flyingjellyfish

Decision day was Wednesday, at which point I wasn't really ready to make a decision, so I paid my deposit at SIPA knowing that over the next few days I might change my mind. I figured that money was a drop in the bucket compared to what I'll take on at either school and it will afford me more time to figure out what I want to do, thus giving me more peace of mind in my decision.
 
After 2 days of sleepless nights, lots of pros and cons lists, scouring course listings and trying to map at my two years at each school, and countless conversations with friends and friends of friends who attended either school, I've decided to attend Fletcher!
 
The reason for my seemingly drastic change of heart lies in a number of factors.
 
First, SIPA would very likely be 20K more than Fletcher, with an extremely small chance it'd be the same price and a pretty horrifying chance it would be 40K more.
 
Second, even should I get funding from SIPA for second year, that funding will be tied to a 20 hour/week work commitment. I certainly don't mind working, especially for that amount of money. It's more than fair. However, working 20 hours/week for Columbia will proclude me taking on an internship with an organiztion or agency of my interest, which was a big draw for me in regards to living in NYC over Boston.
 
Third, while I was initially disappointed to see so few classes on political development and governance in developing countries offered at Fletcher (still kind of am, actually), I as able to find a number of courses at HKS that fill this gap. With these classes, and Fletcher's more flexible curriculum, I can easily tailor a schedule similar to that of which I would have taken at SIPA, with the valuable addition of Portuguese.
 
I am a little bummed to not be able to say, "I go to Columbia," or, "I live in New York City," but I realize that's pretty frivolous. A few of the more concrete things I'll miss about SIPA is their amazing summer practicum and their capstone projects, along with some of the big names and events they draw. In exchange, at Fletcher, I'll be receiving an equally rigorous and prestigious education, for a lot less money (most likely, anyway), with easier access to my professors, a stronger sense of community, and a more academically focused environment, where I'm not constantly stressed about balancing work with school and networking. I'll also be able to learn Portuguese, making me a trilingual and giving me a much better shot at the Boren Fellowship following graduation.  
 
Anyway, I think I could have been happy and thrived at either school. Had the second year funding at SIPA not been so precarious, or had I not been able to figure out how to take the classes I want at Fletcher, or had I not already spent the past 5 years in DC, where I was able to gain great work experience and build a strong network (and am thus less worried about the need to do so while in grad school), my choice may be been different. But given all the above, I think Fletcher is the better option for me.
 
I look forward to meeting my fellow Fletcherinians...? haha. And good luck to those who chose SIPA. Again, I think even if we aren't classmates in the near future, given many of our similar professional interests, we will likely be collegues one day in the future - even if just in the wider world of international relations/affairs. We're all working toward a similar goal of making this world a better place through diplomacy, development, an security. I'm really excited to be a part of that community of professionals and I can't wait to start grad school instead of just talking about it all the time! haha.

GRE quant scores are an important factor but not the only one in terms of getting into programs, especially when you have many other strengths.  Unfortunately, though, I think they are definitely a deciding factor for funding.  I retook the GRE less for improving my chances of getting in to programs and more so for improving my chances of receiving funding.  Some (if not all) of the schools I applied to use GRE scores and GPA's for selecting merit aid awardees.
 
Perhaps take a look at the "Government Affairs Wrap-Up" threads to get a sense of people's scores and how that relates to where they got in and how much funding they got?
 
I've already recommended it on this forum, but I'll say it again:  I found the Manhattan Prep series REALLY helpful for improving my quant scores on my own (I didn't take a course).  Their practice tests are harder than the actual tests, which I found very useful for increasing my confidence day-of.
 
Best of luck!
 
Edit: Wow that was my 100th post!  It's probably about time for me to stop writing about grad school and just go already

GRE quant scores are an important factor but not the only one in terms of getting into programs, especially when you have many other strengths.  Unfortunately, though, I think they are definitely a deciding factor for funding.  I retook the GRE less for improving my chances of getting in to programs and more so for improving my chances of receiving funding.  Some (if not all) of the schools I applied to use GRE scores and GPA's for selecting merit aid awardees.
 
