OregonGal

Something relevant for everyone headed to a UC in the fall-- they're projecting an at minimum 6% tuition increase over 2011-12 for 2012-13, and there might be major spikes in the second half of the year or for 2013-14 when the inevitable shortfall comes due... especially if the education tax ballot initiative fails in the November election. I was already projecting a (I thought) pessimistically conservative increase of 6% but this might still blow a hole in my budgeting, since there's always the chance they decide to spike graduate tuition/out of state fees more than in-state undergrad tuition. Also, ANDS (and I wish you wouldn't set your font size bigger than everyone else) when you're talking about financial aid through the school, it sounds like you're talking about federal student loans--something not available to international students like TakeruK. Also, most financial aid packages offered at time of acceptance for US students include the full package of grants, stipends, and loans to cover full cost of attendance but you can usually apply for a bridge loan/increase in loan amount--again, if you're a US resident.

Sigh... My original budget was what I thought was pretty pessimistic and conservative at projecting 7% increases each year; I really don't want to deal with even more than that

Speaking of budget cuts and tuition hikes at UCs... the UC Regents are looking at 6%+ tuition hikes overall for 2012-13 and if the November ballot initiative fails, they'll have to seriously spike tuition to make up for a $250M shortfall.

And another financial update--this time on the unfortunate state of funding in the UC system. Due to the revised budget released by Gov. Brown the UC system is looking at an overall 6% tuition increase and if the higher ed tax initiative fails in November, the UC system has to find another $200-250M in cuts (or tuition increases). So, for those evaluating your budgets, you might want to factor in 6-7% up from 2011-12 budgets for 12-13, and tack on another 5-10% from that for 2013-14.

When I think of SIPA, I think of international affairs/policy. When I think of USC, I think of domestic policy and I think its location in LA/CA would be very relevant to your interest in local/state/federal racial policy--incarceration of African Americans, treatment of Hispanic migrant populations, history of immigrant Asian communities, etc.

If you're absolutely sure that the rent will be around $600 (market research? on campus apartment?) then you should go from there. Does that $7800 include paying for books, supplies? Will you need to buy a new laptop for grad school? How many times do you want to visit home, and how much will that cost in airfare etc? Once you've subtracted those lump sum costs, you can split the remainder up to see how much you have to live on per month (do you need it for 12 months or 9?). I'd also suggest doing some detailed tracking of your expenses; I've been doing that the last couple months and it's interesting how little things tend to add up over time, or what I buy which I wouldn't have included in my budgeting originally.

You could take a look at the TRIP survey out of William and Mary--it's a survey of IR academia and one segment of it is ranking of PhD/MA/BA programs, U Denver is #11 for MA and TAMU doesn't make the top 19 listed in the results (page 27). I just looked at the Foreign Policy mag rankings, and those are pulled directly from TRIP which tells you how reputable the survey was. I wouldn't put much faith into US News rankings etc.

While microfinance/entrepreneurship/small business support can definitely be seen as part of an IDEV program, IDEV also often deals with the more traditional forms of foreign aid--capacity building, infrastructure, skills training, etc. The main thing about these programs which the professional skills modules of masters programs deal with is the management/data analysis aspects--something which you already have experience in which is a point in your favor. The reason I mentioned the International Econ & Trade foci is because often those overlap with IDEV in the areas of microfinance/entrepreneurship/small business support. For example, GWU Elliott's International Trade and Investment Policy (ITIP) program has a focus in development economics, and the capstone course has you choosing whether to work on a project with a private firm, multilateral organization or US agency. At UCSD IR/PS and probably a lot of other schools, the econ concentration has a student consulting group which helps local non-profits or businesses come up with international business strategies. The main difference from IDEV, from my understanding, is that it is more of a multinational/private sector/finance focus--but that might make the program easier to get into with your background. Finally, IDEV is a very hot focus right now so in some programs like JHU-SAIS etc, you have to apply separately for IDEV because they don't want to take you in the general program pool and have everyone select IDEV for their concentration. You end up competing for a lot fewer slots by applying specifically to IDEV. A last note in regards to your work experience: I wouldn't discount the value of a business background in IR/IDEV. From my lurking around these forums the last few months, it seems like the majority of IR/IDEV applicants can be sorted into two groups--those with more IR theory backgrounds, and those with quant/econ backgrounds. I am the former, you are the latter, but it seems like they are split pretty evenly so it's not as if it's rare for someone with a business background to get into an IR school. You just need to rock your GREs (quant background people are supposed to do well on the Quant section, and if you can rock the Verbal/Writing portions it's even better), craft an SOP which shows how you want to transition fields and how your professional experience will apply, and choose your LOR writers well. Good luck!

