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rz922

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Everything posted by rz922

  1. Previous Schools: Public Ivy Previous Degrees and GPAs: BA in Political Science and Sociology, 3.7 GPA GRE Scores: 169 Verbal; 165 Quant; 5.5 Writing Previous Work Experience: Most recently- 1 year as a journalist in the UN for international newswire; 2 years at start-up non-profit doing program management/ research; 1 year doing legislative research for a law firm; internship at magazine; volunteer work/ teaching abroad in Ecuador, Greece, France Math/Econ Background: Not a ton- stats, math class in undergrad, research methods class, 1 econ class while applying to grad schools Foreign Language Background: Spanish (rusty) from volunteering in Ecuador; Intermediate French- classes in Paris/undergrad Intended Field of Study in Grad School: IR/ Journalism Long Term Professional Goals: Foreign Correspondent Schools Applied to & Results: SIPA (accepted+ $$), Columbia Journalism (accepted), Georgetown School of Foreign Service (accepted), HKS MPP (rejected), Princeton WWS (rejected) Ultimate Decision & Why: I decided on the dual degree with SIPA and the journalism school. I had a lot of doubts of whether I needed two masters degrees, partly because of the cost, partly because of the time, but in the end, it was just the best fit. I knew I wanted to stay in journalism and after covering the UN, I wanted the IR background to better report on the field and to also widen my employment prospects if I decided to transition into a research position, etc. considering the volatility of journalism field. I was very selective with the schools I applied to because I wasn't planning on going the typical route after graduation from an MPA/IR school and wanted to be very strategic about my path and basically build a safety net. Again, your own reasons and motivations are key. Depending on your career aspirations, I could easily see going to slightly lower ranked school and taking more $$ if the alumni are doing what you want to do. I regretted not applying to at least Fletcher or another couple of schools to give me more aid options but it worked out. Advice for Future Applicants: -The GRE is beatable, even if you suck at math. Just keep telling yourself that. I took it twice and my score went up significantly, i think in part from having experience with taking a test on a computer. Practice answering questions on scrap paper: this sounds insignificant but it's not. Leave time in the app process to take it a second time, even if you're doing well on your practice tests. Kaplan books are a total waste but Princeton Review has the best strategies. Learn them inside and out, even if they seem to waste time. When you get familiar with them, they seriously help you beat the test. If you're disciplined, a class is unnecessary-- books and diligence will get you where you wanna go. I took vocab flashcards with me on the subway every morning all summer and it helped me totally own the verbal section. -Be patient with the process of deciding how you want to tie your narrative together. My work history was all over the place as I was definitely not one of those people that knew what I wanted to do even when I graduated college, but taking this time and re-writing a lot not only helped me put together a strong application but also helped me focus my goals and see where I really wanted to be headed. I considered deferring after I got my acceptances to get more experience but then realized that grad school was really the right place for me. Also, DO NOT try to fit everything into your SOP. Highlight a theme, chose experiences that illustrate this, but go for depth and what you've learned to show maturity rather than squeezing everything in. Every admissions officer says it, but they have your resume so dont repeat it. Yes, it's hard. I literally had 9 drafts of crap SOPs before I got to something that actually said something of value. As someone who writes for a living, I was slightly disgusted by all the shit i was churning out, but just get over it and expect it will be a process. - Don't stress about one weakness in your app. EVERYONE has at least one. None of them will kill your prospects. Try to restrain from posting a freak out about this. Seriously. -A lot of people say it, but FIT is so important. I didn't get into WWS or HKS but a policy program really wasn't as good of a fit for me as an IR program and those are the ones to which I received acceptances. It was REALLY hard for me to turn down Georgetown, even though there was no journalism focus. I wanted to like it more than I did because its considered so highly ranked for IR and I was really impressed with how willing the alumni was to connect you. I also didn't want to turn Georgetown down for the wrong reasons, such as it's easier for me to stay in NYC since I live here etc. At the end of the day, I wanted stronger connections in the journalism world, not in the beltway. And