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I applied for China Fellowship-- I haven't heard a peep from anyone, except for that Boren application survey. So this is a bad sign, right? I should brace myself for rejection?

Cleo, as I said, my issues were very specific to the IRRN program and also somehow the poor relationship I instantly had with the Grad School Admin. I know people who applied to the Development program and I've heard good things about it. So really you don't necessarily need to be nervous, but I would say be prepared to do things on your own. For me, someone with little professional experience, the idea was too daunting. I need help to make connections and to get employment. I know I will have to work hard, but I can't do it on my own now, so I doubt I could do it on my own while studying.

I've debated whether or not I should make this post, but I feel that after visiting BU in person I must let other people know about my experience. Firstly I should say that I applied to the IRRN program and that most of my issues and reasons I'm not accepting BU is specific to the IRRN program. So as far as the IRRN program, if anyone is interested, it is in a great upheaval. The current head of the department, Elizabeth Prodromou, is leaving. Since most of the classes I wanted to take were all taught by her, this is a major problem. Also if you are interested in East Asia (as I am), the courses are seriously lacking. Now, my real issue came from the fact that the IR Graduate School Administrator was extremely rude and unhelpful. I asked him what job opportunities were like for BU graduates, and he was vague. They have no statistics, no information, no idea how their graduates are doing except for anecdotal evidence. Then, he told me, “However, considering your BA in Asian Studies, an MA in IRRN will make you much more marketable. Regional Studies are really considered ‘fluff’ degrees.” I was shocked because he was basically telling me that $100k of debt would be worth it to make up for my “fluff” degree. I didn’t point out to him that I double majored in English and Asian Studies, while pursuing both French and Chinese language, and that my total GPA upon graduation was 3.96. As I sat there, silenced by the shock of his rudeness, he said “Oh not to insult your degree or anything!” Damage done, sir, damage done. Then, when I asked him about internship opportunities, he said “Oh, well that is a weakness in our program, I must admit.” There was an awkward silence where we looked at each other. Then he said, “Students mostly figure that out on their own.” I met some IRRN students and they were smart, wonderful people. But for me, as person who wants to study religious minorities in China, this program is not going to work well. Secondly, I would have a great deal of trouble working with the current IR Grad Admin, who is basically your Academic Advisor, and we've already gotten off to a poor start. I’m not saying that IR school as a whole is bad, but I am just sharing the poor and unprofessional experience I had and the fact that the IRRN program is in a period of great change. So students considering the IRRN program should try to find out more details such as who exactly your professors will be.

When I first found out that I didn't get any funding at any program I applied to, I seriously considered deferring and trying again for funding. However, so far the only job I've been able to land is a terrible retail job where I earn minimum wage. The idea of retaking the GRE, re-applying, and waiting again, wasting another year scrambling for some sort of job and hoping that a school gives me $10k worth of money toward a $50k program just didn't make sense to me. I figure that once I've moved to DC I can look for a job, get on track toward my MA, and then if I land a decent job then I can go part-time and make a living instead of just subsisting on loans. It's a personal choice and it's not for everyone. If you have better options it might be wiser to wait.

I was told that my financial assistance is still under review. I guess this is better than "no" but it's not a "yes." I have to know soon because AU's decision deadline is April 20th!

OregonGal and ajl, thanks so much. My head has been reeling ever since I got my acceptance letters because whenever I try to crunch the numbers I start to feel overwhelmed. @OregonGal I'm also considering UC SD but I am also uncertain about going so far from DC and family (I live in NY). I'm also waiting to see if I get any funding. Still waiting to hear from BU about funding as well. I got absolutely nothing from American Unversity and I really don't want to go 100,000+ into debt.

I'm also considering BU! I hesitate because 1) haven't heard about funding yet and 2) it seems like a lesser known IR school? Is this true? Does anyone know if BU has a good reputation in the IR world? I am in the IRRN program, Intl Relations and Religions. Anybody else?

I was originally "wait-listed" and then I was sent information as how sign up for an interview. It took two days of calling constnatly to figure out what exactly I was going to interview for. Just now I recieved an email stating the following: What is going on with this school? I feel like they are all over the place and not well organized. I am so confused. Does this mean I am also some sort of "Provisional Admin"???

Now I feel a little nervous, because I chose the option B for the second essay and I focused on a real news story about a shooting in Amish country a couple years ago. I chose this subject because I've made it clear that I plan to pursue research on the issue of religions and politics, but the event itself did not involve policy. I focused on the extraordinary response of the Amish in that they attended the funeral of the man who shot and killed several of their young children. They openly embraced the shooter's family and many outsiders thought that their forgiveness was a sign of weakness and inappropriate. I want to puruse a career in human rights, especially concerning religious minorities and I was sincerely moved by this story. Now I wondered if I totally missed the mark for my essay?

The truth is, my background really does affect my approach to International Relations, but I haven't spoken of it much in my SoP and what not, because I've been on the fence about the issue. I guess I'm afraid of what happened to me in terms of my undergrad applications, which was basically what the article above talks about and I wish I had known such kind of discrimination was possible before. What do you think of the approach of not explicitly picking a race in the questionnaire but mentioning my background if it relates to my SoP?

Ah, what I meant was, especially since my minority half is Asian. My other half is white and thus, not a minority.