As someone going into an IR MA program, I would differ from the previous poster on a few points. Your GPA is great, and will be very helpful in your applications. However, the top-tier IR graduate schools usually have less than 10% of their incoming class coming straight out of undergrad. They are very focused on bringing in people with professional experience, international experience, who have proven that they know enough about working within the IR field to put the degree to good use. These programs highlight that the average age of students is 26-28 and that they only take people with stellar GPAs and very relevant international/intern experience straight out of undergrad. While these MA programs are "cash cows" in that they generate cash flow for their parent universities, I would disagree that they are of less use than an IR doctorate. Most practitioners do not advance beyond the MA because it is a professional degree program, like getting a Masters in Engineering, Architecture or Social Work. I think IR doctorates are more for those who want to stay within academia, for which you still need practical, professional experience but where the focus is more on research/publishing/teaching. Since you're taking at least a partial fifth year to finish up, I would recommend waiting until the next application cycle. That way, you can get some professional experience whether through nonprofit work or internships. I would also recommend going to Germany, especially if your intended regional concentration is Europe, unless you have a significant amount of previous international experience.

You might want to move this thread down to the Professional Programs--> Government Affairs Forum; that's where all us IR/IDEV folks are hanging out. Some suggestions for you--it's true that your business experience could translate well to certain aspects of international affairs. I would suggest looking at international econ or international trade focuses as well as IDEV since that aspect seems to be your main interest in IDEV. I would also suggest start looking at components of those programs and start pulling together your strategy for SOPs because you will need to highlight any skills which can be applied to IR/IDEV from your professional background. Quantitative/econ skills are looked upon highly right now with the focus on professional skills development in a lot of the highly ranked programs, so that will be in your favor. You already know this, but your main weak point is your international experience. Unless that travel has been for a longer duration (ie a month or more abroad at a time vs 5 days vacation) I don't think it'll help you much, but it won't hurt. I think that the main thing that programs are looking for with international experience is the ability to live in, work within, and adapt to another culture's norms/etiquette/traditions. Since you probably won't have the chance to take a few months off and go volunteer/work in another country, I'd suggest focusing on your language skills and make sure they're applicable to the regions where you want to work--while French will work for Francophonic African/Caribbean countries, it won't be helpful for you if you're wanting to work in Latin America, for example.

Unfortunately, you have to step over the frame with a milk crate on the back. Yay for being a girl and having a frame designed to accommodate skirts If you haven't already attached the crate I would suggest looking into a pannier system. Those hang off the back rack so you wouldn't have the same issue. Also, I think that the reason I was warned about tickets is because I was in Eugene, where there's a lot of bike riders who are college students and aren't paying attention to the rules (no helmet, no lights, not paying attention to traffic, riding drunk)--so they ticket a bit more aggressively (or at least threaten to) than other places. I have my own silly question: for those with a milk crate off the back, where did you get it? The last one I had was a bright orange crate I liberated from the back of a grocery store

I think you should definitely consider factors like class sizes and access to professors. You might also check out the professors at the respective programs to see which has academic interests which dovetail with yours the best, and think about whether you want to work in LA/West Coast or NY/East Coast after graduation--it'd be silly to go to SIPA if you were planning on working in urban policy in LA, for example. Since USC is a private school, and in a fairly expensive COL area, I'd guess that the price tag wouldn't be massively different.

I definitely agree on the setup you're recommending--and kudos for reminding people about safety gear! A coworker of mine was biking to work last summer and got doored--he was fine aside from a scraped elbow, but his helmet literally shattered into several pieces upon impact when his bike flipped. Another coworker of mine who didn't own a helmet went out and bought himself one that same day. I never went so far as to wear a vest, but I was very firmly told by the bike store clerk when I was a sophomore in college to Buy The Lights Or You Will Get Ticketed. My front light actually detached from the casing and could be used as a flashlight, which was great.

