The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING

[senegaulois]

Thanks for you feedback!

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA

Schools Applying To: HKS, Oxford, WWS,

Undergraduate institution: Sciences Po

Undergraduate GPA: 3.8

Undergraduate Majors: Social Sciences

Study Abroad: a year in China

GRE Quantitative Score: 159 (82th percentile)

GRE Verbal Score: 163 (94th percentile)

GRE AW Score: 5,5 (96%)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): almost 1 (graduated May 2011)

Years of Work Experience: 1,5y part time & volunteering, plus almost 1y full time

Describe Relevant Work Experience: NGO fundraising/PR --- policy/IR research

Languages: native in French, Wolof, English --- working proficiency in Spanish, Chinese

Quant: econometrics, microeconomics, macroeconomics

Strength of SOP: quite strong

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): strong

[flux000]

Thanks for you feedback!

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP/MPA

Schools Applying To: HKS, Oxford, WWS,

Undergraduate institution: Sciences Po

Undergraduate GPA: 3.8

Undergraduate Majors: Social Sciences

Study Abroad: a year in China

GRE Quantitative Score: 159 (82th percentile)

GRE Verbal Score: 163 (94th percentile)

GRE AW Score: 5,5 (96%)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): almost 1 (graduated May 2011)

Years of Work Experience: 1,5y part time & volunteering, plus almost 1y full time

Describe Relevant Work Experience: NGO fundraising/PR --- policy/IR research

Languages: native in French, Wolof, English --- working proficiency in Spanish, Chinese

Quant: econometrics, microeconomics, macroeconomics

Strength of SOP: quite strong

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): strong

Hmm...you have a pretty strong profile but I would also apply to a few schools such as GW, UChicago, American, etc. You have a good GPA but remember that the average age admitted to programs like WWS and HKS is 27-28, and they mostly have around 3 to 4 years of work experience.

[CharKel27]

Thanks for taking the time to evaluate me. I am really interested where people believe I could get admitted, especially with significant funding.

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPA (nonprofit management specialization)

Schools Applying To: I'm applying for fall 2013 I'm not positive at this point but I'm considering UW Evans, USC, MIIS, Syracuse, American, Indiana, NYU, UPenn, UConn (I'm a resident), U of Arizona, U of Missouri...

Undergraduate institution: Top 15 Liberal Arts College

Undergraduate GPA: 3.45

Undergraduate Majors: Sociology/Antrhopology and American History (3.45 GPA in both)

Study Abroad: none (I was a swimmer, experience abroad came later)

GRE Quantitative Score: 720

GRE Verbal Score: 570

GRE AW Score: 5.5

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 5

Years of Work Experience: 3 winters at a ski job, 3 summers traveling/volunteering/working abroad, about to finish up 2 years in the Peace Corps

Describe Relevant Work Experience: volunteering abroad teaching English or working with animals for 3.5+ months over two summers, two years in the Peace Corps teaching English as well as plenty of grant writing focused on youth development

Languages: Intermediate Ukrainian and Spanish

Quant: Calc and statistics

Strength of SOP: not quite there yet but I believe it'll be strong

Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): will be strong from my PC manager, maybe not as strong from a professor since I've been out for a while

[state_school'12]

With all the normal disclaimers about SOP, etc., I think you'll get in to American, Indiana, Syracuse, Evans, and USC. I think NYU might be a stretch, but not impossible. I can't speak to the others, sorry. Of the five, I think USC has the best funding opportunities, although Maxwell is only a single year, so it's cheaper.

If I were you, I'd think hard about retaking the GRE and boosting your verbal score. Obviously you can write/speak, etc. (nice 5.5 AW!), but a 570 is a little on the low side. I don't know, maybe it's fine. Something to think about though. Was your upperclass GPA better than overall? And where do you want to work after you graduate?

