Chances at Yale Master's IR and HKS

[beaverish]

didn't know Government Affairs section existed but am glad i found it...

Hi! I am applying to Yale IR and HKS straight out of college. I went to a top ranked liberal arts college and spent my junior year abroad at the london school of economics, then transferred to the LSE. i'm a senior now, majoring in international history. i have also taken a couple intro level political science classes, no econ yet but am proposing to take intro micro and macro next summer at georgetown summer school. my american GPA is 3.7 - probably 3.9 in my history major - and my british GPA is roughly equivalent (a 66.5 overall, or medium-high 2:1, and i'm predicting myself at least 2 firsts this next year). i have very clearly-defined academic interests, namely the rise of china and american grand strategy. I have some chinese heritage, speak fluent chinese and have taken several courses about china... in general my course selection is very coherent and supportive of IR study and my specific IR-related interests..

would the fact that i have lived overseas for years - including in china - and gone to school abroad outweigh the fact that i am applying straight from undergrad and have no work experience in foreign policy? i have had 2 internships and worked for the obama campaign, but i have done nothing foreign-policy related... that said i should have a great personal statement (just wrote it) and great recommendations from at least 1 very famous professor who likes me quite a bit...

my GRE's were 680 math/ 710 verbal / perfect 6.0 on writing. could've gotten upper 700s in verbal (not math) on GREs but was simply too fatigued at the end... could re-take and get high 700s if necessary.

alternatively, do these stats look decent for georgetown/hopkins/columbia? specifically i am keen on getting into SAIS global history/theory course as that looks pretty interesting... i am very doubtful i have any shot at HKS - i really have neither interest in nor quantitative background/work experience for an MPP degree at all - but the chance to take classes with stephen walt, joseph nye, graham allison et al. is worth a wasted application.

thanks!

Edited September 28, 2010 by beaverish

[beaverish]

anyone? i would definitely appreciate some input... i realize i am a pretty unique applicant. my main question is whether the unique strengths of my application (living overseas) balance out the weaknesses (lack of work experience)...

[beaverish]

...nobody?

[adaptations]

Unfortunately I cannot be too much of a help with your request. I can't speak to how the programs evaluate work experience, but I have heard that MPP programs focus much more on work experience that pure IR programs. You may also consider Chicago's Committee on International Relations, which has some great scholars (Dali Yang for China). Given your credentials, I am sure you would be a strong candidate for CIR. (I went to CIR, which is why I know more about it that the other programs) Best of luck.

[beaverish]

Unfortunately I cannot be too much of a help with your request. I can't speak to how the programs evaluate work experience, but I have heard that MPP programs focus much more on work experience that pure IR programs. You may also consider Chicago's Committee on International Relations, which has some great scholars (Dali Yang for China). Given your credentials, I am sure you would be a strong candidate for CIR. (I went to CIR, which is why I know more about it that the other programs) Best of luck.

thank you so much! i took a look at the website and will be applying to CIR. i definitely want a more IR-theory focused degree rather than a purely "practical" one and chicago looks like it offers precisely that...

[carpecc]

I'd say you have a great shot. You've got good grades, a good GRE score and seem to have clear career goals. So it's worth a shot, they take plenty of students straight from undergrad. They're still the minority, but remember these programs aren't as competitive as some fields. I'd say you're in good shape for SAIS at least.

[beaverish]

I'd say you have a great shot. You've got good grades, a good GRE score and seem to have clear career goals. So it's worth a shot, they take plenty of students straight from undergrad. They're still the minority, but remember these programs aren't as competitive as some fields. I'd say you're in good shape for SAIS at least.

thank you! i appreciate the reply!

yeah i assume the history track at sais especially would be less competitive than the various econ/finance ones... one can only hope anyway