IRToni

Why don't you just sit down with them and tell them about your situation? Be nice, honest and upfront about it, tell them that your experience in their department is great and greatly helpful to you, but you've just seen this other department's offer that ties in nicely with your research and therefore, you'd like to apply there to see if you have a shot. If you're a good candidate, chances are that they'll write you good LORs. I think it's usually best to be honest about these things.

I responded to a fictional news story about the Eurozone breaking apart. I want to focus on International Political Economy and explained how I would want to broaden my focus (I did East Asian Politics and Economies in my undergrad) to encompass the EU. I did a little bit of policy analysis in it, had my own scenario for what was the final blow etc. I also think that yours should be fine. It shows what you're interested in, it seems to tie in nicely with the rest of your application. Since you want to do human rights, religion and stuff, I think it's good to show that you're independently interested in that. The rest of your application will probably take care of your politics interest ;-).

Getting a PhD just for funding might not be the best idea though. A PhD is 5 years of your time, the majority of which you will spend doing your own research project.In order to succeed in a program like this, you usually need to really love your topic, research etc. There is M.A funding available, esp. for veterans. In addition, there are some programs that have part-time masters or the majority of classes in the evening. That said, I'm not sure a Master is the right thing for you or even required. You might want to ask around what kind of jobs you could get right now. Your management experience/background coupled with your army background might suffice for some of the jobs you're interested in, esp. in administration. Unless you have a genuine passion for classroom learning, I would first explore other options. You might also look at taking online/distance classes to get some foundation in public policy.

The ETS book was exactly the same as the pdf you can download. Questions were the same, the mock tests were the same etc.

While I agree with posters saying that verbal GRE scores are not too important in Engineering, I also think it's a little disrespectful to go for generalizations the way people do here. I, e.g. am not English native speakers, I didn't go to uni in an English-speaking country etc. and I scored decent on my verbal GRE. Does that make me dumb? I don't think so. I'm also from a country where standardized tests basically don't exist, so I'm not in any way "used to them". Of course, GRE scores don't always reflect aptitude, but I do believe that there's only so much you can study for. GPAs often don't reflect aptitude or ability to do well in Grad school either. I'm not trying to bash anyone and I understand the poster's need for reassurance, I just don't like the insinuation that it's impossible to be good on the verbal GRE as a non-native speaker. Regarding the poster's problems: I do believe that your undergrad record, Personal Statement and Writing Sample be sufficient to demonstrate your English ability. The GRE is not mainly meant to demonstrate English ability anyway, it's more about breadth of vocabulary (which won't matter in Engineering), Reading Comprehension and "Analytical Writing". With regards to the TOEFL, it is indeed very easy and is not taken into account as anything beyong proving English ability. However, GRE and TOEFL are both required if you didn't do your undergrad in the US and, as I've argued above, they clearly have different objectives. TOEFL is supposed to demonstrate your ability to use English in an academic context, while the GRE is supposed to demonstrate your abilities in a more general sense. Not trying to be a downer here, I do think that the poster has a shot at most places, even with the GRE scores he presented. I do, however, also think that they present a hurdle to be overcome in the admission process. Good LORs, GPA, SOPs and Writing Samples should be able to achieve that though.

I think you've gotta bite the bullet and send them an E-Mail. Just explain the mix-up to all the unis, be nice and apologetic about it. The thing is that if you don't do it, there's a good chance that you're gonna get rejected for nothing else but reporting the scores wrong. You did sign that the information you submitted has been the truth, so if it isn't, it is entirely within their rights to reject you. You can also be expelled at any later date for submitting wrong information. While I think an e-mail like this might hurt your admission chances a tiny bit, esp. because your GRE scores apparently are sub-par, but it is, IMO, the better course of action. For the school that doesn't do direct reporting, I would also attach the GRE score report. For the school that does reporting, I would directly address it: You might have noticed the discrepancy between the reported percentiles and the percentiles I have put in... You might seem a little disorganized, but it's definitely preferable to getting rejected or getting expelled or them thinking you're a cheater and a lyer, who's trying to make their scores look better. In my experience, most admission committees are really nice and know that students aren't infallible and that we're under enormous pressure with our applications, so they probably wouldn't hold this against you in the same way they would hold you telling a lie against you. Just my two cents, of course, but I hope I was helpful and made sense to you. Toni Edited, because translating wrong expressions from my mother tongue into English doesn't work.

I got rejected, but was told to reapply in two years, after getting some work experience. Not entirely unexpected, but still a little disappointed. I'll see about my other schools, I'm also looking into jobs though. Fletcher wasn't my first choice and only getting in half of my transcripts probably hurt my chances too. But basically, it was just the lack of work experience and nothing really outstanding to offset it, I think.

That's weird, my diagnostics still doesn't work. I took the exam on August 17. It should be working. I'd really like to see it...

I thought I'd join in. My GRE scores (taken August 15th). Verbal 164 (94th percentile) -> Prediction right after the test: 690-790 Math 166 (94th percentile) -> Prediction: 750-800 AWA 5.5 (96th percentile). A little disappointed about my Math scores, but it shouldn't matter that much.

Hi! I am applying to MA in International Relations for Fall 2012. I'm from Germany, having majored in East Asian Politics, Maths and Chinese Studies. I was wondering if one of you (maybe even a native speaker) would be willing to look at my Personal Statement for the MALD at Fletcher. Since they have another really personal essay, I wrote it more like a Statement of Purpose, but I'm not so sure if the statement (1) conveys what I want to say and do and (2) is ok in terms of style, language, content, structure etc. Thanks in advance, Toni