JFactor

Yeah I see where you're coming from. But to be honest, having lived in DC for some years and knowing both schools, that difference in location does not matter AT all. You're extremely close to all the action at AU as well so there will be always other factors that are stronger than location when deciding between the two schools. Just my two cents.

There are still internship positions available. A lot of the positions have a deadline in mid-April. A lot of deadlines have passed already, sure, but it's definitely not too late to apply for some, especially if your search isn't too narrow.

Huh? I don't really understand this - AU is in DC too and while GW is right in the middle of downtown and AU is a few metrostops away, I don't really understand why the location of GW is superior to AU's because the difference in location is absolutely minimal.

I'm not extremely well versed in how the programs compare related to your area of interest (US foreign policy) but based on what I know, you're right, it's a very close call. If I was you, I would do anything I could to attend the open houses next week and then make my decision based on that. But if that's not possible for you, then just email the professors/current students in those programs and possibly career services as well (and I'm sure you've already done something like that). To be honest, since you didn't get funding from either school, no matter what you choose it's going to be fine since they're both solid programs and both offer the same DC opportunities.

My feeling is that it is kind of late to consider a career on the Hill when you're doing your MA. I know it sounds weird but I did my undergrad in DC and there are tons of undergrads in DC who want to be Hill staffers and they do numerous internships there during their college career. So they have a leg up against everyone else. After they graduate they become full-time staffers and after a few years they go to a grad school with all this Hill experience and contacts etc. There are a lot of people like this. So if you're not one of these people who were lucky, rich, or savvy (or all three) enough to do your BA in DC, your odds of becoming a Hill staffer are very long. It's not impossible, but it's very, very hard and requires unpaid internships and poor salaries that people can put up with when they're doing their undergrad but it's harder to justify and live with if you have a Master's already.

I can only speak from my own personal experience but everyone I've been in contact with (including career services) have been extremely helpful to me so far. I think there are some misconceptions about Bologna. If you have a certain focus area (Asian Studies, US foreign policy etc.), Bologna is not the best place for you. To me it's quite obvious when you look at the curriculum. I'm not saying BC is horrible for these people (well maybe for Asian Studies people...), but not on par with other top-rated programs. I don't think this is a huge secret. So BC is definitely not for everyone. Also, the cost is obviously a huge issue. If you're considering paying the full sticker price at SAIS (whether in DC or BC, doesn't matter), you really need to be extremely sure that the program is a great fit for you. I've heard only great things about BC in terms of academics, professor quality, and the connections you make with other students etc. But of course being in Bologna means that you can't do an internship like you can in DC - that's the summer and year two for BC students. But then again you can perhaps focus on your language skills more. And I haven't even mentioned "the softer" factors (being in Europe etc.). So there are trade-offs that people must consider. I feel that the blog post was informative but it also came across as a little entitled (and I don't meant that in a derogatory way). If you're paying the full sticker price, you better be sure that you know what you're getting into. Also, the post was more about the extraordinary cost of US higher education overall and while I agree with the blogger that the situation is getting way out of hand, you knew that coming in to Bologna (or any other grad school of your choice). BC is not the best place for everyone and like flyingjellyfish said, there are many personal factors in play as well. So I guess what I'm trying to say is this - SAIS for some reason has a really great reputation on this forum, especially when compared to let's say SIPA. So many of us who have been here for a while have been living in this kind of bubble with a very small sample size and we've constantly been reinforced that SAIS is awesome. But of course like with any other school, there are pros and cons. If I had a great scholarship from Fletcher or SIPA and no money from SAIS, I know the decision would be quite easy for me. SAIS seems to be an excellent school but it is not universally better than other top programs and Bologna is not a place for everyone.

It really depends what the focus of your studies is and what you're looking to get out of the program. Georgetown, I believe, is on the top of the rankings because it has an especially great reputation of preparing and getting its graduates jobs from the State Department. It has other strengths too but since it is overwhelmingly considered the best place to be for diplomatic careers, and that represents a large proportion of people who get MIAs etc., that bumps the school's ranking a lot. There are a lot of good threads here in this forum. If you do a search with the name of the schools you'll find a lot of good information. I unfortunately can't give you my personal opinion without knowing what it is that you want to do with your degree.

This is doable. Obviously it depends on one's circumstances a little bit (undergrad debt, medical expenses etc.) but if you make 50k a year in DC and all you have to do is pay off 70K of grad school debt, it's doable. Is it something you dreamed of, is it going to be awesome? Probably not. But sometimes I feel people overestimate the money they need to live ok in DC but maybe it's just different expectations that people have.

Yeah, I'm an EU citizen and will most likely attend SAIS Bologna.

I agree with pretty much everything you said. My experience and knowledge is more based on the PhDs that I know in multilateral/govt agencies and think tanks so I was looking at the issue from that angle (my own bias). But you're right that there is a vast difference between academia-focused PhDs and the people (MIAs/MPPs) doing the "concrete implementation" and "short-term analysis" if you will.