Perhaps take a look at the "Government Affairs Wrap-Up" threads to get a sense of people's scores and how that relates to where they got in and how much funding they got?
 
I've already recommended it on this forum, but I'll say it again:  I found the Manhattan Prep series REALLY helpful for improving my quant scores on my own (I didn't take a course).  Their practice tests are harder than the actual tests, which I found very useful for increasing my confidence day-of.
 
Best of luck!
 
Edit: Wow that was my 100th post!  It's probably about time for me to stop writing about grad school and just go already

GRE quant scores are an important factor but not the only one in terms of getting into programs, especially when you have many other strengths.  Unfortunately, though, I think they are definitely a deciding factor for funding.  I retook the GRE less for improving my chances of getting in to programs and more so for improving my chances of receiving funding.  Some (if not all) of the schools I applied to use GRE scores and GPA's for selecting merit aid awardees.
 
Perhaps take a look at the "Government Affairs Wrap-Up" threads to get a sense of people's scores and how that relates to where they got in and how much funding they got?
 
I've already recommended it on this forum, but I'll say it again:  I found the Manhattan Prep series REALLY helpful for improving my quant scores on my own (I didn't take a course).  Their practice tests are harder than the actual tests, which I found very useful for increasing my confidence day-of.
 
Best of luck!
 
Edit: Wow that was my 100th post!  It's probably about time for me to stop writing about grad school and just go already

GRE quant scores are an important factor but not the only one in terms of getting into programs, especially when you have many other strengths.  Unfortunately, though, I think they are definitely a deciding factor for funding.  I retook the GRE less for improving my chances of getting in to programs and more so for improving my chances of receiving funding.  Some (if not all) of the schools I applied to use GRE scores and GPA's for selecting merit aid awardees.
 
Perhaps take a look at the "Government Affairs Wrap-Up" threads to get a sense of people's scores and how that relates to where they got in and how much funding they got?
 
I've already recommended it on this forum, but I'll say it again:  I found the Manhattan Prep series REALLY helpful for improving my quant scores on my own (I didn't take a course).  Their practice tests are harder than the actual tests, which I found very useful for increasing my confidence day-of.
 
Best of luck!
 
Edit: Wow that was my 100th post!  It's probably about time for me to stop writing about grad school and just go already

Looking forward to it! Can you believe we'll be in Italy soon? I bought my plane ticket last week.., so exciting!

Quick tip- I used studentuniverse to book my flight and got a really good deal. I used to use it back in undergrad when I studied abroad a couple times. It was satisfying to get the student rate again!

Looking forward to it! Can you believe we'll be in Italy soon? I bought my plane ticket last week.., so exciting!

Quick tip- I used studentuniverse to book my flight and got a really good deal. I used to use it back in undergrad when I studied abroad a couple times. It was satisfying to get the student rate again!

Hmm... well I'm headed off to SAIS Bologna this fall and really couldn't be happier with my decision.  I'm so excited in fact and am looking forward to exploring DC in year 2.  Perhaps it won't be the place for me long-term, but I'm all for trying new places out!  I spent a lot of time soul searching and considering many programs before deciding.  I certainly don't think SAIS is for everyone, but it's a good fit for me.  I'm definitely not concerned with prestige and really hope I'm not arrogant.  If anything, I'm feeling incredibly grateful and generally hopeful this week.  I just bought my plane ticket, yahoo!
 
I think it's time to stop generalizing and, like Damis said earlier, just be happy!  
 
OP- MSFS and SAIS are both incredible programs.  I don't know enough about the softer culture aspects at GTown to advise you, but I would say that at least you can't go wrong!

I just received more funding from SAIS.  What an unexpected and happy surprise!  I'm over the moon!!
 
And I have no shame admitting that I did a little dance around my office just now
 
Good luck everyone.  I hope more of us get some unexpected good news!

After reading a few more of the posts...
 
