PoliJunkie Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 (edited) Hi all, I graduated with a 2.3 GPA in an undergraduate degree in political science from a Canadian university. I am currently working as a special assistant to a sitting Member of Parliament, and am looking to make a change out of a position that probably seems like a dream job for down-and-out poli undergrads wondering how they'll find work (this included me). Thing is, once the excitement dies down, one realizes that you're in a low-paying, low-mobility, and low-status position thats ultimately a dead end. Not to mention the glaring lack of job security; my MP's seat is very much in jeapordy for 2015. And the plum positions in politics still go the MBA's and JD's. So I'm looking to go back to school. I did write my LSAT and scored very high, still not enough to offset my terrible GPA. I'm wondering if I might be able to leverage my work experience, extracurriclar experience and languge skills to take a shot at a top political science, international relations, or public policy grad program in the States; possibly the middle top tier; Columbia, Chigaco, Georgetown, Darthmouth and above. I'm aware that this is a hard sell for me, and would require at the very least a top GRE score, but I'd like your feedback whether this is outright impossible. The following is my relevant work experience; 1 research position with federal government ministry; 6 months, paid Provincial Consituency Assistant; 4 month Summer Student, paid 3 Campaign Organizer positions; 6-12 months each, unpaid 1 paid Campaign Manager positions; 2 months, slave labour wages Provincial Parliamentary Reseracher; 6 months paid, Parliamentary Special Assistant; 1.5 years, full-time paid In addition, I speak Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Urdu/Hindi fluently and am working on French, which I have a somewhat conversational ability in. I'm natively Afghani but English is my first language. Also, I have travelled extensively, and have some effective networks in a few international political scenes. I have a vague sense that I have a strong base to shoot for a decent grad program despite of my low GPA. Can anyone tell me if I might be mistaken? Thank you and sorry for length, Edited November 7, 2014 by PoliJunkie
AuldReekie Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 Hi all, I graduated with a 2.3 GPA in an undergraduate degree in political science from a Canadian university. I am currently working as a special assistant to a sitting Member of Parliament, and am looking to make a change out of a position that probably seems like a dream job for down-and-out poli undergrads wondering how they'll find work (this included me). Thing is, once the excitement dies down, one realizes that you're in a low-paying, low-mobility, and low-status position thats ultimately a dead end. Not to mention the glaring lack of job security; my MP's seat is very much in jeapordy for 2015. And the plum positions in politics still go the MBA's and JD's. So I'm looking to go back to school. I did write my LSAT and scored very high, still not enough to offset my terrible GPA. I'm wondering if I might be able to leverage my work experience, extracurriclar experience and languge skills to take a shot at a top political science, international relations, or public policy grad program in the States; possibly the middle top tier; Columbia, Chigaco, Georgetown, Darthmouth and above. I'm aware that this is a hard sell for me, and would require at the very least a top GRE score, but I'd like your feedback whether this is outright impossible. The following is my relevant work experience; 1 research position with federal government ministry; 6 months, paid Provincial Consituency Assistant; 4 month Summer Student, paid 3 Campaign Organizer positions; 6-12 months each, unpaid 1 paid Campaign Manager positions; 2 months, slave labour wages Provincial Parliamentary Reseracher; 6 months paid, Parliamentary Special Assistant; 1.5 years, full-time paid In addition, I speak Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Urdu/Hindi fluently and am working on French, which I have a somewhat conversational ability in. I'm natively Afghani but English is my first language. Also, I have travelled extensively, and have some effective networks in a few international political scenes. I have a vague sense that I have a strong base to shoot for a decent grad program despite of my low GPA. Can anyone tell me if I might be mistaken? Thank you and sorry for length, Hop over to the Government Affairs forum as, unless you want to get a PhD, you're in the wrong forum Good luck!
TakeruK Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 To avoid confusion with duplicate threads, I'm going to lock this one and direct readers to the post over in Government Affairs:
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