D-Lux
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Posts posted by D-Lux
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Program Applied To: International Relations, MPA
Schools Applied To: Georgetown MSFS, Syracuse (MPA/MAIR), GWU Elliott, American SIS, Monterey Institute (MPA), The New School GPIA, Rangel Fellowship, Pickering Fellowship
Schools Admitted To: Georgetown MSFS (no $), Syracuse (MPA/MAIR, no $), American SIS (no $), Monterey Institute (MPA, $), New School GPIA ($)
Schools Waitlisted: GWU Elliott
Schools Rejected From: None! Rejected by the Rangel Fellowship and Pickering Fellowship, however.
Attending: Georgetown MSFS
Undergraduate institution: Rural public university
Undergraduate GPA: 3.2
Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.57 (3.88 final year)
Undergraduate Major: International Studies and Spanish, minor in International Political Economy
GRE Quantitative Score: 760
GRE Verbal Score: 580 (This one hurt, I was getting 100 points higher on all the practice tests.)
GRE AW Score: 5.0
Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 6
Years of Work Experience: 6 total, 2 quite relavent, 2-3 somewhat relevant.
Describe Relevant Work Experience: Taught English in Japan on the JET Program for 2 years. Currently managing a tech support group and working with both domestic and international clients.
Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I felt like I still had more to say when I hit the word limit on most of these essays. After sending them in, I was worried that I should have had a little less about my background and a few more specifics about the school/program. But I guess I must've done something right!
Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Two of them I'm sure were very good. My third was written by my former Japanese supervisor. I was worried that some ad committees may not find his non-native English particularly charming or helpful, but apparently those fears were unfounded.
Other: Near fluent in Spanish, basic Japanese. Studied abroad in Spain. Traveled to 25 countries.
Between my low undergrad GPA at a rural public university and my comparative lack of experience (internship? what's that?), I felt like I was at a disadvantage compared to most people on this board. I almost didn't even bother applying to Georgetown. I'm glad I did, though! It turns you CAN get into a top program even with mediocre grades from a mediocre school.
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Hey D-Lux,
I was also accepted into the GPIA program at the New School with a 20% tuition scholarship. I was also accepted into NYU MS Global Affairs SCPS program, but I am waiting to hear on funding. I am not sure where I want to go just yet neither of these schools were my top choices.
Yeah, I just turned down my offer last night. I liked the New School's program and the International Field Programs in particular (much more than NYU's, which I looked at but didn't apply to), but not enough to take it over higher ranked, established programs.
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Anyone else have experience with MSFS deferring?
According to their website, they typically don't allow deferrals. It sounds like the rare ones they do allow may be more for long-term illness, caring for a dying family member, etc.
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Just got a rather blunt email from Pickering.... usually I hate those long "you're great and there was a lot of competition this year" emails, but they do dull the blow of rejection. Pickering's email seemed pretty cold.
Yeah, no kidding. Oh well, on to crushing student loan debt....
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Congrats!!
Guess if I haven't heard anything by now I can assume I wasn't picked...
Yeah, so much for the "all applicants will hear back by April 2nd" email.
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Going from the MPA to the second degree is going to be easier. Starting with the MAIR and adding the MPA, you'll have to try to fit in required MPA classes that are only offered in the summer. MAIR/Econ probably isn't much a problem.
They say there is a limit to the number of dual degree students they'll allow. What that limit is and whether it's ever reached, I'm not sure.
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Not sure if this thread is soley about funding, anyways. I might be headed to Syracuse for MA-IR (no funding), but how easy is it to work on a dual degree program (either MAIR/Econ or MAIR/MPA)? Can I just register for those courses and fufill those requirements, or do I have to apply beforehand? If not, is here a limited amount of spaces / an rigorous application process? Thanks a lot.
- J
You have to apply and there are a limited amount of spaces.
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Most programs have an average age on their website along with other admission statistics. The average age for these programs tends to be mid-late 20s with some early 20s and some late 20s/early 30s.
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(AU offered me some loan support)
FYI, those 20.5K in Stafford loans are available to anyone, anywhere, whether you're going to Harvard or beauty school. They might just be the only place that's told you about them so far.
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Denied on the Robertson Fellowship. Guess I'm headed to DC, then...
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If the massive loan you're talking about is a federal student loan (Stafford or PLUS), you might want to look into the public service loan forgiveness program and income-based repayment. You'd still end up paying back much of the loan (especially if your salary continues to climb throughout the 10 years), but you'll at least get a good deal of it forgiven.
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You would probably be better off asking this question in the Criminology and Criminal Justice forum.
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Any MAIR applicants hear of any funding yet? Also was anyone on their webinar yesterday, I didn't think the presentation was that helpfull, but the question session was good.
Yeah, I got some questions answered on the webinar. I did some emailing with Nell too. It sounds like the regular funding has all been announced for the dual degree students, but that they're deciding on that fellowship I applied for next week. If I don't get it, I think I'll be heading to Georgetown...
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Has anyone received their admitted student packet in the mail yet? It sounded like they were planning on sending them Monday based on the admissions email from last week, so I'm wondering when mine will arrive on the west coast...
Nevermind, got in the mail today. They want to me take a language class since it's been 5.5 years since I graduated. Guess it's not a bad idea to brush up...
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Has anyone received their admitted student packet in the mail yet? It sounded like they were planning on sending them Monday based on the admissions email from last week, so I'm wondering when mine will arrive on the west coast...
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Yeah - I remember seeing this and thinking "Is that a good thing?", I'm still not convinced that it is.
If it happens to be your career goal (which it is for me), then yes, I'd say so.
If you're more domestically focused, it's possible that SAIS might be the better choice. Each one can take you in either direction, though, so it's really up to you.
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I'm still trying to get a handle on where SFS is placing their grads (an employment report would definitely help with this) - but based on a non-scientific linkedin search - it doesn't look too different from SAIS.
According to their website, GT produces more members in the US Foreign Service than the next three universities combined. Not sure how their domestic placement stats compare to SAIS, but you can see the stats for the last eight graduating classes here.
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No funding, but I wasn't really expecting anything either. It sounds like 2nd year students are much better funded.
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$5,000/year for a total of $10,000 in assistance. It's not zero!
Congrats! Something is definitely better than nothing.
I thought I just got the email, but it was actually a reminder for the webinar tomorrow. More waiting...
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Hi, I got an acceptance email this morning from MSFS--seems like a week after everyone else. Has anyone that received their emails last week received funding?
Congratulations! I believe they said they were going to send out admissions packets with funding information on Monday of this week. I'm on the west coast, so I'll be waiting awhile.
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I got a nice email from a current MPA/MAIR student tonight. It was reassuring to me to hear from a current student about the quality of the program and to fire off a couple questions that I've been wondering about.
Now if we could just get that funding email...
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SAIS and Maxwell have a joint degree program in place.
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I think SAIS is considered the superior program, but it's very quant-heavy, which could be a plus or minus depending on your plans and interests. If you want to work during school, it believe your schedule at Elliott (plus its location) would be much more accomodating. I would take a close look at the programs, all the required/optional classes as well as the post-graduation employment info and go with whichever one fits your goals and interests better.
Elliott School (GWU) Fall 2011
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Just got an email saying I was admitted off the waitlist, but I declined.
So if you're on the waitlist, there's hope!