bgreenster

As Myrnist said, you really need to look at your other information. During my Peace Corps time, I knew some students applying to American universities and so I know a bit about applying as an international student. Seeing as how you have a TOEFL score (which is high, good job) I think it is safe to assume you are a foreigner As far as I'm aware, GRE scores are not as important for foreigners because the test is considered to be "biased" towards Americans. I have even heard that some places barely even look at GRE scores for non-Americans. This is because we have grown up taking this sort of test, whereas people from other countries do not. So, as long as your score isn't completely miserable, it shouldn't hurt you too badly. I don't really know the new scoring system, but I don't think your scores are bad for someone who speaks English as a second language. I am more concerned for you that it is now two weeks before some deadlines and you don't have a shortlist yet. From this post, it seems that you are rushing the application process, which could affect things such as your letters of recommendation and essays -- far more important than the GRE scores. Depending on your experience and strength of recommendations, I would cut out the very top schools and try to find which one has the specific track you want to study. Again, as Myrnist said; the area of study can make a big difference in which school is right for you. For example, I fell in love with the University of Georgia after my sister went there for undergrad and I lived there for a little bit, and they have a great public policy program... however, they really didn't have the international non profit expertise that I wanted, so I ended up not applying. So, for me, it wasn't good, but overall, it regularly ranks very high in national rankings for public policy.

I agree with what everyone is saying on here. I think I went over by a couple words, but otherwise tried to come in just under. Like jkt0319, I am not a big rule-breaker and feel that they give those guidelines for a reason and it's usually good to show that you can follow directions. That being said, you can always ask the admissions people. I went to an open house down at LBJ and they were saying that it was MUCH more lenient than the "3 page double-spaced" limit put on their website. I don't know about HKS because I'm not applying, but it never hurts to ask the person in charge of admissions, as far as I've noticed. I wrote a general SOP over the summer that covered everything I could ever really want to say. In it, I had paragraphs I would keep if given the space, but were also able to be taken out if not. This is what I sent to the people writing recommendations. Then, as I have been writing the specific SOPs, I take the relevant parts from that main essay and work it so that it fits with the individual prompt/length limit. I worked on that bigger framework essay for almost two months so that now I know that it is solid and I just have to put in details for each program and make sure they transition together. The only one this isn't working for at all is Georgetown, but that's because it's not really a standard SOP (for my desired degree) and asks very specific questions.

I decided to go ahead and say I wouldn't be able to attend if I didn't receive funding. I feel like I was just reading too much into it before, and so I simply went with my honest answer on the forms. I am not going to go to a school without funding unless it's absolutely necessary. I have an in-state backup school, so hopefully I'll at least get in there and if funding doesn't come through elsewhere, I could at least afford that option. I want this degree badly, but I really can't justify paying for a degree then to work for non-profits.

I've turned in 4 of 7, although thinking of cutting out one of them because I'm just so tired of applications! I had the awful realization yesterday that I missed a December 15 deadline, for a dual degree program. The way they had it was pretty confusing and made it seem like the dual degree was all due in January... turns out the one department has a due date an entire month earlier. Oh well, I'm taking it as a sign that I'm not meant to go dual right off the bat. I'm really just going to be thrilled to have this whole application process over with. I have been working on my statement of purpose since this summer, although some programs didn't release their prompts until practically October, meaning I had to wait to tweak my essay. Before this all started, I thought the waiting would be the hardest part, but I'm so drained with applying that I barely even care about the result right now. Oh, and almost none of my recs are in yet, so that's the current stress (like most others, it seems). My earliest deadline is Dec 30, though, so there is time.

Thanks, dude. This was exactly what I was looking for - not really sure why there is nothing other than "upload your statement of purpose"...

