charlotte_asia

My fiance is an FSO. A few quick comments- 1. As some have alluded, there is a step between 1 and 2 which requires submitting several essay questions. 2. I would agree that Steps 2 and 4 are the biggest holdups for most people. As Azrou said, you are ranked on the "list" based on a number of factors, including your score on the oral and your foreign language skills. Languages are divided into several categories based on Department need, the most important being Critical and Super Critical (I may have the names of those wrong, but you get the gist). Correct that knowing Spanish/French is not going to get you as far as knowing Arabic, Farsi, Russian, or Urdu, but scoring a 3/3 in Spanish/French is going to help too. Seriously boosting your language skills before you take any language placement tests; it could be worth spending time in a foreign country or doing a rigorous language immersion class to bump up your language placement. 3. The tracks are Pol, Public Affairs, Consular, Management, and Econ. Consular is the least competitive. Though keep in mind if you select this track you will have to serve the majority, if not all, of your posts in consular positions, mainly because of the continued Department need for consular officers. A decade as a consular officer is a very, very different career from a decade as a Pol or PA officer. I had a coworker who went through the process 4 times over 6 years and never made if off the list. Two years ago he finally made it into the Foreign Service and is now enjoying his dream career. Keep at it, if that's what you really want to do

I received the SAIS email. The only one I received from GWU was about financial aid and scholarships generally. There was a link to scholarship information but the subject title was "Financial Aid Process." I assumed all candidates received one but I have no idea. It would be nice if it bode well for our apps

I wrote mine like an Economist article. It was very straightforward in its description of the problem and what I felt needed to change. Felt a bit weird to insert "I" in places to make it more relaxed and personalized, but that's what they want.

I actually came back to say something similar to MYRNIST. I disagree a bit that analyzing you as a candidate provides zero insight. I think it's useful to collect perspectives and insight and decide what you can try to change (not necessarily improve- there is nothing about your profile that is "bad"), or if you think you've done the best you can to present who you are and where you're headed. That said, it does come down to a numbers game as MYRNIST said. WWS has enough candidates to fill a qualified pool of a class at SIPA or SAIS but is a fraction of the size. For them it is going to come down a lot to school fit and building a class and all that other intangible stuff that those of us layfolks couldn't possibly provide insight on.

I am not a WWS alum but my fiance is and I spent a lot of time with the WWS students. Your background and stats are outstanding, but in reading them I don't see how you demonstrate a commitment to public service. Not to say you don't, but if in reading this blurb about yourself I didn't see a clear link to public service, I wonder if WWS didn't either. In applying to graduate school this year I read several personal statements from WWS alums who are friends of ours. They all talked about their experience either in the public sector or their interactions with the public sector. WWS' prompt states this explicitly- they really need to be convinced you want to go into public sector work (or private-public partnerships, etc) and want your personal statement to focus on that. You said your personal statement was strong, which is probably is, but did it 100% convince readers that your career trajectory is in the public sector (or related to it) and that's why you need WWS? Components of the IFC do work with governments, but did you? Now that you work in a nonprofit finance institution, how can you convince WWS that you want to continue in the public sector? The WWS international alums I'm friends with all wanted to study at WWS to then return to their home countries (including the Philippines) and serve in ngo-public partnerships, in their ministries of foreign affairs, etc. Very clear career paths that they were obviously able to explain clearly in their personal statements. Since I'm not a WWS student take this with a grain of salt, but this is what I've observed .

Thanks all for your input!

Bumping! I would love some thoughts guys Thanks so much!

Bukharan, I'm jealous/happy for you that you are going to IPS! That is one of my top choices. Could you share your stats/background? I also posted mine in a separate thread; I think it's just below this one on the forum. If you have any thoughts on my chances I'd love to hear them. My quant is unfortunately low and that's one of my concerns right now. Thanks! And good luck to the OP for your application as well!

Basic background: Undergrad: Top 10 Liberal Arts, 3.4 GPA in Political Science/South Asian studies, major GPA of around 3.6 or 3.7 I think. Studied abroad in remote areas of Asia, did an independent study on democracy and governance, research grant to do democracy and governance research in Asia for a summer Work: 3 years work experience (will be 3.5 by the time I apply), 1/2 year fellowship in microfinance in Asia, 2 years democracy and governance work at major DG/human rights organization, 1 year living in Asia working on short-term contracts with NGOs and one research consultancy with major human rights organization GREs: 690 V/640 Q/4.5 AW (was completely floored by the AW, though I had a 5 or 5.5. Not sure how much better I can do on quant :-/) Econ/Quant experience: Took Into to Econ in college (opted to pass/fail it, passed it), International Political Economics in college (B+), Statistics and Methods of Political Science (B+), took Micro (A) and Macro (A) at the Graduate School in D.C. Took AP Calc in high school (4), able to place out in college. SOP: Will focus on my observations/experience with democracy and governance promotion in US foreign policy and the role I want to play in its future LOR: Two professors, one of whom oversaw my independent study, should be strong, and one executive from the org I worked for for 2 years. Language: Will have intermediate Spanish by the time I apply, beginning Hindi Dream School: Stanford IPS because of their Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law program (Larry Diamond!) and strong Asia program. Other Top Choices: Columbia SIPA (Weatherhead center for Asian studies), Fletcher (esp because of Political Systems and Theories offerings), Georgetown SFS or MA in Government (Center for Democracy and Governance), SAIS (for SEA program) Safeties: No clue. I really, really don't want to go to any other school besides the ones I listed though, admittedly. I know i need some- I'm not a shoe-in at any of the schools I've listed. What are my chances at these schools? Should I retake the GRE? Which safeties should I consider? Thanks everyone!