[CharKel27]

Thanks for the input. I thought about retaking the GRE because of that verbal score; I'm just not sure five years out I would do any better, my brain is going to need some training to get back into school mode, hah. I seem to be in a lot of the schools' averages in terms of GRE and GPA but if I want to get funding I'm not sure that'll do it. My GPA held steady right around 3.45 all the way through undergrad. I'm not positive where I want to work after I graduate but the idealistic PCV in me would like to continue in development with a nonprofit/NGO. I am still pretty open about that part.

[EasyDeezy]

I lurked this forum through the entire admissions process - I figure its time to give back. Here are my stats which will hopefully be helpful to other prospective candidates, especially those with low undergrad GPA.

Any questions or comments are more than welcome.

Program Applied To : MA - Security Policy Studies / Strategic Studdies

Schools Applied To: SAIS; Georgetown MSFS; GWU Elliott; Denver Korbel; Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS)

Schools Admitted To: SAIS, GWU Elliott, Korbel, MIIS

Schools Rejected From: Georgetown

Still Waiting: None

Attending: SAIS!

Undergraduate institution: Large publicschool in the UC system

Undergraduate GPA: 3.05

Undergraduate Major: International Relations

GRE Quantitative Score: 162 (87%)

GRE Verbal Score: 163 (93%)

GRE AW Score: 5.0 (87%)

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 6

Years of Work Experience: 6

Describe Relevant Work Experience: 6 Years as a military officer with two overseas tours.

Languages: Spanish (although severely atrophied - did not claim on applications). MIIS admission was contingent upon completing Summer Intensive Language Program for my language of choice in order to meet entrance requirements.

Quant: Took several intermediate level econ classes in UG - Chinese Economics, Econ of Development, International Econ and some others. No quant experience since school. I never took anything called "Intro to Microeconomics" but SAIS did not require me to take a pre-term intro course.

Strength of SOP: Very strong- this is how made up for my low GPA. I followed a fairly simple formula (which may have been posted on here before) -

1. This is what I have done

2. This is what I want to do (and a short sentence on how I have corrected my shortcomings i.e. GPA)

3. This is what I hope to gain from your institution

Strength of LOR: Strong references from supervisory military officers and Department of State advisors who I knew personally. To future applicants coming from the military - don't ask someone for a LOR just because they are high in the rating chain. Request LOR from people who know your work ethic, experience and what you can accomplish.

[jct329]

It's pretty early for me so I'll update this stuff as I go, but I would definitely love feedback along the way. I'm going to apply in 2014.

Program Applied To : MA - IR (not sure specifically which area yet. Interested in Security Studies, African Studies, or Russian/Eurasian Studies), MPP

Schools Considering Applying To: SAIS; Georgetown Walsh (not sure which program) and MPP; American SIS and SPA; GW Elliot and Trachtenburg; UMD MPP; NYU Wagner; SIPA. Would prefer to be in the DC area.

Undergraduate institution: Lower public Big 10 school

Undergraduate GPA: 3.9 (High Distinction - Top 5%)

Undergraduate Major: Double in Political Science and Economics (Honors in both)

GREs: Haven't taken them yet. Just got study materials in the mail, will take them in about four months.

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4

Years of Work Experience: 4

Describe Relevant Work Experience: Worked for an environmental non-profit right out of college for a few months as well as the state Democratic Party in 2006. Will complete a 5 year enlistment in the Navy in early 2014 (yes...enlistment...not an officer. Worried this may hurt me as I'm just an enlisted admin guy and I'm not sure if they will see it as very relevant experience.) Year in deployment Africa (including significant travel around HOA), year total sea deployment. I also volunteer here in Africa quite a bit doing an English discussion group at night with the locals. I have about 80 hours logged so far for that. I'll probably continue volunteering when I get back.

Languages: Took Russian through high school (including a month long exchange where I hosted a Russian for a month and then went to St. Petersburg for a month) and a year of Advanced Russian in college, but dropped it in favor of doing poli sci and econ. I'd love to get back into it and am considering some autodidactism....I think I would do pretty bad on a test right now.