though I was allured by the prospect of all the internship opportunities in DC, including publications, I decided I wanted to strengthen my roots in NY media world, and the curriculum was a better fit for me at Columbia. Several people said to me, consider WHERE you want to be. Again it depends on your situation and goals, but NY was the better place for me. -Ask for what you need! Because I'm a dual degree student, I only have one year at SIPA, and since most funding goes to second years, I appealed to the admissions committee to consider this as a factor in getting assistance. It was an email that took at most 7 minutes and my appeal was rewarded with a fellowship that will make a huge difference in loans. It's always worth it to ask, especially if you have a compelling reason. -Talk to as many people as possible when you're making a decision- perhaps less so your friends and family and more so people who are doing what you want to be doing. I think I met almost the entire SFS at Georgetown when I visited for admit day and was completely impressed by everyone I spoke with. For me, the admitted students days only made me more torn in my choice. I reached out to specific people that had done the dual program I decided on at Columbia, including cold emailing journalists in the field that had no connection with admissions. I also spoke to journalists who had gone to SFS to see where they had ended up. This, along with fellowship award, led me to choose Columbia. Also thank the people that listen to you describe the nuances of every program you're accepted to during late March and April. They are being extremely kind. -Finally, GET OFF GRAD CAFE, or at least take breaks from it if you can't go cold turkey. I literally put a procrastination blocker tool on my browser at the end of February to try to restrict myself from going on when my mind wandered to thinking about grad school (re: all the time). It can be totally great during the research process and for commiserating over the seemingly endless wait. But keep in mind the people on here are submitting only a small sample of the applications that are going into the pool. Ignore the people that trash your dream school or who post freak outs about one typo they found after submitting their application. At the end of the day, grad school is a personal choice and completely dependent on your own goals and situation. Grad cafe is a great tool, but it's just that, and unfortunately it is not a Magic 8 ball to tell you if you're getting in or not. You will forget this around January and February, but it's okay. Good night and good luck!
  2. Ahhh, im making the decision between SIPA and MSFS and going crazy. I'm a journalist but want to focus on intl affairs/deepen my expertise in middle east region/languages. @supbla20, seems for switching to the pubic sector you should def go to MSFS, though i would consider SIPA for the International fellows program. i think any columbia grad school student can apply so it's def a select group and prestigious offer. For me, I weighing the fact that the curriculum at SIPA has almost an entire year of core/quant classes which are large (like 80 ppl), while MSFS has 5 core classes (i think 30 ppl), and one is theory. but i agree that when you're in your concentration at SIPA, the attention/class size is roughly the same as MSFS. I'm drawn to SIPA for being able to write for its newspaper, the media concentration, and access to j-school classes. But I'm drawn to MSFS for the wide variety of internships available in DC- more think tanks/gov't that I'd love to be able to make connections within, and how tight-knit the community is, how willing everyone is to connect you. All the first years i talked to at MSFS seemed to have gotten their internships through a connection and they all knew each other. The cost of MSFS/SIPA seems about the same, roughly same number of 2nd years get funding at each. Also i would argue you can live in washington heights in nyc and live for same cost as in DC. i didn't apply to Fletcher so i can't comment on it, but it seemed often dismissed, just from listening to the people who did east coast tour last week at sipa/sais/msfs/fletcher. Purely anecdotal but for what you want to do, NYC/DC seem like better locations.
  3. Oh man, im so sorry you guys are still waiting...Try to enjoy the weekend. Hope you hear something soon
  4. I'm holding out hope for some sort of scholarship to Columbia too. 58k for one year of tuition alone is just....insane. Makes me think i should have also applied to CUNY. I would lean CUNY over Stanford, but that region might be good for new media with Knight foundation and Silicon valley, etc etc. It's not really my area of expertise though. I haven't really decided if loans are worth it for Columbia, myself. Good luck with your decision, congrats on your acceptances!
  5. For those waiting for the google group, someone started a SIPA 2013-2015 group on Facebook as well. There's not much on either, really though.
