went_away

Given that your goal is to go the NGO/think tank route, no question in my mind you should go to Fletcher. Fletcher has a very strong - some might say too strong - corps of students who are successful in the nonprofit and development world (though Fletcher students can be found in plenty of powerful private sector and gov positions as well). So I think it'd be the perfect fit for you if that's where you naturally want to end up. The Fletcher alumni community is indeed enthusiastic, involved, and powerful, if not quite the unstoppable 'Fletcher mafia' the informal marketing would lead one to believe it is. SAIS seems to do a little better in the government contracting and consulting areas and, of course, if your heart is set on DC you should go there. On the whole, I would guess their grads do a little better in terms of starting salaries because of this - however in this nebulous world of international affairs every person's experience is very, very different. My impression is there is a clear drop-off in quality and prestige from SAIS/Fletcher to the Elliot School, so I wouldn't recommend you go there unless you already had a full-time job in the DC area (because of their night class schedule) and/or had a solid scholarship offer from them. Enjoy!

I'd say Georgetown wins. By a lot. Just be prepared to be paying off those loans for a long time to come.

Hi joqom, Yes, I ended up taking the program. It's a rigorous academic program with some top quality people in it. It's challenging, but I've quite enjoyed it. I'd have to know more about your circumstance give you any more insights. cheers

Yep, it really depends on the job and the field you are applying for - research position at a public policy focused think tank - academic achievements are probably relevant, helpful, and necessary. Business development or sales position? Probably not relevant at all. Regardless, your academic record becomes less and less helpful as you get deeper into your career. Another thing to think about - show them the money. If a school paid you to study there or has awarded you an impressively large scholarship for your leadership/work experience/academic achievements, that might be worth highlighting. If you do find yourself talking excessively about academic achievements in the interview, that may be a sign that you should practice your pivoting skills - learn how to succinctly point out the relevance of this particular achievement to the position you are applying for and seamlessly transition into another experience that illustrates your preparation/excitement for the position. In short - competition for jobs is intense and you want your most impressive and compelling achievements on your resume.

Might be helpful to look abroad. I wonder if you'd stand a good chance of landing a tenure track and/or decently paid position fresh out of an American PhD program. Also, you might have a chance to upgrade the 'glitz'/pedigree of your C.V. if you can land a post-doc position at a higher ranked institution upon graduation.

Depends on the field, the job, and the person reading the resume (i.e. if you're applying for a research based position, your GPA is very relevant). Personally I've found listing a few academic achievements to be helpful and interviewers point them out during the interview. Just keep it concise and try to frame everything with an eye to the position for which you are applying.

Mitten - check out the GMAP program at Fletcher. You might be able to get it paid for as they have some kind of a scholarship program with DoD, not to mention your access to the GI Bill. There are a lot of current and former military people in the program and it's for working professionals, so you could complete the program as you finish up your service. cheers

Hi Samiam, A great program out there for mid-career professionals is GMAP at the Fletcher School. It's a low residency program for working professionals (you go to 3 residencies that are 2 weeks long each). As far as I now, it's the only program of its kind in the world and it's at a top ranked school. I can vouch for the quality of the program and its participants. Here is a link to it: http://fletcher.tufts.edu/GMAP. Your work experience and background makes it sound like you could be a great fit for it. Cheers

I'm starting the GMAP mid-career professional master's program this week at Fletcher. Happy to be here. I won't have the same experience as the MALD people, but can confirm rhodeislander's observations.

I got rejected here, but got into Fletcher with a 1/3 Fellowship. Hooray for American schools' admissions committees.

There's a chance I'll be doing one of the online grad certs this summer.

I applied to the January deadline as well. Good luck with your app

Anyone know anything about it? Good/bad? It's a very expensive 1 year online program with a few weeks of face-to-face instruction.

Thanks, I'm holed up in one of the conflict areas and am looking forward to making it to a more peaceful place. I just saw that my file is complete so am excited for that. Can anybody tell me if the Graduate Institute has any strength or links with the political risk field? I'm interested in companies like Control Risk and the Eurasia Group, but it looks like they're analysts (at least from Eurasia) are mainly culled from top US programs. Perhaps it's a self selection bias. Also, does the Grad Institute have good links with the Andean region of South America? Thanks and good luck to all.

I'm here in North Africa and waiting to hear back!

Thanks for the feedback, very encouraging. I guess the gist of my question is how useful ESL experience will be to both a grad school application and to a future career in diplomacy or development. I have the option now to study a post-grad qualification in ESL (6-9 months part time) and consolidate my teaching career. This would lead to a supervisory position at a prestigious university in Colombia (whereas now I'm just a classroom teacher at the uni). It would also mean 2-3 more years of ESL teaching and give me a chance to pick up some NGO type volunteer experience and to bolster my work recommendations. I would also have the chance to sort of 'meld' ESL teaching with international affairs kind of stuff - for example, do some volunteer teaching or teach with the British Council (the cultural wing of the British Embassy). I guess I'm wondering if I need this experience to have a decent shot at getting into a top program (SFS/SAIS, plus would like to get funding). I would prefer to apply for programs starting in fall of 2012, but don't want to spend all the money/time on GRE prep and application fees if I'd be better off waiting a couple more years. I'm sort of a 'non-traditional' applicant, so here's some more details on me. - Bible college grad (I think accreditation should be fine, but still, it's from a sectarian institution and I'm sure will raise a few eyebrows) - 3.5 GPA, biblical, religious and intercultural studies - A.A. degree from community college, 3.9 GPA, took statistics (A-) and microeconomics (A) - CELTA (1 month, intense English teaching qualification from University of Cambridge) - nearly fluent in Spanish - 2 years experience during Bible college as an intern/staff member for a study abroad program, organized volunteer activities with community leaders and led groups of freshmen students on trips throughout Central America - 3 years living in Colombia, 1 year experience teaching professionals, 1 year experience teaching upper-class teenagers at a high school in a post-conflict zone (lots of stories....) - about to start teaching English as member of the Government Department at a prestigious university (top in Colombia for law and international relations)

Nobody has any advice/opinions on the suitability of ESL teaching as a background to a career in international affairs?

3 years ago I graduated from a humanities program. I really wanted to get into international affairs (development, conflict analysis, foreign service, etc.), so I moved to Colombia, thinking that experience living in a conflict/post conflict and developing society would be good experience and help me get into a top program. I took a teaching course and got a job teaching English to business professionals in Bogota in order to support myself while studying Spanish. Then I taught for a year in a 'hotter' (more conflict problems) part of the country at a rich high school. Now, I'll be going back to Bogota to teach English at a prestigious university, which is focused on law and international relations and has a partnership with Columbia University. I've tried to make my teaching as relevant as possible to international affairs - I've taught for important government people and contracted with an embassy, but at the end of the day, I'm afraid I'll never get the respect an NGO worker type or professional in finance would and be seen as 'just an English teacher.' Now I've got the option to consolidate my teaching career at my university (get a higher teaching qualification). Would all of this be seen as at all relevant and/or competitive experience to get into SIPA, SAIS or Georgetown? Should I pursue some kind of internship that's unrelated to teaching but that may look more impressive? I have a fairly weak quant background. I'd appreciate any advice or comments. I know I really want to do something related to international politics - I was willing to move to and then pound the pavement in Colombia for 3 years! thanks for any advice...