I would like to hear more about why you think like this? I kind of know what you're getting at, but based on my experience and what I've heard, I wouldn't say the difference between the two "worlds" is as stark and the people as different as you seem to think. So I'm curious - perhaps you're right and I'm wrong?

This is true to an extent, definitely. If I was an American and could get a job just with a BA (in Europe it's worthless, in the US there are visa difficulties etc.), that would definitely be my choice as well. But everyone's situation is unique so I'm wary of giving very general advice. As a general rule, yes, if you can work in the field in which you want to pursue your MA in, then seriously consider doing that because it's usually the smartest thing to do. But if your circumstances are different etc., don't think the general guidelines (you have no chance to get into a top program without full time work experience, you have no chance of getting a good job after MA without full time work experience etc.) are the ultimate truths. But if you don't have full time experience and decide to go the MA route, you really need to know what you're doing.

What's stopping you not to say to each school that they're your first choice? Not that I'm going to do this but just saying : )

What's this Japanese source? I'm not saying it can't be valid but I wouldn't take it at face value, because all of the acceptance rates across the board seem to be slightly too high. For example, according to these stats, HKS admits about 860 students each year. Very hard to believe this is the case and it goes against other stats and numbers I've read and heard. Same with every other program - these rates seem to be about 5-10% higher than they actually are but that's just my semi-educated opinion. Would be curious to know more about this Japanese web site and where it get its numbers from. EDIT: Although it does seem SAIS is less selective than I thought.

I agree with all of this completely. In addition to very good GPA/stats and internship experience, you need to have a pretty good idea what you want your focus to be/you're not just floating around. Then you have a chance of getting even into the top programs. Of course, even though I basically applied straight after undergrad (0.5 of work experience), I'm a little older (26 years old) and I have some military leadership experience from my home country etc. so my situation is a little bit different from a 22 year old American. But still, if you have 2+ relevant and substantive internships and good stats and LoRs, go for it. It's not impossible even though people strongly say you shouldn't do it. It all depends on whether you're mature enough and you know what you want to do.

I was talking about attending the DC events, not the one in Bologna, so I guess we'll not see each other. But that's very nice you might have the chance to attend the actual open house in Bologna, very cool. I'm also a non-US student and I'm in a very similar situation to yours in terms of scholarships (similar funding from SAIS, none from Gtown) so I just have to decide between AU and SAIS and then my decision is done.

Of course, no problem!

Me as well.

Actually, now that I double checked, I have received those emails...Since I had already registered for the SAIS open house and the Bologna reception, I must've completely missed the section on the information sessions in those emails. So that's on me - sorry about that!

Dani: thanks a lot for your post, that was really helpful. And I agree, Fletcher is definitely a great school and a good choice for you. I would consider going there as well but my situation is the opposite of yours - I got more money from SAIS than from Fletcher (which I think is pretty rare - I think Fletcher is known to give more funding?). MPPGal: You might be right regarding the initial scholarships that people get. Many of those are funded by the alumni and they can pretty much choose whatever criteria they want, so some nationalities/backgrounds might be in a beneficial position. Dani said that the second year funding is mostly based on merit (or at least that's what they say) so hopefully then the playing ground is more even. Flyingjellyfish: I wonder if I'm not on some sort of a mailing list because I don't think I've got invitations to these events (but I've received other email from them). I currently live on the East coast so the timing is pretty difficult but at least I can get links to the events afterwards. I'll ask them.

Thanks for your response. I'm a non-US student and they've already promised me $10k in second year funding if I maintain a 3.4GPA in my first semester like with you. But I know I read somewhere that the funding can be greater if you do even better than 3.4GPA; I wonder if you're "stuck" with what they've conditionally offered you already or if you can qualify for larger scholarships if you do even better academically? Did they say anything about that? For some reason I missed the info session completely so I'll contact them and ask for the link. Thanks for the tip.

Yeah, I can't really figure out why they're not very forthcoming about that other than not wanting to increase the competitive atmosphere (or there's something shady going on with how they allocate the funds but can't really believe that to be the case). I know someone here said that they heard someone from SAIS mention (during a webinar?) that there is plenty of further second year funding but that goes against my impression of the situation.

Interesting. It really does seem they are not very transparent about this on purpose, which is a little disconcerting and, well, odd.

I've tried contacting different people at SAIS but I still don't have a solid answer to the question of what are the chances of getting second-year funding (that you weren't awarded to already)? What does it require in terms of GPA, approximately how many scholarships are out there/how many students receive extra funding for year two etc.? Have any of you guys heard anything more concrete about the funding for the second year?

Haha fair enough. I've noticed people have been telling Revolution to leave/stop making those kinds of comments for a while now and I don't think that has had any effect. So I'm just trying to be pragmatic and take his comments for what they're worth (and I also truly find them funny because they're so clueless/immature, whether on purpose or not). He can only derail a thread with his silliness if people allow him to. And I don't think he has really insulted anyone directly, he's just made himself look like an idiot. So I'm happy with that. But I get where you're coming from to a degree.