went_away

FWIW, the US Department of State internship while very helpful and prestigious is not particularly competitive, given that there are quite a lot of them and they are unpaid - a real shame IMHO, given high cost of living in DC, plus airfare and associated costs to get to other posts that are all responsibility of the intern. The closest thing to 'compensation' they provide is sponsorship for a clearance. For those that are already shelling out $40k/year for an ostensibly professional degree, an unpaid internship may look a little odd, but (sigh) this tends to be the lot of those who choose to go into International Affairs.

Be encouraged; I made the jump from a nearly 8-year career in education to international affairs. It hasn't been easy, but it's definitely doable and while your prior skills likely will not enable you to start above entry level, they will be valued. You're definitely doing the right thing to look at top master's programs to build credibility in your chosen (very competitive!) field. I'd put in a plug here for Fletcher, which I found to be incredibly welcoming and helpful to nontraditional students looking to make a change.

I'd roughly agree with the above and would add in Fletcher which has one of the top international affairs programs in the world, generally speaking. DC-based schools tend to be the strongest in this field just because of the location; roughly, I'd say the top schools in order are 1. Georgetown MA in Security Studies (or alternatively the MSFS, which is not as focused, but probably more prestigious than the Security Studies specific degree); 2. SAIS MA with focus on Strategic Studies 3. Fletcher MALD with focus on International Security 4. SIPA with Security focus 5. GWU Elliot School. You probably couldn't go wrong with the Kennedy School or Princeton for general caliber and eliteness, but I'm not aware of a particular Security focus at either school. Ditto (but somewhat less powerful/prestigious) for the Yale Jackson School. For the PhD, without knowing your career goals I wouldn't be able to give a ranking given than academic focused programs are quite different from those that are more policy focused.

Forgot to add - would strongly suggest you also look at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. If you can get in and make the funding work, that would likely be your strongest choice.

If you want to work in policy and have a broader impact on the field, then a school with a presence in the northeast would probably be advisable. I'd suggest taking a look at the top schools the DC/NYC area - Fletcher, SAIS, SIPA, Georgetown. From your background and interests, I would say the Fletcher MALD is likely far and away the best choice for you; they have a very strong focus on nonprofits and environmental policy and the multidisciplinary focus of the curriculum could be a great fit for your background. (Disclaimer, I am a Fletcher grad). As well, it sounds like you have a strong resume, so with a decent test scores and undergrad GPA you'd probably be a strong candidate for scholarships.

Very difficult to give an answer without knowing your employment aspirations, nationality, or where you want to ultimately live and work. Georgetown is generally regarded as being far superior to LSE, especially when it comes to work placement. Georgetown's MSFS program is widely considered the best in the world for those looking to enter the policy world in international affairs; LSE, while also well regarded, may suffer from a perception of admitting too many semi-employable students and offering subpar career services. If you are smart enough to be offered a full ride at both locations (I find the claim a bit suspect), I think you should do fine with whichever choice you make and should base it on where you truly want to live and study.

What schools are you targeting and what type of company do you work for now (ie how prestigious is it)? Knowing only this much, I'd say low second-tier MBAs will be doable, but a stretch. Think Indiana Kelley/Georgetown/UW Foster. If you work for a sexy company and have a strong trajectory, that will bump you up a notch for what's feasible (think UCLA/Cornell/Yale). A higher GMAT would help quite a bit, especially given your also relatively low GPA. Being a minority woman helps (a lot), but less in your case as you are not American and because of that (I think) they can't check the equal opportunity box for you. Keep in mind I am talking about stretch schools above, not safety options.

If employers do not need to sponsor you for a visa (this is the big issue) and you have at least a couple of years of relevant experience, you will be competitive for many research type positions in the DC area. Otherwise you will need to look at doing an internship, possibly unpaid.

I agree with your sentiments as in that's the way the world should be, but the MBA (and really only top 7 to top 20 with dramatically lower average results the further down you get) functions as a differentiator for top employers. It sounds like you'll have ample recruiting and networking opps at UoT, but as I said earlier the MSc is very unlikely to be viewed as anywhere near the same class level as the MBA. I would encourage you to try to find employment statistics of the two programs for comparison purposes. In addition you can easily view the bios and education histories of consultants at the big four; you'll see they are nearly 100% drawn from top MBA programs, including recent recruits.

Anything is possible: the big 4 recruit from all academic disciplines and grad programs. HOWEVER, they are highly attuned to prestigiousness and brand name; your classmates at the MBA program will be the ones who are actively recruited, not you. Taking electives at the business school is no way viewed as equivalent to actually being an MBA student. If you are talented/aggressive/lucky, your MSc should open plenty of interesting doors in consulting-like areas, but it is extremely unlikely that you would land an MBA equivalent position. This is the difference between making $100,000-$150,000 vs. $40,000-$80,000 upon graduation. If you are truly interested in being a consultant with a brand name firm, I would highly recommend you apply for the Rotman MBA in the first semester of your MSc (in other words, start prepping for the GMAT NOW).

When I was researching these programs I was most impressed by far with Carnegie Mellon. Johns Hopkins program is new and while I'm sure it's at least decent quality (it's JHU!), it looks a bit like a money grab. If you are interested in public sector though, I'm not sure why the gov focus of JHU would be a negative.