Quant: Calc 1 and 2, and a few stats classes along with Intermediate Micro, Macro and a bunch of other econ classes.

Strength of SOP: Who knows...I think I'm a good writer, but I imagine everyone thinks the same thing. I'll have some pretty good experiences to talk about, though.

Strength of LOR: Should be pretty strong. I keep in contact with a couple profs and my bosses all love me (I've worked directly for two O6s, one of whom is a Poli Sci PhD. I'll probably get both of them to do a LoR.)

Negatives: So the reason I enlisted instead of getting a commission was due to the fact that I had two underage drinking tickets and a public intoxication ticket while an undergrad (the public intox and one of the underage drinking tickets happened during the same incident). All of the incidents happened in 2005. My parents were thrilled... I thought I would come in the Navy for a year or two and put in a commissioning package, but decided against it. I'm colorblind so the only field really open to me would have been supply, and I really didn't want to do that. I'm more than a little worried about the tickets, but I feel like a 5 year stint in the military with absolutely no issues and glowing LoRs will help make up for it.

One thing that's great about my situation is that I figure I can afford to go anywhere I get in, even if I get no additional funding. The GI Bill will help out with 17.5/year (plus pretty generous housing allowances and book stipends) and I have no UG debt, car is paid off, and I'm not married/no kids.

I would love any feedback or advice!!

Edited April 12, 2012 by jct329

[OregonGal]

I wouldn't discount your military experience simply because you were enlisted instead of commissioned. Especially if you're an NCO--in 5 years you could make what, PO2 or PO1? If you have supervisory experience, that's great, because that's leadership you can highlight. You also have your experience in Africa and at sea, where you'd have put into several international ports (I'm assuming, anyways) so you've got international experience. I have a friend who spent several years at a state-side international NPO as an office manager and got into Columbia SIPA because he was able to highlight where his job intersected with the IR side of the org, and where he took initiative to seek out more IR-relevant/leadership opportunities within his job. You just have to make a good argument in your SOP for your qualifications.

Edited April 12, 2012 by OregonGal

[EasyDeezy]

I agree with OregonGal - also use your military experience to show how you have matured since your legal mishaps. Regardless, Public Intox and Underage Drinking are relatively minor infractions and wouldn't even give you any trouble when applying for a security clearance.

Your undergrad stats are impressive as long as you do well on the GRE and do not botch the SOP you should be good to go.

[12WardP]

Char, I wouldn't waste your time retaking the GRE unless you are sure you'll crush it a second time. Make that SOP compelling to read and you'll be fine. Maybe apply to a few more competitive programs - you might be selling yourself short. Advocate for yourself throughout the application process and highlight concrete results and achievements you generated while in the corps. How does a degree in policy build or further develop your expertise? Do you have unanswered questions from your experience you'd like to explore? For each school, what do you uniquely contribute to the community? Just some thoughts to consider.

[vk9111]

Hi

This forum is a great find!

I am looking at programs in MPA and IR (including joint degree options) in US and would appreciate any feedback on the suitability of my profile for these programs and related recommendations. I am targeting Spring '13 admissions.

Acads: BE (Information Technology) & MBA (Marketing) from reputed Indian academic institutions

Work-ex: 2 years in IT services and 3 years in Marketing & General management

GMAT: 770 (April '12)

Expectations: Effect a career transition into professional public service (Consulting, UN & Non-profits, to be specific)

Vk

[lufengtahir]

Hi, guys, here is my profile:

GRE: V151(51%), Q166(94%), AW 4(48%)

Undergrad GPA: 88/100(approximately 3.4/4)

Graduated from Beijing, majored in Arabic Studies, studied in Yemen for one year with governmental scholarship

Work Experience: 5 years in diplomacy, worked in Yemen, Iraq, UAE and currently in South Sudan. responsibilities including political analysis, policy making, and directing significant diplomatic events.

