Program Applied To: IR, MPP
Schools Applied To: JHU (SAIS, MA), Columbia, Georgetown, Tufts, GWU, Harvard, Syracuse, Stanford, U Chicago, Southern CA
Undergraduate institution: Top 100
Undergraduate GPA: 3.714
Undergraduate GPA (last 60 hrs): 3.86
Undergraduate Major: History and Philosophy
GRE Quantitative Score: 660 (62nd percentile)
GRE Verbal Score: 730 (99th percentile)
GRE AW Score: 5 (81st percentile)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3.5
Years of Work Experience:3.5
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Taught English in Bologna, Italy, for 1 year. Worked for 1.5 years as a field worker with a human rights advocacy and conflict prevention NGO in Indonesia. Have worked a further 6 months with the same NGO as a consultant leading a project evaluation.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have not started the SOP yet; nevertheless I intend to apply by the Jan. deadline to the above mentioned schools. I believe my reasoning for wanting to gain an MA in IR with focus on international economics is very sound and I will write a strong SOP.
Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have LORs from two undergrad professors (one in history, one in philosophy) and a letter from the INGO I've been working with in Indonesia, all of which are strong.
Question: Will my mediocre GRE quantitative score hold me back from the top tier IR schools, for example Johns Hopkins SAIS? Also, I took the GRE in August 2009, should I assume the schools will look at my scores under the previous score format regime?