A LOT is out of our control.  You can do everything in your power...write a great SOP, have fantastic LOR's, a respectable GPA, research experience...but you are who you are and there will always be someone better than you.  And there is never enough funding for everyone, especially this year.  I went to visit each of my potential schools, PI's, and their current staffs.  So meeting people can be a positive or a negative.  We all know people who look great on paper but you wouldn't want to work with them once you've met them.  So that can work in an applicant's favor...or not.  But I was able to narrow my application list by eliminating the schools/staff that were not a good fit for me.  I was surprised at how outdated and rundown some research facilities are.  And I surprised myself by knowing that there turned out to be certain locations where I could not picture myself living.
 
If I had to do it again (and I won't...WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!) I would have started earlier on my application materials, studied sooner and longer for the GRE (I underestimated the difficulty as I tend to be an excellent test taker with little effort in the past), thought deeper about my ultimate career goals since grad school can help that process down the road, and I would have looked deeper into myself about what I really want...not what everybody else wants for me.  
 
I have accepted at a school that will make me happy for an MSc.  And I realize that I have a bit of academic fatigue so I think I will be stopping for a while (maybe forever) after a masters.  I'm happy to have found a home at a smaller school in a smaller environment that suits me.  My particular situation is not about the most prestigious university or the most recognized in my field.  I found those programs to be too pretentious for me.  But I found that out when I was touring UG schools.   I could have had a full ride at Stanford but chose a smaller state school for my own personal reasons.  And it worked out well for me.  It pays to know yourself and what makes you happy.  I just recently saw a quote..."You have to turn your back on the audience to conduct an orchestra."  I feel that defines my views on my education...you have to go with your gut on what feels right, no matter what other people may think is right for you.

lafresca, I think you've made an excellent choice.  Sometimes (maybe many times) the "easy" choice is the also the right one.  Congratulations...now go blow the roof off of School B!

I was surprised that no matter how much I prepared myself for this process beforehand (knowing decisions would take a while), I still stressed out all the way through it. As if my stressing would make decisions come faster... But I think it was a good test of my resiliency and patience given the numerous hiccups in the application materials along the way.
 
I agree that visiting schools really does help with deciding but I think it eventually comes down to what feels the most right. No school is perfect and we're not going to know exactly how our individual experiences will be. Just hope we feel confident with our decisions onces were in

I was surprised that I got into...anywhere.  

Background story:

I only have a 3.2, and a guidance counselor told me not to bother applying anywhere.  She said I wouldn't get in anywhere decent.  I went ahead and applied anyway.  And I guess all the undergraduate research paid off.  I think my grades were offset by the fact I was in ROTC for the first half of college... it was tricky to juggle a math-heavy major while in the program (I'm not a math whiz).
 
And here I am, 12 months after she told me not to bother applying, getting ready to go to Hopkins, the top school in my field so glad I didn't listen!

Previous Schools University of Chicago
Previous Degrees and GPAs: Anthropology major, 3.94 GPA
GRE Scores: V 167, Q 159, 5.0 Writing
Previous Work Experience: chronological: interned at Mayor's Office, affordable housing non-profit, and resource-access non-profit in Chicago; AmeriCorps year in Boston through a program with a focus on social entrepreneurship; ensuing 3 years at a Boston non-profit doing lots of quality assurance, program development, and grant-writing. 
Math/Econ Background: Three quarters of Chicago-required calculus (turns out it's good to have your medicine forced down your throat), one quarter of general statistics, and then intro to micro and macro-econ through the Harvard Extension School. 
Foreign Language Background: Native English speaker; fluent in German
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Public policy with a focus on social policy; specifically, poverty alleviation
Long Term Professional Goals: Improving state or federal poverty policy with a focus on improving access to benefits and efficiency of delivery/success. Don't much care about the state/federal question so long as the projects are fascinating and creating an impact.
Schools Applied to & Results: GPPI (accepted with $20K/year), Ford (accepted with $10K/year), Duke (accepted with full ride), Heller (accepted with full ride), HKS (waitlisted), LBJ (accepted with fellowship that covers tuition plus a hefty stipend)
Ultimate Decision & Why: LBJ School (MPAff). LBJ has a great curriculum in terms of what I want to do, with an ability to specialize in the core sequences. LBJ also has a very strong focus on applied learning, which is very appealing, and relatively easy access to research assistantships. The atmosphere is very collaborative and perhaps the friendliest of the schools I encountered, which I appreciate - I loathe environments where folks are constantly jockeying for position. They also gave me piles of money. I'm a bit of a money-hoarder, so the opportunity to avoid debt entirely was hard to turn down. Lastly, my fiance was applying to economics PhD programs at the same time, and Austin turned out to be the best match for both of us.
 
