

Like the Ford, Javits, JKC, OSI, FLAS, and so on? Those are to start, at least. I will list more once they come to me.

Very interesting look. Everything is so large on my screen now. But overall not bad. I also had to reset my password. For a minute there I thought I was going crazy. And a small note bgk, how about altering the drop down box in the profile edit section to include a blank option for people who are not in an application season!

I agree that this may be better suited under languages. I posted a response to your question there.

Are you looking to do a degree program or just language study? If you are looking to do language study, you might want to look into the Boren fellowship and the Critical Language Scholarship. The Boren carries a government service requirement and is already accepting applications. The CLS will be opening very soon. Another opportunity that may be able to net you a degree in the process is the National Flagship Scholarship for Arabic. All three opportunities are very competitive, especially with Arabic. So be sure to pull out all stops.

Contacting professors in masters level programs is not necessary, and in some cases discouraged. It definitely will not give you leverage in admissions, as it is the adcoms that will decide the applications, not the professors themselves. If it is someone who you have interest in, and would like some suggested reading lists, then maybe. But I would definitely not be contacting them about admissions related questions.

Instead of wading through the schools, you may want to stop first and ask yourself what you want to do with the degree. Different social work schools have different strength. For example, if you are interested in clinical, then NYU or Loyola will be good bets. Fordham is good for macro practice. Check out the NASW and CSWE websites. They have a list of all accredited BA and MA level programs. And another note, getting a job will not boil down to having a degree from a higher ranked school in the end. It will will depend on your ability to get licensed.

I know several people who went on to get another masters degree before going back for a masters in IR and policy, and at some pretty impressive schools at that. It definitely did not hurt their application. I would actually say it enhanced their application a bit. The intersection between international relations and policy, and other fields is becoming very important today. So people who are thinking along that route stand a strong shot of getting in to programs of their choice.