Sandro777

I will graduate in December with a 3.1 GPA (3.4 INR Major, 2.8 Econ, 3.3 OVR GPA last 2 years). I just took the GRE today and was a little disappointed as I had scored 610/660 V on the ETS PP software and ended up with a 580V 670 Q. Im really confident if I took it again I could reach where I was at when I was prepping...

I dont have a lot of work experience but will be starting an internship in Economic Development next week. Do I have a shot anywhere? I'm interested in International Development.

duke86

Hi,

I am applying to an IR grad school after finishing my degree in my European home country. As a part of the degree we have to finish an entity (a diploma) in a minor subject in addition to majoring in one subject. The minor diploma will be approx. 25% of the overall degree. I have taken courses in two subjects, International Law and Arabic and Islamic Studies, and I'm going to complete one of them as a minor entity.

Now I'm wondering which one of them would support my grad school application more? In my country International Law sounds much fancier, whereas Arabic and Islamic Studies might sound even a bit obscure in some circles. But as I'm going to mention in my application that I have specialized in my previous studies to Modern Middle Eastern History, a diploma in a related field might support that claim. And as far as I understand IR grad schools always like any proof of language study, so emphasizing my previous studies in Arabic would help.

So what do you guys think? It's not SUCH an important question, as I would anyway have separate courses in my degree from the other subject, but it's just a matter of which one of these two subjects should I emphasize more. Mostly I'm wondering, does International Law sound as fancy abroad as it does here, and therefore would give me some kind of extra to my application? I'm applying to IR grad schools in the US, Canada and the UK at least.

Thanks in advance.

lcspider4

I know that this thread is filled with people like me asking about chances to get into grad school, but I am leaving to study abroad in the Middle East for the next semester and am applying once I get back to Johns Hopkins, George Washington, American and Denver. I am wondering if I should go to grad school directly after undergrad and if I even have a legit shot at these programs without work experience.

I will have good Recommendation letters, a 3.6 gpa, a study abroad experience in Egypt under my belt, an intermediate level of Arabic and I just took the GRE and got a 670 V, 740 Q.

Should I be looking to get work experience to have a prayer at financial aid or even admission to these programs?

RamsesI

Im looking at IR programs now but I definitely cant afford to take out any more loans for graduate school. It seems like everyone is aiming for top 10 programs but that isnt an option for me monetarily...are the many other dozens of IR programs around the US even worth considering? Would getting my MA at a city university in new york (with the advantage of proximity to some great internships) be unwise? How much does school reputation weigh in hiring IR grads?

k.soverel

If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it. I graduate from an ivy league school about two and a half years ago with a very mediocre GPA. As an undergraduate I studied Chinese and spent two months studying abroad. Since graduation, in an effort to mitigate my so-so GPA (3.3), I have been working at a nonprofit doing academic research with a professor. I also did very well on the GRE. Unfortunately, the work experience has not been internationally focused. I now realize I want to pursue my Chinese studies and get a MA in IR.

I wonder how it would look on graduate school applications if I went to China and enrolled in a full-time language program? I suppose I would stay in my current job until next summer (that is the earliest I could go), go to China at the end of the summer, apply to graduate school while in China, and stay for one year. I want to apply to DC schools and eventually work in the public sector. My fear is that leaving to enroll in a Chinese university appears a bit un-serious in some way. Maybe teaching english would look better? But then I would not come away with the Chinese language skills that I want to acquire.

I haven't heard about anyone enrolling in language study programs post-Bac but before graduate school. Is this something that people do? Any advice?

flyers29

k.soverel,

You should be fine doing the path you proposed (language study).

MarJoy

I am losing sleep over this! I am now applying to graduate programs in International Affairs and I'd appreciate any insight.

I graduated with dual degrees in Political Science and French, with a 3.58 GPA. My undergrad school is respectable although rather unknown. I studied abroad one year at the Sorbonne Nouvelle. I speak fluent French and Bosnian. I speak conversational Spanish and Arabic. I have a good grasp of Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian and Montenegrin. I am a Peace Corps volunteer finishing my service in the NGO Development sector. I have interned at a well-known and highly-respected Congressman's office. I will be interning in the political and economic sectors of the US Embassy in a hot spot in the former Yugoslavia. I am interested in IR, peace & conflict resolution, and a career in diplomacy.

I tend to underestimate myself. The only thing holding me back are low GRE scores (crossing disputed borders to take them proved to be an pressure factor + inconvenience)(I hope to retake them and get at least a 1200).
Should I apply to more top notch programs?

So far:
Columbia SIPA
NYU Wagner School of Public Administration (Global Affairs)
Fordham International Political Economy & Development
Seton Hall Whitehead
George Washington University Elliot School
American University - International Peace and Conflict Resolution (any insight)
and...my favorite...
American University of Paris (dual degree +French with Sorbonne in International Affairs, Conflict Resolution, and Civil Society Development) (ps--why hasn't anyone brought up American University of Paris here?!)

Should I go out on a limb and try for Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Yale? Am I competitive for these programs?
Thanks friends!

Jason94519

You sound like you have the background for any one of these schools, though don't know much about American University of Paris. You're GPA isn't incredible, but its definitely better than "good." But what you have working for you is your international experience - bring that up.

You'd be a walk-in at MIIS, where you'd be greeted with open arms for your experience (and they don't weigh the GRE as much as other IR schools!). Plus, you'd make a good case for the $14,000 scholarship.

