rheadlee

Thanks a lot for the feedback, guys! It's true that the marginal cost of another application is pretty minimal at this stage with four SOPs written and most (thanks for nothing, GWU!) application fees waived. It probably does behoove me to make another run through the top ten and make sure I didn't miss anything on my first pass through this spring. GWU was a late add to the bunch based on a second look, so it's a good idea. That said, I do feel a pretty strong pull to SAIS within the Beltway and WWS if I'm going to go outside of it. This is probably not the time or place to re-ignite the inside v. outside the Beltway, SAIS v. HKS, or WWS v. Fletcher debate though, so I'll just thank everyone for the input and keep my eyes and options open! And OregonGal's read on my thinking is pretty spot on. I think that Acholi is probably good enough to get me in the door but some schools suggest pretty strongly that they don't suggest budgeting the time to try to master another language while taking on the course load, to say nothing of the money. By contrast, SAIS basically said that it wasn't their preferred option but it wasn't unheard of either. I guess it's really just the severity of the tone from HKS and Fletcher that suggests that they really don't think it's a great idea.

In the interest of not making you search for the references that I am referring to. I realize now that I'm actually referring to a blurb from the MPA/ID program and I don't find the same verbage on the MPP site: Fletcher: Although The Fletcher School values highly the role of foreign language learning in the international affairs arena, students should understand that there is, unfortunately, little time within The Fletcher School curriculum for students to acquire and/or master a new foreign language. For that reason, we strongly encourage students who are serious about learning a new language to pursue intensive study prior to matriculation and then take advantage of opportunities provided by our cross-registration agreement with Tufts and Harvard to build on their existing foreign language proficiency. HKS: We encourage all prospective applicants who lack proficiency in a second language to pursue language study before applying to the Kennedy School. Language coursework does not count towards the number of credits MPA/ID students need to graduate. The few students who do study a foreign language during their time at the Kennedy School do so in addition to their required core courses and electives.

Sorry to re-interrupt the bickering. I'll try to keep it brief. My primary reason for not applying to HKS and Fletcher is that it seems to me that they want to see that you have command of a world language coming in. And both advise pretty strongly against using the two years on campus to try to master a language. Sadly no one seems to think that Acholi (spoken by about 1.2 million people) or Ugandan Sign Language (probably less than 10,000 people, but that's a wild guess) qualify as a world language. And my command of Spanish at this stage is...uh...más o menos at the very best. Let me put it this way, I feel like people with my command of Spanish are exactly the kind of people that HKS and Fletcher are trying to dissuade from applying on the assumption that they'll brush up during their time on campus. If that doesn't square with anyone's read of the HKS or Fletcher language requirements though, I'll be more than happy to be wrong! Like...anyone who arrived at Fletcher with a weak world language and did fine on the language requirements on their way out? Though I can't imagine why those people would be on this board. Any particular reason to suggest HKS and Fletcher, given that SAIS and WWS are on my list? At any rate, I'm currently leaning towards DC schools on account of the year round internship opportunities. Before anyone jumps on that, let me say that I am absolutely certain that this conversation (DC v. Boston or San Diego or Princeton, etc. for internship opportunities) has been hashed out by our esteemed panel of internet experts (present company included) in roughly 100 other places on this board in the past. I should be more charitable about the AmeriCorps resume bullet, you're absolutely right. I think I discount it a bit because I did my AmeriCorps service in my college town while I was going to school, so it felt a bit like AmeriCorps Light. I guess when I think of the "real" AmeriCorps I imagine people in the Lower Ninth Ward or something? At any rate, Georgetown mentions how many AmeriCorps members are in their incoming class, so I gather that it must matter to them. Thanks for the input, all!

Program Applied To : M.P.A. Schools Applying To: SAIS (American Foreign Policy); WWS (Field I); GWU Elliott (ITIP); American SIS (IER) Schools Admitted To: Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: Attending: Undergraduate institution: State U in the Big 10 Undergraduate GPA: 3.9 Undergraduate Major: Applied Economics GRE Quantitative Score: 740 (estimated 158 on the new GRE, 79%) GRE Verbal Score: 680 (estimated 165 on the new GRE, 96%) GRE AW Score: 5.5 (96%) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 1, but see below, I was a non-traditional undergrad Years of Work Experience: 6, depending on how you count it. Here I'm counting five years of the Navy and the one year of the Peace Corps that I will have under my belt when applications are turned in. By the time I matriculate I'll have two years of the Peace Corps. Also, two years as a Research and Teaching Assistant and one year of AmeriCorps may be of some interest to some schools. Describe Relevant Work Experience: See above. 5 years in the Navy, 1 year (will be 2 by matriculation time) in the Peace Corps. Also, 1 year of AmeriCorps, which will probably be interesting to WWS (strong public service focus) but not the others. Experience as a Teaching and Research Assistant may be of interest to some, particularly if TA/RA opportunities are available. Languages: Acholi (Luo), the regional language of Northern Uganda, Ugandan Sign Language (I work for an organization that is attached to a school for the deaf), and Spanish (severely atrophied). I will have to brush up quite a bit on my Spanish at any school except WWS in order to test out. Quant: Econometrics, Calc, Math-based Stats. I'm not a math magician by any stretch of the imagination, but I did two years as a Research Assistant and I can work in the presence of numbers without panicking. Strength of SOP: I feel pretty good about them at this point (mid-June) and I still have quite a bit of time to tweak, edit, etc. before applications start to come due. I'll be happy to swap with any/everybody. If my SOP doesn't make sense to a complete stranger, it probably won't make sense to an adcom. Strength of LOR: Strong references from Naval officers who flew and worked with me, my undergrad adviser is a WWS grad, and I worked as a Research and Teaching Assistant with two different professors as an undergrad, so I feel good about my LORs. No "big" names, but they will come from profs and Navy pilots who know me very well. I welcome any and all feedback, no matter how harsh!