flyingjellyfish

I've been checking out some of SAIS Bologna's promotional videos. This one made me want to hop on a plane and go there right now

That's a great metric! Really puts the costs/benefits into perspective. I have friends that go/went to to GWU who have told me that it's doable and in fact encouraged to work while there, so I think you have a solid plan

YES PLEASE. Looking forward to hear more about your visit and way less squabbling

I second this question- anyone planning to pay full price or almost that? @DaniCM- Thanks for asking! And I agree that you should go with Fletcher... My position has always been that I would only seriously consider programs where I was offered money. I'm interested to hear the other side of this though from people who are willing to take the plunge, as you say.

I agree that it's very important to carefully consider taking on a lot of debt. And personally I'm not going to take on anywhere close to $100k. But I currently comfortably make higher than required payments towards paying off my undergrad loans, save each month, pay my pretty high rent, and have money left over to fuel my espresso addiction. Also, I view grad school as a worthwhile investment. Who knows? Maybe I'll still be making $50k immediately after I graduate but I feel that in the long run my masters degree will be money well spent in terms of salary and (more importantly to me) job satisfaction. And yep, no kids for me just yet.

Yes I am and have been very happy with my experience though it really does depend on the agency/department in terms of how interesting and policy-focused the work is. There's a lot of info about the job application process here: http://jobs.ca.gov/ In my experience, people in leadership positions, both manager and director levels, have spent their whole careers in state government and/or came to state government with a masters. It's difficult to move up quickly without education, but it's even possible to come into state government with a high school diploma and slowly work your way up. Stability is definitely a huge plus and vacation time is decent for the US. It's a big decision for me to choose to leave my current position considering how much I enjoy my work and appreciate the benefits. But, I'm excited to return to school to learn about national and international affairs and move into new work beyond California government. There are USC grads around and there is a USC Center in Sacramento for people choosing to stay working up here while in school. I would say there's a robust and supportive network. I have gone to a couple of their happy hour events Feel free to PM me if you have more California-focused questions.

@Revolution- $50k is decent and realistic for someone straight out of an MPA program hoping to work in the public sector with no work experience. Personally, I'll be very happy if I reach $65K straight out of grad school.

I will rephrase that I work for California State Government where our general cost of living is higher than other states... I would say in general that being successful in government (and everywhere else) has a lot to do with who you know and knowing how to navigate the bureaucracy. I was fortunate to have helpful mentors to guide me as I applied to jobs with the State, so I ended up with a good salary and working on policy. I have quite a few friends who ended up in lower and less interesting positions than they were qualified for, because they simply didn't know how to navigate the exam and interview process :/ So frustrating... Wish I'd got to them sooner to provide a little advice! I would hope that getting an MPA will be so helpful in this regard, because it will prepare you to better understand the inner workings of the public sector. I don't know about think tanks- sorry!

@ZacharyObama- I've worked in state government for 3.5 years and make right around $50k (before taxes) without a masters, so I think your estimate is a good one. Also, a masters does often translate to a higher starting position. I see you got into USC... I've heard good things about its programs, but that it's pretty California government focused. That was a turn-off for me, since I'm hoping to end up in national/international work, but could be great for you if you're hoping to end up in local gov or Sacramento. Best of luck!

I second MPPgal on Reagan. It's so convenient if you can find a cheap flight there. Hop off the plane and on to the metro

Going to SAIS Bologna unless I get off the WWS waitlist. Happy about my options

Whoops- that should have been @lobsterphone! Did you change your name or am I just going crazy? Anyway very helpful, thank you for posting here and in the SAIS Bologna thread!

Hi all, I just had a great conversation with a friend who is currently doing the SAIS Bologna program. I was a little confused about the language proficiency exams, so here is one tidbit I wasn't aware of that I thought I'd share here... To pass the language proficiency requirement you have to pass the four main areas: reading, writing, comprehension, and speaking. However, if you don't pass one of these areas, you only have to retake that one area, not the entire proficiency exam. Seems like a small detail, but it gives me more confidence. Also, if you don't pass the proficiency exam, they still use it to determine which class to place you into in case you want to focus more on that language in the classroom. This conversation was so helpful that I'm definitely going to try to talk to other SAIS students/alumni over the next month. I feel completely re-energized and am now strongly leaning towards SAIS

@leadbelly - Your post is super helpful! Thanks for sharing

Oh Revolution, you troll you. Many accomplished people, me included, have no interest in working in the private sector. I've worked directly on public policy in the public sector for 3.5 years now with bright, accomplished people and find it fascinating. In my free time, I'm on the Board of a local nonprofit doing advocacy work, which is also extremely interesting and meaningful. I'm committed to public service and am never going to make the big bucks.

@Revolution: I'm happy you figured out the best place for you. And I'm personally glad we won't be crossing paths at SAIS. I do sincerely wish you the best of luck. @riverguide: Your post about SAIS women made me laugh out loud in my office... where I really should be working, not agonizing over new gradcafe posts. Thanks for making me smile.

