InternationalStudent

This is terrible advice. If your professor told you to write your own letter they trust you enough to let you include anything you want. Obviously they'll have to sign off on it at the end so you can't make stuff up but this is an excellent opportunity to have a letter that you know will be stellar, take advantage of it. The main danger about writing your own letter comes from the letter being too evidently in your own voice but just get someone you trust to write it for you with your input.

In the US it's easy, HKS and Princeton, with maybe SIPA and SAIS as distant seconds? But what are the top government affairs programs (can be anything, really: MPP, MPA, IR, whatever) in Europe? I can't think of any particular one that stands out over the others...

Just want to pop in and say that I wasn't specifically referring to US master's degrees in my OP. In fact, if you think it's significantly easier to stay in another country post master's degree I'd be happy to hear of some options. Also, I definitely won't be applying to any programs in the US if Trump wins in November.

Aren't they incredibly career focused and well funded? I think the quality of their teaching matters very little as long as those two factors are top notch.

For some background, I studied political science in the US as an international student (from a middle income/developing country) in a well known school in the field. The end of my OPT and my inability to secure a visa sponsorship was, honestly, a traumatic experience for me. I had lived for half a decade in the US and had a network of friends and a relationship there and it was pretty painful to have to leave all of that. Now, three years later, having obtained some experience working in policy (from the private sector) in my country, I'm read to apply to grad programs. But every program I look at feels like a huge gamble. I don't feel like I can attend schools like SIPA or HKS because their programs don't have STEM designation and I would just be reliving my experience with OPT. They wouldn't help me land jobs in my country that I can't already get, as private firms are small here, public sector jobs are entirely dependent on networks, and I missed that boat by doing my undergrad abroad. So I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. Knowing that the absolute worst outcome for me would be having to come back to my country to work, probably at the job I'm already at (which is great for my age and level, but potential for growth is limited), what could I apply to that would give me the best chances to stay abroad? In the US or elsewhere? I feel like MPPs and MPAs don't give me too much security.. should I apply for MBAs? My GRE scores are close to perfect and my GPA is decent. I also have a math minor. I know stuff like international development is easier to access if you have technical skills, like engineering/economics/etc but I feel like I can't apply to those programs. Idk, it seems like studying politics/IR pigeonholed me into a position I can't get out of...