Hey guys, So I think I have decided to apply to Batten. I have emailed a bit with Howard as well, although still in the middle of finding out details. He has been encouraging as to the international nature of the program, and it already feels like the program is growing. In his email, he sent me some recommendations for which professors to look up, and one is actually directly in my desired field (working in advocacy for refugees, etc) The website is definitely getting more helpful, at the very least! I will post when I get more info, but I too recommend getting in touch personally. Howard is very easy to speak with, is very upfront, and I only wish I could make a phone call from out here so we could talk more directly! I'll be planning a trip to check out the program in November when I'm done here in the Peace Corps, and I'll keep posting on this as I get more information.

Agreed. The programs are all about wanting experience and not just kids straight out of undergrad, while making it more stressful for those of us who have done something since UG. I dig that they want graduate students who have proven themselves in the classroom, but I think my employers and colleagues could much better speak for my abilities and drive - it's not that hard to see who might take school seriously enough. (and believe me, I'm a MUCH better candidate and potential student now than I was 5-6 years ago). Luckily, one of my English profs just wrote back and is going to help me out, so I can stop having panic attacks (until the next oh crap! moment comes up)

I can't figure out how to edit a post with this new format, so just adding on... I got my AWA score - 5.5, which was a relief. Otherwise, currently flipping out because I'm having a hard time finding a recommendation from a professor. I'm really concerned I might not be able to get one, and I don't want to wait another year so that I can take BS classes in between just to get a random reference. I understand the idea behind these recs, but I feel that professional ones should be sufficient if you have been out of school awhile and aren't going into academia. Ugh, this is honestly what kept me from considering grad school previously - if only I didn't need a Master's degree!

Hey, I'm also a bit ahead of things, but I'll be finishing up Peace Corps late fall and don't anticipate having too much time to do things at that point, so am also trying to get as much taken care of now as I can... Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MGPS (dual with Latin Am Studies), MPP, MPA, MEPGA - hoping for PP with focus on International Dev and NGOs Schools Applied To: Texas - MGPS, Duke - Sanford, UMD - MPP, UVA - Batten, American - SIS (EPGA) Tennessee - MPPA Schools Admitted To: Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: Also waiting for those application forms! Undergraduate institution: UVA Undergraduate GPA: 3.2 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.3 Undergraduate Major: English, Spanish with Religious Studies minor GRE Quantitative Score: 700 GRE Verbal Score: 680 GRE AW Score: still waiting for score Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 5 (will be 6) Years of Work Experience: 5 Describe Relevant Work Experience: ESL teacher and volunteer abroad, Peace Corps Languages: Spanish, Azerbaijani, low-intermediate Turkish Quant: Took Micro and Macro in undergrad, but didn't do so well, so taking an online Micro course this summer/fall, also took 2 semesters of accounting Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Great professional, not so hot academic (didn't really get close to any profs back in the day) Other:

<br /><br /><br /> Then do it! If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me

I was a little bit surprised to read some of this. One of the things I like about Duke is that they have a concentration with Human Rights and Democracy as well as the standard Non-Profit coursework. Is this merely offered, without actually being very strong? I had the impression that it was fairly internationally-minded but you wrote that they're not big on international development. I'm not looking for straight-up development, but I am hoping to work for international NGOs that focus on developing countries, so this would be a rather important factor for me. You say it's for people that have a clear idea of what they want... well, I do actually know exactly what I want to do, but I'm not sure if that fits with the Duke program. Who do you recommend Duke for? Why did you choose to do it, and do you like the program? Personally, I don't want a policy/quant based program, which was another plus with Duke- I felt like it provided good practical hands-on training, not just analysis. I understand that you say social policy is their main thing, but is there anything else the program does well?

I've searched on this forum for a bit now, trying to see what kind of information there is about American, but haven't seen anything on this yet. The school has so many options, that it seems pretty darn overwhelming, and I'm having a hard time knowing for sure which program I should apply to. My deal is this: I have been looking at MPA/MPP programs, with a desire to go into Non-Profits with a focus on democracy/human rights in developing countries. I would prefer MPA because I'm not overly policy-minded although these days most "big name" programs tend to be MPP... At other places, I am applying to MPP or Global Studies programs, with concentrations on non-profit management and international development. Now, I'm looking at AU and thinking "holy crap, there are so many combinations of study at this place, what's a girl to do?!" Does anyone have any clear insight on what program is best for what? At the moment, I'm leaning towards SIS with a concentration on NGOs and development, since this seems the closest to what I want to do. However, right after I got all jazzed on this program, I came across the MPA, where I would likely do my concentration in International Management (and take Non-Profit classes and/or get the certificate). Any info or clarification would be much appreciated - thanks guys!

