EasyDeezy
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Posts posted by EasyDeezy
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Thanks for the input guys. I am leaning towards playing it safe by just taking macro since both sound pretty tough. Plus I haven't had calculus since high school, have been out of the classroom for the past six years, and would like some transition time to adjust to the new city and lifestyle.
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I agree with OregonGal - also use your military experience to show how you have matured since your legal mishaps. Regardless, Public Intox and Underage Drinking are relatively minor infractions and wouldn't even give you any trouble when applying for a security clearance.
Your undergrad stats are impressive as long as you do well on the GRE and do not botch the SOP you should be good to go.
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Just submitted my deposit for SAIS. It was a hard decision to forego two full-ride scholarships (GWU and MIIS) and take on some debt, but all of my professional contacts recommended SAIS heads above all others.
Regarding the pre-term -- do any of the current SAISers have experience doing both MACRO and MICRO pre-term? How tough is it to do both? I plan on at least taking the MACRO but the idea of freeing up an additional elective is very tempting.
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I lurked this forum through the entire admissions process - I figure its time to give back. Here are my stats which will hopefully be helpful to other prospective candidates, especially those with low undergrad GPA.
Any questions or comments are more than welcome.
Program Applied To : MA - Security Policy Studies / Strategic Studdies
Schools Applied To: SAIS; Georgetown MSFS; GWU Elliott; Denver Korbel; Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS)
Schools Admitted To: SAIS, GWU Elliott, Korbel, MIIS
Schools Rejected From: Georgetown
Still Waiting: None
Attending: SAIS!
Undergraduate institution: Large publicschool in the UC system
Undergraduate GPA: 3.05
Undergraduate Major: International Relations
GRE Quantitative Score: 162 (87%)
GRE Verbal Score: 163 (93%)
GRE AW Score: 5.0 (87%)
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 6
Years of Work Experience: 6
Describe Relevant Work Experience: 6 Years as a military officer with two overseas tours.
Languages: Spanish (although severely atrophied - did not claim on applications). MIIS admission was contingent upon completing Summer Intensive Language Program for my language of choice in order to meet entrance requirements.
Quant: Took several intermediate level econ classes in UG - Chinese Economics, Econ of Development, International Econ and some others. No quant experience since school. I never took anything called "Intro to Microeconomics" but SAIS did not require me to take a pre-term intro course.
Strength of SOP: Very strong- this is how made up for my low GPA. I followed a fairly simple formula (which may have been posted on here before) -
1. This is what I have done
2. This is what I want to do (and a short sentence on how I have corrected my shortcomings i.e. GPA)
3. This is what I hope to gain from your institution
Strength of LOR: Strong references from supervisory military officers and Department of State advisors who I knew personally. To future applicants coming from the military - don't ask someone for a LOR just because they are high in the rating chain. Request LOR from people who know your work ethic, experience and what you can accomplish.
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Winner winner, chicken dinner! In at SAIS and Elliott so far, now just waiting on SFS.
I was so nervous I couldn't remember my password for the first two tries...
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Wah wah wahhhhh.
Tomorrow will be a good day.
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Long time listener, first time poster....
I just feel the need to express how long today has been...I feel like a kid lying awake on Christmas Eve, or maybe sitting through the last day of school before summer - just sitting here waiting for the bell to ring.
Open House Impressions: SAIS, SIPA, Fletcher, SFS, etc.
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Rose1, cali and Coloradical - thanks for sharing your Open House experiences, I wasn't able to make it to any of them and your posts are very insightful.
SAIS2013 - how difficult are the language requirement tests? I took four years of Spanish in high school and undergrad however my ultimate goal is to learn a new language - either Chinese or Modern Arabic. I am considering taking a semester of Spanish to restrengthen my skills and testing out as early as possible in order to work on the new language for the remainder of my time. Thoughts?