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There is a very good chance that we will hear back from SIPA by the end of this week, most probably on thursday or friday. The first vawe of decisions may include about 40 % of the application pool. And no, provided that it has been submitted before Jan. 5, all applications are reviewed concurrently.

I think Elliott will notify somewhere around March 20. SAIS however, may send decisions by the end of next week. Last year it was 4th of March.

I think SIPA may send first wave of decisions within the first week of March, which is 3 weeks from now. Find some stuff to keep yourselves busy.

Applied to 6 schools: Application fees: 430 USD GRE: 276 USD (180 for registration + 50 for rescheduling + 46 for 2 extra reports) TOEFL: 231 USD (185 for registration + 46 for 2 extra reports) Transcripts: 50 USD Mailing Hard Copy Materials: 180 USD Total: 1167 USD.. Hope it worths

"there's someone else."

It seems that this year they will admit 260 MIA's and 180 MPA's. Cutting MIA's by 1/3 has to happen in my application year!

Nehagg, are you sleeplessthese days? Where did you get that silly idea that GWU require financial statements in the application process. I'm not sure if SIS does, but if it is the case, than it would be another wanderful reason for not to apply there. 500 words for SOPs is ok, work on your SIPA essay

Hi, I'm applying to pittsburgh's GSPIA, Master of International Development. I would like to cite some faculty in my SOP but unfortunately I could not find anyone that has a name recognition or has done/written something spectecular. Maybe it's just becasue of the insufficient information on their website but does anyone else aplly to GSPIA this year and experience a similiar problem? Any current or ex student willing to provide some information?

I think the best thing that can ever happen has happened to me: I asked a former professor if he could write some lors bac in early december, and he said of course, with pleasure, just send the forms, I did and waited until christmas to rencontact, and here I am, 6 days to deadlines, can't get respond to my emails, cant find anyone in the faculty becasue its already winter-break, i have even sent him a message through facebook! I cannot ask any professor to write me a LOR in 6 days, its too much to ask. Hope he somehow responds.

By essays you mean SOPs? Because some schools ask applicants to submit analytical/supplamental essays, togather with their SOPs. As far as i know, MSFS program does not.

It seems SAIS will recieve a huge amount of l,terally last minute applications this year. They should have made the deadline as clear as the SIPA has done; but anyway, the deadline is Januar 7, Friday midnight 23:59:59 EST, which is 16 hours from now.

Intiutively, it should be by midnight. But there's no clear information.

Just submitted my SAIS application, I'd love to take a look.

I probably wont look at anything related to SIPA until the decisions are made. The strict directions and 500 words limit for the first essay made it really challenging to finalize. It actually required some sculpture skills to find the best proportion between different sections of the essay. Finishing the whole process is such a relief (2 down, 4 to go!).

It may or may not be competitive enough depending on why and what you want to study at SIPA. Even within MIA degree, there are a bunch of concentrations that are quite distinct and you should definitely, i mean definitely, give solid answers to these questions in your SOP. A good SOP might make up any weaknesses and make your profile much more competitive. Carefully go through relevant posts in admissions blog, and in case you are not aware, we have now 72 hours to go for the deadline.

Applying to a total of 6 Schools, all IR-related programs. 4 MA (JHU/SAIS, GW/Elliott, CU/SIPA, UofP/GSPIA); 1 MS-FS (Georgetown/SFS); and 1 MPP (UofM/Ford).

Are you interested in an MA degree or a Phd? If you're considering a Phd, public policy or similar areas do not generally offer Phd programs, you should better do a politics Phd. For an MA degree, U of Denver Korbel School, GWU Elliott and Georgetown has excellent security programs. But my gut feeling is that you should stick with sociology and do a Phd. Northwestern could be an ideal place for example..

Hi, I took the GRE earlier today. My verbal was easier than expected and I got exactly the same score with the Powerprep practice test. Quantitative section was also O.K and while I had to guess last 4 or 5 questions, I could manage a 780. I had a clearly identified extra AW question but I was so overwhelmed that I could not write more than few sentences. I'm happy that I'm finally done with it.

Good to see some action here. Here I go; Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MAID, MIA, MPP Schools Applied To: Georgetown MSFS, JHU SAIS, Columbia SIPA, GWU Elliott, Pittsburgh GSPIA, Michigan Ford Schools Admitted To: Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: Undergraduate institution: International Undergraduate GPA: Not applicable, high for my own country, mediocre for US, I guess Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): Substantially higher Undergraduate Major: International Relations GRE Quantitative Score: 4 days to go, Oh my! GRE Verbal Score: GRE AW Score: Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 5 (by now) Years of Work Experience: 4,5 Describe Relevant Work Experience: I'm in the government sector, dealing with regional, multilateral and bilateral economic relations of my country, I'm also somewhat involved in development assistance provided by my country. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think I have clearly shown the relevance of my professional and educational background to the programs, stated my future goals and how a degree will help me achieving them. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): I need some 17 LORs and most of my recommenders are not eager to write more than 3, writing LORs is not that common in my country. I'm still trying to close the gap, and keep the LORs as strong as possible. The process is not over yet.

Listing relevant coursework in CV is unnecessary anyway. IMO.

Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right place but couldn't find a better fit. I will be apllying to MA programs in International Affairs with focus on International Economics/Development. I have 4 years of relevant work experience in my country during which time I have attended various international meetings such as WTO ministerial meeting, UNCTAD summit etc. Also I have participated to a good amount of seminars and workshops which are highly relevant to the field. Should I list them in my Resume, or should the Resume be more academic-focused? I would really appreciate some help and advice.

Assuming that you're a native English speaker, your verbal score is remarkably low. You could have made it up with a quantitave score in 700's, i guess, which would also be a good sign of your ability to undertake heavy quant classes in ID programs. The only thing you can do to improve your chances after now, is to write an excellent, well-focused SOP. Hope you know what to do with an MA degree in ID.

My first choice will definitely be Georgetown MSFS with a concentration on ID and regional focus on Eurasia/Russia. My second and third choices are SAIS and SIPA, although I am not a big fan of SAIS faculty. The second tier consists of GWU-Elliott, Upitt-GSPIA, and Umich-Ford. Exsistence of a solid certificate program or regional concentration on Russian/Eurasian studies is a decisive factor for me, so I had to skip some big names such as Fletcher. Hope I can get in one of them.

Not exactly a professional school but Boston University has a Master of Arts in International Relations & Religion program. You may want to take a look at this: http://www.bu.edu/ir/graduate/programs/irrn/