Value of AmeriCorps and Peace Corps service to graduate schools

[matthewskros]

Hi all,

Was wondering if anyone can offer advice on how graduate schools view AmeriCorps and Peace Corps service? Do they tend to offer scholarship money to students who have completed service programs like this, or do they really factor more into admission rather than scholarships? 

Backstory on me: I am 25 and am looking at applying for a master's in a foreign affairs-related topic. Right now, my top three graduate schools for this are Georgetown (either the MSFS program or the MSS program), Johns Hopkins SAIS (MAIR program), or George Washington's Elliot School (Masters in International Relations). SFS and SAIS are my top two because of their ranking and the fact that I like their course of study (especially their foreign language emphasis). I know I have decent chances of getting accepted to all three. My undergraduate GPA was 3.62 and I know I'll score well on the verbal and writing portions of the GRE. Scholarships are my main concern right now.

My question is: do graduate schools tend to offer good money to those who have performed national service? I have done AmeriCorps twice and was also briefly a Peace Corps Volunteer before the pandemic. Georgetown, I have heard, can be stingy at times, but I have heard good things about packages from GW and SAIS. 

Thanks for any advice you can offer! 

 

[eleatics]

Hi! I am currently an Americorps volunteer applying for graduate programs. Most programs offer fee waivers on their applications for folks who have participated in Peace Corps or Americorps (which can save you $1000+ when you're applying to upwards of 10 programs). I would also see if you're eligible for the Segal Education Award, which is a post-service benefit available for Americorps that can be used towards educational expenses (up to $6.5k I believe). Not sure how helpful this is, but hopefully it's a start! 

[sloth_girl]

We have a few in my program, and I know it's viewed as beneficial in admissions. I unfortunately don't know about specific programs. 

[Dwar]

I suggest you head over to the professional government sub forum. They’ll be better prepared to answer the questions you have about those specific program. Most of the people on this forum mostly deal with political science grad programs, not professional ones. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 10/8/2020 at 11:04 AM, matthewskros said:

Hi all,

Was wondering if anyone can offer advice on how graduate schools view AmeriCorps and Peace Corps service? Do they tend to offer scholarship money to students who have completed service programs like this, or do they really factor more into admission rather than scholarships? 

Backstory on me: I am 25 and am looking at applying for a master's in a foreign affairs-related topic. Right now, my top three graduate schools for this are Georgetown (either the MSFS program or the MSS program), Johns Hopkins SAIS (MAIR program), or George Washington's Elliot School (Masters in International Relations). SFS and SAIS are my top two because of their ranking and the fact that I like their course of study (especially their foreign language emphasis). I know I have decent chances of getting accepted to all three. My undergraduate GPA was 3.62 and I know I'll score well on the verbal and writing portions of the GRE. Scholarships are my main concern right now.

My question is: do graduate schools tend to offer good money to those who have performed national service? I have done AmeriCorps twice and was also briefly a Peace Corps Volunteer before the pandemic. Georgetown, I have heard, can be stingy at times, but I have heard good things about packages from GW and SAIS. 

Thanks for any advice you can offer! 

 

There are some specialty funding programs available for Peace Corps - not so much Americorps. Ultimately, they view it in the lens of diversity. If there is a lot of you as applicants in that application cycle, you are no longer distinct as being diverse in terms of background. However, if they are looking for more Peace Corps folks due to lack of representation of that job experience, then you become more diverse, and they might be willing to pay for you.
 

Ultimately, every year is a crap shoot, because the numbers and type of applicants tend to change. This year, I would expect A LOT of peace corp alums applying to grad school due to the job market situation, so I imagine that that would work against you.

[Hawkins1879]

I believe that they have a good impact on admissions chances i.e. helping to gain admission. But I am not sure how much they impact scholarships - I think that mainly depends on your grades. 

Also where did you go/what did you do with Americorps and the peace corps?