Mal83

I mean this particular forum, from what I've gathered, is dedicated to exposing scams and to report bad experiences in hopes others don't use that service/company (if you can call it that). So one of the main forum rules is that you are not allowed to post about good experiences because that means you either are a representative of that service or your advertising for them, yet thread after thread there is dedicated to procuring information on a so-called good essay/paper writing service. Students genuinely wanting to know which service they can actually get a good "product" from are all over the place, they are literally providing their email addresses so those from these services hanging around the forum can actually get in touch with them. There are so many of these websites offering papers and essays that claim to be based in the US or UK but they're really in Kenya, India, Pakistan, etc. so the papers, if they're done at all, are not written by native speakers of English and it's obvious. There is a very active and outspoken member by the user name WriterBeware, I'm guessing she started/owns the site, who is incredibly adamant about not allowing any advertising of any sort or the solicitation of clients by these services and gets quite defensive when she sees it, however, she does seem to come to the defense of one such service called "Essaytown.com" calling it a legit company and that any bad experiences with that one is the fault of the "client." There have been few users claiming that she actually runs or works for Essaytown...which she vehemently denies, who knows, but it is odd that that's the only one she's defended, everything else according to her is garbage. The whole this is bizarre and twisted really, not just this forum, but the idea that some of these services actually have gone and posted there justifying themselves by saying "it is against our policy for students to turn in our papers for academic credit, they are to be used as guides or models for their own work." This is outrageous for so many reasons. There are a number of "writers" on this forum who claim they manage to create completely original research papers in a few days and make tons of money doing it, just so students can use them as "guides." Right.

I started reading the threads on this particular forum, it's just insanity, the amount of trolling, spamming, bickering, and advertising that went on there, not to mention those who have expressed regret at paying hundreds of dollars for a paper that's been plagiarized anyway or not delivered on time. Someone payed 1250 pounds for a dissertation, he believed that the service would provide him with an ORIGINAL dissertation in 48 hours, of course it was not delivered, and then proceeded to express outrage what was delivered was not up to par. I couldn't even imagine being that desperate or foolish.

Strangefox, I read academic texts in the exact same fashion as you do. I have always been a slow reader, I too will contemplate what I've just read for a little while. It is very easy for me to get lost in that thought and loose track of time, I will kind of process the information by basically fantasizing a discussion about it, I don't force myself to do it that way, it just happens when I find that the information clicks. I guess because it's exciting that I just learned something. I'm also worried, I have a book to read over the summer for the first day of class in August, which I was happy about because it'll get my mind back in the game, but it's so dense and a bit tedious, there are some very thought provoking and fascinating points but I have trouble getting motivated to sit down and open it up. I have to take notes or else I won't remember any thing substantial about it by the time class rolls around, I get tired of reading this type of text after about 10-15 pages because I have to think about every sentence. I have to really push myself to get the book read in time, I'm starting to realize that I can skip a paragraph or page here and there so I'm hoping that I'll get better at prioritizing when it comes to reading.

Wow...there is a whole website/forum dedicated to researching and discovering essay and research paper services that are scams. People who start such services in countries like Pakistan and India claiming to be from the US who can write papers for you and charge 20-40 dollars a page! How anyone can use one of these service is beyond me...here's the link... http://www.essayscam.org/Forum/9/usatermpapers-com-new-scam-pakistan-1273/

haha, that's a good point, as if he feels that will someone how command more respect. If it was only the one test that he could have aced with his eyes closed he should have just gotten it done, according to him, he's so good it would have taken him less time to take the test than to slap together those absurd excuses in an email. Oh well...if it is a true story then I take satisfaction in a total douche being taken down a notch or two. That's what people like that need, to be refused every so often.

