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I just did and still says under consideration.... :-(

OMG Angie that's great news!! Congratulations!

I just woke up to an email from IHEID... POSTPONED to March... arghhhhh exactly what I didn't want! To think I rushed to apply to the Nov 15 deadline. What's the point of an early round then? It's upsetting but I guess it's better than a rejection...

Ament to that!

3 majors one minor AND a foundation? Do you have time to breathe? Talk about an overachiever! Welcome to this board curious_grad. The application process is a long road and we are all here to share our experiences and calm each other's nerves. As for the application process the sooner you get started the better. What programs are you considering?

I strongly disagree with that statement! The US is where you want to be if you want a mountain of debt that's for sure! Europe has many very strong programs and Geneva is a major city full of international organization headquarters that make IHEID the perfect school to score incredible internship opportunities.

Good luck to you too and welcome to this board full of anxiety! What programs did you apply to?

Ok just woke up and the first thing I checked is this board... I don't know if that's good or bad. But it's my turn to speculate! I don't think we will hear anything so soon as tommorow I mean if the jury is done deciding then I'm thinking decisions will start trickling in by the end of the week maybe wed and thu at best. Or we will really start getting decisions after the 20th. I for one would hate that. i wish they would hold off on rejections until after christmas. That would make for a pretty crappy holiday season to digest a rejection and make one feel like all other applications are doomed..But I guess it's better to just know rather than to wait.

thank you doublebarrel your story is a great lesson and reassured me a lot. It's impressive that the dean and the professor called you personally to convince you. That's quite an achievment!

Thanks angie! I have read different threads about the subject some say it's a big no no and others say it's a good thing. Oh well I'm just trying to find something to convince myself I am doomed ha ha ha

This is not soothing my nerves at all! I did hesitate before mentioning a professor. However it was only a brief passage and not the sole reason I expressed as to why I am applying. I hope it won't do too much damage. Anxious x 1000

I'm having a moment of serious self doubt everyone.... In my Sciences Po statement in the paragraph detailing why I chose the International Development program I mentioned a guest professor teaching this year. But since he is only a guest he might not even be there next year. Does it look bad that I didn't mention the name of a permanent faculty member? It's just that this professor is world famous in African Development specifically which is what I want to focus on. They might think well he's not teaching here in 2014 why don't you apply to his school if you like him so much.... I know it's too late to do anything about it but I'd like to hear your thoughts?

Well keep it up and I will also believe in that magic button! I know it's life altering... this decision does change one's life. I mean you have to pick up and go some place you've never been and just leave everything behind for a few years. I've done it before but I was young so I didn't care I was glad to get away from my parents. This time around I'm anxious to at least know what country I will end up in so I can look into financial aid, visa matters and lodging. Admission is only the first part of the headache.

Ha ha ha 'swiss technological might' that's a good one! How I wish it were the case the sooner I am put out of my mysery the better. At this point I just want to know good or bad.

Ha ha ha you will not protest! You will be so overjoyed for being granted admission that you will do anything you can figure out to secure funding like the rest of us! It's still cheaper than UK even without funding! Oh I thought the APSIA scholarship was opened to all International Dev students. I'm sorry I guess I have read so many different scholarship requirements that I get confused. My strategy right now is to sit tight and wait for admission decisions we applied early enough and once I am set on the school I'm attending then I can focus on scholarships for that school. It's too much effort to look everywhere and anywhere for funding without even knowing where you will be granted admission. It's kind of pointless Thinking we will find out on Sunday is wishful thinking! I doubt they are working on weekends! Decisions will start trickling in early next week. Angie Will the status change first or will we receive an email notification? I'm so scared to check oh gosh I was not so nervous for my undergraduate admission process. I wonder why I am such a wreck now!

Offers are starting to pour in for you Bristol now KCL!! Congratulations Angie! We might not picnic by lake Geneva after all we might have to do something by the Tames river ha ha ha... but I'm still crossing my fingers for Geneva!! A couple more days... I have to confess I've been checking all my applications everyday still. My guess is they will start notifying early next week since the week after the 20th is Christmas break. You mentioned they notified rejected students first last year.. boy I'm hoping we find out our fates later in the week!! Hope you were able to put together your professional project. Im sure it will be fine after all it's kind of the same things mentioned in an SOP.

Well if your prediction is correct it will have been 3 weeks next week since I received the admissible email. I think 40 days is more correct I doubt we will hear anything from Sciences Po in December.

I am aware of Sussex and I considered applying but I don't meet the 1 year developement experience requirement... I thought it was 2 actually? I hear IDS is a great program and it's actually a standalone institute affiliated to Sussex. I get what you are saying about people from more developed countries not understanding what working in development actually will be like. Some imagine traveling a lot but it won't always be in the more 'glamourous' countries like Brazil for instance or in some fancy headquarter office... at least not at first! But where I strongly disagree with you is when you say students from developed countries don't understand what poverty is. Poverty strikes everywhere and some of the poorest people living in horrible conditions do also live in countries like the US this is not an exclusivity left to Central Asian or African countries. I am from Africa and I've lived there for quite some time but like angie in India, I am fortunate enough not to have experienced poverty to that degree. The difference I guess is that I am more aware of what goes on and what it is like to live in a country where having power and running water all day is sadly still a luxury. Angie applied to every good European school and makes me think I should have sent out more applications.... I am second guessing my choices!

