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Does anyone have a useful template for requesting more financial aid? Or any helpful tips for starting? Especially at a school that didn't originally offer aid? Not sure where toe even begin with this, so would really appreciate the help.

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MSFS, MALD, M.Sc.Schools Applied To: Georgetown SFS, Fletcher, OxfordSchools Admitted To: Georgetown SFS, Fletcher ($$) Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: OxfordUndergraduate Institution: Top 15 U.S. universityUndergraduate GPA: 3.88Undergraduate Major: Political Science and History, dual majorGRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: N/AYears Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 1 year, plus a competitive language scholarship in my final yearYears of Work Experience: ~2.5 years (counting part-time research assistant positions and full-time internships and summer employment - Describe Relevant Work Experience: 1 year full-time post-grad, including 4 months working for a small NGO (not in international relations) and the rest of the time interning and then being an R.A. in an IR think-tank. 3-month internship for an NGO in the Middle East and 3-months in a state economic development agency working on local issues. Part-time RA positions in poli-sci labs doing varied levels of quant. analysis and qualitative research. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Overall, I think they were fairly strong and I got multiple rounds of feedback from friends and a little bit of advice from colleagues. Rushed the MSc. application and didn't notice a pretty obvious typo. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Submitted three to each school and they were pretty strong. Two were from professors in undergrad and I gave them all my SOP, my resume, and held a meeting with each one to discuss my interests and why I was applying. Another from a supervisor at the think tank who could write about my professional abilities. Other: I didn't have the econ classes (micro or macro) required to matriculate for the MSFS program, so I will be completing them over the summer. The only real quant. experience I had was performing statistical analysis of survey data as an R.A. in undergrad.

No mention of funding in my letter either...... Not sure if that means there was no funding given or if it comes later, my guess is that it's the former.

Does anyone have any tips on the financial aid appeal process? I got in with aid but likely not enough for me to attend.

Applying to: Georgetown MSFS, Fletcher School MALD (Submitted for Fall 2021 intake) Degree: Political Science and History from a top 15 U.S. university GPA: 3.88 – one quantitative course on poli-sci survey research with experience in STATA but no other quant. heavy courses. I got a prestigious government scholarship to study a critical language for a year abroad. Out of College for: 1 year Work Experiences: 3 years’ total work experience. 1 year out of undergrad spent working 4 months full-time for a small NGO and the rest of the time interning for a top D.C.-based think-tank; I was recently promoted to a research assistant there, but it didn’t make it into my resume although I knew about it ahead of time (one of my LOR hinted at this but didn’t say so explicitly). Interned for 3 months at an NGO in the Middle East and 3-months for a U.S. state development agency. 1.4 years part-time experience working as a research assistant at poli-sci labs in my university doing quantitative analysis of survey data and writing it up. GRE: none (this is what worries me, honestly) SOP: I think it’s fairly strong—I’m from a small town and connected my interest in international development to my interaction with NGO work and civil society growing up in a struggling U.S. region. I drew on my experiences abroad working and studying in the Middle East. LOR: 3 recommendations, two from history professors that I think are very strong (I met with them both individually and gave them a lot of information on what I wanted to do, and they read my SOP before writing) and another from a senior staff member at the think-tank I intern at. Other: I am most concerned about my lack of quantitative academic background and my lack of GRE score and wondered if that would be mitigated by a strong statement of purpose and good recommendations / experience doing policy research and analysis of survey data. Thanks for the help.