talons1025

I should say that these two classes were intro to accounting and calculus for business. both classes unrelated to my major, low level classes. The program I am applying to graduate school for is international affairs / economics.

Let me start by saying i have graduated from undergrad already a few years ago. I am looking to apply to graduate school, but there are 2 classes on my transcript that are Ds. These two classes were from my first two years of school. Once my last two years hit, I did remarkably better. These two Ds still kind of make me look bad and I do not know what kind of negative impact they would have on the admissions office. Would retaking the two classes I recieved bad marks in be a good idea? I figure if anything it would prove that I can do well in them.

thanks for your responses. obviously they conflict, but I appreciate your thoroughness TakeruK.

So essentially, I can take the test this weekend to get a feel for it, and not send my scores to anyone. When I choose to take it down the line after extensive preparation, I can send the new scores and no one will have ever seen my first time scores? It sounds stupid and perhaps a waste of money to take the test this weekend, but this testing environments are not something I react favorably towards. I really would feel comfortable 'testing the waters' of the test taking environment before diving into the real deal.

Do schools know if you have taken the test more than once? Are they submitted BOTH scores if you take it once and another time 6 months down the line? I take the test this coming saturday, but I am not actually applying to grad schools until the fall 2014 semester starts. I wanted to take it to get a feel of what it was like, especially since i have not taken a test like this since the ACT several years ago. I am going into it semi-prepared, but not as prepared as I plan to be when when i take it later on. My point is, I dont want to take it, do horribly, and have schools actually SEE that.

I am extremely torn between these two programs (in case anyone actually wants to see them, here are the links): MPA http://las.depaul.edu/sps/Programs/Degrees/InternationalPublicServices.asp IR http://las.depaul.edu/int/Programs/Graduate/index.asp IR is very, very theoretical based. I am not sure I like that very much. What I DO like, however, is that it is an affiliate member of the APSIA. I contacted the program director and she had told me that graduates often go on into foreign service (which is what I want to do). When questioning the heavy theoretical approach, her response was: "our perspective is that the theory component helps students become better critical thinkers and ultimately informs the work they do in the field. Students taje the theory they learn in the core courses and apply it to a particular question or issue. It seems to me that these skills, while great, are not really suitable for finding employment in case the FSOT doesnt really work out. Also, they seem better suited to someone who is after a phd. The MPA is pretty straight-foward. I do like it, but its not part of the APSIA at all, which is a downer. I do worry how good of a program it is vs a traditional IR program like the other one. Any thoughts?

I had emailed the graduate director of the IR dept of my alma mater inquiring about the program, if it offered internship opportunities in DC (or at for that matter), and basically if it provided an adequate training for a career in foreign service. This was the response I recieved: Recent changes to our MA program have occurred. We are not set up to train students for government service. Recent budget situations, and a hiring freeze means we no longer have the means to provide this type of training. There are graduate programs that deal specifically with this type of training - those programs often contain the word "Policy" in the title of the program. Sorry, but we are not able to provide you this type of education/experience. Today, our MA program is singularly geared toward producing students qualified for Ph.D. programs. Obviously this is a bad email to get, but I was thinking, how can an MA in international affairs (relations) that gears students to PhD programs be entirely terrible? Wouldn't I still technically have a good skillset for finding a job in an IR field or applying to the state dept's foreign service?

yeah it is those internships that are so important. i guess when looking for schools, it would be best to research schools that offer programs in DC even if that particular school is not nessesarily in DC.

thank you for the responses. I feel better about not only applying to schools in the DC area now. =)

that is good to know, but I guess my main thought was that DC schools would result in DC internships, which would result in DC careers. How can the same really be said for schools in California, Illinois, or New York?

I ask because I want to go to a DC school, i just do not think I can afford it. I would probably be able to get in, but I think with finacial aid being as competitive as it is, I would not stand a chance to getting tuition waived much. So I ask, is going to a DC area school absolutely imperitive in order to get a job in foreign service / government?

I like the idea behind both degrees and I like the fact that they both have a lot of emphasis on finance and economics. The MPP, being more focused on policy and its implementation, is more tempting to me over the MPA and its management courses. I really am more in favour of the MPP over the MPA, but I just worry that the MPA is 'more valuable' since that is all i ever hear about. I read that the MPA is a great degree to have, but never anything on the MPP. Is an MPA technically more hireable than someone with an MPP?

What school / program did you wind up going to / taking? I have actually been thinking heavily about doing a MPA/MPP with an emphasis in finance, but all MPP programs i seem to find dont really have much of a finance emphasis.

I live and work in Chicago. I want to go to grad school in texas, so obviously I would have to quit my job and move. How does one work, live away from home, and go to grad school all at once?

I am actually starting to consider an MPA, but i am not sure if that is really the right direction over IR