I'm a current PCV in the Caucasus region, finishing up this upcoming fall. Yes, the application process takes forever - it's basically the way they weed people out. In general, as long you clear medically, if you can make it through the wait and not give up on it, then you're in. This may be changing this year because the programs are getting cut back a lot due to funding being cut. I know my country is getting about 1/3 less volunteers in the upcoming group... so maybe it'll be more difficult starting this year? I think one thing I didn't realize while applying was that just because you're nominated for one region, doesn't mean you'll get an invitation for there. I was first supposed to go to Sub-Saharan Africa (where I wanted to go) then they called and asked me if I would agree to a Mid East/North Africa nom, which I did (and got super pumped for) just to get an invite for Eastern Europe. I turned down my first invite (to Ukraine) and although they freak out and act like you'll never get in for declining an invitation, I was then invited the following day to where I am. (Both of my invites were over the phone because I was asked right at the 6 week deadline for invitations). Moral of the story - make sure you'll be happy where you're going before signing off for 2 years. PC is both what you expect and not what you expect. It's not as fulfilling as you think it will be. Yes, it can be great, it can be very meaningful to you personally, but most of the time, you wonder if you're doing anything actually helpful and dealing with a lot of frustration. I'm TEFL in a village out here, and I can say that very few students can speak English any better than they could when I arrived, mostly because they don't actually want to learn it. The biggest thing of me being here is simply the cultural exchange, and having them see that there are other acceptable ways of living your life. Peace Corps is a wonderful, albeit frustrating, experience and I highly recommend it. However, I would say not to go into it with these grand notions of actually changing the world completely, and also don't go into it just because you can't find a job and think it's something to do for two years. There are many people in PC for the wrong reasons, and there is a lot of ET-ing (early termination). I'm hoping to be able to get a PC Fellowship, although I'm concerned with how competitive they might be (since it's not so much of a stretch for PCVs to want to get an MPP in International Development, now is it?) Otherwise, I'd say there are a lot of personal benefits from PC service - you really do learn a LOT about yourself, and what is important to you. Also, it never hurts on a job application to show what you were able to do during your service (although I'll be able to vouch more on that hopefully next year!)

Wow, loving the debate on here! It's further proof that there never is a simple answer to any problem, huh? Like in many cases, cross the board consistency would be best. It would be difficult for this to be useful or fair without a majority of schools applying it. There are just so many factors, especially in terms of making it fair for everyone. I agree that it could hurt the good students in schools with grade inflation - let's be real, how many of us knew about our future undergraduate school's grading before entering classes? It wouldn't be right for students at such schools to have their A's looked down on when they could have received the same grades in a school that graded more toughly. At the same time, it isn't currently fair if hard-working students receive lower grades for the same level of work, without that being recognized. I still think this is a better option (but I am obviously biased) and I believe that those stellar students forced to go to "lower" schools due to limited plausible options would still be able to stand out because they could get great letters of reference and their abilities could still show in the rest of their applications as well. I guess the same could be said for the current situation, but it's hard if a grad program has a minimum GPA and so you may not even make it to that stage where they're looking at your other material. I'm aware the min GPA thing isn't usually a real factor, but it still makes me worry sometimes that I won't get the same look-over because I don't have a 3.5. Also, many people say that admissions people are familiar with how tough certain schools grade, but I really have a hard time believing this is always the case. There are a LOT of schools, and while they may be aware of schools that are particularly known for lower or higher grades, I seriously doubt they know of all of them. Plus, it would be basically impossible to know which classes were difficult or not within that school. For example, at my school, Intro to Microeconomics was a weed-out class for students wanting to enter the business program so the grades were much lower in general than you would expect from an intro economics course (and this applies to many of the school's intro courses).

