ridofme

I like the first paragraph, but the second could be improved upon. Your medical issue sounds legit, so there's no need to make excuses. Definitely avoid phrases like "I feel like". Hopeful80's rewrite is a good start. Did you ever raise your GPA above a 2.2, such as in the subsequent year? That would be worth mentioning if so. The one thing you don't address is whether or not this medical issue still affects you now. This is something that the admissions committee will want to know.

I second what Takeruk said about the difference between professional masters and research masters/PhDs. Another important question to consider is students' prospects post-graduation. I doubt that only 4% of applicants (maybe about 10 people) to Cornell's lit program could perform graduate-level work and research in the field. It's just that even with that low of an acceptance rate, a number of those people are going to end up teaching adjunct at community colleges. Meanwhile, the hundreds of students who matriculate in engineering master's programs every year at Cornell look forward to great job prospects in the field.

I think these salary stats are the main reason that you see so many threads come March/April along the lines of "can I truly justify 100k+ loans for an MIA?" But you have to consider these salary stats based on expectations in the field. I have two friends who got masters in counseling-related fields. Both are licensed in our state, but are only making in the 35k range. Now neither of them went to Harvard, but noone providing mental health services to refugees is going to be making 100k right out the gate. In that field, you'd have to head an agency to see anything close. If you want to make a bunch of money in private sector consulting, then you probably want to get an MBA. Getting an MIA or MPP would be circuitous route at best. I also agree with what Minerva473 said: Moreover, while someone getting an MBA might have been making 70k before going back to school, and wants to make it to six figures, SIPA students with "three years of work experience" were probably making 28k at a non-profit, so getting to 65k would actually be quite a jump.

@ OP - "should not exceed" is pretty clear. If it said "around 2 pages" that would be different. They are not giving you any wiggle room. @clevajay I didn't address mine to anyone. I put an appropriate header - i.e. "Statement of Purpose", "Personal Statement", etc. - at the top, and then dove right in.

Why do you say your route to an IR school might be torturous? With a header like that, I was expecting a 2.8 in musical theater from No Name State, and 6 mos work experience at a local coffee shop. You have a great international background, a great GRE (the writing section could be impoved upon, but the consensus seems to be that that section is the least important), a solid GPA in 100% relevant majors, and good work experience. I assume you have native fluency in Cantonese, and maybe speak a little Mandarin? Stay in the working world a little longer, try to take advantage of some IR-related stuff while you're at Leeds, keep up that column, and you should be good to go.

The Spanish major, fluency, and time spent abroad are all great assets. Taking the econ courses sounds like a good idea. Maybe throw in a stats or calc class as well? Your target GRE score would depend on what tier of programs you are aiming for. If you are going for tier 1, I would think 75th+ percentile for quant would be required to offset your relatively low GPA, and your lack of quant background. (No judgment, I was/am in the same position re: GPA and lack of quant). Intelligence studies seems like a bit of a stretch based on your background. What draws you to that field? What in particular are you interested in doing?

Check out this link: http://nlp.stanford.edu/~rkarthik/DAGAP.pdf Are you a foreign student? It looks like MS programs will let the verbal score slide a bit in that case.

That's pretty low of the professor to sabotage your application. He certainly must know that a rec letter that explicitly voices reservations does not bode well. What kind of relationship does he think you two will have in the future if you end up staying in your current program? His actions seem short-sighted at best. If he thinks that you could pursue your modified research interests in your current program, he should have talked to you about that when you approached him for the letter! Sheesh. I am hopeful for you that the adcomms will be more forgiving in this case because the referee clearly has some motivation to keep you from transferring. This is a very unique situation. But letters of recommendation, from my understanding, do carry a lot of weight in this process. Unfortunately, I think that this bad letter has the potential to bring up some legitimate questions in the minds of the adcomms about why you are switching fields in the middle of a PhD. Hopefully this is something you have explained to their satisfaction in your SOP and to the Comparative Lit. prof who will be advocating for you.

I think it depends on what it is you have to say. Were you ill on the day of the exam? Did you just receive terrible news? If you're just a bad test-taker, do you have high grades in quant courses? I think the point of these explanatory statements is typically to prove that X black mark was an aberration, and assure the adcomms that it won't happen again.