I know how you feel completely, no need to justify ranting and venting here. I was the same way with the mail thing, I hated Sundays too. Although, sometimes I looked at those days as a reprieve from the anxiety and anticipation of waiting for the mail. I figured at the very least, I knew that I wouldn't get a reject letter on a Sunday, sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. It's a mental battle for sure and the more important it is to you the harder it is. Once I finally completed all of my applications there was probably a modicum of relief for a few days and then that went away as the anxiety and need for instant gratification came crashing down on me. It's the same though for many applicants. I would drive home from work thinking that I could have something waiting for me at home, then I'd walk in and there was nothing, that was the worst part of the day. One of my schools released all of the decisions at the same time through email, well you get a message saying your decision is ready online, which is of course better than waiting for a letter in the mail and you don't have to wonder if the letters are being sent out according to decisions, like all of the acceptances go out first and then the rejections. All kinds of theories as to how schools do it start swirling around here because that's how anxious and desperate for information everyone becomes. That sucks that you have to do a pre-req but it's a small price to pay for getting in and pursuing the degree you want. For the school that I'm attending this fall, I submitted my application I guess the end of December, the deadline was February 1st, then I got my waitlist notice in mid-March, of course I was crushed, but the worst of it was that they told me I wouldn't know until the 3rd week of May...so at that point it felt like an eternity. I received an acceptance in the meantime but this other one was my dream school so I had to wait to find out, I wasn't going to just give up on it so I stayed on the waitlist, it all worked out though, I got in and I haven't looked back since. This is generally a terribly long and emotional process, this site provided a lot of comfort and support while I was going through it so keep reading through threads and talking to people here...it's definitely helpful and enlightening.

Hey I totally understand the complete and utter lack of patience thing, I have none of it. And the waiting for my decisions to come in was absolutely awful. As much as I disliked my job at the time, I was grateful to have it because it was something to do and it was one of the few things that actually took my mind of the whole process....a little. But just to put things into perspective, you guys with these extended deadlines will not have to wait nearly as long as those of us who applied under regular deadlines...back in winter and early spring, not that that makes it any easier for you, but the months of waiting really was torture for a lot of people, if you just comb this "waiting it out" thread for a while you'd see it. The extended deadline thing to me is just crazy, I guess if they made decisions on a rolling basis that would be OK, but it sounds like your particular schools didn't start the process until the deadline passed, but I couldn't imagine finding out if I was going to grad school only weeks before the semester started. My fastest decisions came only 3 weeks or so after a mid-March deadline, but I essentially had my application done for the other schools with much earlier deadlines months before so it didn't feel fast. Then another decision came in 6 weeks after, and then the longest was 2 months...2 months for a rejection. Of course I had my applications submitted much sooner then the deadlines so that added to the torture. But others were waiting even longer without a word from their schools, months and months. Just depends on the schools. Some schools give you absolutely no idea whatsoever where they'll get around to gracing you with a decision and others mercifully give you a time frame. One of my schools actually gave a "you will have a decision in mid-March" notice after submitting...so that was kind of them, but with the others it was just..."you'll find out when we find out." Anyway, you shouldn't have to wait so long simply because there isn't much time left until the semester...I would consider that a good thing.

I've actually heard it used in context the other day...it's Arabic for sand or dust storm I believe. I literally had no idea what that meant when you said it, but got it now.

I don't know exactly what a paid "review" service would entail and how they function, so I can't say if it's a positive or negative thing, I just think that paying for that kind of thing is completely unnecessary for obvious reasons. Aside from grammar and flow, it's not like anyone can tell better than you if your goals, interests, and experiences have been accurately expressed...so what you'd be paying for is beyond me. And if you're going to pay someone to write it you'd still have to express in great detail all of your relevant experiences, career goals, research interests and all of that, so I feel like if you can do that then it should stand to reason that you can write that down yourself in an SOP. Every so often someone who runs those services creates an account here and posts little one liners that have nothing to do with anything like "good luck, maybe you should try this really great service, I heard it's helpful" or "thanks for sharing your ideas" in multiple threads in hopes that you'll click on the link in their signatures which of course leads you to their "consulting" service websites. They're obnoxious and I report them immediately.

You're welcome! I think that your outlook will serve you well and will come through in your SOP, that's pretty important, George Mason is probably an excellent option...good luck to you!

Hi, I've just been through the process of applying for Global Affairs and International Development programs for Fall 2011 (George Mason, George Washington, American U)...I'll be happy to provide any assistance. Just PM me if you'd like or post in the Government Affairs forum. Don't waste your money, there's too much help and information right here for free.