Good luck--and don't sign a lease until you've survived your first month

I think that because it's "books and supplies" they are not only assuming you're buying new books, but that you'll also be buying some expensive equipment like a laptop, printer, etc. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that my yearly expense is not nearly the $1800 my school has as the line item in the COA budget.

I am counting down the days! Don't get me wrong, I love my job, my coworkers and our clients, but I am very excited about moving and starting the next chapter of my life. I've started compiling lists of things I'll need to get and touristy things I should do before I head West; I've bought my plane ticket already; I've registered for fall classes; and I am anxiously awaiting the e-mail from university housing that hopefully I'll have a furnished on-campus apartment.

So when you ship via Amtrak, are you yourself taking Amtrak or are you flying out and letting your belongings catch up with you?

ETA= English as a Foreign Language teacher, correct? I can't speak to the Fulbright experience (I'd imagine that's a nice line on a resume) but I can speak to teaching English overseas and how to market those skills. I spent a year teaching English in Korea through their public school program, immediately after finishing college, and when I came home my intention was to get a job in the international non-profit sector. While I was able to translate the time overseas into valuable time proving I have intercultural communication skills and adaptability/flexibility, the lack of "hard" skills was a barrier for me--I ended up taking an unpaid internship to get that US-based office experience and my tipping factor for my supervisor was that I geeked out over international policy as much as he did. Don't get me wrong, international experience is essential in this sector and can be the value-added that gets you a position, but it's not going to be one of your primary qualifications.

Are your spices that perishable? I think they're mainly referring to items which will spoil without refrigeration within the time it takes to ship them (fresh fruit/veg, etc). Dried herbs shouldn't be an issue.

@lufengtahir: I wouldn't be too worried about the verbal GRE score. Yes, it's not great, but your quant score is great and there are a lot of people out there with econ backgrounds and similar score profiles to yours. The main thing you need to worry about is making sure your SOP proves you have writing skills that just aren't easily translated into a test score. As for GPA, I think 5 years of significant, very relevant professional work experience will outweigh that.

Yep, the allergy season is horrible and it's a combination of topography and agriculture. Eugene is right in the bowl of the valley so we don't get a lot of wind through to clear out the pollen, and the area around Eugene is one of the United States' main grass seed producing areas so hay fever is horrible in the spring.

I wouldn't assume that any student was treating grad school as a matchmaking service; however, I do think that you're likely to be seen as less serious if you visibly let your romantic life take over your professional life--by creating conflict within the program through a failed intradepartmental relationship, or flaking out on a project due to relationship drama, whatever. That isn't to say I wouldn't date within the department/program/school, because it's also true that like college you're surrounding yourself with like-minded people with which you have a lot in common and that makes it inherently more likely for you to find your partner there. I just would be cognizant of the potential issues. The original poster also asked whether, fairly or unfairly, we thought that the "rules" were different for men and women. Well, it's unfair but it's also life--in STEM fields women are underrepresented. In tenure track positions there is still a bias towards men who won't be distracted (read: can more easily leave the family at home according to our cultural mores) by relationships or children and won't or can't take long parental leave/sabbaticals. Women who have a relationship within the department fail in a visible fashion (meltdowns, fights, drama) are more likely to be seen as emotional/less reliable than their erstwhile partner. I don't think my reaction to seeing a woman date a lot in graduate school would be to resent her for perpetuating a stereotype; I'd only resent her if her dating was causing a lot of conflict and drama which affected my graduate experience, and it would be the same if it was a guy cutting a swathe through the graduate student population. The only way I could see myself having that reaction is if the student explicitly stated that her goal was to find a husband and then it would be because that's a weird reason to be in a selective, rigorous professional degree program.

25% accepted, 25% waitlisted, 50% rejected.

I'd suggest re-posting this in Government Affairs--that's where all of us IR/PP folks are camped out However, I think that either path you take can be applied to either MA. You have the international experience, so you may want to go for more of a public/social policy position--that's what I did! A policy position in the field of your interest would also hopefully help you decide whether you want to take the international or domestic approach to that policy field.

I think that often it is academia which prefers you to have diversity in your education, not so much employers. However, there is also an advantage to your professional networks from that diversity--being able to leverage two school's worth of alumni/career services vs one in finding work after graduation.