Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): International Affairs Schools Applied To: American University SIS; Texas A&M Bush School; Penn State SIA Schools Admitted To: American University SIS Schools Rejected From: Texas A&M Bush School Still Waiting: Penn State SIA Undergraduate Institution: North Dakota State University Undergraduate GPA: 2.92 (3.73 last 60 credit hour; had a pretty rough start) Undergraduate Major: Political Science GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 307 total. 150 quant, 157 verbal, 5.0 analytical writing. Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): <1 (May 2020 graduate) Years of Work Experience: <1 Describe Relevant Work Experience: Not much experience, but in December I started assisting a former professor with some unpaid research related to China's Belt and Road Initiative. I also started working at a law firm in January. Previous jobs were all food service. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Pretty sure mine were strong. I worked on them over a few weeks and really tried to understand what each program was looking for so my essays didn't sound too "cookie cutter". American stood out since they wanted 3 essays, plus an optional addendum (which I did). Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Didn't read them, but I think they were strong. One professor teaches international politics and the other teaches homeland security. I had my senior seminar with the first professor, so he was more familiar with my abilities. The second professor I didn't have as much rapport since I was a quiet student, though I got A's in both classes I took with him. A third letter was from my former boss at a coffee shop that I worked at for many summers. While this wasn't a particularly relevant job, he knows me quite well as a worker and A&M specifically wanted a professional reference while American had an optional third reference. Other: Definitely happy to get into at least one school, and American looks pretty good (especially with so many internship and job opportunities in D.C.). I was concerned at my low overall GPA, as well as a lack of substantial work experience.
