flyingjellyfish

GWU would be good in terms of proximity to the Hill. All the reasons you mentioned why it might be a better fit for you are relevant and important. However, are completely set on working on the Hill right out of grad school? If you haven't already, you could also work in a State Legislature, which is also good and interesting work and often a great way to transition over to the Hill eventually via connections and with concrete experience. Maybe you could pursue that in Maryland? All that said, my decision came down to American and SAIS in a very similar way to your conundrum. SAIS will be about $20k more and I chose it because it's just such a better fit and opportuniy for me. Take money out of the equation and really compare the two programs side by side. If GWU comes out on top, go with your gut as it will be worth the $20k in the long-run.

I got into GW Trachtenberg for the MPA program. They told me I was an alternate for funding and high on the alternate list, which means that someone else who received funding would have to decline for me to get the aid. I followed up with them and have been in contact since being admitted, but still no word or more specific info. Since Trachtenberg's deadline for admit decisions is April 30, I figured I wouldn't hear anything concrete until May. So my experience with GW was similarly vague and cryptic to yours, though they were very pleasant and polite in their unhelpfulness! It seems like unfortunately you might not hear anything until closer to or after the decision deadline :/ how frustrating!!

I've accepted Anyone else?

Yes, even removing funding from the equation, it would be my first choice with SAIS a very close second. I love the small community of 70 students, the opportunity to learn from and with MPP students, the excellent and attentive career services, the strong alumni network, the beautiful and historic campus, and the curriculum. It meets my "good fit" test.

I work in California government and have seen several people come back to California after getting particulary MPA's and MPP's on the East Coast. Personally I'm considering coming back eventually, perhaps to work in SF, and will be keeping contact with my networks here with that in mind. I would say that NY and DC are good places to be for public and intl affairs, but that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities elsewhere.

I declined SIPA's offer very quickly when I saw that I didn't get funding. I did so using their online tool and by emailing them, but their admissions office keeps sending me various emails for admitted students and two current students have reached out to me this past week. I specifically declined early with the waitlist in mind, so wrote to them again yesterday. Unfortunately it seems from this experience that they don't necessarily get working on the waitlist early since they still seem to consider me a potential student. This is obviously just my one experience, but I agree with lemony that it seems like any other decisions won't be released until late April/May. Good luck everyone! SIPA would be a great place to be, I just sadly can't afford it.

Awww good luck! *Fingers crossed* that it's good news

Which programs did you apply for? MPA, MPP? Both schools are excellent, but I think you'll find that the USC program is much more focused on California policy. I've heard this from several of my friends who go there or applied. I specifically didn't apply to USC even though I live in California, because I want to move into national and international affairs rather than continuing to focus on California policy. Considering your career goals, it sounds like NYU Wagner would be a better fit and you'd be better positioned for jobs related to your interests in NY and relatively closer to DC than all the way on the West Coast. If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend contacting both schools and asking to talk with current students. They'd give you a much better idea of the best place for you to land. Good luck on your decision!

Why don't you just ring them and ask? This is really big news... I'd pick up the phone (or log into Skype) if you haven't heard anything by tomorrow...

Revolution, I'm sorry to hear again that you've had a bad experience getting info from SAIS... That hasn't been my experience at all, though I got into Bologna-DC, not the full two years in DC. I recently received an email (unsolicitated by me) from a recent (2011) SAIS graduate. He explained that he's a SAIS alum working to connect admits to recent graduates so that we can better understand where SAIS students work after graduation and how SAIS helped them get there. He currently works at the World Bank where a lot of SAIS graduates end up and was very open in sharing about his experience when I followed up with questions. He's also going to follow-up with contact info for someone who did the concentration I'm considering. My experience with SAIS admissions has been nothing but helpful and positive. Since being admitted, I've had contact with 7 different people at SAIS who have each answered my specific questions within 24 hours. Also, I recommend the SAIS Bologna blog here: http://saisbolognaadmissions.blogspot.fr/ Lots of good info there if you haven't already checked it out.

@lacanadiense- thanks for sharing! @hlove - I did the exact same thing and had the same reaction. It's good to weigh the cons too. @Kadisha - I agree! I found this blog post and comments interesting and it does reveal a darker side that I otherwise hadn't heard. It's definitely good to have the cons to weigh as well. Of course, all this is really about what you most want to get out of a program. I've noticed a lot of discussion on this forum about career services and job outcomes after grad school, which is definitely important especially at these professional programs and considering the still dire job market. However, personally I'm more focused on the experience at a school- will I like my classes, learn new things from dynamic professors, be happy, and make good friends and colleagues. I don't particularly want or expect my hand to be held on career services. This may be because I went to a very big school for undergrad where career services provided no guidance or help to people in my major. I got my job after undergrad by forming strong connections with mentors and professors who steered me in the right direction and advocated for me. I expect to do much of the same at SAIS and plan to reach out to alumni in jobs of interest to me. I'm also hopeful that my 3.5+ years of work experience, much of which has been in public finance will help. In my case, I'm looking forward to not being in bustling DC for two straight years. I feel like moving to Bologna will ease me back into school along with an interesting experience, and I'm excited about the smaller community. Plus, I'll be closer to family in the UK, which is appealing to me since I'm currently very far (1000's of miles) from all of my family. Case in point that our grad school decisions are deeply personal and based on so many factors. This blog post illuminates cons about the program, but hasn't derailed me from my decision.