I'm just going to give you a little emotional support here, seeing as you appear to have created a gradcafe account just to get some feedback on this typo! I totally get that anxiety levels are high as the wait drags on. I certainly have been doing some crazy obsessing. But I think your concerns that you won't get in anywhere are unfounded. We avoid typos to demonstrate that we are conscientious and diligent, and have a firm grasp on the technical aspects of the English language. I don't think accidentally deleting the word 'the' suggests that you lack these qualities. It shows that you are human, and that one tiny error slipped by in the editing process. I'm going to wager that even the greatest world leaders of our time have, on occasion, deleted or added a word in something they've written. If any school based its admissions decision on such a small, obviously inadvertent error, that would be shameful. Long story short: you'll be fine.

Exactly! I really am not obsessive or anxious by nature, but this process has revealed a totally unexpected side of my personality. After exhausting most of the relevant threads in the Government Affairs sub-board, I found myself browsing only tangentially relevant posts by applicants in totally different fields - the humanities, engineering, geology, etc. My dreams have vacillated between getting into my top choice and having a blow-out party, to getting rejected by every single school and collapsing in shame. I asked my parents, who applied in the 70s/early 80s, what this process was like pre-Internet. They said you basically fill out a form by hand, type your resume, gather a few materials, make a bunch of photocopies, buy some postage, drop everything in the mail, and wait a bit. I think they both took standardized tests of some sort, but neither remembers it as a particularly harrowing process. What simpler times...

This sounds like something that should be addressed in an addendum/supplemental essay. (Many schools give you this option). You want to keep your SOP as bright and forward-looking as possible. Health problems are very sympathetic in general, I think, so I wouldn't be too discouraged. The one thing to keep in mind is whether or not they seem firmly in the past. You say you graduated eight years ago, but are you still struggling with these same health issues? This is something you will need to address. For exmaple, if the issue was depression, some adcomms might think 'well, if her severe depression caused her to fail so many classes then, why won't it impact her graduate studies now?' I am speculating of course, but these are issues I would consider when figuring out how to address your low GPA. If you still struggle with whatever illness, you need to show (in 2 sentences max) how you are able to better deal with it now. I wouldn't be too worried about going from English to social work, depending upon to what tier of school you're applying of course. A friend of mine just got accepted to a great program with a fine arts background, and all she had was some internship experience. I get the impression that MSW programs are more concerned with your commitment/interest in the common good than your undergrad major or GPA. If you want someone to look over your SOP or addendum, I'd be more than happy to. Feel free to send me whatever you've written in a private mesage. I know (from personal experience) that dealing with GPA issues can be anxiety-producing, so I'd be happy to help you.

Are you applying to a PhD or Master's program, and is it directly related to your major? With more specifics, us forumites might be of better help.

Agreed with PhDreams. Unless you were failing all your classes at your first school, it will just look like you transferred and had to make up some credits. I wouldn't call attention to it, unless the school explicitly asks for explanations of any transfers (which some do).

Is there an option to add an additional essay/explanation on the online application? Most of the time such an extra essay would be used to explain a black mark or special life circumstances ("I was diagnosed with X my sophomore year..." etc.), but it might be a place where you could address your inadvertent mis-click without taking up valuable space in your SOP.

It was several years ago, but it's not like it was decades, unfortunately. In most of my apps, I have avoided addressing it so as to not draw attention. But the one I'm working on right now specifically requests an explanation for any failing grade. I'm not going to include anything about it in my SOP, just a brief explanation of the grade where specifically prompted: I'm trying to keep it concise. I will send you what I have in a PM. I appreciate any suggestions you might have about tone/content, etc. Thank you so much!

Many moons ago, my first post on gradcafe was to figure out if it's worth applying to master of public policy/international affairs programs despite the fact that I failed a class during undergrad (a big aberration on an overall decent transcript). After receiving some kind encouragement from fellow forumites, I decided to go ahead with the application process, and now I'm at the point where I need to address the failing grade in a supplemental essay. I would really appreciate if someone were willing to look over what I've written. I don't want to post it for public view, so please send me a private message, or post here so that I can send you a private message, if you're willing to help me out. Unfortunately, I've left this to the last-minute (largely due to my anxiety on the matter), so if someone could message me sometime today or tomorrow I'd really appreciate it! In return, I'd be more than happy to review any statements of purpose/supplemental essays/CVs, etc. I'm a pretty good editor. Also, if any of you has general advice re: addessing black marks in one's record, feel free to post below! (I'm particularly interested in those who have done so and then been admitted - the dream!) Thank you in advance.

I'm sorry for all that you've gone through. I don't have any advice to give other than to wait for a response. Your situation sounds very unique and compelling, and your email was thorough and sincere. Hopefully that counts for something. I wish you the best of luck.

