riz1

It appears that more and more, MPP/MPA/IR/government schools are looking outside the government for candidates. A well-rounded class that can offer a diverse set of perspectives and enrich the total learning experience is very valuable, and it seems schools are looking at the non-profit, education, government and private sectors equally. I don't think you have to be the director of a humanitarian aid group or run an IGO to be a competitive candidate. If you did the Peace Corps, or were a teacher with TFA, or consulted in the non-profit or education sectors, you'd be solid. Even if you have a plethora of private-sector work, you can get in -- but your statement of purpose (SoP) in that case will have to be really tight. Analysis work with a think tank, research with an academic institution, finance or investment work in developing countries (even if you were sitting on Wall Street) -- all equally unique.

When did you graduate? I ask because WWS, from what I can see, typically takes a slightly older class, where min age is around 27-28. I have a friend on the HKS adcomm who told me the age range there also saw a trending shift upwards by a few ticks this past admissions cycle. I think SIPA's typical min age is around 25, about the same as Fletcher / Elliott / MSFS / etc. MPA and MPP schools do take people out of the private sector -- but you'll need to be very clear and convincing in your SoP when discussing why you want to switch into public / government sector. I had no professional experience outside of private sector when applying to grad school, but I made an honest and convincing case as to why I needed to make the switch. With a less-than-stellar quant background, your chances of getting into HKS might be hurt, even if you do score over a 700Q. Hopefully, though, the classes you're gearing up to take now will help offset that. Good luck!

Sounds pretty competitive for Fletcher. Can't speak too much to SAIS or GTown, but HKS might -- just might -- be turned off by the low V score. What have you been doing for the government these past couple of years? Out of curiosity: are you Chinese? I'm trying to piece together the "two dialects of Chinese" bit and how impressive the AdComm would find that.

I find there are too many to read and not enough time to read them all; therefore selectivity is key. Reading online helps most: Huff Post, The Atlantic, the Economist, and blogs on FP.com and ArmsControlWonk.com. I also look for articles that are relevant to what I study (nuclear disarmament), so email news services like Global Security Newswire (NTI.org) and the Carnegie Endowment are fantastic too.

Great person to answer this question is Cornell07. I'll reach out to him, as I haven't seen much activity from him on this forum. Then again, school has just started and he's knee deep in Yale MA/IR courses ...

And you haven't taken the GRE yet? It seems your basic credentials are quite solid, and your work experience in a nutshell is impressive. Assuming your standardized test scores are competitive, and your letters of recommendation and personal statement are polished, you stand a pretty good chance! Best of luck!

Can you share with us what you want to study in grad school and what path you intend to take after getting your degree? Thanks!

Yes, I did receive some funding -- but every school is different, and the bulk of Fletcher's scholarships and grants go out in small increments to many people, as opposed to just a few people in the entering class getting close to a full ride and everyone else getting zilch. Annual tuition at Fletcher is about $35k, and I didn't get anywhere near that amount in funding -- really more of a goodwill gesture, I feel -- but in the end what I did get was better than nothing.

I know of SOAS! A friend of mine from UK studied there and loved her experience. Why do you ask?

Seems most i-dev schools look for a strong quant background -- and your GRE Q score may not reflect that very nicely. One year abroad is good, but out of three years total work experience I think some of the more competitive schools might consider that underdeveloped. Your saving grace can definitely be your personal statement, so do take your time with that -- it really can become the swing vote factor in a candidate's application!

No, I never intended to start this coming January. My realization that grad school was the next best step for me didn't come in September of last year, when I should have started thinking about it (and to be fair, my fiancee did tell me then to consider it but I ignored her advice, regrettably). Instead, I decided in November of 2008 to apply to school. So applying even for Jan 2008 at Fletcher would have been out of the question. And in November 2008, I didn't want to wait until now to begin the application process. I went ahead and applied to Fletcher and a couple of other schools for the Fall 2009 entering class. In the meantime, while I was in the midst of my applications, I got laid off (private sector woes!). Gave me the opportunity to focus on my applications for the last month or so before they were due. In the meantime, started looking for a job (after all, what if I didn't get into school for the Fall? Remaining unemployed for so long wouldn't be good for me -- nor would it reflect well on a resume). Got a gig in nonprofit here in Boston, was rejected by two schools and waitlisted at Fletcher, started my job thinking I would be working until Fall 2010, then got accepted to Fletcher for January 2010. Absolutely could not say no to that. One of the good things about starting school in Jan is that I get two summers instead of just one -- which means two opportunities for internships, language immersion, research, etc. The only downside that I can see so far is that the funding pool for Januarians is smaller than that for the Fall. But then again, there are 25 students entering in January, versus ~200 in the Fall, so perhaps that evens out well.

My opinion: definitely address your background and where you're coming from, tie that to where you want to be and how the degree program to which you're applying will help get you there -- but be sure to also explain the process by which you came to the realization/decision that a shift in focus is best for you. Tell your story, leave no gaps and make it compelling!

I can't speak to your three schools particularly, but generally most schools here look for a little more work experience. That's not to say you shouldn't apply -- people with less impressive work records than yours have gotten into grad school (prime example right here). Your GRE scores are excellent, no doubt of that, so you don't need to worry there. I think that in the end, your application will come down to the strength of your letters of recommendation and particularly your personal statement -- admissions committees will be gauging the strength of your candidacy on those two elements more because of your lack of extensive, relevant work experience. Best of luck!

