beaverish

....

i'm dying as we speak. 1 week out from thesis being due. i can't imagine doing anything remotely intellectual this summer, i'm so desperate to rot my brain after this...

i'm an american doing undergrad at LSE. i got admitted to this program... i can tell you that at least from LSE side, it is no cash cow. the professors are extremely legit. any questions just PM me. PS over 140 people applied for 20 places, so it's at least highly competitive.

i know this has been asked before - and most people seem to not have held down jobs or 'work experience' -type placements. was wondering if other people would be willing to share... does anyone have any advice for how to spend the summer before grad school (masters)? i'm in my last year of undergrad, feeling burnt out by thesis-writing and course work. i'm going to be attending a program in the fall that is allegedly pretty intense, as it's on the quarter rather than semester system and involves a thesis as well. should i take it easy this summer? or should i use the opportunity to get some relevant work experience, or, say, volunteer doing something productive?

does anyone have any advice for how to spend the summer before grad school (masters)? i'm in my last year of undergrad, feeling burnt out by thesis-writing and course work. i'm going to be attending a program in the fall that is allegedly pretty intense, as it's on the quarter rather than semester system and involves a thesis as well. should i take it easy this summer? or should i use the opportunity to get some relevant work experience, or, say, volunteer doing something productive?

i see you made up your mind. you picked what i would've picked. best of luck

eh, you're into chicago and columbia, you can't possibly go too far wrong with either one.

mearsheimer is gone?!?!?! it says 'Tentative List' at the top, although you're right, it could be a harbinger of things to come...

nonsense. chicago's distribution requirements are extremely light, compared to for instance JHU SAIS (half of your degree in the latter has to be econ courses, regardless of you not having an iota of interest in economics or not). CIR requires you have to have 3 courses in 2 disciplines - e.g. (1) international security and (2) regional studies - and that's it. so you could concievably take 5 courses in regional studies, 3 in a second area, and then the 1 core seminar...

Yeah, me neither - I too am a college senior, though in the UK (I'm an American). I also had high stats, fantastic recommendations, fluent Chinese... guess time to take a couple years out & re-apply

not me... i have it stored somewhere in my brain that hopkins and/or SIPA are sending their things out today but no word yet for me so...

another pleasant day of waiting... has anyone heard?

i'm going insane, literally checking my email about 100+ times a day even though it's saturday

yay me too! i hit the roof when i got the email, it's been so tense sitting and waiting and hearing nothing from anybody for so bloody long. it sounds like you got a full tuition scholarship - that's very impressive! i got 1/3, which definitely sweetens the deal... am waiting to hear back from a bunch of places but right now CIR is looking very attractive. also for the record you can do a 2 year program at CIR, so-called 'second year specialization' in which my impression is your second year is primarily devoted to expaning on your original MA thesis. and finally, i am also a history major

can't wait to hear back! just got my first acceptance

uncertainty is so difficult to cope with

Would it be a good idea to contact professors at graduate schools that you are applying to to, for instance, inquire about the grad program, their classes, or just generally to build a rapport? Is this a common practice or is it regarded as brown-nosing?

i am also wondering about the impact of taking 0 quantitative courses in college on one's chances of admission. according to the various admissions departments it seems to be possible to count online and community college economics courses - as long as the institution giving them is fully accredited - but i wonder if it would be better to pay the money and take them at a legit bricks-and-mortar university?

hey! i don't know about anything else, but at least your grades are up to par. most LSE masters programs - and british grad programs in general - require a 2:1 or upper 2:1 in the british grading system for admission. a 2:1 is a 3.4 GPA, and an upper 2.1 would be somewhere between 3.4 and 3.7... a first would be equivalent to a 3.7, so in the unlikely event that LSE require a 1st degree, your grades would still probably be fine. here they call for "a first or upper second"... you're fine, grade-wise http://www2.lse.ac.uk/study/graduate/enquirer/entryRequirements/home.aspx

thank you! i appreciate the reply! yeah i assume the history track at sais especially would be less competitive than the various econ/finance ones... one can only hope anyway

thank you so much! i took a look at the website and will be applying to CIR. i definitely want a more IR-theory focused degree rather than a purely "practical" one and chicago looks like it offers precisely that...

...nobody?

anyone? i would definitely appreciate some input... i realize i am a pretty unique applicant. my main question is whether the unique strengths of my application (living overseas) balance out the weaknesses (lack of work experience)...