stilesg57

Since you want to do IR (and you actually like DC), an IR-related think tank in DC might be a better/safer call since it's more applicable. However, as someone who's worked on two campaigns (Obama part-time and Senator Jim Webb [D-VA] full-time), I will say this: if you really believe in the candidate it will be the honor and experience of a lifetime working to get them elected to public office. Being on a campaign and working with the American people will CHANGE you, and in a good way. I've always felt guilty that I didn't serve in the military, but I feel a little better that I've done some form of service to my country by getting people like Jim Webb and Barack Obama to high office. So a great life experience coupled with pretty good IR resume experience would win out in my book. It's also the kind of experience that you can mine for statement-of-purpose essay insights because trust me, something amazing will happen to you in the course of working on a campaign.

Congratulations on getting into SAIS! Their grads absolutely OWN Beijing, it's incredible how dominating the program is here. Maybe my little sis will see you in DC - she's doing the JHU-Nanjing program next year which she intends to use as a stepping stone into SAIS (same GPA as you, WAY worse GREs, but nearly fluent in Mandarin). However, I have to respectfully disagree with you regarding the value of this forum. These boards have provided me every bit as much invaluable information as they have BS info, and frankly it's been a real help. To say that because not all of the advice is crystal-ball correct the whole modus operandi of these boards is invalidated is just inaccurate IMO. If you posted your situation here I'm sure there would've been plenty of people telling you not to bother, but their would've been plenty of others saying "hey, you've got the test scores and experience seems to matter the most at the top schools anyway - go for it." I don't see how that's a bad mix of advice: you have to admit that your acceptance was far from certain with a GPA like that, and nearly all of your classmates will have higher undergrad GPAs than you. Just a matter of statistics there - don't be upset at some of the more pessimistic board members for pointing it out. What your situation proves is that it is unwise not to try just because you're not a shoo-in. So just don't listen to statements that contradict that kind of advice and glean all the other pearls of wisdom you can from the site. Also, I think it's worth noting that most of the "preening windbags" on this site with "their fatuous obsessions with the smaller things in life" got into some pretty good schools from what I saw, and as such some will be your colleagues starting this fall.

Doesn't have to do with alumni networks for Nicholas and SPEA - the people are working in different companies and don't work together directly. The consortium I'm working for is in contact with a 50+ businesses and organizations, and the enviro people are most often from Nick or SPEA. It can't be coincidence that one of the girls working on enviro issues at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the guy we're in contact with at the US Embassy working for Todd Stern on climate issues, and the enviro-focused CSR heads that we deal with at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, McKinsey, GE, Phillips, and Nike are all either Nicholas or SPEA grads. Also, the research that I'm doing is being done primarily by those schools and people/groups affiliated with them, along with some others like Oregon and UCSB. Like I said, the sheer dominance of these programs really surprised me. On the management side of things it's all JHU SAIS alums, on the enviro side it's all Nicholas and SPEA people. Maybe it has to do with China... UCSB's supposed to be great from what I've heard. I have a good friend from college who just graduated from there with her MEM a couple months ago. As soon as China stops blocking Facebook (six days and counting...) I'll send her a message and see if she'll talk to you about it. Another friend of mine got a masters in BioChem there and he spoke highly of Bren - either he took classes there or dealt with profs from there or something. You can't ask to live in a nicer place for two years

