Application competitiveness

[poetry in streets]

Hi all! I’m currently a senior in undergrad and am considering graduate programs in international development, but I am concerned about how competitive I will be.

My undergrad majors are French and International Studies, and I have a 3.88 overall GPA (likely higher for my major GPA). However, I go to a public, in-state school. I’m not sure how great of a program it is overall, which has me concerned about my chances applying to higher-ranked programs. I haven’t taken the GRE yet; I plan to prepare for and take that next year, which will hopefully be a gap year teaching English in France.

I guess my question is this — does the university my undergraduate degree from matter too much in masters admissions? I wrote an undergrad thesis, and will most likely be continuing that research next semester through an official research position. I am also a research assistant at one of my school’s satellite campuses in a position normally reserved for master’s students and do a lot of research in French, which is my second language. Does any of this experience matter, or will my undergrad university discount everything else? It’s in the top quarter of universities according to a list I found, but closer toward the quarter line if that matters. To me, I worry that it won’t be good enough to get into the top tier schools.

I’m just feeling really unsure at this point, so any advice is appreciated, especially if someone knows how I can spin these facts to my advantage. Thanks if you’ve read this far!

[electricsquirrel]

I'm in a very similar situation to you - French & Japanese major in senior year of undergrad and considering grad programs in international development. I can't speak from experience, but I have a hunch that the university you got your undergrad degree from doesn't matter that much at all in masters admissions. I think it's as you said - your research experience in a position normally reserved for master's students, your coursework, and your expressed interest would count a lot more. I wouldn't worry too much about your university's reputation. 

Are you applying for TAPiF? That can help a lot. If I remember correctly, there are even schools that give significant tuition discounts to participants of TAPiF (NYU I believe is one of them). Also, have you considered universities in France? It seems that Sciences Po, for example, has some great International Development master's programs.

[PsychHopeful2020]

From my understanding, your undergraduate school only matters if that's all you do. As long as you gain research experience, teach abroad (which sounds relevant to your major? right?) etc. those things will "outshine" a lackluster undergraduate university.

I also attended a public in-state school, but I did not have a problem later getting competitive internships and jobs because through my gap time I gained affiliations will well-known ivy leagues and prestigious programs. I did this by volunteering to be an RA in their lab, for free, while working full time during my first gap year. It was exhausting, but I am pretty sure I would not have received admission to some of my later amazing opportunities if I hadn't worked for those places that have name recognition in my field. That being said, I am going through my first round of doctoral applications now so I'll have to get back to you about being accepted places - but I'm betting, especially if you're going for a master's, that you will be all set!