Hey all, I'm just wondering how other people are dealing with stating their race of their forms? I'm especially interested to know what multi and bi-racial people are doing. As a bi-racial, I'm conflicted about acknowledging any race at all. I claimed my minority background for my undergraduate applications, and I think that this hurt my chances. Especially since my other half is Asian, I felt that I was being compared to other Asians on some sort of achievement scale. Is it ok not to claim any racial background? Does it negatively affect one's application? Thanks.

Hello, I have found this list to be really helpful. It is heavy on American programs, but you can search for other nations. http://www.fpa.org/jobs/?act=schools_list Good luck.

Wow there is a really interesting debate going on. When I first found out about the SD IRPS program I did assume it would be a safety because I hadn't seen it on the big list, namely, the FP list of top schools. For myself, it sounds like a great program because I'm already determined to focus on Asia. Also, I'm in this for a career, not to become a professor or an academic. I got a glimpse of life in the ivory tower-- it's not for me. So I ruled out schools like HKS, WW, Yale, SAIS... I'm also less interested in quantitative theory. If we're talking about fame and fortune, how can you compete with those schools? I don't need to know who is the "best." (By the by, I was someone who was a little bitter after being rejected from those kinds of schools for undergrad. I met a lot of people who did go to those schools, and while some of them were amazing and gifted, others were schmucks. I've already done my soul-searching for that.) I want to know-- if I attend SD IRPS will I be able to find a good job afterward, or will I be stuck jobless in debt? Is the education worth the tuition? Are the professors passionate about their work, is the department flexible or rigid in policy? How well did your language skills improve, and what sort of financial aid is available?

Thanks, this helps me a lot! Sounds like it would be ok if I lived closer, but not enough for me to move across the country for.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this program? http://www.miis.edu/ Just looking for observations or first-hand experiences.

A job would be great, I've applied to nearly 20 jobs so far. I could try another 20 but I'm a little exhausted writing cover letter after cover letter, trying to convince people that despite my lack of working experience, my BA qualifies me to answer phones and write emails and manage a calendar of meetings for their company/organization. I don't know anyone else interested in an IR or MPP or any field like that. I studied humanities in college and so did all my friends. My profs, though they gave me good general grad school advice, don't have much specific advice for this sort of career path.

Thanks, I hadn't heard of it before and hadn't seen it in any ranking lists so I wanted to double check.

Hello all, Just wondering if anyone has heard of this program/went to the program/know something about it. I'm thinking of applying as "safety" school, obnoxious term, but it seems like a strong program if a little-less famous. Or it could be famous and I am ignorant. The link is here: http://irps.ucsd.edu/index.htm Merci~

Yes, I realize that my main problem is that my interests are sort of far reaching, and my ambitions great, but my specific ideal career path is vague mostly because I don't know what are the choices. I don't want to pursue academia because I want to be an acting agent in the world. My mind works in a way that is suited for PhD research, but I don't want lock myself up in an ivory tower. But I need some help in terms of what are the real-life options out there. If I come down to it, the most specific I can get is that I am deeply interested in the interaction between religion and government, even in secular governments, and then the rights and roles of religious minorities in societies. I'm also interested in minorities and immigrants, how they interact and are acted upon by the majority. I really would appreciate any clue in terms of what sorts of paths I should look into for a career so that I can better judge which programs to apply to.

I like Boston University mostly because they're one of the few schools to have an IR and Religion program. A lot of other schools seem to have centers for Religion and Politics, but not actual MA programs. That being said, BU tuition is so high, and they don't seem to advertise a rate of employment.

I'm also applying for Fall 2012, normal track, because I want more time to study for the GRE. I'm apprehensive about my non-IR and lack of economics background.

Dear all, Currently I'm beginning the process of applying to IR programs. I've been thinking about it for a long time and collected a lot of program names, but now that I'm actually applying, I'm questioning some of my choices. My top two so far are Fletchers, Boston University I'm also looking at: Goldman, SIPA, AU, and GW I graduated in 2010 from a small, public liberal arts college. My backgrounds is quant. deficient and I'm not as interested in the quantitative aspect of International Relations. After graduating I spent a year in Taiwan studying Mandarin. I'm interested in: Asia, Religions and Politics, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution In the future I hope to be involved in some capacity with East-West relations but I haven't been able to narrow it down further. Does anyone know of or have ideas of how I can focus my vision? Any ideas about career options with an Asia focus? I think that if I can really get an idea of what kind of career options I have, I can decide which programs would serve me the best. Any programs suggestions that I haven't listed? Any input would be much appreciated!

I'm interested in an MA combining IR and Religious Studies. So far I've only found two such programs, one at Washington State and one at Boston University. Anyone have opinions on these two programs? Anyone studying this now? Where are you? What do you think of your program and how do you feel about jobs afterward/what are your plans afterward? Thanks!

Hello All, I'm a recent college graduate. My major was English Lit and Asian Studies with a minor in Religions. At some point during my senior year, I realized that my dream of becoming an English professor did not actually suit me. BUT I still loved literature and happily finished my undergrad degrees and came to the conclusion that Intl Relations actually reflected my interests and life goals much better. Right now I'm in Taiwan to improve my Mandarin language skills. Ok background stuff aside, the point of my post is that my best writing from my undergrad studies comes from my senior thesis which was focused on Asian American literature. Can I use an excerpt of this for an IR grad program writing sample? Will they think I'm crazy? My paper discusses a lot of things such as race, immigration, and language but it's also about analyzing the works of literature I read. As of now I haven't prepared an excerpt for people to read but if you're interested then I'd email one to whoever contacts me. Thanks! -M