D-Lux

I'm going back and forth, myself. It's looking like the flight alone will cost me over $400. I feel like I already have a good idea about the program already (I watched the panel discussion video from last year, which I found to be informative.) Unless one of the DC schools offers me big money and/or Syracuse offers me absolutely nothing (which is rather unlikely), I'm pretty confident I'll end up at Maxwell.

For what it's worth, the Monterey Institute offers an MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. They have a Center for Nonproliferation Studies that's based in Monterey with offices in DC and Kazakhstan. They have rolling admissions final deadline to apply and be considered for merit-based aid is March 15th. Just wanted to let you in case MIIS/this program wasn't on your radar.

Program Applied To: International Relations, MPA Schools Applied To: Syracuse (MPA/MAIR), Georgetown SFS, GWU Elliott, American SIS, Monterey Institute (MPA), The New School GPIA, Rangel Fellowship, Pickering Fellowship Schools Admitted To: Syracuse (MPA/MAIR, funding TBD), Monterey Institute (MPA, $), New School GPIA ($) Schools Rejected From: Rangel Fellowship Still Waiting: Georgetown SFS, GWU Elliott, American SIS 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. In retrospect, I probably should have had a little less about my background and a few more specifics about the school/program. 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. Some ad committees may find his non-native English charming, others perhaps not. Other: Near fluent in Spanish, basic Japanese. Between my low undergrad GPA at a rural public university and my comparative lack of experience (internship? what's that?), I feel like I'm at a disadvantage compared to most people on this board. The results have been pretty encouraging so far, however.

Got my admission email this morning for the MPA/MAIR dual degree program! It sounds like it may be a few more weeks until I find out about funding, but I'm very happy to be admitted. Have any of you who were accepted already heard back on funding yet?

I just got a call today from the admissions office. In with a 20% tuition scholarship. That's two schools down, four to go for me... Anyone else applying to the GPIA at New School?

Just got a "Thanks, but no thanks" email from the Rangel people. Disappointing to say the least.

It sounds like Pickering may be more well-funded. There's a $5000/year difference in the fellowship amount as well. Can you share anything with us on your experience with the Pickering Fellowship? How was the interview process? This thread is pretty quiet so far.

The Rangel website states that they will only pay for domestic airfare segments. I did find a blog post from a Pickering finalist who was flown in from Japan, so it may vary between the programs. Since the OP is currently in Brazil, I figured it was worth mentioning.

It seems to me like she's hinting that you will be accepted. I'm guessing she's trying to establish a relationship with you pre-official acceptance so that you'll be inclined to enroll in her program once it's official. Why would the associate director of the program send you that kind of email if they weren't interested? If you were going to be straight up denied admission, you would be getting a thin envelope in the mail in April and dodgy, non-committal emails from them in the meantime. *edit* I guess it's possible they sent one to all the applicants, but that just means that at worst, the email could be neutral.

I didn't get my app in until January 31st, so I might have a bit of a wait ahead of me. The MPA/MA-IR is definitely my top choice, so I'm regretting not getting the application in sooner. I assumed everyone would get notified at the same time, so I took my time on the application. Good luck to everyone on the funding.

I'm applying to both as well. Also a white male, EFC 0, but my stats are kind of the opposite of yours in terms of GRE (higher), GPA (lower), and time out of undergrad (almost 6 years). It will be interesting to see how things play out. Have you taken the Foreign Service Officer Exam before? I'm wondering what effect, if any, that will have on an application. I'd say that considering you got a Boren Fellowship and are already admitted to a masters program, you probably have a good shot at getting an interview at the very least. (Remember, you'll have to come to DC at your own expense in March/April to interview in person for these Fellowships.) The one thing that does stick out to me as a potential issue is your writing score on the GRE. Just from personal experience, I got a 5.0 on mine, felt like I wrote a similar quality essay both times I took the FSOE, and those essays were graded 6/12 both times, which is the minimum passing score. You may want to prepare a good response as to why your GRE writing score was so low and how you plan to work on that weakness to pass the writing sections of the FSOE and FSOA.

Thanks for your post, I've been looking all over for more information on the GPIA. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of financial aid package did you get there? Do you have the opportunity to work/intern in NYC during the program? Their international field programs look great, but I'd really like to do some internships in NYC during the program as well.

From the job description: Prior Experience: Minimum of two years living or working in a developing country. Minimum of two years working internationally or within a development organization or similar experience. A good opportunity, but not exactly entry level.

Actually, you're right. The Wikipedia entry for APSIA lists them as an affiliate school, but there's no mention on the APSIA website. The online encyclopedia ANYONE can edit! Sorry for the misinformation. I'm still curious to hear from any students of the program, though.

Actually, it's an affiliate member of APSIA, but I'm also curious to know more about its reputation. I know it's a fairly young program (less than 10 years old, maybe?). Their International Field Program seems to offer some great opportunities, but I don't know anything about day to day life as a student.