mariiiiie

I don't have any yet nut I'm planning to order a sim card from them this week. I'll let you know! Anyway since this is a no-contract plan, the worth thing that can happen is "losing" one month payment!

Hey! If you already have a phone you might want to check out Ultra or Pageplus. They are MVNO using verizon or t-mobile networks and are a lot cheaper than "traditional" providers.

Previous Schools: a French business school (top 5 in Europe) Previous Degrees and GPAs: Msc in Management (average grades) GRE Scores: Not needed for the schools I was applying to (yay!). However I got 110/120 for the TOEFL. Previous Work Experience: 4 years in financial controlling in the industrial sector. Math/Econ Background: Double major: econ/maths in undergrad Foreign Language Background: Fluent in French, English and German. Intermediate in Spanish. I have a strong international background, having lived 2 years abroad while studying, and an additional 1.5 years abroad with my job. Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Development Long Term Professional Goals: Somewhere along the lines of entrepreneurship development, private sector strengthening within an aid agency or an international organisation Schools Applied to & Results: George Washington (accepted), Duke University (accepted with 25% funding), Georgetown University (accepted), American University (oriented towards a different Master). Ultimate Decision & Why: Georgetown and Duke were my top choices, and I had a very hard time deciding. In the end, I decided to go with Duke because their program was entirely focused on development (instead of it being only a concentration inside a broader program), and for personal reasons. Advice for Future Applicants: Trust yourself and don't compare yourself to other applicants. The thread "Am I competitive.." is typically the thread you should avoid, because I really think that in 90% of the cases how you will present yourself will (or will not) make your application stand out. Try to find what makes you unique, and how your experience can be relevant to the program you are applying to (i.e in my case, making the link between finance and international development, which was less than obvious!) Everybody said it already but the main ones are: start in advance (!!), look for funding early and thoroughly, have various people reviewing your essays, make plenty of drafts I am not American, and as the French system is very different from the American one (from the grades you are getting to the design of undergraduate/graduate system), I attached to my transcripts a little explanation of the system (officialized by the French Fulbright Office and my previous university). One thing I didn't do, but regret, is attending the open houses. If you are struggling to make a choice, this can be really eye-opening. You will spend the worst period of your life while applying (at least it was for me, juggling a demanding full time job during the day, and applications during the night), but don't give up, in the end it will be all worth it!!!

Hi everyone! Thanks a lot for the recommendations! I'm thinking in using either PagePlus or Ultra, both have really cheap deals! Does anybody have a return on experience on any of these operators? Thanks! Marie

Just my two cents but usually you have to mail the original receipts for them to reimburse you. Scanned receipts won't be accepted, and that's maybe the reason why you haven't been reimbursed yet?

I completely agree with above! I did not feel being international was a problem at all! And it also has some perks. For example, many schools will only ask you to take the TOEFL and so you will be able to skip the GRE ;-) In case your education or experience is very different from American standards maybe you can ask your schools to include a brief explanation on your transcrit. Mine did that (because the French system is a bit weird) and they even included a translation of French grades into American for reference) You can also ask a native speaker to review your statements so that you are sure that you didn't make any "cultural" or "language" mistake. Otherwise yes, start early and look for external funding early, because most of the time the deadlines are the same (for Fulbright it was even 2 months before). Good luck!

Hello! Yes you need to register with ESTA and go through immigration and customs, so my advice ensure you have at least 2 or 3 hours between your connections!! Otherwise if you have the response to whether it's actually possible to enter the US earlier than one month before starting school I'd be happy to know because I would like to do the same, i.e. enter the US early July as a tourist then leave the country to go in vacation somewhere, and reenter with my student visa.

Hello everyone! I have been admitted to both Duke's MIDP and to Georgetown's MSFS program, but I am really struggling to make a decision between the two. I am doing a Master's degree to make a career change, in the sense that I have been working in financial controlling the last 5 years, and would like to get into the international development field. I have been able to talk to some people in Georgetown, so I have got more or less a view on it, but the Duke's program is still kind of "mysterious" to me. Does anybody know how they compare to one another? Thanks a lot!

Hey! thanks for the answers!

Thanks for all the precisions, it is indeed very helpful!

Hi! Thanks for the information! I'm in for MIDP at Duke. Do you know in what fields are the international policy organizations in the Research Triangle? I'm especially looking to work in International Development, are there many? And also do you know how strong is Duke in the international development field compared to other schools? Thanks!

Hi MPPBlueDevil I got in the MIDP program and was wondering if you could provide me with some insight about it. I am especially interested about employment opportunities after the program or internship opportunities. Do you know how is the reputation of the program? Also is there some interactions between MPP and MIDP or are the two programs pretty much separate? And how's the student life within the program? Thank you!