Language Skills: Chinese(native), English(working level), Arabic(working level)

Interested program: MBA/MPP or MBA/IR

Statement of Purpose: with emphasis on my trilingual ability and international exposure mainly in war-torn or poverty-driven countries, I wrote my interest in international development in the Middle East. Then mentioned my advantage to bridge among Chinese and international companies as well as local communities, also my ability to mediate among governmental, non-profit and for-profit sectors. Then wrote about my desire for a career switch to consultancy specializing in international development projects in the Middle East by pursuing the dual degree.

LOR: not arranged. but probably one from my previous supervisor (ambassador or counsellor), other maybe from collaborator from private sector or professor from school, or may try to ask for one LOR from a prominent politician from South Sudan if that would help.

I want to apply for schools from the first tier, like HBS, Tuck, Wharton for MBA, and HKS, SAIS, CIPA, WWS for Public Policy. My biggest concern now is about my low verbal score in GRE. I'm confident about my background and experience, however, only with an average GPA, without quan background, I'm worried my GRE could keep me out from schools in this level.

I'm now at South Sudan, workload is quite tough, the only way to take another GRE is to fly to Uganda, Kenya or Ethiopia. Should I concentrate on my essay to impress adcom, or I need to sit another GRE?

Thanks.

[Helpplease123]

Hi

This forum is a great find!

I am looking at programs in MPA and IR (including joint degree options) in US and would appreciate any feedback on the suitability of my profile for these programs and related recommendations. I am targeting Spring '13 admissions.

Acads: BE (Information Technology) & MBA (Marketing) from reputed Indian academic institutions

Work-ex: 2 years in IT services and 3 years in Marketing & General management

GMAT: 770 (April '12)

Expectations: Effect a career transition into professional public service (Consulting, UN & Non-profits, to be specific)

Vk

You have already done an MBA? You won't get a student visa for the US, probably better to look elsewhere. The US don't give visas out for academic levels you have already attained - especially a Public Admin/IR Masters which may even see as a somewhat lower qualification than an MBA in terms of career progression.

[OregonGal]

@lufengtahir:

I wouldn't be too worried about the verbal GRE score. Yes, it's not great, but your quant score is great and there are a lot of people out there with econ backgrounds and similar score profiles to yours. The main thing you need to worry about is making sure your SOP proves you have writing skills that just aren't easily translated into a test score. As for GPA, I think 5 years of significant, very relevant professional work experience will outweigh that.

[lufengtahir]

@lufengtahir:

I wouldn't be too worried about the verbal GRE score. Yes, it's not great, but your quant score is great and there are a lot of people out there with econ backgrounds and similar score profiles to yours. The main thing you need to worry about is making sure your SOP proves you have writing skills that just aren't easily translated into a test score. As for GPA, I think 5 years of significant, very relevant professional work experience will outweigh that.

Thanks for the advice. I'd make more effort on my essays.

[Wanderlust90]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum but am beginning to contemplate applying for graduate school this fall. I have taken a cursory glance at a few IR programs, but I do hope to narrow things down in the next few months. Currently, I'm leaning towards an MA in International Development. I have just graduated from undergrad, so my main concern is that I may not have enough work experience. Given my profile (listed below), are there specific programs that may be more lucrative to a recent graduate? Or am I competitive enough for some of the more top-notch schools?

Undergrad: B.A. in Diplomacy/Global Politics and German (double-major), minor in Arabic from a public university in Ohio

GPA: 3.98, summa cum laude

Language Skills: German (advanced/near-native proficiency), Arabic (intermediate), French (novice)

International Experience: Studied abroad in United Arab Emirates (5 months), spent a summer in Egypt (3 months), lived in Germany as an exchange student in high school (11 months)

GRE: V 165 / Q 153 / AW 5.0

Relevant Work Experience: Interned at Egyptian human rights NGO (3 months), gave volunteer English courses at another Egyptian NGO (3 months), received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Germany for the 2012-2013 academic year

Quantitative Skills: Microeconomics (A+), Macroeconomics (A), Statistics (A+)

Many thanks in advance!

