Can't make decision which school to apply...

[bongin]

Hi everyone here,

I'm a international student for 2011 fall IR program,

but I really can't decide which school to apply.

My status is pretty "ambiguous".

Here's my background.

Under: Top private university in my country, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism & Communication

GPA: 3.8 （No.3 in 58 graduates)

GRE: V540/Q670/AWA3.0 (oops)

TOEFL: Taking next month, must be above 102.

Quan courses: Economics (Introductory Micro and Macro), Intermediate-Macro Theory, Statistics in Communication.

LOR: one from department professor, one from department dean, one from previous ambassador of Holy See, one from a chairman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

SOP: Perspective combining Communication Studies and International Affairs.

WE: 1 year media workshop in school (does it count?), 2 months internship in electronic media, 11 months in Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Awards: A documentary contest with No.2 in 300 groups, a debate competition No.1 in 9 groups), a scholarship.

Publication: one in the most famous newspaper in my country, one in a non-academic oriented journal.

I'm not a test taker as you see my GRE score is mediocre.

Also, although my WE is highly related but short.

So should I skip BIG name school like KSG, WWS, Yale and Stanford IPS for fear of wasting money? lol

And do I have chance in SFS, SIPA, Fletcher and IR/PS?

Thanks for advising!

[carpecc]

I'd say with those grades, you experience and awards, you definitely have a chance. You'll definitely need to raise your AWA score on the GRE though. They want a certain type of essay, download the samples from the website along with the commentary they provide, this is helpful. What was your approach to the essay?

Also it looks like you've only been out of school one year? This isn't a whole lot, and might be too little for SIPA, but msybr with your other stats it won be a big deal.

Just some thoughts!

[bongin]

Hi,

first of all, thanks for the advices!

I don't have enough time to retake GRE,

that's the reason why I'm so worried about that BIG name schools will reject me directly.

I'd like to use my TOEFL score to prove my ability in writing.

But I'm not sure whether it works or not.

Besides, do you think my Q score may be a obstacle to get into school emphasizing quantitative research, like SIPA?

And is the quantitative courses I took enough?

Thanks again!!