Anyone apply for political communications/media and public affairs at GWU or American?

[CML55]

Wondering if anyone has applied to and/or heard from programs in political communication namely from George Washington (Media and Public Affairs) or American? Like most people here, I'm obsessively worried my stats aren't good enough .

[MinervasOwl]

I've applied for a PhD in Pol Science at GWU and hope to work with the SMPA program- did you apply for a Masters? What are your stats?

[CML55]

Masters.

3.6 undergrad gpa and 3.8 law school gpa

158 GRE

I assume the standards for PHd are slightly higher than Masters?

[MinervasOwl]

I think you should be fine. I had some friends who went to SMPA and studied Pol Comm, your stats sound really great. Good luck.

[CML55]

Thanks! Best of luck to you as well.

[sporclelam]

Yes to GW. I was already accepted back in December to Johns Hopkins for MA Communication (concentrations in political comm and media relations), and I think I'll probably end up at JHU, but still waiting on GW response.

Edit:

My stats, if curious...

undergrad GPA 3.8 (at a small state school though)

major GPA 4.0 (poli sci)

verbal GRE: 163

2 related internships

Edited February 27, 2012 by sporclelam

[CML55]

Great stats. I didn't go to top 10 schools or anything, either, so I wonder what bearing that has at a school like GW. Depending on my results, I was going to apply to JHU, too, though I'm beginning to think I should apply right now anyway. Program looks great. How do you think it compares to GW? And why not American?

[sporclelam]

Thanks! Hoping it's enough!

I definitely think you should apply to Hopkins. It's in the District, which was big for me. I only applied to GW & JHU because if I was going to shell out all the money, I thought I needed to go big, haha. The big factor which is pulling me to Hopkins right now is the fact that I'll likely be a part-time student. I just can't afford to be full-time. I'm actually looking for jobs right now--I have an interview for a PR firm and when I told them I was planning to go to grad school part-time at either Hopkins or GW, they mentioned how the program at Hopkins was great. Anyway, the program at Hopkins is geared toward part-time students, so I just think I'll have a better experience there.

Really the only thing that I think could sway me at this point is if GW gave me better financial aid. Honestly, in my mind, GW > JHU for the programs. Especially because GW has the full campus in DC. Also, it's important to note that while JHU has financial aid, it does not give any types of scholarships at all for entering students.

And I just don't like American. No particular reason, I just really had my heart set on either Hopkins or GW.

[CML55]

This is so helpful!

I'm like you--It only makes sense to go to strong programs, especially if you view this as an investment. I'm not in DC, so it's been interesting trying to wade through the marketing and ascertain which programs are the strongest. I think because JH doesn't have a full campus in DC, I was worried the program would not be as strong, but in retrospect that makes absolutely no sense bc it's in DC, where the most qualified faculty and best resources would be! So many thanks for the insight on JH, esp from an employer's POV.

I'm definitely looking to work during school, too, so perhaps I should keep that in mind. IF i get in, that is. Do you mind me asking about what you think about the job market in DC? Is it reasonable to rely on my getting a job to help pay for school? I only know what I read online. . . .

[sporclelam]

Exactly--when I compared the faculty between the two schools, they both had many well-known professionals in the field.

As for jobs, I've only applied to maybe five, since it is so early still, and I'm about 6 hours from DC right now. I've only heard back from one, which is the one I have an interview with when I go back home (Maryland) during spring break. You should definitely check out this website, it's where I've found almost or all the jobs I've applied to so far, and I think I'll be using it much more as it nears May/graduation day.

http://publicaffairsjobs.blogspot.com/

My plan for now was to get a job to solely pay for my housing and extra expenses since I'm looking at studios in Dupont which are running at 1400/mo at the cheapest, and using Stafford loans to cover the actual tuition. I'm only expecting to make about 35-40k.

[CML55]

Wow, that site is great! Congrats on the interview, too. I'll def. be looking at this site closer to fall, although I'm leaning more towards policy advocacy.

