IR grad school applicant straight out of undergrad - should I apply or wait?

[MyUsername123]

Hi,

I am a recent UC Berkeley graduate interested in applying for a Masters in International Relations and related subjects. I finished Berkeley with a cumulative GPA of 3.8 and I studied Political Science with a specialization in International Relations. I have not yet taken the GRE but in my practice tests so far I've been scoring 161-166 in Verbal and 152-156 in Quantitative. 

 

I really have no relevant significant work experience; I initially wanted to work in communications for a political/social justice non-profit, so have a lot of internships related to that at some leading charities, many of which are related to women's rights activism. (Passionate about international gender issues and want to pursue a career related to that.) Also lead two social justice related students groups (ie like Amnesty Intl) and wrote for on-campus publication devoted to MENA/South Asian issues. I speak Hindi and some Spanish. Currently work in communications for two small charities/semi-political non-profits, one of which is a well-known charity dedicated to ending sexual violence worldwide.

 

As I am a UK/US citizen, I am looking into programs in England the USA. Only problem is, while I've been told experience doesn't matter so much for the top UK programs, it does for the US? Do I have a shot at any of these right now? Or should I wait it out? And if I do wait it out, what kind of things should I do to strengthen my resume?

 

Also, I transferred from a lesser university to Berkeley. I developed much stronger relationships at my first university, a smaller one, but with not as prestigious faculty like the ones I knew at Berkeley. Which should I ask for references from?

 

US unis I'm interested in: Georgetown, George Washington, UCSD, John Hopkins, Columbia, American, Princeton

*Suggestions for others unis, particularly ones that specialize in gender, would be great!

 

UK unis I'm interested in: LSE, SOAS, UCL (Human Rights), KCL, Oxford

Thanks so much for the help!

[MyUsername123]

Anybody know of courses/top programs like this in the USA/UK?

[fuzzylogician]

Please don't post the same question multiple times. Your questions have all been merged here. 

[MyUsername123]

I'm so sorry! Didn't realize couldn't do that. 

 

To anybody else: Any advice regarding the content of the posts??

[fuzzylogician]

No problem  

 

It's just unnecessary and it pushes down other people's posts, which I'm sure they're as eager as you are to get comments on. 

 

(Sorry I can't actually answer any of your questions!)

[MyUsername123]

Bump

[adaptations]

Hi MyUsername123,

With your GPA and experience there is no question that you will be a strong candidate for Masters programs. While it is true that some programs place a higher value on work experience than others, you'll be in the running for most of them. As you know, there are a variety of places where you can complete a masters in IR and, I don't mean to be rude, but it's probably best for you to just research them and see what sounds appealing to your specific interests, financial constraints, etc.

Good luck,