This is a case in which you need to contact each school. Only one of my schools wanted transcripts sent directly from my undergrad college. The rest were all unofficial upload or assemble-and-mail-yourself. But for those with stringent requirements, you will want to make sure to follow their instructions to a T. General gradcafe advice/speculation will do no good.

Hmm. This is a tough situation. I don't know anything about interfolio, but I do know that some university departments keep letters on file. Perhaps if you do end up asking for a letter you could arrange for that. Then when it comes time to submit you can always let your schools know why the letters haven't been personalized. I don't think logistics will be a problem. The more difficult question is whether or not to ask, of course. There's no obvious answer, as others have noted. Is there possibly another prof you know in the department whom you might be able to ask about how receptive the sick prof might be, just to test the waters? Perhaps this is morbid, but I might also consider how far along he is in this illness. If he is actively dying, then I would feel very uncomfortable asking, and would probably discourage others from doing the same. But sometimes terminal illness means a number of decent years left, just that there's no cure. Sad either way.

Definitely look for a job, but I would just add that you most likely should not mention that you are hoping to go to grad school in the fall, if you are applying for any kind of permanent position. It will sink your interview. In fact, perhaps it would be better to apply for jobs that are meant to be short-term, like tutoring or some kind of assistant work (not sure of your field). As fendy said, you don't want to burn any bridges.

I suppose someone who has successfully reapplied might be able to speak to this better, but I’m not sure I like the way your essay begins. You certainly want to highlight what you have done since being rejected last year, but it would feel more appropriate later in the essay I think. Also, the essay is well-written overall, but I would have a native English speaker review it if possible, as there are a few awkward grammatical constructions peppered throughout. For example, the first sentence should read “This is the second time I am applying to NYU”. Another awkward sentence is "I envision my long-term career goal as a scholar that..." That could be rewritten a number of different ways, including "My long-term goal is to become a scholar who..."

Don't be discouraged. This is a hard process for everyone. First of all, I think you need to have a native English speaker review your essay before you submit it. As renwod90 points out, there are a lot of sentences that don't quite work or make sense, or sound natural. I think the other thing your essay lacks is focus. You touch on a number of historical topics that interest you, but you don't really connect them. I'm not sure what Bosnia has to do with Algeria. You also make some broad criticisms about the education system (in France? in general?) that don't seem particularly relevant (unless you're interested in education reform?). Some of these anecdotes do not serve a clear purpose, or help me understand why you are interested in IR/diplomacy. The Bosnia example is particularly problematic. Did that professor make a connection between the assasination of Franz Ferdinand and the Bosnian War of the 90s that you found particularly compelling, or relevant to IR? I am also left wondering what you want to do with a degree in International Relations. You sound quite dismissive of the US/EU/Western countries, so it doesn't seem like you'd want to end up working there. Would you want to work for international organizations? Would you want to do field work in countries experiencing civil war or revolution? I think if you clearly define your goals, you can then start working backwards from there, figuring out how all the pieces of your past fit together. You are trying to create a narrative. Now obviously, for most people, all our life events do not lead to one career path or logical destination, but I think you need to convey a sense of clarity and purpose when you are trying to convince the adcomms that they should admit you. If you got into X program, what would you hope to do after? What do you feel you have to learn from an IR/diplomacy program? How would it help you achieve your goals? What experiences in the past have prepared you for this kind of work? Maybe answering some of these questions will help you rewrite your essay with more focus.

I would recommend taking TIMED practice tests on the computer as much as possible, especially for whatever section you feel weakest in. On test day for the math section (my weakness), I was literally finalizing answers, on the verge of tears, as the timer counted down the last 5 seconds. I still did fine for my purposes (161Q), but I wished I had tried to master the computer format a bit more, especially the computer calculator. I found the verbal section to be a lot easier on the actual GRE than it had been on the practice tests. I don't know if I just lucked out, but I think I only encountered two or three words where I wasn't 100% sure of the definition. This is not because I memorized 7000 vocab words. They just seemed to be a lot more reasonable on test day ('copious', 'aberrant') than on the practice tests ('pulchritudinous', 'desuetude'). The practice tests made me feel like I was peforming at a 3rd grade reading level! Finally - just FYI, your testing facility should provide lockers with locks where you can store all of your 'contraband' while you take your test. Getting the email telling me I couldn't bring my cell phone or food into the testing facility made me freak out. But that doesn't mean you have to leave that stuff at home - they actually just meant I couldn't bring it into the actual testing room. During your break, you are allowed to go to your locker and get a snack if you choose (but NOT check your cell phone, of course).

Oh, and if it makes a difference, common wisdom on these fora suggests that the AW score is not very important, although I have no original sourcing on that information.