Good points You've nearly got me convinced to still apply, ha. I'm not sure about the snobbiness thing at Emory, although it is partly why I have avoided private schools myself. Not as a knock against Emory or the MDP program, but I don't think it is prestigious enough (in comparison to the Ivys and such) to make it that bad. Atlanta itself is not a very snobby place, although certainly not the same vibe as Austin. DC is definitely much worse, provided you aren't hanging out in the rich-people suburban areas of Atlanta I lived in Athens, GA for a bit, and so am slightly familiar with Atlanta. You can definitely find people of any kind in Atlanta - I personally like that it's still "Southern" since I tend to feel very uncomfortable in the northern cities (you can take the Southern girl out of the country, but not the country out of the Southern girl, and all that...)

Actually, I didn't realize it, in terms of seeing it and actually processing that. Thanks for the heads up I don't know about Tulane's program at all, but I do know some other ones leave you more available in the summer than Emory does, and so there is at least a possibility of earning some money during that time. With this being the case, I think some schools only show 9 months since the academic program doesn't run into the summer as much. This is more of a feeling than fact, though... I realize a lot of internships are unpaid, but some *can* be paid, while the Emory program's summer internship is basically set in stone. Granted, I personally really like that internship BUT it does make it impossible to work at all in the summer months, and your studies are basically year-round so maybe this is why they need to be sure they give the cost for 12 months? Either way, that private school tuition is a bummer. I'm only looking at Duke because I'm hoping for considerable funding. Without that, I won't be going. I wonder if funding will go up as the program becomes more entrenched at the school?

Well, I didn't plan on putting it in my SOP because to me, it sounds too gushy and not overly relevant. If I had to go through chemo or something, fair enough, but mono? Eh. I actually didn't retake the class because I didn't need it. After that semester I decided I wasn't going to go into business and became an English major

Ouch, so I looked up the program and almost wish I hadn't. It sounds really great for what I want to do. Love the summer programs where you get actual development work done, love the Rights, Ethics, and Governance concentration (exactly what I want to do!) and love that it's in Atlanta which is one of the places I've been looking at living due to Amnesty International having a regional office there (as well as other great NGOs). But that cost. I was thinking 60k for the whole shebang, with 10k a year in funding, which is rough but not terribly impossible. But 55k per year with only a possibility of that 10k... for a program that while awesome-seeming is yet unproven as it's so new? I just can't justify incurring that much debt to then go work in non-profits for the rest of my life. And seeing as how it's a development program, you would think that they'd realize funding is a big deal to us do-gooder wannabes that don't plan on making the big bucks. I can see why this is a tough decision for you man, I would love to do it if it weren't for the prospect of being in debt for a good part of the foreseeable future! I wonder how many people apply for those 12-15 spots...

Interesting. Skipxtracer, it sounds like you're looking into very similar programs as myself. The only difference is that I'm looking to go more into the democracy side of human rights than gender issues. Congratulations on getting in! After reading this, I'm definitely going to go take a gander at the program. The funding bit sounds like a bummer, though - I'm definitely aiming for as close to full funding as possible (but then again, who isn't?) Good luck making a decision. If anyone hears any more, I'd love to hear it

Ha, I thought the same thing. I don't make everyone else who gets into grad school show me their scores and grades (as much as I would LOVE to ) He probably doesn't feel like he has anything to prove, although I certainly share the curiosity.

Pseudo related: I have one W (WP, because my school clarifies on the transcript if it is passing or failing) which I know isn't a huge deal. However, it was a withdrawal from a calculus course, which is actually necessary for my intended study (MPA/MPP) but wasn't for my undergrad studies. I withdrew because I came down with mono that semester and couldn't make it to my calc class since it was at 8AM (who does that to people anyway?!?) I'm piggybacking off of this general question because I've been contemplating whether or not I should mention that I was sick with mono my 2nd year. My grades didn't suffer terribly, but they also weren't as good as they normally would have been, PLUS I dropped that math class. In general, do adcoms want to hear these kinds of explanations/excuses, and are Ws really that big of a deal?