Sorry to pump you for info, but are you using a specific site (outside craigslist) to find places?

[sporclelam]

Haha, it's fine! I've been using padmapper, which uses the postings from craiglist, but puts them on a map essentially.

[sporclelam]

Just received my acceptance via email to GW

[CML55]

Congratulations! That is amazing! I am officially immensely jealous! how long did it take you to hear btw?

[sporclelam]

Thank you! It was six weeks on the dot--they told me it'd take 4-6 weeks. Did you apply before Jan 15th?

[CML55]

nope hating myself for that one . . . and according to email asking about the process, they don't review again until after the next deadline (April 1st).

Are you still on the fence about which one you'll attend?

I 'attended' an online info session from JH that somewhat colored my opinion of the program. You should check it out. Hmm. . . . they said it would be posted, but I'm having trouble finding it . . .

[sporclelam]

That sucks. I remember reading somewhere that they were rolling admission? I guess not.

I did attend two of those sessions a while back, what did you think of it?

Definitely still on the fence. I've realized that if money were not an issue at all, I'd absolutely choose GW. I just think it'll be too difficult to be part-time at GW & work full-time. I'm going to wait and see how financial aid comes back on both and go from there. If I can swing it, I might go GW full-time...

[CML55]

It was an interesting session, but the director sounded a bit unsure about the direction of the program, which was a tad disconcerting.

I'm curious what makes you say GW would be harder to do part-time while working. Don't they have evening classes too?

[sporclelam]

My impression is that JHU is geared toward part-time, working students and would have more support for those students (me) than GW, which is a more traditional graduate program. But I did find out now that about half their students are part-time (and yes, evening classes), so now I feel a lot more confident about GW as an option. They're having an accepted students reception on the 26th, so I'll be there & report back!

[CML55]

oh great! I'd love to hear about it!

[dvm258]

I saw the program at JHU also, but I'm planning on being a full time student, so I decided against it. I've also been accepted to GW, and trying to decide if that is right for me, or a similar program at the London School of Economics I was also accepted to (Politics and Communication).

I couldn't go to the accepted students event at GW, but I would be happy to hear your impressions. I visited to sit in on a class earlier, and it was nice.

On one hand, GW is located in DC which is an obvious big plus, but LSE is another high quality program that would actually be significantly less expensive and would allow me to graduate in just one year (which is standard for masters degrees in the UK).

[CML55]

I saw the program at JHU also, but I'm planning on being a full time student, so I decided against it. I've also been accepted to GW, and trying to decide if that is right for me, or a similar program at the London School of Economics I was also accepted to (Politics and Communication).

I couldn't go to the accepted students event at GW, but I would be happy to hear your impressions. I visited to sit in on a class earlier, and it was nice.

On one hand, GW is located in DC which is an obvious big plus, but LSE is another high quality program that would actually be significantly less expensive and would allow me to graduate in just one year (which is standard for masters degrees in the UK).

Congrats on getting into two great programs! I saw the program at LSE as well, but thought, even if I could get in, building experience and a network in DC is key for the work I want to do. I hear GW's network is amazing, btw. Do your career aspirations allow for more flexibility?

[sporclelam]

oh great! I'd love to hear about it!

Oops. So I kind of neglected to reply in a timely matter! Anyway, the open house wasn't too exciting--we had a tour of campus, a reception with a couple professors and current students (just mingling with some food trays and drinks), and then we could attend a class afterwards. For me, it wasn't any of the mingling or the professor speaking that really swayed me, it was attending the class. I really enjoyed it, and plan on enrolling at GW now. I haven't officially accepted the offer yet, I'm still waiting on financial aid to come back just to be sure. I have until June 1st anyway.

[CML55]

Glad you enjoyed it! No doubt you'll love it there. I'm still waiting to hear back, but it's great to know the classes are great. Thanks for the update!

[CML55]

I got in

have you heard anything re: funding? i have to committ before May 4th to another program.