How do I let admissions know something additional?

[thompsonek88]

Hi everyone!

I am applying to American's SIS, Denver's Josef Korbel, and Pitt's GSPIA. I plan to pursue the International Development program.

I have a BA in International Studies, but for some reason, economics classes were not required for the degree. The program was fairly new and I started the degree at the end of my sophomore year, so I didn't have open spots to take additional classes.

I graduated in May and I am applying to start graduate school fall 2012. I want to be as prepared for these programs as possible, so I plan to enroll in Macroeconomics and Microeconomics this spring and/or summer. How do I inform the schools of this? Because Economics is such an important part of these programs, I want the schools to know that I want to and will get experience in the field before potentially enrolling in their program.

Also, will the fact that I didn't take these courses during my four years as an undergrad hurt my chances of acceptance at these schools?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[emmm]

Since you will only be enrolling in these classes after admissions deadlines, you can tell the programs about your plans, but it might not count for much. Anyone can say they plan to do anything. It would carry more weight if you were taking the classes this fall, as the schools could actually be sent the grades you earned (they would require a transcript). If you do get grades before admissions decisions are made, definitely send your updated transcript to the schools you've applied to.

[thompsonek88]

I was worried about that, but I'll figure something out. A couple of the schools allow you to write an additional essay explaining something that wasn't mentioned in the other application materials. I'm going to an admissions fair in a couple weeks; I'll try to get some more info then!

[balderdash]

First, I would call the graduate secretary and see if they're interested in additional material or not, and ask how to send it - last year, a few offices told me to send similar statements via email and they would simply print it out and attach it to the file. Others said they didn't want that information, so I snuck it into the application elsewhere (like the SOP, suggested above). It's still early in the season; I wouldn't expect the graduate coordinators are going to be annoyed at you asking (and if they are, well, that's their job).

If they do want you to send the information, the best thing to do would be wait until you enroll and then go get "proof of enrollment" from the school's registrar. Then fax/mail/scan and email. That will look the most official.

[orst11]

Some schools have sections for courses that haven't been completed I was thinking maybe you can sneak it in there. Balderdash's suggestion on proof of enrollment also seems the most logical in this instance.