My answer to your last question would be no, you should not nix the idea of going to grad school right out of undergrad. Your GPA is competitive and your quantitative (micro/macro) background is good. Your BA is a solid foundation for graduate study in anything IR related. Another strength is your foreign language proficiency. Your experience as a teaching assistant with a humanitarian org is worth a mention on your resume as well as perhaps in your statement of purpose if it at all helped to solidify your commitment to the field. The other jobs, if they're not related then no, they won't count for anything. I'd say that aside from no substantial relevant work experience your other weakness is that you don't have any academic study abroad experience. Traveling around Europe is nice but unless there was some sort of learning structure or you did something particularly relevant to the field then I can't say that would count for much. I mean it might be worth it to express how your travels served to excite you more about studying international relations because you were able to use the languages you've studied, talk to people there, read periodicals on current events written from their perspective...you know that sort of thing, sometimes you can work your experiences to your advantage even if they seem like they wouldn't count for anything. I would certainly incorporate your Model UN experience because like you said it helped lead you down this path, give a few details about what you did and what you found particularly exciting about it, the admissions committees want to see passion for the field aside from a description of experiences. You also want to express your career goals toward the end of the SOP and how a degree from that school will help you to achieve them, that's how they know you understand what you're getting into and it's a suitable match for your interests, which leads to the next point for the SOP, do your research on these schools. Look at everything on their websites, look at the curriculum, the faculty pages, and research/internship opportunities to be sure that the program is going to result in you being qualified for what you want to do. Clearly expressing your goals and interests that are in line with the program in the SOP is a priority. As far as the GRE goes, yes of course you want to do your best, but it's not one of the more important components of the application. If you end up with a score that falls in the range of the accepted applicant stats then you should be satisfied with it and move on. You can find all of the averages stats for your schools on their websites. You seem confident in your test taking skills so you probably don't have to worry about it so much. Concentrate on the other aspects, start thinking about who you will as for letters of recommendations, you might want to start putting out the requests next month, it's always best to ask sooner rather than later, I waited until October because I didn't know any better at the time, that was too late and I had to scramble for other options. It's very hard to say what anyone's chances are, but in my humble opinion you have a chance and you should put in your best effort to get in somewhere. You might also want to consider George Mason University, I would say that they're a touch less competitive then some of the others, but the location not far from DC is a real bonus. They have a Global Affairs program with a number of concentrations including global governance and they also have an International Conflict Resolution program if that's something of interest to you, but I believe that security or international law of some sort is a concentration option. Look in their College of Humanities and Social Sciences school as well as under their Public Affairs options. I had applied their myself and got into the Global Affairs program, although I'm attending George Washington for International Development. Have you looked into American University in DC? The Elliott School is very competitive, just to give you a bit of perspective, for Fall 2011 there were over 2100 applicants, they had 350 spots for all of the programs in the school. International Affairs is their largest and most popular. But look at the website, there's a lot of information there and the requirements are laid out in black and white. Even if you don't have everything, you should you should give it a try, you never know. GW was a bit of a stretch for me and I was admitted off the waitlist, my stats weren't as good as yours but I have relevant work experience (Peace Corps)..so it's all about the total package you present to the committees. I will tell you though that since your interests lie mainly in former Soviet Union/Eastern Europe (mine do as well) there are some very region specific courses offered at GW, which is something I even mentioned in my SOP, that I was excited to study under the professors teaching them because my interests are perfectly in line with their work. Not that classes on Soviet and Eastern European politics are unique to GW, but the ones being offered just struck me as exciting because they fit in so well with my desired concentration. Anyway, that's probably enough for you to digest right now...sorry for the rambling, I've just been through the process myself so it all just comes pouring out in posts like these...don't hesitate to ask anything else!

