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

personally, i would steer cleer from netbooks. Tablets are nice, but might not be as efficient at getting actual WORK done. I would recommend ultrabooks. they are lightweight, durable, and very good computers.

I have heard that you can (depending on the program) tailor international affairs degrees to have an emphasis in finance. I am thinking that would be a good way to go. QUestion is, does this school HAVE to be out east to make it worthwhile for a degree? I know its all about networking, but sometimes i think it is a little hard to get up and move when finances can be a problem in that respect.

I am interested in two things: furthering my education in one of my 3 interests, and working in diplomacy or counter-terror. I currently have a bachelors in poli-sci and sociology. I am kind of at a crossroads when it comes to where to go from here…. I spent 5 months living in Cairo, Egypt studying intensive Arabic and writing about the political elections going on right as Mubarak was being ousted. I have many articles on the matter published. This international experience has made me want to study international relations. I found this http://bush.tamu.edu/certificate/caia/ which I thought would be a good precursor to an advanced degree in international affairs. But I am not sure if that is the best, safest way to go. With competition in the government job market, if I was to get a degree in intl affairs, and NOT get a job, what would I do? SO I thought about my other two passions when it comes to education: finance and computer science. I thought about going on to get a masters in computer science or a masters in finance, and use that skillset to try to get to my goal of either counter-terror or diplomacy (yes, two VERY different fields, but I have extreme interests in both). In terms of my career goals, what opinions can you give as to where I should begin focusing my efforts for advanced education?

Does anyone have any personal information on the Bush School at Texas A&M? I am really interested in a career in government / diplomacy, and i stumbled upon this and thought it would look good with my undergrad degree of poli sci / sociology...http://bush.tamu.edu/certificate/caia/ thoughts?

I am thinking of looking into GIS (geographic information systems). I hear it is a good start to an intel based career; diplomacy, not so much. I am having a rather difficult time finding programs to attempt volunteer with to "get my foot in the door" so it seems further education is what needs to happen. I understand the reasoning of not necessarily going the IR route when it comes to schooling. If I do not go that route, I will probably look into finance or comp sci (two of my other interests). but even with a finance / comp sci degree, I cant help but think IR certification would be benefitial

I am 26. I have considered teaching myself programming, but I think my time could be better spent elsewhere.. such as keeping up with my arabic and such. I will check out some of the non-profits in Chicago and the surrounding areas. SO what you are pretty much saying is that a graduate degree in IR is not really necessary for jobs in the intel / diplomacy field then? Just pretty much get that foot in the door somewhere and get some experience. I assume ESL teaching overseas really would not constitute as relevant experience for a defense contractor ha!

I have taken both macro and micro econ in college. I highly enjoyed them both and would get an advanced degree in econ or finance, but I just don't have the same passion for them as I do IR...even if those two degrees have more "value." My arabic is decent, but unfortunately i have lost some of my proficiency having moved back to America, but I have started to crack open my textbooks and tapes again and am looking to hire a tutor. I would like to continue to work full time, but finding NGOs to volunteer at in the midwest seems very hard to do...hell i wouldnt even know where to look. I have loads of international NGO contacts from when i lived overseas, but that does not help me much now; especially if i wish to continue working for my company or anyone. I love numbers and i love computers even more. I have a knack with them, its just too bad I never learned programming. While climbing the ladder here at Chicago Title is very possible and would likely happen if I still worked here, this job is not my passion. I cannot fathom being here longer than 5 years, despite the upper management thinking very highly of me.

I would love to at least get started by working for small time defense contractors. I think my issue is that, despite living overseas, having some knowledge of a critically important foreign language, and having articles published by journals, I feel inadequate in terms of "international affairs schooling." This is why i thought the certificate program at AM would be a good precursor to a grad degree...to GAIN more confidence in my resume to become more desireable to even those small time contractors. Too bad internships are kind of out of my options since I am no longer in school

Ok so look into other degrees. Like what though? When I see requirements for jobs that interest me such as diplomacy related jobs and intelligence related jobs, international affairs is usually covering the main points

I have considered the Peace Corps. That is something I would absolutely LOVE to do to be honest. The thing that is holding me back is my girlfriend. Since we are not married she could not come with. That is why ESL is so lovely, she can easily do something like that (in fact it is something she WANTS to do). Yeah all IR is not in washington, but that is where the best and most Gov't networks and contacts are. Simply put, it seems like the best place to be. I have considered a business degree and a law degree, but it seems that those two routes are the routes that a lot of people go to, so the value of the degrees seems to have lost its value. Plus, I abosolutely love foreign affairs. Between reading foreign policy magazine and studying up on textbooks about foreign policies, my heart truly lies in this field.