Advice for Future Applicants:
Study for the GRE! Chances are you can stand to improve either your math or verbal scores. Verbal is relatively easy - sit yourself down with some flashcards - but math is harder. I literally spent the summer and fall of 2012 re-teaching myself high school math, partially because I had a crappy basic math background to begin with. Spend an hour a day working through problems. I recommend the Manhattan Prep books for anyone who has to re-learn concepts (as opposed to learning test taking tips). For those of you who are good at math, you'll still want to practice the type of problems that are on the GRE. A lot of them are stupid mind tricks, and if you get too far into trying to actually do proper math to calculate the answer, you won't have enough time to finish. If you ever feel the need to write out a proof or do calculus, you've put too much though into it.  Check application deadlines early on. Now is a good time. LBJ technically has a rolling application, but HKS is also way out in front with that end of November deadline. You don't want to rush yourself or your recommendation writers. Speaking of which: ask for recommendations early on. Late summer/early fall is a good time - you don't want to start too far out lest they forget. Good recommenders will want examples of past work (if academic) or will want you to walk them through your resume. It's also a good idea to send them drafts of your SOP. In a perfect world, your recommenders will speak to things that you highlight in your SOP, and will burnish areas that you don't have time to delve into in great detail. It's also great if they can rate how wonderful you are. E.g., "Bobby is one of the top two employees I have ever supervised." You want everything to read as one nice, interconnected package.  Start drafts of your SOP early on and keep working on it. Make other people read it. Accept their criticisms with grace. Stick to the word limit. Make an effort to truly customize each SOP to each school. You don't have to go crazy - you don't need to re-write the whole thing - but at least have a paragraph where you focus on what makes each school great. Make sure to include specific details rather than generic attributes. Also, make sure your SOP focuses particularly on what you want to do and why - it shouldn't be a re-statement of your resume. Resume. Ugh. Make sure it isn't hideous. I personally hate statements of goals or focus, but I think that's an individual thing. If possible, try to quantify your accomplishments as much as possible. Did you write an 800+ page RFP that secured $20M in funding for your organization? Great! Don't sabotage yourself by saying that you "create and respond to funding proposals". TLDR; Make sure that your entire application is a logical argument for why you are awesome and should be admitted. Do not give them any opportunities to focus on any real or potential weakness. Yes, you want to acknowledge any obvious problems (perhaps you failed statistics), but immediately re-direct to the strength (you re-took the class, or you re-taught yourself statistics in this job that you are awesome at). Think of yourself/your application as a sleight of hand performance. You always want to be in control of what the audience is thinking, to be able to anticipate any troublesome distractions, and to be able to re-orient them back on your chosen course.

I agree that visits were very important and I ended up committing to a school which was not my original first choice because of how immediately I felt at home.  Also, despite feeling torn between my top schools I was surprised how NOT talking about grad school and taking a few days to try to forget the process before making a decision allowed me to suddenly have an epiphany about what school I wanted to choose.  At a certain point all of my complex spreadsheets and logic fell by the wayside and I had to go with my gut.  Afterwards I thought through it logically again, but taking that time and trusting my instincts was critical.

Well, I made my decision a few weeks ago, I'm not a particularly emotional person, but I still teared up when I wrote my last letter to the last POI I was turning down.  As has been said, you're stressed, you're run down, you've been forging a relationship with these people (and I mean a working relationship, not a romantic one, I don't think anyone has that confused), and you've been trying each place on for size by really imagining a life in each place.  I didn't cry over every email sent by any means, but when I had to choose between my last two schools and I knew that both would be incredible but very different roads for me (and my husband) - sending that last letter was a little strange.  It's rare that I've imagined a road not taken so completely and for so long and it becomes like saying goodbye to something real, something that's already happened. 

Turning down SIPA now to accept a place at SAIS! hope my spot goes to someone else asap and good luck!

