raychurr

I went to U of C for undergrad and lived with a load of CIR students last year. Just wanted to drop in and let y'all know that the U of C and IR are academically intense and not very practically focused. The heavy workload and hellish weather can be really demoralizing, and classes can often pop up or be cancelled within days of the start of the quarter. The place is also crawling with people ranging from socially incapable to borderline insane. That said, congratulations for getting into the program. You'll definitely come out smarter than you went in. (A couple of my friends just accepted offers for PoliSci PhDs at Yale.) Just be ready to get your ass kicked if you accept the offer.

Thanks FSIA, I have not taken econ or stat and there is very little solid proof that I actually know how to do anything with numbers so that's a great idea.

I know this is a weird time of year to be posting this question, but can someone help me decide which IR MA programs to apply to for Fall 2012? I have heard a bit about most but am mostly ignorant to the strengths and weaknesses, selectivity, etc. of each program. Beyond what they claim on their sometimes labyrinthine websites I have very few resources. The program I'm looking for: is more practical than academicincludes or will be very helpful in incorporating a practical element (internship or work experience)starts with the basics of IR theory–my BA is in the humanitieswill be cool with the fact that my BA is in the humanitiesgives pretty good financial aid packages (obviously the more the better)is highly regarded and/or will leave me with a really good professional network About me: hope to eventually join the US Foreign ServiceBA in Comparative Literature from the U of Chicago; 3.6 GPA with departmental & college honorstook the GRE in December 2009 (V 720 Q 550 W 5.0) but didn't study then and could probably improve my scorescurrently on a Fulbright year in Austriavery little social sciences courseworkfluent in German & conversational in Italian Thanks!