Yeah, I did pick up on that, and he may have a point there, however he doesn't need an advanced degree from a very expensive school..or does he even need one at all to make a living in his field? So going to grad school is probably not something that he has to do, it's his choice to go and if he chooses to do so then he has to pay for it like everyone else if the funding doesn't come in. But proudly declaring that you're going to intentionally cheat in a huge way is just not smart, as well as of course unethical. This isn't some scheme to "stick it to the man," keep a few bucks from the IRS, or tell a few white lies in a job interview, this is taking an incredible amount of funding away from someone who really plans on pursuing that Ph.D, this is conning an entire department into thinking he's there for one reason when his intentions are totally different, and it's stealing the time and investment from the school, professors, and advisers. If you know you only want and need a Master's then stay out of the ph.D arena, there are too few spots for someone to essentially steal one from an honest applicant. But the other point I was trying to make was that this is something that you keep to yourself so that there's no "evidence" of the plan to deceive, then you know for certain that no one would be the wiser, it was stupid to go on and on about it so callously. Sure it's pretty anonymous around here, but like I said, you just never know and why risk it? And if you can't even refrain from posting about on the internet before you're actually doing it then how can you keep up the act for a good 2 years?

Excuse you, suggestions for what? that's what's missing. What do you mean categorize? You put a few facts about yourself down and then a list of schools, what is anyone supposed to do with that? Are you asking about your chances? Do you want someone to go down that list and say which is a good school and which one is not? Don't you think you should do that? If you want someone to compare a few programs that you've already looked into and can't decide which is more in tune with your interests, that's one thing, people can and will be happy to help you with that. And judging by the -4 on your post, I'm clearly not the only one who thought of this as just another one of those posters who's not really serious and won't do their own research. And thus far you haven't gotten any real suggestions or advice due to how you presented your question and/or request. Think of it this way, it is hard enough for an admissions committee to decide to admit or reject you and they have your entire application package in front of them...you're giving us a few bits of background information, your GRE scores, and list of schools that you know of...how could we possibly tell you about your chances or programs that might suit you best?

See even if we leave the unethical, unfair, risky, and deceitful parts out of this whole equation, there's still the idea that you were ridiculous enough to actually not only post your plan on an internet grad school forum, but to boast and brag about it like no one has ever thought of it before. Sure, the users on this site are pretty anonymous, but you just never know who anyone really is, there are plenty of people here who are at the same school. There are all of those "meet and greet" threads and even in the field specific ones, you find out that at least a handful of people are going to the same schools. Someone just might put two and two together if you get cocky and divulge too much information, maybe it's not likely, but again there's always that possibility, because once it's out there, it's out there. If you're planning on lying, cheating, and stealing, at the very least be smart enough to keep it to yourself so no one can drudge up the "I'm going to cheat the system and be damn proud of it" thread you callously posted and get you into trouble. I'm not quite sure if you've picked up on the disgust factor that almost everyone has expressed, but the fact that you're trying to bring us around to this by having us think about you spending the money you'll save at a nice restaurant is disgusting. And if you have such little regard for academia you have no place even thinking about taking up space in any program.

Yes, abandoning the thread seems about right. No one is bashing you for your situation at home, if you glance back at your previous thread you'd see an outpouring of support from a bunch of strangers on the internet. But this one is different, I took issue with you complaining about the basic fundamentals of graduate school, I'd say you are bashing grad school, on a forum dedicated to being successful there. You just chose the wrong forum. Surely there are "we hate grad school" sites or blogs out there, find one of those and I'm sure you'll fit right in, you'll get lots of responses filled with complaints just like yours...or at least I guess so. But here, we're serious about our academic pursuits, which I think you must understand by now. So what you've posted is self-defeating, maybe you knew that going in, but trying to make us out to be the villains for taking offense to your post isn't helpful. You're not just venting about a single professor or a class that you don't like, your insulting the whole thing...the fact that you have to pay for it, the work, the curriculum, the grade requirements, and worst of all the "greedy pig professors." Again, wrong forum for that. The only redeeming quality you can find is the free coffee...that's sad. If you're going to bring up your mother and money troubles at every turn then how do you expect us to not become arm-chair psychologists? If you don't want that then leave it out of your posts...another idea is to find a forum dedicated to offering support for victims of emotional abuse, at the very least you'll talk to people who are actually going through what you're going through. I bet a quick Google search will provide lots of options...and if you say you've already done that and didn't find anything I'll know you're really gone...good luck to you.

I feel like the people who post in this fashion for their very first post, are the ones that just don't come back to read the responses anyway or if they do they don't respond because they don't see what they're expecting to see. They probably post the very same thing on lots of forums and see if anyone out there will do the work for them. Sorry, but saying "I wrote a paper and I'm interested in this," then throwing down a huge list of schools and expecting someone to "categorize them" in some way is ridiculous.