@kitsims - a good friend of mine recently left a very successful, 15 year career in public policy/government to do a year-long MPP executive program at a similarly top-tier school. She also struggled with the same issues once it came round to decision-time, but since starting the program she has been nothing but happy. It was scary for her to leave her established position, BUT it has been invigorating for her to take a mental break from work, meet similarly driven classmates, and focus her energies on learning again. She is also interested in breaking into opportunities on the East Coast, so the chance to study closer to those places appealed to her. Perhaps it would be good for you to make a list of all the reasons why you originally wanted to apply to HKS? Throw the cons out the window for a moment and focus on all the positive reasons why this would be a good year for you. Then, when you're re-energized, reconsider the cons and see if they outweigh your (likely long) list of pros. And I definitely second biscuits' point.

JFactor- if you feel confident in IR, you can opt to audit any of the four core courses or study on your own. You are then responsible for taking the core exam for 2 of the 4. Perhaps that would be a good option for you if you think you could fit in he extra studying during the semester?

Pre-term is in Bologna. Excited to hear about your open house experience

Turning to curriculum... What are courses that you'd be excited to take at SAIS Bologna and what are aspects of the curriculum that appeal to you? I'm drawn to the IR elective courses on human rights. I also love the idea of being back in a language classroom. What a dream to start learning Italian in the country! My plan is to try to test out of French in September and then enjoy acquiring Italian. Anyone familiar with what the language placement tests entail? I wonder if they're similar to the European standards. As context, I recently passed the DELF B2 French proficiency test and have been considering taking the DALF C1. I wonder if the SAIS placement tests are at a similar level. I also speak Spanish at a beginning-intermediate level, but I'm much stronger in French. I'm hopeful that knowing two romance languages will help me learn Italian... though it might get a bit confusing, hence why I'd need to test out of French swiftly once I arrive!

That is strange! Your friend should definitely follow up and ask what happened... Especially if he doesn't want to move to Italy!

I think that choice is definitely right for some people, but it wasn't for me. I took the GRE right out of undergrad, but didn't have the math or practical smarts to do well. Grad school was also a way off for me at that point, so it was hard to motivate myself to do well. I now work in a quant-heavy job that requires me to use many of the skills tested on the GRE on a daily basis including having to write policy briefs quickly and concisely (great for the analytical essays!). I found studying while working full-time to be challenging, but doable and I was much more motivated to succeed. Finally, my support network was better the second-time around, because I now have many friends in or preparing to go to grad school who could commiserate with me and give me advice. Also, I don't really regret taking the GRE twice, as much as I LOATHE standardized tests. I knew what I was getting into the second-time around. Perhaps attempting in undergrad to get it out of the way and then re-taking it later if you don't succeed is an ok model...

I don't regret applying to the programs I chose, but I realized during the application process that I actually wasn't too interested in a couple of the programs after all. Applying was a good way for me to make that realization because I really confronted the reasons why they weren't a good fit, but it also cost me money and was obviously a lot of work. Since I was basically done with the applications by the time I made these realizations, I felt it was worth submitting them anyway in case I changed my mind. Looking back, I already knew which ones weren't a good fit and probably should have cut my losses and not applied. I think in general I need to have more faith in myself and more confidence. I often second-guess myself, which made applying needlessly more stressful. On the positive side and to second the other posts on this forum, I gave myself a TON of time to work on my applications. In fact, I decided I wanted to go to grad school right after I graduated from undergrad in 2009. Since then, I've carefully lined up my resume to be competitive and even decided to postpone applying. I was originally going to apply for entry in Fall 2012, but decided gaining an extra year of work experience and time to prepare would be better. I am so happy with that choice and will encourage others to do the same!

My letter mentioned an amount for year 1 in Bologna and then a smaller amount for year 2 if I maintain a 3.4 GPA in my first semester at Bologna. The letter mentioned that less funding is available for year 2 in DC. This is definitely a major factor in my decision: 1) can I maintain that 3.4 GPA (jeeze, I hope so!), 2) am I willing to take on debt for the year 2 tuition? I didn't think it was possible to only be accepted at Bologna for the MA program... There is the Bologna-only MAIA program, but otherwise I think the admissions offer is for the standard year 1 in Bologna, year 2 in DC. Or do you mean that these candidates selected DC as their year 1 campus choice, but were then admitted to year 1 in Bologna? That does seem a little odd and they should follow up with the admissions office. I had thought there were two ways to be admitted to Bologna- you either select Bologna as your year 1 campus choice or you select the either campus option and they place you. (PS: Woot! I'm now caffeinated... which is my usual state of being )

Congrats rg0512! Did you get in off the waitlist or on the first go-round? I'm assuming you were straight admitted since it's such early days, but I'm interested to know! Either way that's great news