Goose1459

Declined my offer of admission. Hope someone gets in off of the waitlist! To those attending SIPA next year: good luck!

SAIS has said that the official facebook group would be created in May.

Riverguide, Looking forward to your insights!

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Ivy Previous Degrees and GPAs: Political Science/Economics - 3.22 (3.5 last 60) GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 161/153/4.5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 1 year full time out of undergrad, around 3 when you add up the internships. Math/Econ Background: Economics Minor (Micro/Macro/Econometrics/Public/Trade) Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Intermediate Spanish but am looking to add one more. Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Relations Long Term Professional Goals: U.S. Foreign Service or Intelligence Community Schools Applied to & Results: Accepted: Columbia SIPA-MIA, Johns Hopkins SAIS-MA; Waitlisted: Tufts Fletcher-MALD; Rejected: Georgetown SFS-MSFS Ultimate Decision & Why: Johns Hopkins SAIS. I've wanted to be in DC for a while. I think that SAIS has the program that can help me beef up my quantitative skills, give me a curriculum with both breadth and depth, as well as provide opportunities to form the connections with my peers and the International Relations community to be succesful afterward. Advice for Future Applicants: Assemble a large team of people who are willing to help you with your application. Around 10 people helped me with revisions for the SOP and analytical essays and I am grateful for their support. I also wish that I would have started applying for funding earlier. I think when I committed myself to working on applications would have been a great place to start. If taking the GRE in a developing country that is not your own, don't drink the water from the water cooler during the break. I was sick in bed for the next three days.

Mentally committed to SAIS with my first year in Bologna. Will be turning down SIPA soon. Had to go with my gut on this one.

Has anyone committed to SAIS Bologna yet? If so, what were the factors guiding your decision?

This is one of my questions as well, especially since I did not receive funding for the first year. If I attend SAIS, I'd have to qualify for funding for the second year by having a good year in Bologna. My financial aid letter specifically mentions no fellowship for the 2013-2014 academic year, so I'd assume they are separate. Does anyone know how this works?

Dinged at MSFS so now there's a strong likelihood I'm headed to SAIS Bologna in the fall. I'll probably be attending the SIPA and SAIS Open Houses just to make sure. P.S. - Just realized my GradCafe status went from Decaf to Caffeinated!!!

Dinged! :-/

Congrats to the applicants who were accepted yesterday. Still haven't heard on my end, but I suppose no news is good news?

You can always apply during your first year at SIPA. I think it is only a one year program. What is the financial assistance like for IFP?

Well I saw with my own eyes MBA students paying their tuition with gold bullion. Take that as you will. But Columbia Business School isn't even top 3 so I wouldn't even consider it to have the most beautiful people or most socially exclusive parties that one could find...

Congrats JFactor! Now I won't go to sleep for a few hours. :-)

Personally, I think SIPA's reputation on GradCafe is a little different than on campus. Columbians have a bad habit of self-segregation (personally and within groups) due to the hustle that is required in NYC. While it may be a campus ethos to pursue ones interests fully, working an internship and staying in the library until midnight, I always saw SIPA students in the International Affairs Building (IAB) mingling after classes. I'd say that the "Cash Cow" reputation may be a little overstated; I certainly never thought that while I was on campus and only heard out about it through GradCafe. My classmates and I weren't whispering "Oh, he/she goes to SIPA and must be paying top-dollar" to each other. Columbia's an expensive place to study, and I think that most everyone there recognizes that and the alternatives. That being said, I didn't receive any funding this time, which makes it harder to return given my other options. The World Leaders Forum and other seminars and conferences were amazing experiences and a main reason of why I applied to return. I made some strong connections with a few of my professors (granted, during the summer when the majority of the campus was away) and had the opportunity to attend some private functions with high-level officials and even a head of state. Inaccessibility to a professor is true partly due their schedule and demeanor, but also if you only go to class, are silent and don't follow up during office hours. The SIPA Alumni that I've interacted with at Alumni Association events are all accomplished, driven individuals. They are up to some interesting work and it's a benefit that the Alumni network is getting stronger due to increased interest in being involved with the Association. The university as a whole is going through a revival, in my opinion. If you look closely, I think one can recognize this. I'm still waiting for Georgetown MSFS and then my cycle will be over. I'll attend the admitted students days at each school to which I was accepted, and then try to make the most informed decision. That may require a few days hiatus from GradCafe. By the way, there are a lot of beautiful people at SIPA and I've heard they know how to throw a good party !

It does have this reputation, but having dealt with it personally, I'd put it in the positives column. I had a great period of personal growth during my four years in NYC and I'm thankful no one held my hand.