[OregonGal]

I can't speak to GRE scores (I don't know the new scoring) but everything else seems pretty much the perfect the candidate profile /jealous. I'd say go for it--normally I'd say that going straight out of undergrad isn't the best idea but with 3 months at an Egyptian HR NGO, a Fulbright AND other international experience, you've probably got enough work experience/language experience and definitely stellar academics to get into the school of your choice.

[IRToni]

Hi. Your quant seems to be on the low side, though that also depends on what you want to do. If you want to focus on Human Rights, it will not matter as much as if you want to focus on Econ-heavy stuff. Your micro, macro and stats grades will probably make up for it though. Aside from that, WE is of course a factor.

I'd also say that you'd have to find pretty good reasons for your heavy involvement with Germany if you want to do IDev. You've been to Egypt, that's great, but going to Germany will, IMO, not be regarded that highly in IDev, unless you can find good reasons. Just my two cents though.

[jalgator]

Ok, here we go. Thank you so much for the feedback:

Applying For: Masters in Development Studies/International Development/etc. for Fall of 2013

Schools Considering Applying To: SAIS; SFS; SIS; Elliot; SIPA; LSE; SOAS; Cornell MPS; Kennedy; Chicago/Northwestern; Fletcher

Undergraduate institution: SEC school (check my name)

Undergraduate GPA: 3.76 (3.94 in major)

Undergraduate Major: Political Science; minors in Arabic and Mass Communications

GREs: V: 160; M: 165; W: 4.5

Relevant Work Experience:

• Taught Spanish in Cairo for 3 months with an NGO there
  
• Managed Fundraising, Community Outreach and Development for a small NGO dealing with Edu and IDPs in Latin America
  
• Interned with a South Florida Chamber of Commerce
  
• 6 month Internship with a UN agency
  
• Advisor for an NPO dealing with international networking (4 yrs)
  
• Will do one more internship either with development or microfinance/microloans
  
  Relevant Volunteer Experience:
  • Traveled to Colombia 5 times dealing with Edu of Internally Displaced Children
    
  • Tutored children of migrant workers in bilingual edu (4 years)
    
  • Registered 1,000 voters in HS
    

  Studied Abroad: Cairo and Buenos Aires

  Languages: Native in English; Fluent in Spanish; "Advanced" in Arabic (advanced by standards not my own)

  Quant: Micro: A; Macro: A; Stats: A

  Strength of SOP: I have no way to measure this (I am always a little apprehensive with this kind of stuff), but I've had it checked by numerous professors and friends, and they have all given positive feedback (with recs of course)

  Strength of LOR: Researched development issues in Palestine and Sudan with two professors (liked me...I think ) and same way with all my supervisors...I think they are very strong in all sincerity

  Really appreciate it once again...thank you all for making this so much more edifying for me, before I ever made a post.

Edited June 3, 2012 by jalgator

[OregonGal]

Quite frankly... my stats are worse than yours (other than work experience, I have a year on you there) and I got into a top 20 IR school. Rock your GREs, craft a strong SOP, and you should have it in the bag. Especially for an MPP the AmeriCorps experience is very valuable. I know from experience; I'm in Americorps State/National right now and was able to use the experience on my resume/SOP to really highlight the program management and direct service aspects of the program.

Also, you should check and see whether any of the programs you're looking at have matching funds for the Segal Award; I know Brandeis Heller offers close to 3x matching (matches + $10K scholarship) and you have a chance at a full-tuition scholarship.

[jc99]

I am wondering just what my chances are. I am trying to first and foremost get into a school in DC since my wife and I live here and she works here. My story is a long one. I went to Law School and did not like it, but continued and ended up graduating with a low GPA, I currently work at private corporate institution as a legal adviser after having passed the New York Bar.