I'll try my hand at a few of these 1) I don't have too much to judge this on but looking at who gets hired at the EPA and the people I'm either working with or whose research I'm sourcing/building off of in my current job (researcher for the China Greentech Initiative - it's a report for multinational companies and policy makers supported by the Chinese government, the US State Dept, and over 50 NGOs, multinationals, and consulting firms) has led me time and time again to the Nicholas School at Duke and SPEA at Indiana. Everything I'm doing enviro related (uh, pretty much anything I'm doing at the moment) is dominated by research and grads from these two programs. The consulting people are all from SAIS (sprinkled with Harvard and Berkeley grads), the enviro people are all from Nicholas and SPEA (punctuated by a couple Princeton and Yale peeps). It becomes really obvious really quick. As enviro policy became more important to me, it became one of the factors in changing my decision to attend Duke instead of Michigan. 2) From what I gather, there is little if any difference between an MPP with an enviro focus vs. an MEM with a policy focus. There's no realistic difference between those. MPP is probably ever so slightly better for the public sector, MEM ever so slightly for the private. If enviro policy is what you're interested in I'd apply to both types of programs and go to the best school you can get into, regardless of the three letters in front of your degree. Assuming the respective programs have the program and alumni connections you want. 3) I've heard the envrio schools want at least some enviro experience. You sound like you have a better application for a policy school than for an enviro school. I'm in a similar boat: for example, I couldn't have gotten into Nicholas this year but I was able to get into Sanford and several other good MPP programs; now that I have some enviro experience and a class or two in it for my MPP I don't think I'll have any trouble getting into Nicholas next year for a dual degree (which is probably the route I'll go). Michigan has a similar setup with their School of Natural Resources and the Environment. You've got a lot more research to do if you're asking what the top programs are. Look at people who are doing the kind of work you want to do and/or publishing the kind of research that interests you, and see where they're from and what their degrees are. Start looking at schools that have good programs in both (Duke, Indiana, Michigan, etc.) and compare the specific programs and what their grads are doing with their degrees. Good luck!

Currently abroad or from abroad? If you're from the States and just living abroad at the moment find a community college in your home state and take online classes through them. That's what I did and it was cheap, easy, and really improved my application (more than I thought it would; I talked to several admissions people about it and they all talked it up as a big positive). I took my classes online through Denver Community College even though I was not in Denver during most of the semester, got easy straight As and it only cost me ~$800 for Stats, Micro, and Macro classes. If you're from overseas and all you're looking for is a prereq I'd just search around for the cheapest option possible. Good luck!

That's a tough one. My sis is in a fairly similar situation, though her's is a bit easier (she's younger and she can defer). I moved out here to Beijing for the job market - she lives here. She got into Johns Hopkins-Nanjing, her top choice program, but with no financial aid. Then she got a sweet job that provides both great experience and a GREAT paycheck (she's making more than I ever have even though I'm 3 years older and she was always kind of a slacker in school - yes, I'm a bit jealous). She deferred; she figures she can apply to a bunch of other programs next year and hope for some funding while having her top choice at full cost as a fall-back. It's a bit tougher for you. I hear you on the age thing - I feel a bit old when I think of graduating a few months shy of my 28th (or 29th if I dual-degree, which is looking probable). You just want to have some direction and earnings before your 30s, you know? I would base it on the promise of your current job. If you're enjoying yourself, doing really well and making some money, it might be worth staying, improving your application for next year, and applying to some cheaper schools that will also probably give you some aid. If these jobs are awesome and great experience but they're temporary and not paying a living wage, go to your dream school. I don't feel like I can offer that good of advice without being in your shoes, sorry! Good luck with your decision!

I talked with most every school I was accepted to about this number. The lowest increase in apps over last year I heard about was 10%, the highest was 35%. I think it's safe to assume that there will be just as much of an increase - if not more since now people who lost their jobs in the downturn have now had time to put their apps together - as last year. Sorry It's a real tough spot for fresh college grads because of the wonderful Catch-22 that you usually need work experience to get into a good IR/MPP/MPA school (and certainly to maximize your fellowship offerings) but because there's NO job market right now it's better to go straight to gradschool to ride out the storm. What a mess.

I'm writing this from a 12.1" screen I've been using exclusively for the last four months. It's my Dad's laptop since I only have a desktop and I wasn't bringing that halfway around the world. He got a small laptop so it would be "more portable." Yes, it's influenced my advice I'm going with a 15.4" screen this fall, perhaps one of those 16" Toshibas. I need way more screen "real estate" than I have now, and my eyes need a break What's the difference in a pound and a few inches anyway when it comes to carrying it? How many times are you not going to take it with you or be annoyed at taking it with you where that little extra size makes the difference? I look at it this way: get the biggest laptop that is reasonably comfortable to carry to and from the classroom/office. If you need something smaller for portability reasons, you're not going to gain a lot of mobility by dropping a pound plus three inches off the screen size. If a 15.4 incher is too big, a twelver (and certainly a thirteener) is too big too. In that case, get a small, ultra-portable netbook for for ~$300 in addition to your primary laptop or even an iPhone and carry that around with you all the time. Luckily they're so cheap these days it's not necessarily an either-or proposition. Just my 2c. Same logic applies to concealed-carry handguns BTW

