HKS/Woody Woo/SAIS

[mabaci]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if you guys (who seem very well-informed) could tell me what I need aspects of my profile I need to improve on before applying to the aforementioned schools.

Undergraduate institution: University of Michigan

Undergraduate GPA: 3.81, Highest Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa

Undergraduate Major: History

Master's: Stanford University (International Area Studies), full-ride (FLAS fellowship from US Dept of Education)

Grad GPA: 3.8

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4

Years of Work Experience: 2 years at a top law firm in D.C., 1 year at a boutique international development firm in D.C. (I'm a business development associate and grant writer), at Stanford I was a research assistant for a prominent political science professor and I held an internship at El Instituto Cervantes in Madrid. Lots of volunteering (I teach ESOL on the weekends); and have worked as an interpreter at the Legal Aid Justice Center and Hospital at Michigan during college).

Foreign Languages: English and Spanish (native), Advanced reading/speaking/writing in French, German, Italian and Portuguese

Additional courses: I've taken micro/macro-economics (As in both); multivariable calculus (A-), linear algebra (A), stats I & II (As in both), calculus based stats (B+) all at my local community college.

My GREs suck...Verbal 620, Math 580, Writing 5.0

What do you think my chances are? Should I work a couple of more years before applying? I made it a point to take all of those extra math courses to show the adcoms I'm not afraid of numbers (in fact, I really like math), but for some reason I'm not a good test taker (I know lame excuse)

PS: I'm a first generation Latino student.

PS2: I made another identical thread by accident and I don't know how to delete it. Sorry!

Thank you for your help!

Edited September 29, 2011 by mabaci

[TypeA]

I think you have an incredibly strong profile, with the possible exception of your GRE quant score. That might be mitigated by your courses; I'm not very familiar with those programs, so I don't know how heavily the GRE is weighed/if it's used for preliminary weeding.

I do know that the UMich Ford School--which is less competitive, but may consider the GRE differently--advises "in general, the incoming class has GRE scores in and above the 75th percentile." If I remember correctly, a 720 is about 75th percentile for quant. The consensus around here seems to be to shoot for 700+.

[mabaci]

TypeA--thank you for your suggestions. I need to improve my quant score, for some reason I freak out under testing situations, but seem to do fine in class. Even though the Ford School would be awesome, they don't seem to offer as many international development/policy courses as Harvard (with their new global concentration), WWW or SAIS. I'm also trying to think of other programs, any suggestions?

[TypeA]

I know that Ford is trying to expand their international focus, buuuut I'm actually interested in domestic social policy, not IR. The vast majority of people who frequent this forum are interested in IR, so they might be able to help you better.

[MYRNIST]

Fellow UM grad here.

I actually think the biggest hurdle in your applications will be explaining what another graduate degree in IR is going to do for you. GRE scores are not critically important in these admissions, and you have obviously demonstrated ability to handle fairly complex math. Your work experience is great. International experience is great. But you already have an international-focused M.A., and so it's incumbent on you to show what HKS/WWS/SAIS provide that your previous degree didn't, and how it will help you achieve your career goals. I'm guessing it's quant-heavy, econ-focused classes? If so, be proactive about spelling out exactly what skills they'll give you.

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if you guys (who seem very well-informed) could tell me what I need aspects of my profile I need to improve on before applying to the aforementioned schools.

Undergraduate institution: University of Michigan

Undergraduate GPA: 3.81, Highest Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa

Undergraduate Major: History

Master's: Stanford University (International Area Studies), full-ride (FLAS fellowship from US Dept of Education)

Grad GPA: 3.8

Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 4

Years of Work Experience: 2 years at a top law firm in D.C., 1 year at a boutique international development firm in D.C. (I'm a business development associate and grant writer), at Stanford I was a research assistant for a prominent political science professor and I held an internship at El Instituto Cervantes in Madrid. Lots of volunteering (I teach ESOL on the weekends); and have worked as an interpreter at the Legal Aid Justice Center and Hospital at Michigan during college).

Foreign Languages: English and Spanish (native), Advanced reading/speaking/writing in French, German, Italian and Portuguese

Additional courses: I've taken micro/macro-economics (As in both); multivariable calculus (A-), linear algebra (A), stats I & II (As in both), calculus based stats (B+) all at my local community college.

My GREs suck...Verbal 620, Math 580, Writing 5.0

What do you think my chances are? Should I work a couple of more years before applying? I made it a point to take all of those extra math courses to show the adcoms I'm not afraid of numbers (in fact, I really like math), but for some reason I'm not a good test taker (I know lame excuse)

PS: I'm a first generation Latino student.

PS2: I made another identical thread by accident and I don't know how to delete it. Sorry!

Thank you for your help!

[mabaci]

Yes, exactly! My Latin American Studies degree, as its name implies, was a language and regional-focused degree (I took intensive Portuguese classes and classes in the humanities and social sciences to develop expertise in the region). I think that If I want to work on the policy-side of development, however, I must be proficient in econ and stats, which I lack. I don't like being pigeoned-hole into a specific area (for example, everytime my firm wants to bid for a project through the IDB, I'm the one who writes the EOIs, RFPs and eventual proposals), but I'd like to gain general knowledge of public policy. Does this make sense? Anyway, thank you so much for your advice! I'd love to hear more opinions.

P.S: I did not go to UM (but went to another top-5 public university...I don't want to be easily identified, which given my profile I probably will, lol)

Edited September 30, 2011 by mabaci

[mabaci]

Bump...any other suggestions?

[lattemoi]

I think that you're a very strong candidate. Are you applying for a 2nd masters or a Phd? Try applying to several schools this year, and if it didn't work you can always apply later. I heard that if you received scholarship or self-funded and weren't relying on receiving financial aid from the university, then you have higher chances of getting in. I don't know how true this is though. I made sure to address that I mention this in my SOPs just in case.