I don't quite know yet how I would finance UCL... tuition is no better than LSE or SOAS I think it's around 16,000 pounds. But they do have a graduate scholarship scheme I can apply to that encompasses different types of scholarships. You only need to submit one application for most of their scholarships and if one applies to you then you will be notified. I am waiting for at least a response from IHEID before applying because the process is a pain. I would need yet a new reference just for the scholarship. I don't see the point of bothering my referees unless I really plan to take UCL's offer. Contacting current IHEID students was a very smart thing to do. I'm sure they gave you valuable tips for your application this time around! I tried once but got not response so I left it at that. We talk a lot about Geneva but when do you estimate we should here anything from Sciences Po? Early Jan or much later?

Mickun!!! I thought I was a weirdo for doing that! I too went on facebook on the student group page to look at current IHEID students. But I didn't go as far as cheking people's Linkedin. Good to know that there is a large variety of students. I'm a bit reassured to know that because I am in the 'unusual' category not the 'exceptional' one lol But its not a good sign for me if they favor straight out of undergrad that is my main concern I'm way past my undergrad years.

You are right however there are nuances. Like I said graduating summa cum laude from Harvard is not the same as graduating summa cum laude from some small state school. Guess who will be selected first regardless? Professional exp like you said can be the same thing everyone tries to intern for an NGO or IO so how do they differentiate that? Again prestige of the institution will again play a part. I think international exposure is the wild card here, life experiences and such no one has the same thing. doublebarrel, you shouldn't worry so much since I don't really have any experience in the IR field either my work experience is from a totally unrelated field. I kind of tried to spin it by saying that I will bring transferable skills to the table and will be able to contribute in different ways from cookie cutter IR applicants.

I agree about the fees they are really the highest in the UK however for the living costs... Geneva is no better! I would think Bristol is more affordable than London.

I speak French (my first language) and English fluently. I understand Spanish pretty well but I never really practice so expressing myself is harder. I also understand my native language spoken mainy in West Africa but barely these days since I got no one to practice with... I guess that's 4 but it's a stretch! Mickun... one point you mentioned about contacting admission for pre-screening is interesting. They do look at what university you are coming from in undergrad. I was reading a thread recently where posters were going back and forth about whether the undergraduate prestige of your school matters or not. Some said it did other said your grades matter more. I tend to agree that a undergrad from let's say Oxford or Harvard will have priority over an undergrad from an obscure small public university no one has heard of... Even my professor told me this since he has been part of admission committees at my university for the Political Science dept. I asked what did they look at to choose applicants. First thing he said is GPA and what school you came from...thoughts everyone?

I'm going to take a wild guess here but I think angie can answer better than I do since she knows IHEID better. But my guess is that it's a whole package? -Academics of course your grades and the relevant courses you have taken I mean if you have a degree in Linguistics or French for instance even with a perfect GPA I doubt it sets you up for an International Affairs Masters. -Your international exposure I think also matters? Have you traveled outside of your country and been exposed to different experiences. Will you be confortable moving to a new place and adapt quickly. -Languages spoken. I think IHEID puts a lot of emphasis on the number of languages spoken. I read an article about last year's incoming class and it was mentioned students on average spoke 4-5 languages. I remember because I thought oh wow there is no way I'm getting into that school! -Work experience. I think they say on the website that they look at academics first but your other achievements can complement your application and I assume they want candidates who know what career they want to achieve. It's a good plus to have internships and work experience under your belt. -LORs. I think those can make or break you and every school looks at that if they are on the fence about a student. What your referees have to say about you can be a huge boost as long as it's not the basic 'so and so was a good student' -Your statement of purpose. This is also a make or break piece of the application. This is where you can stand out from other applicants.

Thank you for your opinion doublebarrel! You are our defacto UK consultant ha ha ha I have heard the same thing doublebarrel mentionned that SOAS is really bad! But that still somehow held on to their good rep in Commonwealth countries. Is this possibly why you have a different impression angie? I even read that the buildings are so old and not taken care of and falling apart because they don't have the financial means to renovate. That is not a good sign for world renowned university. My top choice in London is LSE even if SOAS's curriculum in dev is pretty strong. The negative thing I've heard about LSE is how they use their good reputation and huge fees as a "degree factory". Like every university some degrees are stronger than others but LSE has a huge number of random programs that don't amount to much and were put together hastily. As for UCL I'm more into Development related issues than public policy so this program will remain a safety net for me if all else fails. I see that decisions are trickling in and we will have major choices to make soon. I hope everyone will stick around this thread even after you hear from IHEID and post your decisions (good or bad) I might need some serious cheering up you guys. :-/