Update: So long story short I was in a bit of a mess over switching programs from Michigan to Duke and my parents by complete chance happened to be in Charlotte for a wedding. I asked if they could drive out to Durham and check the town, Duke, and Sanford out. Chuck Pringle the head of admissions met with them ON A SUNDAY (that guy is awesome) and showed them around for several hours. Anyways, the important part is this: he talked to them about why I was admitted even though I'm on the young side and have an overall mediocre level of post-undergrad experience. He pointed out three things: killer test scores, great letter of rec and statement of purpose, and that I had taken those three stats and econ classes at a community college. He really emphasized the importance of that. I knew it was a decently big deal that I had "clicked off" requirements but apparently it was REALLY emphasized by Chuck. Enough that it surprised my parents. So yeah, getting your micro/macro credits at a community college DOES help, even at a top school.

If you're conservative or have any interest in working for conservative groups/organizations/administrations I would do George Mason. I worked at the NRA for a year - we were DIRECTLY tied to George Mason for our scholarly research/researchers, law student, policy practitioner, etc. needs. GM was heavily tied to every other conservative or right-leaning organization in DC that I had contact with. Two of the NRA lawyers I worked for (out of 6) were GM Law grads. I'm serious: I had never even heard of GM till I worked there, but I was soon dealing with them every day. They are really becoming a top institution for conservative-flavored thinking - the econ dept. is like The Chicago School but even more Friedman-centric and the core law school faculty is made up of a group who pulled a coordinated "exodus" from more liberal institutions about a decade ago to form a law school to their specs. Dean of the law school offered me admission without even applying at our Christmas party If not, I'd consider taking on the debt for American as it is a nationally-known institution whereas GM is much more of a regional school. One more thing to consider: I'm kind of a moderate lefty who worked for the NRA because I'm a huge civil libertarian and happen to like the Second Amendment as much as the First. I'm admittedly a bit of an 'educated' hick, if you will. And even I was annoyed as hell by many of the GM students I dealt with (from several different programs). Lotsa crazies. Worth thinking about.

May it rest in peace till next year. I'm just bummed I didn't find out about it until the last half of March!

Generally, yes. Schools with medium overall prestige that have a very prestigious program in XYZ subject tend to be very competitive for that particular program. Think Korbel School at DU. Similarly, prestigious schools with a lackluster or not-well-known program tend to be easier to get into for that specific program. See CIPA, Cornell. This applies to whole types of degrees too. For example, because MPA/MPP degrees are not as popular or sought after, they are usually easier to get into at a prestigious institution than other degree programs like law, business, medicine, etc. For example, GWU has a ridiculously high acceptance rate for the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy, north of 40% if I remember correctly. But their law school has an acceptance rate closer to 20%, and their med school closer to 15%. Also, I'm going to save you a lot of headaches right now: don't believe the rankings. As for the specific schools you mentioned, MIT is probably harder to get in to than Elliot even if it's not ranked as high. Don't believe the rankings - they're bull.

I'm in Beijing right now working on a green tech consortium project sponsored by about 40 multinationals (businesses and consulting firms). I don't know much about Columbia SIPA grads, but I do know something about Johns Hopkins people. I'm SHOCKED at the complete dominance SAIS grads have over here. SAIS grads OWN China when it comes to mid and upper level management at multinational firms - it's amazing. They make up about half the people I deal with. The rest are Harvard, Georgetown, a couple Berkeley MBAs and and some lesser known IR programs sprinkled randomly into the mix. But SAIS dominates. The last two weeks have made it clear to me: in Beijing, there's SAIS and then there's everybody else. It's that obvious. Just something to think about if you want to work in China.

I'm surprised nobody's said it yet but I guess I'll be the bearer of bad news: with those grades/GPA, you're going to need AT LEAST one year of solidly relevant post-college to offset that GPA if you want to go to a decent school. Not top 10 mind you, but a decent, top 25 school.

If I had to posit a guess, I would say "No, it does not stack up against American two year programs" I would agree, except for what I've seen abroad. Here in China, LSE, Oxford, and Cambridge are the three "known" schools outside America, and LSE is considered very highly amongst both private and public sector employees here. Also, an undergrad friend of mine turned their MSc in IR at LSE into a fully funded PhD program Justice and PoliSci at UC Berkeley. I think in the American business and non-profit sectors LSE is a secondary school, but pretty much everywhere else in the WORLD it is considered a top-notch degree, even ahead of many American university programs that like to consider themselves "stronger and more prestigious" than the Brits. Just an observation: from what I've seen in my current position (in which I'm the lone American and there 7 British Crown and former Colony university students/graduates), I'd say LSE is a fine place to go!