This is what the OP does though, starts a post about something intolerable just to see if anyone else out there will feed into it. I mean I need to vent and complain just as much as the next person and I do when I'm in the appropriate company, as in people who are going through the same thing or to friends and family who might be sympathetic enough to just listen and offer a little encouragement. But to come to a forum that's dedicated to all things grad school and whine about the most basic fundamentals of your institution and program is a little self defeating. There's not much sympathy for the "I didn't know how much this would cost, how long it would take to earn the degree, or what classes I'd have to take" thing. And the OP has yet to answer my question of "how could that be?" I don't really buy it. And what's even more off about this is that the poster has no intentions of changing a single thing about her situation, none whatsoever. There's no "hey, maybe I'll think about that or give this a try" every response from the poster is just another excuse as to why she can't do this that or the other. No matter what, someone somewhere is keeping her down. Her previous thread was brimming with support and empowerment but eventually it turned into frustration because like I said, every response from her was nothing more than, "I can't do that because..." Just Me, if you're looking for nothing more than "oh yeah, I hate my program too" then this just isn't the forum for that. I'd say most of the users here really enjoy grad school and are happy to be doing what they're doing, hence the mostly positive atmosphere. But for those who feel like the program is not the right place for them or there is a major issue they're not sure how to handle, they come here seeking advice in order to change it for the better. Everyone in grad school is an adult and we all know that we are the only ones who will do the right thing for us. So at this point in your life you should not just be sticking it out with something you hate to the very core, especially since it seems like it won't even result in something you can really use. And since you've chosen to just keep going through life this way, it's not ok to go around pretending that your school is somehow the monster taking advantage of you or your greedy professors convincing you stay so they can squeeze every penny out of you. It's kind of insulting to those of us who dream about grad school and worked really hard to get in somewhere, at least to me it is. At some point you should realize that the only person who will come to your rescue is you.

This is kind of like complaining about a newly elected president when you didn't vote, if you don't do your part to change something you have no right to complain about it...ya know that sort of thing. Just try to remember that the school and the professors are not forcing you to be there, you're allowing your mother to dictate your actions, it's not their responsibility to tell you to leave the program, that choice is actually YOURS to make. Even if they did, would you actually do it? Not likely, so what's the difference what they say, how much money they make, and how many people end up at Blockbuster or McDonald's after graduating?

If you don't want to disclose your actual scores you can say "I got less than a ____" or something like that in order for us to better advise you. Like Eigen said, the word "abysmal" is subjective. It might not be as bad as you think.

Personally, I think it would be a waste of time and money. What if you do worse or only a little better than your second score? I feel like the admissions committee would consider three attempts a little odd. Don't forget that your score report to the school will include all of your scores from the last 5 years on there. You have nothing to worry about with your first score. Even your lower score is very good. For professional degrees in this field the other components of your application are more important. Your SOP especially. Celebrate your great score and move on to the rest of the application.

well look, I think you must have some idea of how this all sounds to people who are serious and committed to grad school. The idea that somehow you got through the entire application process without knowing things like length of program, tuition costs, and financial aid is a little incredible. You have to have been to the school's website in order to do the application and you're saying that you didn't even stumble across any of this information during that time....or that you didn't even think you should know those things, I mean really, how could that be? Your school isn't giving you the loans for a reason, you just didn't press them into giving you an answer. Perhaps you've reached your borrowing limit. But these superficial complaints that you have are not really the issue, from the other thread you posted a while back it's clear that it's more that you just don't want to be going to grad school and that your mother is forcing you. You're also completely committed to sticking it out and not make any changes whatsoever to improve your situation in anyway because as you've said, it's just easier to keep going the way you're going. If you've decided that you will not make any changes or stand up to your mother than what's the difference if you're in grad school or not? If this is your mother's plan for you and you're relinquishing control of your life to her than just let it ride. If you were able to finish the degree sooner, she would just have you move on to something else you don't want to do, so go with it and take comfort in the fact that you don't have any responsibility whatsoever for your own life, choices, or future. A lot of people responded genuinely and sincerely to that thread of yours to try to help you by offering a lot of ideas on how to get out, but you decided to not consider any of them and here you're expressing a deep seated dissatisfaction for what you're doing but have made it clear you're just going to stick it out, which is a choice you've made. I'm sure many people find that their program isn't as magical as they hoped it would be, but they think it over, seek advice, and either change their situation or their mindset so they can move forward. You're set on not changing anything. Now I do feel for you but complaining about grad school only for the sake of complaining about it on a forum that celebrates it isn't going to get you much sympathy.

