Fall 2010 Security Studies Applicant

[shutthefrontdoor]

I graduated from Gtown in 2008 with a double major in Marketing and OPIM (Operations and Information Management) with a pretty crappy undergrad GPA, floating just around 2.8, which my marketing GPA around a 3.3 and my OPIM GPA around a 2.8. Although I imagine this doesn't mean much, I was on the varsity crew team during school which was certainly a factor in my less then impressive grades. I took the GREs once without studying and got dominated on the verbal...I got a 750 math, 550 verbal with a 5 on writing (I have already signed up to take them again in October).

Work Experience:

I am just beginning my third year working as a Homeland Security Analyst for a defense contractor in DC, the contract is with the Army and I work within the CIO/G-6 community. I currently hold a secret clearance as well as an interim TS.

So basically I really really really want to go back to school to get my Masters in some kind of international affairs/security studies program and I have finally narrowed it down to the following schools:

-U.Georgia

-Georgia Tech

-UDubb

-Johns Hopkins (not the SAIS program)

-UT-Austin (LBJ)

-Syracuse (Maxwell)

-Possibly: U.Denver (Korbel)

I would be stoaked to go to any of those programs...seriously any of them. I have no idea on how to gage my chances and I would TOTALLY appreciate all the advice that I can get.

Thanks!

[shutthefrontdoor]

Sorry I meant this for the Fall of 2011, if anyone has any incite on the application process for anyyyy of those schools I would totally appreciate it! Thanks!

[carpecc]

Hey, I think you're not too shabby. Your verbal score is not too bad, just at the lower end of the range and should be easy to pull up. Remember that the MIA programs are not as competitive and use different criteria then Law and MBA. I'd say you've got pretty good chances at getting into at least a couple of programs but you'll need to work hard to overcome those grades. This means a killer GRE score and great essays.

Can you speak a foreign language? Ever live abroad? Those things and your work experience really help. And your work experience looks pretty interesting, especially for your field, so that's a big plus. Do what I did and visit the schools. Ask them what they look for in a student and what you would need to do to get in. I never thought myself competitive for Columbia, but I did informational interviews, got encouraging feedback, applied and got in.

[fadeindreams]

You likely have a great chance of getting admission to many of those programs but a horrible chance at receiving funding. Korbel, for instance and I speak from experience, gives automatic funding based on GPA. I don't know how much funding plays into your attending a program, however, I'd recommend applying for many external fellowships in the coming months. Those deadlines are typically earlier than the program application deadlines.

[shutthefrontdoor]

You likely have a great chance of getting admission to many of those programs but a horrible chance at receiving funding. Korbel, for instance and I speak from experience, gives automatic funding based on GPA. I don't know how much funding plays into your attending a program, however, I'd recommend applying for many external fellowships in the coming months. Those deadlines are typically earlier than the program application deadlines.

Fortunately, funding for my tuition isn't an issue; however I am interested in applying for assistantship/TA programs. Does anyone know a little bit about how those positions are generally filled and what exactly an assistantship entails?

[MaxwellAlum]

Fortunately, funding for my tuition isn't an issue; however I am interested in applying for assistantship/TA programs. Does anyone know a little bit about how those positions are generally filled and what exactly an assistantship entails?

At Maxwell, you can get an assistantship as an award around the time you're offered admission (usually this several weeks or more after you get your admission offer but before you have to reply to accept your place). Also, after you get to Maxwell, they will usually advertise specific positions that come up and anyone in the program can apply for them. You get the same benefits in both cases (fall and spring tuition and about $10,000 in a stipend for a 20 hour a week assistantship, or half of that for a 10 hour a week assistantship). Positions for MPAs or MAIRs are mostly administrative or research based rather than teaching. If you're offered an assistantship before you get to Maxwell (as in before you decide to enroll), you may not know who you're working with until after you get there. I've heard of people doing things like editing a professor's text for a book, or helping out in the Public Administration department with admin stuff like admissions inquiries.

In your application, they will (or they did this year) give you space to say why you are qualified to be a graduate assistant, so that gives you space to state what sort of things you're interested in / good at.

[cesarius]

Hi everyone, this is a very interesting discussion on which I would like to pose a question. I'm an ecuadorian who is interested in applying to Gtown's SSP (I literally die to be accepted into SSP's for a Master with a concentration in Mil Ops). Here are my strongpoints:

-My GPA ranges between 3.6 and 3.7 (9.17-9.2 cause in Ecuador we use a 10 points grading system) and I was the 5th highest grade in my class (24)

-The university gave me a Diploma during the graduation for the best Thesis in the Faculty of Political Science and Management

-I've secured a $100K scholarship from my government and also a fulbright scholarship

-I've worked in the ecuadorian security community for little more than 3 years (I was recruited while studying my B.A. in Political Science): 1 year as an analyst in the Security Staff of the Presidency, 1 1/2 years in the Joint Armed Forces Command as a Military analyst (they wanted civies), from April till now I'm the Foreign Ministry's senior military analyst. Before that I worked two years in an NGO here in Ecuador. Right now I'm 27.

-My faculty dean will give me a killer reference

-My TOEFL score is 111/120 (IBT)

Could anyone, pleaseeee, give a feedback about my chances to get into Gtown's SSP? Currently I'm working to improve my GRE Verbal Scores from 530 to 650 and the Quant Score from 450 to 620.