ajollycossack

As a law student, I think this is big (along with having some sort of discernible quant background). LS admissions are very "congrats, you have two numbers that look good on our statistics for US News rankings, you're in." That doesn't fly in actual policy programs.

Accepted to Chicago CIR! Anyone else here?

Ooh, can I ask how you know this?

Me! I'm a grad student in a different division here applying to a joint-degree program. I submitted way back in September or October, have essentially forgotten about ti for six months... and now the anxiety has returned and I just want to know which school's classes I'll be taking next year.

I'd also advocate looking at things you can do online. I had a semi-similar situation (I had been working full time in DC, and had to move home to Denver, actually, to help out with some family stuff). Before I left DC, I set it up so that one of the jobs I was doing I could do remotely. Obviously, that doesn't work for everything, but you may be able to find some interesting things to put on your resume that way. I also started studying a new language with all the free time. As said above, take advantage of the universities in your area. If you're going to be home for six months before you can consider taking a job overseas, I'd also look at public service stuff in your area. I'm personally of the opinion that, at least for a lot of grad schools, volunteering, interning, or even short-term working in public service can make you really stand out. Interning at local government agencies or advocacy/charitable groups can also be incredibly interesting, get you employer references, and demonstrates "real world" experience to an extent that research positions don't. The French speakers I knew in Denver would volunteer with the local African/Francophone immigrant population--anything like that in NC? Or, given your interest in public policy (idk what kind), working someplace like a DA's office could both bolster your resume and give you insight as to what kind of work you want to do. tl;dr find local public service options.

If it makes you feel better at all, when I was applying to law school, one of my LOR writers--arguably the most important one, both a big-name scholar and my thesis adviser--just never turned the letter in, after months of promising he would. Still got in pretty much everywhere I thought/hoped I would and then some, just had to learn the hard way not to ask him for any help on my MA application. (The reassuring part was meant to be that it might not necessarily hurt you!)

Howdy all. I'm going to eschew the questions because I'm in a weirdly narrow situation--I'm only applying to one program, the 1-year MA in International Relations at UChicago, as part of a joint degree program - I'm already a grad student here. I submitted back in September because, you know, classes started then. So now I get to hang out until March, I guess. So yeah, if anyone's applying to/excited about Chicago - hi!! I'm really excited about the chance to potentially get some great formal training in research and putting together a potentially-publishable paper; I met with one of the program preceptors last week and had a great chat about that. I'm very much hoping that the fact that I'm already enrolled at another division here at the University helps with admissions. (Though if anyone has any numbers on Chicago CIR...)

^sounds great! I'll PM in just a bit.

Hey all - would anyone be willing to read a (mostly complete) first draft of my statement for an MA program in International Relations? If yes, I'm very grateful and will PM it to you. Thanks thanks thanks!

OK. Thank you for the reassurance. I could try and reach out again, I just feel like the chances of him actually following through are about nil. I know the professional recommender will definitely go to bat for me, though.

OK, long story short--I know you are supposed to have three academic LoRs, and I'm only two years out of undergrad, so honestly I should just have three academic LoRs. My issue is that one professor, who has promised me a letter in the past, just doesn't deliver. And not just any prof, my thesis advisor, whose classes I took for half of college (a very "abstracted professor" type). I applied to law school this past cycle (I'm going for a JD/MA this upcoming year), and despite repeated promises to upload a LoR, he just... never did. After about six months, I gave up. I don't want to try asking him again, both because I don't want to be a letter down at the last minute, and because I'm still pretty upset, to be honest. I have two other academic letters, from reliable people, but I'm wondering if it will hurt me to use as a third letter someone from my office, who is sort of a "big name" in the relevant field. He also wrote me a letter for law school (he stepped up at the last minute when Space Cadet never turned his in). Will this really hurt my application? Should I start reaching out to professors I don't know very well to see if they're willing, just to get that 3? Input appreciated--thanks very much. And sorry if this has been asked and answered anywhere, I haven't been on GradCafe in a couple years.

Can't wait to speak at an info session about Fulbright tomorrow, still not knowing my status... woo! Will be able to tell all the prospective applicants my tale of woe and misery.

apologies, I am being too Russo-centric Georgia sounds amazing, and you'd definitely eat better than those in the cold, hard north.

Also a Russkie applicant, yea? I'm looking at last year's date of the 11th, trying to be optimistic we'll hear a little earlier...

You are completely right! I tried actually reading the website, gasp, and found it. Thanks very much.