Ditto the above. Both programs will open up similar professional opportunities - which are not particularly well paid and don't really justify paying full freight (sigh, maybe this is MBA envy) - so absolutely, definitely you should go to Korbel with full funding. If you're good enough to get a full ride offer from Korbel, you are definitely good enough to compete for the same types of internships and entry-level positions that the Georgetown kids get.

With your international and cross-cutting work interests (NGO, development, natural disasters, humanitarian aid), you'd probably be best off at a top international affairs program. Check out the Fletcher MALD degree; from what I hear you can pretty much pick and choose from the courses, so you'd be able to self-design a degree focused on human geography, development, Asia, and the like. Also, Fletcher is very strong in the NGO/nonprofit world (can be seen as a good or bad thing). This is a very competitive field, so your best chance at an offer is to go to the best school you can and get a decent sumer internship. Disclaimer: I graduated from Fletcher, but not from the MALD degree (sometime wish I had done the MALD though!).

Ditto. Georgetown's Security Studies Program - https://css.georgetown.edu/ssp- would appear to be the best in the business and if you know you want to focus on security it is probably the place to be. Grads seem to go on to interesting and well-paying gigs. One caveat - their presentation/marketing of the degree is pretty atrocious and it appears to have a more of a 'commuter/evening school' feel than the traditional residential international affairs programs (like MSFS/SAIS/Fletcher MALD/SIPA) that feature more bonding and social connections.

+1

Ditto outofspace. Neither option on its own is particularly compelling, so do both. If the teaching in Spain is on a Fulbright that would change things a fair bit as it would get you a 'name brand' on your resume (as dubious as it may be in terms of the actual work experience).

I would suggest you work closely with your recommenders to ensure they feel comfortable, able, and empowered to give you the level of specificity you need in your (presumably very positive!) recommendations. Don't be afraid or awkward to reach out - especially with former professors - you just have to do it! That was one of my main lesson from applying. You should also be able to craft a strong statement of purpose that clearly links your past experience with future professional goals and shows how Fletcher will help get you there. I am not familiar with the current scoring format of the GRE, so cannot comment on that aspect of your application, but if your China writing experience is legit (ie it would be helpful if you were actually getting paid to write, not just doing a blog and living on savings or the like), that's a great background for a Fletcher education. Regardless, I would really encourage you to submit an application - an extended period of time living and working in an interesting place is always a good background. I would also think your Mandarin capabilities will help. Fletcher is really a great school (albeit expensive!) that takes people where they're at and tends to send them on to much bigger and better things, so I say go for it.

I seem to remember Texas A&M Bush School had quite generous funding packages. Also, would fit your criteria as an upper mid-tier school. In terms of job placements, I think it's one of the more underrated schools out there.

Any international affairs school with real power will have more than a few 'neocons' and 'liberal internationalists' on the faculty. That's just the nature of the game, so be prepared for it. You'll certainly meet plenty more as you embark on your career. Congrats on your acceptance and enjoy SAIS. I quite enjoyed the student body - found it to be fairly competitive, but mostly stimulating and just plain fun - when I was visiting campuses and making my own admissions decision.

Relevance of your concentration to a future career: slim to none.

I know nothing about your profile, but it sounds like you need to have solid, critical reader go over your essays and resume with you. Think a successful, critically minded State/NGO type. Most success at these types of schools - and once you get out - comes down to how you present yourself....

I despise the utility of student loans, particularly for public interest related careers and IR grad degrees. But, for this specific situation I'd say the SO made a very good decision indeed. And major congrats on your acceptance and upcoming attendance!

Ditto all the other comments. Plus the MSFS program (not to be confused with other master's degrees at SFS) is known as the most powerful graduate degree in the world (though HKS probably beats it in reality) for policy positions. I've also seen a fair number of grads on linkedin who have impressive and cool private sector jobs. So in terms of employment options and the sheer strength of your degree I'd say MSFS beats SAIS by a long shot. The only reason I'd pick SAIS is the student body, in addition to being a fair bit larger, seems like a lot more fun than SFS.

Don't talk the Elliot School down too much. It's certainly a step down from Harvard/Princeton and probably a touch below SAIS/Fletcher, but it's still one of the best programs in the world. And as magno so eloquently put it, it is that first job/foot in the door that matters most. And your brilliant networking skills.

Hard to give advice given your lack of details on where you want to go. Given your age and uncertainty, my first reaction is you should go to a top-notch American program. These do a much better job in terms of career guidance and exploration (hand-holding if you will) than the British programs. Top American programs generally also have more international 'pull' or carry than European programs. Personally, I like the LSE brand as much as you do, but suspect Fletcher will be more widely respected. The best American schools invest much more time, effort, and money into building and maintaining strong alumni networks and this will come into play in the course of your subsequent career. Both options are great schools, but you'll probably have an easier time of it in the working world with a Fletcher degree and associated summer internship. If however your heart is set on London and if you are not all that worried about your job search possibly taking a bit longer (ie you have family money/connections/personal wherewithal) then perhaps LSE would be a better bet.