I'll PM you

Off the top of my head, I think you would find that a masters in Political Science with an IR concetration would be much more academic in nature than getting an MA in IR from somewhere like SAIS and SIPA. SAIS, SIPA, and the like are professonial programs. I would think that in terms of job prospects, getting an MA in Political Science with a concentration in IR would be ok for think-tank type jobs or if you are considering a PhD, but less practical for other positions. What appeals to me about SAIS, SIPA, etc. is that their programs are designed for professionals rather than academics.

@seekay22 I've talked to a few people at SAIS about this: Nelson, a professor in Bologna, and a friend who is a current student there. All of them emphasized that econ is definitely an integral part of the curriculum and students should have some interest in it and appreciation of its value. However, they all also stressed that it's not necessary to have a strong econ background to succeed. According to my friend there who does have a strong econ background, the core econ courses are much less calculus heavy than he experienced in undergrad and doable for people who are new to econ and calc. I think this is evidenced by the fact that you can even taken intro micro & macro econ in the summer before preterm. It seems that the only really econ heavy concentration is IDEV where you do have to come in with intermediate econ under your belt. It seems like SAIS doesn't expect their entire entering class to be experts or even strong in econ and do welcome diversity. They do expect the graduating class to be well-versed in econ though after two years there. As someone who doesn't have much econ (I've taken principles of micro and macro),I'm looking forward to getting some training in it!

Whoops... making plans* (silly iPhone)

I'd be so cautious about relying on or amoung plans based on the PSLF. Each time I look into it I get a feeling that it's just too good to be true... It's probably best to base our loan debt plans on the worst case scenario of making standard payments. If you can get comfortable there, I think you're in a good place. And again, Fletcher will be great! When I was applying to schools, I didn't consider enough how DIFFICULT it would be to make a final decision on where to go. I keep derailing myself on my decision, particularly when I look into the debt involved. It sounds like you might be wrestling with this too!

Thanks riverguide! This was super helpful!

Yay, congrats!

Yeah, I think your intuition is right on this one

And anyone else- please do correct me if I'm wrong on this! My advice above is using my reasonableness and common-sense tests, but I'm not a financial expert.

DaniCM- There's no specific reason why you can't do that, particularly as you can use PLUS loans for education-related expenses which I would argue covers a car as much as it covers a laptop/computer since you'll use your car to get to/from school. As you are already doing, I would weigh the cost/benefits carefully, but also $8k for a car is relatively low so in the big scheme of things, it seems reasonable to just pay it off now as you are considering to avoid the 12% interest rate. Plus, as you said, you'd already be making payments using the PLUS loan money. Of course, remember that student loan debt functions differently from "regular" debt in that it is very difficult to unwind if you ever have to file for bankruptcy or get into financial difficulties. So only take out what you absolutely have to. I think considering how carefully you're thinking about this, my last comment goes without saying. Congrats on Fletcher and best of luck!

Oh good! And can you please share your thoughts on the SAIS open house and reception? Unfortunately I can't attend :/

That is odd. The email for the info sessions came directly from Nelson. I was included in the bcc so I assumed it was sent out to all admitted students. I would follow-up and make sure you're not missing things!

There's another info session tomorrow: Thursday, March 28 at 10 am Italy time (0900 GMT). I received an email with information about these sessions back on March 18 with the information on how to connect. Not sure if that timing will work for you, but I did find it very helpful and it was nice to see some of the questions other students asked. They didn't say anything about qualifying for more money than already awarded during this session. Thanks DaniCM for providing more info!

@JFactor- I'm sorry, I forget, are you a US or non-US student? Nelson mentioned an info session today that non-US students can apply for 2nd year funding at the end of their first semester in Bologna and that it is based on academic performance. He did say though that typically funding is higher for the first year at the Bologna Center than is offered for the second year in DC due to scholarships provided by Bologna Center alumni. To provide context, I will have to maintain a 3.4 GPA in my first semester there to keep my second year funding. US students typically receive a 2-year package upfront that outlines first and second year funding. They recorded the info session if you were unable to attend and are interested in watching the recording. You should follow-up with them directly to get the link.