smilinggirl

I wanted to touch on the community/student life aspect at the Jackson Institute. For one the Macmillan Center has a ton of events: http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/ Secondly, Jackson organizes a ton just for Jackson students. I had lunch with Michelle Malvesti (former NSC staff) this week, had a class with Howard Dean as the guest speaker today, met Henry Kissinger last week, and attended a Kissinger conference on diplomacy over last weekend. Next week I'm attending a lunch with David Brooks, participating in a video conference with Ukrainian students, attending a lunch with Gen McChrystal, and attending a lecture on what Uganda's anti-homosexuality law means in a wider context. For the purely social aspect, there's a great graduate student bar that a lot of Jackson people frequent, but we also arrange dinners or drinks around town.

I had to make the decision between HKS, SIPA, SAIS, Tufts, Georgetown SSP, and more. I chose Jackson after I visited. The experience I have had so far may not be the same for everyone, but I'll share it anyway. I love the ability to chose my own concentration and the fact there's only 3 core classes (in addition to the language requirement). This semester I'm taking a Global Order Class with the former first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, a leadership seminar with General Stanley McChrystal, an SOM class on Global Catastrophes that brings in leaders in the field to talk each week, a Yale law course on human rights, and a French course. I regularly attend small lunches with the senior fellows, current and former ambassadors, and other leaders. I know all the top schools likely bring leaders in, but at Yale I've gotten the opportunity to actually have conversations with these people, rather than just listen to a lecture. Although the Jackson name is new, Yale had an IR MA program before, and we've met with numerous alums. I've emailed and had lunch with a few, and one even helped me prep for my internship interview at OHCHR. Also Yale has a database of all Yale alums and I've contacted a few who now work in fields that I'm interested in. One even set up a Skype session to answer my questions because she was out of the country. If you got into the Jackson Institute, visit! If you can't make the admitted students program, let us know if you can visit another time or if you just want to chat with some current students.

Hey all, I'm a first-year Jackson student. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have!

Everyone who is reading this forum for the next cycle... I wanted to clarify some of the things that have been said on here. Based on these comments, I wasn't really leaning towards Yale until I did some research on my own and visited. It's an amazing program, and I chose it over all the other programs I got in to (Kennedy, JH SAIS, Georgetown SSP, SIPA, Tufts, Goldman, IPS). 1. Although the program has a reputation for being highly academic, it's focus has become much more practitioner based. The director said they are specifically looking for those with work experience that shows dedication to public service (and especially in the international realm). 2. A lot of people think because the program is small, you are limited in what you can study. The newest requirements have only three core classes and then you design a concentration on what you want to study. I think this is ideal for those that already know specifically what they want to learn (not necessarily for those looking for a broad overview of IR). Check it out here: http://jackson.yale.edu/ma-program-study I'll be starting in the fall so anyone feel free to message me with questions!

I'm trying to make the same decision. I really like the Jackson Institute program but think I'm going to have the visit for their admitted student day and then SAIS before I'm sure. I just wish there was more info out there on Yale's program... I don't hear much about it.

Schools Applying/Applied To: HKS, WWS, Yale Jackson, SIPA, Tufts Fletcher, SAIS, Columbia SIPA, Penn Fels, Stanford IPS, Georgetown MASSP Schools Admitted To: Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: All Undergraduate institution: Ivy Undergraduate GPA: 3.56 Undergraduate Major: International Relations and Psychology GRE Quantitative Score: 156 GRE Verbal Score: 170 GRE AW Score: 5.0 Age: 27 Years of Work Experience: 5 Describe Relevant Work Experience and International Experience: Military intel officer (nice to see more than one of us on here!); State Department and non-profit internships. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I have some pretty decent examples of leadership and performing under pressure but I think my final draft may be a little impersonal. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): The ones from my current boss and my former commander are both detailed and really positive. I have one from an undergrad professor but I'm not sure how decent it is. Long story short: I'm actually applying for a joint degree, trying to get a JD as well so I'm going through all the waiting twice!