RamsesI

Whats a feasible amount of debt to go into for one of the top 10 IR programs? Im wondering if its worth carrying an 80k+ debt load after graduation....

FraggleRock

MarJoy, I'd guess your experience is far above and beyond what most MAIR applicants possess, and your GPA is sufficient. If your GRE is below a 1200, then certainly try to get that up to at least a decent level. Aside from that, I'd figure you'd surely get into most or all of those schools.

As for the American University of Paris, it's a great school that doesn't get discussed here much because of what seems to be the US-centric thinking here about MAIR programs. Not that US-centric is bad since many or most of the top schools are here in the US, but some good schools outside our borders such as AUP and the IIS in Geneva get overlooked. An interesting study posted earlier in this thread chronicles the difference in thinking about MAIR programs between professors at US and Canadian institutions, showing that US professors are much more US-centric in their ranking of top MAIR programs whereas the Canadians are more international (though still very US-leaning).

DesertYankee

Hello all,

I am applying now with the intent to attend a top 10 I/R school in Fall 2010. My background includes:

* 3.34 Undergraduate GPA
* Syracuse University (Maxwell School); Major: Political Science, Minor: Middle Eastern Studies
* Proficient / near fluent in Spanish
* GRE: 550 V, 630 Q (waiting to see writing score)
* 24 months in Iraq as a US Army officer (two deployments: Tikrit and Baghdad; four years Army experience total, left as a Captain)

Can anyone with the requisite experience provide feedback on my chances for admission? Should I re-take the GRE?

Thank you all for your assistance.

Atican

Posted this in another thread--maybe I'll get some responses here. I'm looking to get an MA in international relations, and I'm planning on eventually joining the FS. I'm thinking about Oxford, Columbia, LSE, and Georgetown. Here are my stats:

- 3.89 GPA - University of Washington, Seattle
- Double-major in Political Science and Philosophy
- Honors program, Phi Beta Kappa
- Haven't taken the GRE yet (one reason I'm applying to Oxford is to avoid GRE at all costs)
- Internships: U.S. Senator's office, Department of State, Department of Justice
- Studied abroad in Rome, where I also did my State Dept. internship
- Various campus leadership stuff--President of a political club and political campaign work
- Languages: Latin (advanced), Italian (novice), German (intermediate) -- only Latin is reflected in my transcript
- No fellowships, published papers, etc... I only recently decided international relations was the route to go

I've work on environmental policy issues for State Dept. and Justice Dept., and both had an international component (obviously State would). I'm interested in global environmental politics, or just international affairs with an emphasis on environmental issues.

So what are my chances? Thanks.

InSF

I'm a first-year graduate student in International Security at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. The Josef Korbel School was ranked 12th in the world by Foreign Policy magazine this year and 10th in the United States.

I wanted to post here to answer any questions anyone may have about the school, our programs (in particular International Security) or anything else as everyone gets ready to send in their applications for the 2010-2011 academic year. Last year at this time I was in the same shoes as everyone here, readying my applications and getting ready for the GRE, which I took in November.

A little on my background. I graduated from a well-known private east coast school with a 3.6 in International Studies. I received a 610 on the quantitative portion of the GRE and a 630 on the verbal with a 6.0 on the writing. I applied to the Fletcher School at Tufts and to the Josef Korbel School. I chose those two after visiting a number of other schools, both in DC and on the West Coast. I was accepted at both schools and chose Korbel because I felt the Security program was the most intensive and focused. In addition Korbel has a guaranteed scholarship program which was very attractive to me considering the debt I took on for my undergraduate education.

I have to say my first term at the Korbel School so far has been great. I'm taking 15 credits - International Terrorism, US National Security Policy and Security and Defense Analysis Methods I. Each class is taught by an experienced professional including the current CIA officer-in-residence on campus, another who helped the German government setup GSG 9 - the anti-terrorist unit of the federal German state and a long-time professor at the Air Force Academy. In the two months I've been on campus I've met the Deputy Assistant Secretary General of NATO as well as representatives of CIA, FBI, NORAD, DIA, NSC and more. It's been an awesome two months. Next term I'll be taking Political Risk Analysis, Civil Wars and International Responses, Advanced Security and Defense Analysis Methods and Comparative Politics.

So I'm here to answer honestly and forthrightly any questions any of you may have about our school, the applications process, Denver or anything else. Feel free to leave any questions here or send me a private message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

omaneera

Hello,

I would like to get an honest advice about my choices and chances at them.

Stats
- 3.33 from University of California, Irvine in Criminology, Law and Society Minor and Humanities and Law. Research experience in Children Psychology
-I just took the GRE and received under 1200 (very disappointed about it)
-2 years experience as an international labor organizer (Thailand and US)
-International experience with a union in Guatemala, sex workers union in Germany, women's workers organization in India, and part of labor delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference in Poland.
-internship experience with US Department of Justice.
-Fluent in Thai, intermediate German and beginning Spanish
-Dual citizen (Thai and US)

I am very passionate about International Development. However, I think my low GPA and GRE scores will prevent me from a chance at my top schools. Through my extensive search, I feel that GWU, AU, UCSD and University of Pittsburgh fit my needs the most, in that order. There are other tops like Hopkins and Tufts of course but they are a bit out of reach academically.

Can someone let me know if I have a shot at any of the above schools? I'm planning to retake the GRE, and I believe I can definitely achieve at least a 1200. Also, are there any other schools you would recommend I consider?