Hmmm, see I definitely would send one of those, like your CV, if you have something relevant to add to it. If you really rework your SOP and believe that you've communicated your goals and interests more clearly then I suppose that would be a good thing to send her so she could tell if that's more in line with the program. Not so sure if the GRE would be helpful, but I really think that if you're making significant changes and you have a line of communication open with her then you should take advantage of it. Wait though until you're really satisfied with the finished product, I would choose one, either the SOP or CV and send it only once, anymore than that and I think that would be getting a little pushy.

So are you saying that you didn't know that it would take 3 years to get the degree, how much tuition would cost, the financial aid situation (which sounds odd, how would you know you were eligible if the school wouldn't accept a FAFSA?), the classes you'd have to take, and that you'd have to maintain a certain grade in your classes before accepting the offer to go to this school? If this is the case then...wow, not sure that complaining is in order. As for the not having a job thing, it doesn't matter if it's grad school or another arena, you will always see people who you don't think are as good as you advancing in ways that you might not think they deserve, but that doesn't effect your chances of moving up too, or at least it shouldn't, you could be amazing at what you do but if you don't get out there and present yourself in the best way possible it will never happen for you and all of the people who have crappier skills than you will be getting those jobs. I know first hand that's it's frustrating, everyone these days knows how hard it is to get a job and it's easy to fantasize that people who don't deserve the jobs are somehow stealing them from you, but that's really not the case. Why would your major have to be set up so you can quit and comeback? Do mean like taking a semester off? I don't think that programs are designed to readily accommodate those who decide to quit in the middle of them. And if you withdrew from the program now are you saying that you would have to start from the very beginning if you decided to go back at some point? As in they wouldn't accept any of their own credits? That's even if you were accepted back, not sure how that works. I'm sure everyone needs to vent and gripe about certain aspects of their programs every so often, but this seems like a serious dislike of the entire structure of what you're doing and a deep dissatisfaction with the institution you're doing it at. That won't change unless you make some serious changes in your mindset or life in general.

I'm not sure where a research paper would fit into the application for IR programs. Even if you could submit a writing sample I don't think the admissions committees would actually read an entire paper, there is usually a length limit. Your SOP should be sufficient. Especially for GWU, the application to the Elliott School does not require a writing sample and the instructions explicitly say that your SOP is enough. There was also no room for a writing sample on the AU application, it could have been an option but I know it wasn't required. There are a lot of components already to the application and I would really concentrate on them rather than writing a research paper that probably won't get read. It's considered bad form to submit extra materials that are not even mentioned in the application instructions. Just to give you a little perspective, for the Fall 2011 admissions cycle, The Elliott School of International Affairs at GW received over 2100 applications, I can say with quite a bit of certainty that no one on that committee was reading research papers. I would make sure that you take the time to really write a solid SOP, you will have to make it clear that the program is a good fit for you by relating your experience, education, and career goals to what you want to study there. How have these things prepared you for graduate study? Being that IR is a professional degree, you will want to make sure that you communicate what the degree from that school will do for you, basically what do you want to be qualified to do? I went so far as to name a few organizations I'd like to work for. Is there a specific area of IR you want to specialize in? If so, you should mention it in the SOP. The committee will see from you transcripts that you were a good student and have produced fine work so really what they're interested in is how well you communicate your reasons for pursuing an IR degree, how your experiences have prepared you for it, what you might be able to bring to the table (as in perhaps a different perspective on IR being from India, something like that), and what your career goals are. That's how they know how prepared you are. I mean if you come across a program that requires a writing sample then that's one thing and of course you'll have to create something, but I don't know how often that will come up, I only applied to 3 schools. Hope that helps, don't hesitate to ask anything else.