I agree with all these points, thanks for such a well-put response! I love that you picked Shakira; she really is an example of a talented and well-meaning celebrity, and is by far my favorite. I think that is a good way to go about taking classes out of interest, it gets a little bit more difficult when you want to enroll and thus need to apply (and use your real name). I do believe that how Franco is going about things is ridiculous and haphazard. I don't know the details of it all, but I believe Yale was the first school he attended in this whole mess? In that case, I think they don't look foolish because there ARE celebrities that attend regularly and actually pursue the degree. However, the ones that follow and let him attend at the same time as he is matriculating elsewhere are a different story. I absolutely don't think what he is doing is the proper way to do things, and I agree because of his bizarre actions my example doesn't hold up to scrutiny, but I guess I can't get myself to care as much about what he is doing because I don't think it *actually* effects us or the educational system. If anything, it makes him look pretty sllly. I do still stand by my saying that he could be doing a lot worse things with his celebrity

<br /><br /><br /> Lordy, Mal83, the similarities continue. I am so incredibly stressed out about the LORs right now. I don't even want to contemplate what the deadline time is going to be like! In anticipation of this, I'm trying to get things taken of as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the rec forms aren't available until later this summer. One rec, also from my PC program manager is going to be great, although she needs to write it this summer because our trainees get in late September, school starts (I'm TEFL) AND my group finished up late fall. Needless to say, she won't have time at that point, so I'm messaging schools to find out when the applications will become available. Add to that, I emailed two professors - my advisor and the woman I interned with - about possibly writing recs for me and I haven't heard a response from either of them. It's been a few weeks, and I'm torn because I don't want to bother them and it seems silly to ask again in case they read it and chose not to reply, but also I'm finding it hard to believe that I am being deliberately ignored. However, I'm not sure who else I would want to ask! I have another professional reference who would definitely write one for me, but finding another academic one is beyond difficult. My undergrad was big and most of my contact was with TAs so my options are frustratingly limited. I understand the need for reference letters but I wish they weren't so danged important. If I were in the States, I would take a class and get to know a prof, but that's not an option while I'm still in the PC. Sigh....

Oof! That's rough, dude. My initial reaction, and please please please don't take this this the wrong way, is wondering if he feels that YOU aren't supporting his dreams? I'm not saying he is going about this the right way, but he is a guy and some guys (girls too, for that matter, but stereotypically guys ) have a hard time talking through their feelings. I know my guy does! I realize you're not telling him not to study, but just because he doesn't love it doesn't mean it isn't important to him and his career. I for one have made relationship blunders when I thought something was not important to my guy because he went about it quite differently from me and so I rather insultingly assumed I could just do what mattered to me. Oops. I can understand not wanting you both to be in school simultaneously. I know for my fiance and I, we are trying to time it so that one of us is always working, to keep it slightly less financially stressful. Yes, it makes us older when we finish up our education, but I'm getting kind of tired with the social obsession with age. I think we would need to know more about the background. Why doesn't he want you going to school right now? Is it because you can only find programs in other locations and he can't change schools? (I would say that his current school being paid for by his work is a valid reason to need to stay, but that's just me) Is it because he wants to be able to support you while you're studying? You say you've only been married a year- when did you decide you wanted to go to grad school? Was this something he has known about and only now that you're married has said no? I am not trying to take his side, and I know that's really not what you need right now, I'm just saying you may need to go about this in a way that shows you do appreciate how hard he is studying, that you appreciate how important his career goals are to him (even if he doesn't have the same priorities as you) in order to make any headway. Relationships are about compromise, and I know that I am having to take my guy's work and goals into consideration when choosing where to apply, particularly when it comes to location. I know it's hard to wait, but maybe you can make an agreement where you will wait if he agrees to be flexible about where you will study. In the meantime, you can take advantage of having three years to make yourself the most attractive candidate of all time for your dream programs. Speaking as someone who has had to postpone dreams: I get it, and it can feel like forever, but just make the most of your situation.