CU-Denver School of Public Affairs (NOT University of Denver Korbel School entirely different and has an IR/security focus). Very decent enviro focus (along with social and criminal policy) at a mid-level school that's fairly inexpensive and whose name carries it as far or further than it should, if you know what I mean. After that, look into UI-Chicago for good enviro and urban planning focus at a mid-level school. But in your situation I'd do CU-Denver.

Assuming you rock the GRE, you could have a strong PhD app for WWS. There is a prof there - forgot his name - who's a great guy and is on the cutting edge of migration research. Do a quick search for him, read up on his stuff, talk with him and wow him a bit and see where that takes you. The rest of your background is there and supposedly over a third of WWS PhDs are straight from undergrad - if anyone's competitive for those slots you sure sound like it. There are other great programs too of course: Duke, etc., but you might be better off applying for a couple MPPs/MPAs at Top-10 schools (where you'll most likely get in) and then applying for PhD's at Top-30 schools. Maybe you reach at WWS because of the migration-focused prof and hope for the best, but just apply for the MPP at Harvard to give you an Ivy opportunity in case WWS falls through and you're not happy with any other schools whose PhD programs you got into. Just an idea, good luck!

If you're 100% sure you're doing something in Asia IR/PS is the way to go with no funding at either school. You're not going to get much if any additional value out of SIPA's name/rep if you're focusing on the Pacific rim, certainly not ~$35k's worth. Econ dev. doesn't tend to pay too well either; that extra ~$35k in debt is not going to paid off easily. I also think you're overestimating living expenses in SD by $5-10k, and I lived there for a year and a half. Finally, if you want to live/work anywhere in SoCal UCSD's name (and certainly their alumni connections) seems to go further than Columbia's, believe it or not. I'm sure that changes the further east you go though...

Best bar? Yikes, there's lot of good ones. Depends what you're looking for. I tend to like pubs, dives, and music venues. The Ould Sod is a great Irish pub right next to the Normal Heights neighborhood sign on Adams and about 34th St. There's a bunch of bars on that strip of Adams. Northpark is up and coming for sure, getting nicer all the time. U-33 (or something like that) near 30th and University is a decent place for dancing. The Red Fox on El Cajon near Texas is a weird little gem even if you're the youngest person in there by 20 years - worth visiting for the experience alone. I didn't spend much time in bars in Hillcrest since it was far enough away to be a drive and if I was getting in a car I was going to OB or PB (Winston's in OB is the best underground-ish music joint in SD - I love it) Hillcrest is home to more upscale bars, more expensive bars, and gay bars. Best coffee shop to hang out at? There's lots, but Pete's in Hillcrest on University was may favorite. Biking on University? Not the worst call in the world, but definitely not the best. I'd use side streets as much as possible - luckily, just one block off University/Washington/El Cajon and there is no traffic. Yes, particularly Hillcrest. A lot there, actually. Substantially less in Northpark, but not absent by any means. My car was broken down a lot and I was unemployed a lot while I lived in the area, so I would walk all over just because it's always so nice outside. It was never weird or dangerous or anything. Don't know about tennis courts being free (there are a bunch near the dog park, but I was always walking a dog and never looked at them), but just about all of the western part and the north eastern part of Balboa is great for hanging around and throwing a frisbee. Beach is great for that too. I love to hike and there are several great hikes within 15, 25, and 50 minutes of Hillcrest/Northpark. As for police, there is a "hole" in the middle of the area from Park blvd to Texas and El Cajon to Balboa Park that's a bit rougher and has a stronger police presence than the rest of it. However, it's SoCal and there are cops everywhere - I've never seen so many just driving around. Very annoying. In the nightlife areas (most of Hillcrest, Park St. in University Heights, Adams St. in Normal Heights, and near University and 30th in Northpark) you won't have any problem being loud at night. Don't live east of the 805. Honestly, if you want to go nuts OB is THE place to live. It's insane. Really fun, but after six months I honestly got a little tired of being accosted by people wandering around on hallucinogens four nights of the week. I lived most recently on Adams near Texas overlooking Mission Valley and have liked that location best for price, neighborhood character, etc. Good luck and if you have an addresses you're looking at that you don't know are sketch or not message me and I'll let you know. Enjoy SD - I'm jealous!

