IR/PS, SAIS, SIPA, MSFS and Fletcher..please grade my chance

[coma]

Hi all,

I got B.A. in IR from a prestigious university from my country in Southeast Asia with a low GPA (3.2), but I had such experiences as founding American studies club, participating a model UN abroad and internships at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at a Chinese Foundation. I had many community service experiences and volunteer works. Curently, I have worked as a researcher at my country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 8 months already. Just recently, I have been awarded the Fulbright scholarship to study IR next year.

I got pretty low IBT TOEFL scores (91) (I've heard some get into the IR top schools like Fletcher with 90 something score on the TOEFL), but for GRE scores on quantitative part I did well above most top IR schools' mean scores. My SOP is strong, and all the three/four recommendation letters are decend written by my boss/Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and researchers from the best programs in my field of interest (Southeast Asia studies).

I'm scheduled to retake the TOEFL soon, but also want to know if with Fulbright and the said experiences, I would be get in IR/PS, SAIS, SIPA, MSFS or Fletcher. Please help assess my case, so I may consider some much more safer schools. I'm interested in IR/PS and SAIS because of their Southeast Asia and Economics focus. Also, I'm leaning towards SIPA because of the location.

For the most part of my competitiveness, all is slim. But, I've heard from a friend that SIPA loves to have Fulbrighters no matter what...I'm not sure if it's true...anyone knows?

[riz1]

I don't think any American university would say 'no' to a Fulbright! That's fantastic -- congratulations!

Overall, your experience thus far sounds wonderful, and your GPA (which isn't too bad to begin with) is definitely offset by the work you've been doing. I think your application is quite strong, and you'd be a competitive candidate at any of these schools.

Best of luck!