Finding the right program

[occidorient]

Hey all

 

I’ve been browsing these forums for a while, and am struck by a neat community of motivated individuals all discussing applying to and attended grad school. I wanted to join that conversation, and hopefully gather insight from people. I’m wondering if some folks could help me clarify my search for the right program and also assess the likelihood of my acceptance to some more “top-notch” programs.

 

I’d like to maintain a degree of anonymity, but for some background: I have been living in China for three years working in the non-profit sector. I’ve worked for grassroots, national (one that was partly govt funded), and international NGOs (some based in DC), working mostly on issues related to environmental advocacy and climate change mitigation. This past year I’ve changed gears a little bit and currently work for a microfinance NGO, working on issues ranging from financial inclusion to women’s empowerment. While admittedly a bit all over the place, I believe my work experience if assessed collectively demonstrates a professional interest in a career in international development. While I’ve had some positions in which fellow colleagues already have masters degrees, thereby not necessitating on my part the need for advanced study, I’ve also met peers working on projects I’d like to participate in. And the majority of those particular peers have indeed pursued advanced study, usually in things like public policy or development. I believe my experience is rich and diverse, but advanced study would enable to “connect the dots” between different topics in development and navigate sustainable solutions to those multifaceted topics.

 

I’m applying this Fall for enrollment next year in a IR program with a development concentration, but I’m having trouble expanding my scope beyond two schools: JHU SAIS and UCSD IRPS. Friends, former colleagues and peers have attended SAIS for the development concentration, and the program sounds fantastic. It’s also in a good location for career mobilization, and I appreciate the quantitative and economic focus (essential to development work, and something I need to improve to realize professional goals). UCSD would be a bit closer to home, and less expensive, and their program delivers particular focus to the Asia-Pacific region, which is of interest to me.

 

Part of me believes the logic of having reach, match, and safety applications may not be so salient when it comes to grad apps. Only specific programs match my interest, and have the resources and reputation necessary to secure a career with a worthwhile employer/organization. While I probably should include a couple other schools, I haven’t found any as resonant as the above two, and I also don’t want to be stuck writing a ton of applications while also tending to work responsibilities. Ideally, I’d like to be in DC or NY (near interesting organizations). SIPA comes to mind for NY, but I've heard mixed things and don't know too much about their development concentration. 

 

Question 1: What other programs should I be considering? Keep in mind I’ve exhausted the APSIA site and have already done a lot of homework on worthwhile IR programs, but finding good IR programs with strong international development concentrations is difficult.  

 

Question 2: I’m especially drawn to SAIS. It would be a dream to attend. The issue: my undergraduate GPA is a 3.0 (less competitive, wasn’t too focused freshman year, had some extenuating issues one junior semester). Major GPA is closer to 3.5 though. My GRE verbal and writing are around the 90^th percentiles, while math is 60^th percentile…Re-taking this Fall to improve math. Would these numbers significantly decrease my chances? I’m confident I could write a strong personal statement and get some good recommendations.

 

Question 3: On the subject of personal statements, would any current grad students or alumni (especially those from SAIS!) be willing to read and offer feedback?

 

Thanks for reading! 

[lsaiki87]

 

I’m applying this Fall for enrollment next year in a IR program with a development concentration, but I’m having trouble expanding my scope beyond two schools: JHU SAIS and UCSD IRPS. Friends, former colleagues and peers have attended SAIS for the development concentration, and the program sounds fantastic. It’s also in a good location for career mobilization, and I appreciate the quantitative and economic focus (essential to development work, and something I need to improve to realize professional goals). UCSD would be a bit closer to home, and less expensive, and their program delivers particular focus to the Asia-Pacific region, which is of interest to me.

 

Part of me believes the logic of having reach, match, and safety applications may not be so salient when it comes to grad apps. Only specific programs match my interest, and have the resources and reputation necessary to secure a career with a worthwhile employer/organization. While I probably should include a couple other schools, I haven’t found any as resonant as the above two, and I also don’t want to be stuck writing a ton of applications while also tending to work responsibilities. Ideally, I’d like to be in DC or NY (near interesting organizations). SIPA comes to mind for NY, but I've heard mixed things and don't know too much about their development concentration. 

 

Question 1: What other programs should I be considering? Keep in mind I’ve exhausted the APSIA site and have already done a lot of homework on worthwhile IR programs, but finding good IR programs with strong international development concentrations is difficult.  

 

Question 2: I’m especially drawn to SAIS. It would be a dream to attend. The issue: my undergraduate GPA is a 3.0 (less competitive, wasn’t too focused freshman year, had some extenuating issues one junior semester). Major GPA is closer to 3.5 though. My GRE verbal and writing are around the 90^th percentiles, while math is 60^th percentile…Re-taking this Fall to improve math. Would these numbers significantly decrease my chances? I’m confident I could write a strong personal statement and get some good recommendations.

 

Question 3: On the subject of personal statements, would any current grad students or alumni (especially those from SAIS!) be willing to read and offer feedback?

 

Thanks for reading! 

 

Hi occidorient,

I am actually a current SAIS IDEV grad student. I would be more than happy to offer you some feedback about the program here and the other schools that I applied to because it seems that we have very similar interests.

 

I applied to SIPA, SAIS, and MSFS. I decided upon these three because after looking at their curriculum, I realized that I could take development courses and focus on that even if the program didn't offer a specific IDEV degree. I was very interested in USF (they have an development economics program there) and UCSD as well, and even looked at UT Austin and LSE. I decided to put all my eggs in the first three baskets, however, and only applied to SIPA, SAIS, and MSFS. I got accepted into all three and ultimately decided to attend SAIS (I am doing the split Bologna and DC program and I couldn't be happier. The IDEV community is outstanding here and opportunity to live in two different continents is incredibly. This was what ultimately sealed the deal for me since no other program could offer me these things). 

 

Regarding your undergraduate GPA: yes, it isn't the highest GPA, but it's not necessarily a deal-breaker. An application is so much more than just your undergrad GPA, especially if you've been working for the last couple of years. You have an excellent GRE verbal score but I would work on nailing the quantitative portion of the test. Right now you are at the very bottom of the SAIS average (it ranges from 60th-83rd for math), so just work on improving that and that should work to offset your GPA scores. Of course, make sure to write a killer essay and get excellent letters of recommendation - I can't stress that enough. I think that has more weight that anything else, really. (As for your personal statement, I could provide you some feedback on the topic in general, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to actually read and analyze it thoroughly since I'm about to start midterms - yikes!)

 

Best of luck and feel free to message me if you have any other questions!