UIC would be tempting with no tuition and a stipend, but I think I'd go with CMU in your situation. The JD possibility (which you're already accepted to - congrats!) makes debt less of an issue, and you're getting a pretty nice fellowship anyway. The CMU name and alumni network are probably worth the risk, especially with the Pitt JD opportunity. Just my 2c. I didn't apply to any masters programs at schools where I could've gotten into their JD program, so I'm jealous

I don't know how much it matters or not, especially if you have an undergrad and masters from the same institution and then get accepted to their PhD program. One friend of mine doing her PhD at Berkeley said that admissions and some profs really valued "institutional diversity," but that's the only thing I've heard on the matter outside this thread. Based on the other replies, it looks like it isn't that big of a deal.

out of curiosity, what is your friend's academic and professional background? I love school for the sake of school too - typical liberal arts grad

Man '06 was an amazing year in politics! Who did you work for? Did they win? I was originally going to work for Bob Casey in PA but by summer he was up about 25 points over Santorum and I figured that race was already over (it was). I looked at Harold Ford in TN and Jim Webb in VA and more or less flipped a coin. Couldn't be happier about how that worked out: got to know Webb and got to spend time in the DC area

Here's my pre-graschool story: Graduated undergrad from Whitman College (top 40 liberal arts college) late May 2006 Jim Webb (D-VA) for US Senate - July 2006-November 2006 So glad he won - still my favorite US politician by a mile. Got involved just before the "macaca" incident; what an incredible campaign to pop your cherry on. National Rifle Association, General Counsel's Office - November 2006-September 2007 Worked in the legal dept. of the NRA. It was incredible. I was the token Dem in the office and CERTAINLY in the building as a whole, but let me tell you - nothing will make you into a bigger believer in individual rights than seeing what our legal system can do to people whose rights it wants to infringe upon. Denver Community College - September 2007-December 2007 Took Microecon, Macroecon, and Stats to shore up my grad application on the cheap Ascender Software, LLC - February 2008-June-2008 Moved to San Diego and took the first legit job I could get. Healthcare / legal management software. Fascinating, but terrible workplace. Would've quit if I hadn't been laid off. Guided Discoveries - July 2008-September 2008 Summer camp counselor aboard a 156' three-masted tallship. Most amazing job ever. Unfortunately, everybody gets canned come September. Barack Obama Campaign - October 2008-November 2008 Worked in San Diego, CA and back home in Denver, CO as a volunteer full-time. Ended up getting invited to inauguration. Google "Patricia Stiles Obama" and check out the pics of my Mom introducing him in Philly a couple days before Inauguration. Experience of a lifetime - unfortunately, nobody in the business world cares. Private English tutoring - March 2009-Present Teaching English in Beijing, China. Spent months trying to find a job in San Diego, CA with no luck. Gave up and moved abroad while still applying to grad schools. Currently teaching English to pay the bills while trying to land a green energy/tech internship. There you go, that's my story. I feel like I've got to do a lot since gradation, certainly more than the average schmuck. The most important thing I've learned is this: go to grad school as soon as you can. You're wasting time otherwise.

Me neither. With a great academic background and 2.5 years of solid work experience (making over $40k at a nonprofit at one point), I spent six months trying to find a job in San Diego and came away with one interview - for a part-time, minimum-wage retail position. I had to move to China to get a frickin' job for godsakes. I wish I was already a year into a masters degree. I know most counties in the US aren't well over 12% unemployment, but anything after 8% is BRUTAL when you're fresh out of school and trying to find your first real job. If you know you want to go to gradschool and you have a really good idea of which degrees/programs you're interested in, I'd advise you to go for it. At least apply and see what kind of options you have while you're competing with the laid-off 35 year-old paralegal for a service job that pays under $10 an hour. Sorry if I come off a little bitter, but it was a rough year in the US to get laid off twice and spend the rest of the time desperately job hunting. If you can avoid that experience by going directly to gradschool I'd highly recommend it. The debt difference is less than you think if you consider how little you'll make in the next year or two (I went $8k into debt in the last year alone just for living expenses) vs. what you'll make your first couple years out of gradschool.