Just wanted to leave an update for future applicants: I asked a few weeks ago through email and they said they wouldn't know for a few weeks. I went to admitted students day and got advice from current students on negotiation. Then I emailed again saying what a great fit I thought I was and how much I wanted to go, and how much I was willing to take out in loans, and how much I would be paying at my second choice (less.) They emailed me back giving me a decision extension and saying they would let me know in about 2 weeks. They ended up offering me $25k + an assistantship over the original $10k no RAship.
 
I saw a quote the other day on women's pay that I think sums it all up well "You don't get paid what you deserve, you get what you ask for." Get it girls!

You seriously waited this long to reply to your other 6 offers?  Might not want to tout the fact that you hogged 6 offers for weeks or months at the cost of others on the waitlist or hoping to hear from one of those programs before making a decision to attend elsewhere.
 
Take another read over your post and see how conceited it sounds.

Mentally committed to SAIS with my first year in Bologna. Will be turning down SIPA soon. 
 
Had to go with my gut on this one.

You labeled this post as prestige vs. happiness.  I'd pick happiness every time and sounds like your gut is telling you to go with school #2.  I'm a firm believer that if you are truly happy at what you're doing, success will follow in the long-run.  Also, a school's name and network will only get you so far... Even without knowing all the specifics, my vote is for school #2 where you have more potential for happiness and success at a lower price tag.  

All I have to say is eff them.  Seriously.  It's your life and your body.  First I say take time to be happy about being pregnant and get really comfortable and used to the idea of being a mom.  You have to feel comfortable and confident in yourself before you can approach your advisor about it, and you have to take an "eff you this is my life" attitude before you can approach your advisor.  That can take some time to develop, so take your time.  You don't really have to tell your advisor until you get to about 3-4 months.  I agree that you should take this time to lay out a dissertation timeline (a realistic one) taking into account maternity leave and baby care.  In a few weeks, you should also start thinking about child care arrangements; one thing I've heard from dissertating friends with babies is that thinking you can easily dissertate while baby sleeps is a farce.  You'll need at least occasional childcare to give you time to write.  Also find out about maternity leave policies at your university for doctoral students.  There should be an HR office that can give you this information without informing your advisor - or someone else who isn't your advisor should know.
 
Once you're comfortable and happy and in a good place and have things settled - diss timeline, an idea of what you might do for childcare, ideas about maternity leave length and when you might want to take it, etc. - then I would set up a meeting with advisor and matter-of-factly say something like "Professor X, I wanted to let know that I am pregnant and expecting my first child in January 2014 (or whenever).  I've thought about how this will affect my dissertation timeline and completion, and I wanted to discuss my timeline with you so I can begin to make arrangements and plan ahead."  Keep the discussion on your dissertation and not your life choices, which are really none of your advisor's business.  His only concern is how and when you are going to get finished.  You can also use this time to discuss applying for external or internal funding if you'll need funding to cover the additional time, but I would just talk about it all very matter-of-factly and straightforwardly, focusing on the completion of the dissertation as a task and not WHY you need to plan around these things.
 
If he makes any comments judging your choice, you can say something flippant like "I understand you feel that way/sorry you feel that way/[some other polite way to say I don't care], but I just want to talk about how I'm going to get finished at this point."  If you're getting vibes that he's really against the whole thing and that he's going to be a difficult prick, then you can say something like you're sensing his discomfort and you just want to make sure he's on board for this.
 
If he's not...then you can visit the university ombuds.  (They can be really helpful!)
 
Finally, congratulations!  Babies are cute and can be awesome.  I'm nearly in candidacy myself and I have a lot of flexible time - it seems like as good a time to have a baby as any, especially if you are headed for the tenure-track, for which there is no good time to have a baby.

I totally agree on this.  I didn't realize how much this would influence my thinking, but it really did.  

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.  

You labeled this post as prestige vs. happiness.  I'd pick happiness every time and sounds like your gut is telling you to go with school #2.  I'm a firm believer that if you are truly happy at what you're doing, success will follow in the long-run.  Also, a school's name and network will only get you so far... Even without knowing all the specifics, my vote is for school #2 where you have more potential for happiness and success at a lower price tag.