These are my stats

Applying For: Masters in INternational Relations

Schools Considering Applying To: SAIS, SFS, SIS, Elliot and SIPA (why not)

Undergraduate institution: American University of Beirut; Went to Law School to a 3rd tier in Midwest

Undergraduate GPA: 3.2; Law School: 2.8

Undergraduate Major: Political Science - concentration International Relations; Minor in Middle eastern history

GREs: 161 Verbal (89 Percentile); 164 Quantitative (91 percentile) AW 5.5

Relevant Work Experiences: Volunteered in refugee camps while in Undergrad. Everything has been law related, with no IR emphasis.

I am 26 and lived approximately 21 years abroad, in Germany and Lebanon, pretty much 10 and 10.

Languages: English, Arabic; German ; Conversational in French

I know that my GPA for both UG and Law School will be a problem, but I don't know if my GRE scores can offset that, while whether my language skills and actually having a law degree could be useful. IR has been my passion and law school was a huge mistake, after moving to DC and the recent uprisings in the area, I felt compelled to study it yet again, but I would love to get into either SAIS or SFS, what do you think my chances are.

[MYRNIST]

what do you think my chances are.

Slim to none. Your grades are bad and you have no IR work history. You might be able to squeeze into a lower tier school off of GRE scores and a great statement of purpose + recommendations, but you just named 4 of the top 5 IR schools in the country.

[JMO]

Slim to none. Your grades are bad and you have no IR work history. You might be able to squeeze into a lower tier school off of GRE scores and a great statement of purpose + recommendations, but you just named 4 of the top 5 IR schools in the country.

That is pretty negative debbie downer. Based on the whole picture, GPA is low but doesnt rule you out since it was at AUB and in the midst of the action. Law School can either help or hurt, your GPA is certainly going to hurt, but the fact that you are one and got barred etc, may have a positive connotation. You speak the languages and you certainly have the "life experiences", but Debbie Downer is right, you have no IR experience. I have seen people with no experience get in, but their grades were top, from top schools with stronger GRE scores. So overall, you have a chance...but this is more based on where you have lived and what you have seen as opposed to what you have done, cause if a take the same candidate that went to a US school and perhaps proficieny in one language and a one year stint abroad...I wouldn't give them a snowball's chance in hell. Let us ultimately know what happens with you, this is a pretty exciting case.

[MYRNIST]

post

1) I challenge you to find any people, whether on this forum or otherwise, admitted to a top-tier school (Georgetown, SAIS, Elliott, SIPA) with BOTH a sub 3.0 GPA and no IR work experience. I'd bet an internet nickel you don't find a single one. And the admission statistics these schools publish back me up.

2) It is irresponsible and unhelpful to misrepresent OP's admission chances at the mentioned schools.

Falsely act as though those are realistic targets --> OP wastes time and money applying, and most likely goes o-fer.

Be a "Debbie Downer" (I would say realist) --> OP can either apply to less selective schools* where they would have a much better shot, or improve their profile (get more work experience, take some classes, etc.) and work their way into a top-tier admit a few years down the road.

I think the second one is a lot more productive and helpful than blowing sunshine at people.

*OP, look at Institute of World Politics and Maryland - both are in the DC area and are decent IR programs you would be much more competitive at.

Edited June 12, 2012 by MYRNIST

[bless_yourheart]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I'm wondering if anyone has a clear idea how "work experience" is defined by schools. Is it consistent experience (i.e. worked/served a # of years without a gap), and if it isn't, how much does that hurt your application overall? If my best bet is to just call individual schools and ask, please let me know!

I worked throughout undergrad as an Arabic tutor (plus a yearlong study abroad where I worked and volunteered in Cairo), but after graduation, I've only got about 2 years of "professional experience." It's all public service/sector work (a civilian position at JAG, Americorps, and the Red Cross), but I'm worried that it won't be international enough or consistent enough (there's a three month gap between JAG and the Red Cross because I took economics classes then).

I'd like to go back into int'l development. I presented a research project about the work I was doing in Cairo and I'd like to follow through with it, post-revolution.

Thanks ahead of time!

(If need be, I can write out my profile but I'm more worried about the gaps in my work experience than I am about my GPA or GRE.)