I'll be starting Fletcher in January, and I had a similar experience -- lots of overseas travel, a study abroad in college, and six months living in India as a part of my first job out of undergrad. But my work experience hasn't exactly been cumulative -- in fact, none of it is directly related to what I will study in grad school. But I have been observing for the past 3 or 4 years some common threads in my life that have linked together my experiences, and I wove those threads into a clear and straightforward story in my personal statement. With that said, I don't think I would have been accepted to Fletcher if my GRE scores (700Q/660V/5.5AW) and other metrics weren't solid. What helped me study well for the exam was the Kaplan GRE Prep book. It doesn't cost much, and if you really are in a tight bind, most public libraries carry a copy. You can make it work. As for the test itself, the ETS does grant a very limited number of GRE exam fee waivers -- you might be eligible for that, based on the details of your financial situation. Finally, I don't think your "published" status (which is very impressive!) would carry much weight for most of these schools. The only ones who might be interested are Yale (right, Cornell07?) and MIT (to which I applied as well -- rejected -- and I know they have a strong academic slant to IR study). Best of luck!

I applied in January last year for Fall admissions, was waitlisted for the Fall, and then was offered a spot in the January incoming class. The admissions process that is starting now is almost exactly the same as the one that most applicants go through in the winter of every year -- same application, same statement prompts, same opportunity to interview on campus. About that last point -- I live in Boston and could have jumped up to Fletcher for an in-person evaluative interview during the admissions process, yet I didn't because I didn't realize at the time how unique this element is to Fletcher. Very few IR and government/policy grad schools offer candidates an interview opportunity, and if you're considering applying to Fletcher (whether for the fall or for the spring), please do take advantage of this. It helps tremendously. For me, after I was waitlisted for the Fall, the admissions committee offered me the chance to come in and (this is not how they phrased it) make my case. So I took the metro up to the campus and sat down with an AdComm member who just sat back and listened as I told my story of how I came to the decision to apply to Fletcher and what this education specifically would do for me. Don't be like me is the bottom line. Take advantage of any such opportunity, because very few schools now offer that.

Hi figuring, As s58 mentioned, Fletcher does admit a small cohort (20-25) every January. I'm a Januarian myself and will be starting in 4 months and 12 days (can you tell I'm excited?). If you have any questions about the process, let me know!

wooldogg brings up some good points. Your other components will help determine how much emphasis is placed on your GRE scores. With that said, I feel that even someone who's been out of undergrad for a while should have a higher AW score than a 4.0. More than your V score, work on analyzing passages and writing cogently under pressure and with a time deadline. I know, I know, the folks over at ETS decided to make the AW section as realistic as possible for grad students ... But if you can take a passage, break it down, critique the author's arguments and *especially this part* identify and deconstruct logical fallacies, you can and will score much higher than a 4.0. Remember the days when 4.0 was the best you could do? Ha, not so much with the GRE.

El Diplomatico Verde is right that the career path and environment for which you prepare yourself depends on the degree program. My mistake for not making that distinction.

Or PhD in government. Equally lucrative, especially if you want to stay in the public/government sectors for years to come. I applied to the PhD program in political science at MIT this year, having been out of undergrad for 2 years. DEFINITELY overshot that one -- rejected and rightly so. I don't know what possessed me to shoot that high. Moral: master's first, especially if you're younger (below 32), then PhD. My thoughts.

While on one hand I would encourage you to retake the GRE, especially to boost your quant score for SAIS, I think it would depend on how long ago you completed your bachelor's degree. You've been living in France for the past three years; does that mean you finished university 3 years ago? Or has it been longer?

If your interests lie at the crossroads of international security, humanitarian efforts / human security, international development, and the role and force of international law in these three arenas, then I think The Fletcher School at Tufts would be right up your alley. Check them out at: http://fletcher.tufts.edu/ If you have any questions, please do let me know. I have a couple of friends and many other contacts who went to Fletcher for their grad studies and would be happy to share their experiences with you. Cheers!

Definitely counts as work experience You say you're increasingly interested in humanitarian and crisis relief work in China, so be sure to focus on your statement of purpose and explain the connection between work in HK / Macau and what you want to do with the degree to which you're applying.

I applied last year to MIT's political science department, and I can tell you it is very competitive. I applied to the PhD program (which was dumb -- DEFINITELY overshot that one) and ended up getting rejected. No surprise. I think that comparing MIT to programs like Gtown's SSP, SAIS, etc would be equivocal. If you look at the profiles of current MS and PhD students at MIT, they're all brilliant -- but there isn't the same emphasis on prior work experience as there is at the professional grad schools, and most MS grads go on to get their PhDs very soon, if not immediately, upon completion of their master's studies. Just my thoughts.

Work experience = important, but you can get into schools with less than perfect W/E. Two things: 1) Schools look for diversity of experiences in their incoming classes, and your time teaching in the Middle East is certainly unique! 2) If at first glance your current teaching work does not appear directly relevant to what you want to do (ID) -- and it doesn't -- then be sure to work very hard on your SoP to bridge that gap. Perhaps that South Asia microfinance experience has something to do with it? Make those connections very clear and relevant to the degree programs to which you apply. I think you should apply for Fall 2010 and definitely not low-ball yourself. I only say this because my two years of work experience have been extremely disconnected and, unfortunately, not directly relevant to what I will be studying in grad school. However, in my SoP I was able to carefully and convincingly weave together my tangential, indirect experiences and create a cohesive picture of who I am, why I want to go back to school and what that degree will do for me. With all that said, have you considered applying to The Fletcher School? There's a strong focus amongst students and professors on development that is very refreshing.http://fletcher.tufts.edu Best of luck!

From what you've told us so far, they count. Perhaps you could share more about what you were doing in HK and Macau?