  6. Bummer! Especially about the resume mistake. Nope, not at CFR. I'd DEF be interested in going to Foreign Affairs after graduating, not the think tank though. I threw out CFR thinking its publications/website, which like you said are in NYC. As far as standing out, i'm meant more if MSFS will make me a stronger candidate for journalism jobs @ int'l affairs publications over other j-school grads, not necessarily DC vs. NYC. I'd rather be in NYC, personally. Considering both for now. It would be hard to pass up the dual program though...
  7. Thanks, soapwater. It is! But the value of a j-school degree is constantly debated in the industry which is why I focused my apps more on int'l affairs programs to round out my expertise. I think the dual program might be the answer but since my experience is mostly in journalism, i also feel like Gtown might help set me apart and id still be able to get the type of job i want when im done with school, especially if I can work at Foreign Policy, CFR etc while im there...will see how the admit days go/talking with grads of each! maybe i will see you at SIPA. When do you hear from Oxford?
  8. Im in at SIPA as well as Columbia Journalism school. Going to be a tougher choice than I thought...deciding between joint Journalism/SIPA program and MSFS--attracted to the program size and where I can work at number of DC publications. As a political journalist, I expect to be in DC at some point, and have no connections there right now. I agree as well that SIPA gets an unnecessarily bad rap on here. I'm from NYC and I don't mind the "no hand holding" of career services, etc. but I also went to a huge university for undergrad, and the small size of MSFS seems appealing.
  9. im planning to be there! going to be a tough choice but excited...
  10. Just got my acceptance! Link to email to check the website. Who else is in?!
  11. Im in! no email, was on the website. looks like no aid though
  12. @av260987 I'm a journalist too, planning to return to the field after graduation. starting to weigh if a 2 year degree will help this career path but im really interested in having the background...would love to talk more if you're interested!
  13. I'm out also (MPP). Disappointed but not surprised. Hopefully Columbia will soften the blow...
  14. Where did the march 15 notification date come from? Thanks!
  15. that was my thought too...i hope so. i was fine. now im dying from the wait. i just wanna know.
  16. Can't we argue about something more relevant like who's more "Harvard material" or something...
  17. @soapwater, sorry didn't mean to give you -1 reputation vote, i dont know how to undo that... I agree that the people who receive fellowships will be the most impressive candidates but they also dont have your transcript and GRE scores in front of them. Many are just an essay and resume, so it's conceivable fellowship committees may be interested in a candidate who has less than stellar GPA or a weak quant score or whatever other weakness not readily apparent. It says specifically they dont have access to your admissions file. So, thats where my thought process came from. By the time fellowship committees check in with the adcom, decisions may have been finalized however... Obviously, I wouldn't be surmising if i knew how it worked, but just a thought..
  18. im weighing the very same thing-- if i should turn in a couple of fellowship applications last min even though i'm not sure i will even be admitted! anyone think that if you're being considered for a fellowship it might sway the adcom decision? or that narrowing candidates down for the fellowships wont start until after admission decisions are out?
  19. hi all, i applied to a few programs for Fall 2013 and am currently taking intro to macroecon from UC berkeley online. planning to take microecon next. It is insanely easy and not a lot of work so i wouldn't worry about grade. I don't think grad programs look at it like online vs. in person unless maybe its an all online university like university of phoenix. the class im taking is also offered in person and i dont think it would differentiate on transcript. also for those who asked, you can find a proctor in your area, you dont have to go to the school to take the final. I dont think coursera would count bc you dont receive credits, most schools want a 3 credit course at least, but it might be different depending on the program. hope that helps!
  20. i think it's a good idea to refer to it first in full and then after "the kennedy school" or a shortened version is fine. I struggled with this too for same word count, decorum reasons. but it also sounds overwrought if you use the full name more than once i think...just my opinion but good luck!
  21. Hi there, i'd be down to switch HKS essays this weekend if you haven't submitted your app yet. I'm a journalist by trade and have read al of the HKS blog posts on admissions essays pretty closely, so I should be able to offer decent feedback if you'd like. Let me know!
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