gigantomachyusa

The email said 2nd year aid packages are usually smaller, which seems counter-intuitive given you are in a better position to get TAs, RAs and other types of Work-Study. The DC Campus also has a lot fewer international endowments so that might explain it.

I figure if Tufts does take me off the waitlist I'd get $0.00 in funding so why bother lol. Uggh, student loan debt. I have no undergrad debt either which gives me a little more leeway now but it makes the sticker shock much more painful. Going from debt-free to 60-100k in debt is a major risk and though the investment's supposed to pay off in the long-term, the short-term is what I'm worried about (especially getting a 100k loan and then not finding work for a while). But for today I'll rejoice and treat myself and worry about $$$ later. SIS and SAIS were my top choices (especially for the diplomatic service track) and I'm lucky to get to choose between them. Boston and American are both fantastic schools in gorgeous cities with plentiful work and internship opportunities. You'll do amazingly well at either one! And there's still more schools yet to respond that might further sweeten the pot. Yes, we might!

The top 10 that seem to be the most important right now for national security jobs: Arabic: North Africa/Middle East Chinese/Mandarin French: West Africa (is often coupled down the line with a more local language like Wolof or Bambara) Hindi-Urdu Malay/Bahasa/Indonesian Persian/Farsi/Tajik Punjabi Russian: Central Asia (Russian is a common lingua franca in Central Asia where national security is also a major concern) Spanish: Certainly if you want to work domestically Turkish The State Department gives bonus points to prospective employees who speak: http://careers.state.gov/officer/selection-process#nogo with proficiency needed to garner the points here Bonus point languages: http://careers.state.gov/uploads/23/86/2386f5de7f14369e5231db272ccfe423/Language-Points-2013.pdf Super Critical Needs Languages: Arabic (0.5) the most important with Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Pashto, Persian, and Urdu garnering 0.4 So Turkish 0.17 < Persian 0.4 (at least as far as the government's needs are concerned). If the two finalists are Persian and Turkish, go for Persian if you are eyeing government national security work.

Fletcher said they would advise waitlisted applicants about admittance in June. That's 2 months out from most deadlines so I think I'll leave the waitlist. I got into American University as well (in the same United States Foreign Policy and National Security program actually!) with a nice $36k scholarship and the flexibility is excellent (I can work during the day further lowering my debt). I'm torn about American v. Johns Hopkins right now just as you area. It's all about the money at the end of the day and though SAIS is giving me $20k for the two years (at least, hopefully), American right now will wind up 40-50k cheaper ($50-60k debt v. $100k of debt at SAIS). I get a migraine just thinking about it lol.

Wow, congrats! That's a fantastic aid package!

I put I had no preference in order to maximize my chances of getting in. My essays were pretty Bologna-centric though. I am a dual USA citizen and was interviewed as an international student so maybe international finds out first? My intended areas of study were MA with focus on 1) American Foreign Policy and 2) Global Theory and History.

Good luck to you as well TeeCo! Out of curiosity, where are hoping to attend? If it helps calm the nerves, I got waitlisted to Fletcher yesterday and got into SAIS today. The Admissions process is definitely a crapshoot and you can never be sure of anything. My GRE scores weren't too great (154Q, 162V) and I had 2 months (!) of full-time work experience. I'm also finishing up undergrad. So I had the same doubts. Stay positive and I'm sure you'll be delighted with the decisions!

Thanks for the tip. Mine was in my spam folder! 10kEUR for first year

Hi Ruella, I also got in at SAIS-Bologna and I'm so excited I am doing cartwheels right now lol. I didn't get any funding info in my letter either nor any mention of funding. I am guaranteed a small scholarship though so the fact there was no mention of that makes me believe that funding will be in a separate message if we are fortunate to receive financial aid. Congrats again!

I'm applying for an ETA in South America as well, although probably different countries. Good luck!