Hopefulodi

Indeed. Hopefully I will get to meet you at GWU or any other french speakers lol. Have you figured out housing options?

Miskina, you're from France right? My first language is French so seeing this, I had to stop lol. I don't get to see a lot of people on this forum who might speak french. I will be attending GWU Trachtenberg this Fall (moving to D.C in August too).

Hello. I just want to point something out. How easy is it to get an assistantship at Berkeley? Do you have any promise you would? Have you started looking for one? Are you an alternate for one? Because (knocking on wood) if you end up not getting an assistabtship, you will end up drooling in debt. It is something you might want to consider. Best of luck, Berkeley sounds exciting and you seem excited about it but you need to play out every scenario. I know that in some universities, if the assistantship is not with the Graduate schoool you are attending, the tuition reduction is not huge. I don't know much about Minnesota (I am not from here) but I guess they have something that made you apply there in the first place. Best of luck.

I think one thing to take into consideration (apart from self-selection) is that most students apply to all those schools and some safeties, hoping to get somewhere and to get some funding. So acceptance rates is somehow not a good indicator or competitiveness. I wanted a MPA but I also applied to SAIS because I loved their IDEV program and it fitted with my interests. So there are a lot of things that can make you feel better !

Me three, please!

I did attend and I loved it. I did talk to different directors of programs and students from the other schools I was admitted to. But this was different, the people were lovely and really make you want to be apart of their team!

So in addition to the thousands of $$$$ one has to borrow to afford tuition. You will have to borrow much more to afford the lavish lifestyle. humm, I am glad the thought of going the MBA route never settled in my mind. I would rather hold fundraising events to help the uneducated and hungry children around the world. I guess that's why we IR/PA/PP people have a hard time understanding you and vice-versa. This is also why there is a MBA degree for people like you and IR/PA/PP programs for people like us. We do not go to grad school looking for a "expensive" 2-year vacation, with the hope of partying and hooking up. I am glad all MBA students do not have the same mindset as yours or I would never even consider dating a MBA guy. But I am not judging you, I just hope you get into a great MBA program because otherwise you will feel like a failure for the rest of your life. Best of luck and let us know how it works out for you. I am pretty sure we all want you in a MBA program. PS: your self-esteem should not depend on the degree you pursue or the school you attend.

I got $20k and I was still debating. I hope if I free it, you will get it .

I will be there on Saturday.. Can't wait

I didn't apply to WWS or HKS but got into other programs, which makes attending GPPI less likely and I did receive money.

For me, fit matters a lot. Then comes flexibility, employment data, and then location (i put location last because most schools I have applied to are in DC, a couple in Pitt and one in NY state) But then again, I am a risk-averse person and I do not like the thought of debt; it honestly scares me. That has a lot to do with the way I was raised (I am not American but a PR). So money is a BIG DEAL, I think it is for most of us. I am not too familiar with how student loans repayments works but $100,000+ is a lot of money even though you have a lot of years to pay that off. Like someone said somewhere in this forum, you will soon want to start a family, take a mortgage on a house. Think about all of this and take a decision. Also top choices are great but I think going to the Open Houses may change some of your perceptions. Best of luck, I am also in a huge dilemma, although I think I know where I will be going lol

Lol, I am a girl ! And I hope you hear great news with $$$$! Thank you, but I don't know. I am anti-loans and I don't think my parents can afford $100,000 while I have great funding from other programs.

LOOOL, when you come from an underdeveloped country and your mother never even attended middle school, and your parents did their best to give you a great education even though your country was undergoing war, it is a great feeling to be accepted in a Program like SAIS! When I applied, I thought the only schools I had a reach at were American University and SUNY-Albany, given the stats of those who were admitted. I ended up getting in GPPI, GW Trachtenberg, American SPA, SUNY- Albany Rockefeller, Carnegie Mellon Heinz College and now SAIS with money from most of them, I think I have good reasons to be excited even though I will unfortunately only attend one But Yayyyyy )) Congrats to everyone who got in and good luck to those who are still waiting to hear from SAIS

In for Idev.. Wooow I am in total disbelief. I thought I would be lucky to just get in at SAIS, but IDEV would be near impossible. Doing my Gangham style.. well not for too long, making a decision will be tough!

Got $20,000/year. Quite an honor!