hedong123

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Small university - poor ranking overall but a decent business program Previous Degrees and GPAs: 3.25 cumulative, two Ds and a fail on transcript GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 162/161/4.5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 8 months financial advising internship, 1.5 years corporate finance, 4 years teaching English in Korea, travel writing in SE Asia Math/Econ Background: micro/macro, calculus, business stats (All As) Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): fluent Korean Long Term Professional Goals: International finance/econ in the government or multilateral sector Schools Applied to & Results: SAIS DC(Accepted), Georgetown SFS Asian Studies (Accepted off wait list), no funding from either program (unless you count the "generous" $3,000 summer internship/language fellowship that Georgetown offered.) Ultimate Decision & Why: SAIS - I like the heavy quant aspect, many of the professors and the career services dept. Advice for Future Applicants: If you have a poor undergrad transcript/GPA then being older definitely helps! You can get into the best programs but don't expect funding from them. I didn't take college very seriously during my first two years. However, after studying abroad I realized that I have a passion for international affairs and living/traveling overseas. I repeated every class that I did poorly in and earn As in all of those during my junior and senior year of undergrad. I ended up landing a job for a prestigious mutual fund corporation but realized very soon that the corporate rat race wasn't for me. I bought a one-way ticket to Asia and ended up staying for four years. I came back fluent in Korean and a desire to enroll in one of the best IR graduate programs. Bust your butt on the GREs! Everyone whines about the quant section but it can be mastered. Just keep in mind that there are only so many types of problems, once you learn the tricks it becomes much easier. For each problem there's long way to solving it and a short-cut. Learn the tricks and short-cuts…they appear over and over again in all of the test prep and online practice questions! I practiced thousands of sample questions. Get into a routine of studying on a daily basis. I liked going to Starbucks everyday after work and in the morning on weekends. It's a great way to avoid the distractions you might encounter at home. Once you feel comfortable with your skills, DO A FEW FULL LENGTH PRACTICE EXAMS! The test isn't only about knowing how to do the problems but also how to manage your time wisely. If you're like me and have a poor GPA, a good GRE score will help to offset it. If you have a good GPA, a good GRE score will make you competitive for funding. Oh, and Magoosh is EXCELLENT for preparing for the GRE Exam. The Manhattan book series is excellent as well. Show your passion! I attended advanced level Korean classes on a weekly basis for over a year after I returned from Korea. I found opportunities travel writing and volunteering in SE Asia. I spent hours and hours writing a SOP that demonstrated my passion. I made sure there wasn't a single grammatical error in any of my application materials. Hope my experience helps those of you with weaknesses on your application. Feel free to PM me if you need any advice! Good luck to everyone!

What you say is mostly true but might might mislead others. The money we will use to pay off student loans will be after-tax money if the amount that we pay towards interest for the year is equal to or less than $6,100 (the standard deduction). If you have a mortgage, children or are in a situation where you're better off itemizing your deductions then you might be in a position where you could benefit from the fact that the interest portion of your student loan payments will be huge write-offs. However, upon graduation, if you're single with no kids and no mortgage (which is probably most of us), then you will see no tax benefit unless your student debt is huge (in which I'll call you crazy for taking on so much debt for taking on so much debt for a degree of this type). So yea, if you take out loans in the amount of 120 grand you'll certainly enjoy tax breaks early on. But it won't change the fact that you owe a shit load of money (and made a terrible decision). If you're like me and will owe about 50 grand and have no mortgage, kids, or other tax deductions then you'll see little or even no tax break.

Hi IA+Math, Wow you have some really good options. My apps were strong enough to get me into the best programs, but not strong enough to get me any funding. I also had to decide between SAIS and SFS. In the end I chose SAIS because I feel that the program is more in line with my professional goals. The heavy quant aspect of SAIS is viewed very favorably by employers, especially in the international economics/financial private sector. I turned 30 this year and I want to be able to graduate from a program and have a job already lined up (or at least not have to wait more than a few months). What I don't want is to graduate and be forced into a series of unpaid/low paying internships. That's not to imply that this would occur with a degree from SFS but based on what I've seen and heard, I'm more confident that a degree from SAIS will take me exactly where I want to be. If I were younger and planning on eventually pursuing a PhD or working for a prestigious NGO or teaching then I would've chosen SFS. Did you (or anyone else) attend the SAIS Open House yesterday?

I dealt with the debt issue by deferring for a year to save towards tuition. If you currently have a decent job it's not a bad plan.

How is everyone dressing for the admitted student day? Is business casual ok?

Oh yea! I'll be there

@bunsen - well said

@Kb6, I'd also like to thank you for answering our questions. I'm looking forward to the open house because I have a million other questions. I like your comment about passing the language proficiency upon matriculation. That'll give me a reason to study hard over the summer.

Same. I'd like more info regarding this as well. Any current or former SAIS students want to chime in on this? The 2013 SAIS employment outcome report appears to be very promising. It shows a $71,000 median starting salary for those entering the private sector, $62,000 for public. If these figures can be trusted I could justify the $55k-$60k student loan debt that I'd have to take out. Are those figures realistic?

@ Sonechka - I feel the same way. It's also been a dream of mine for years to study at SAIS and I worked very very hard to get in. I have a feeling that if I attend the open house in April, suddenly all of the debt will feel worth it. There's definitely something inspirational about walking around on Massachusetts Ave, being among those who are living my dream. It really made me feel alive if that makes any sense. I don't want to give up my current occupation, but let's just say I'm not the typical applicant. I got a 3.20 gpa from a poorly ranked college, had a couple of Ds on my undergraduate transcript and my current job is of a more blue-collar nature. I did, however, spend years preparing to apply and demonstrated a genuine passion for international affairs. Now I'm one step closer to my ultimate goal. This will be one of the hardest decisions of my life. On the bright side, we have plenty of time to decide!

@Sonechka - I feel the same way. My elation turned into frustration once I realized that I wasn't receiving any aid whatsoever. From a year of reading through thegradcafe I suspect that SAIS's strategy is to accept a large number of applicants and offer very little aid. Their reputation allows this since many students are willing to finance the entire bill. I know many people who have turned down offers from SAIS and SFS to accept offers with significant funding from lower ranked programs. It's the wise move. I have about 25 grand saved and can live with relatives rent-free near DC. But that still leaves me with about 60 grand of future debt. It's truly hard to justify. The salary we could expect to receive coming out of SAIS is 65-70k. Factor in high living costs if you want to live in DC, income tax, student loans, transportation costs, etc. etc. Forget about buying a house anytime soon. But you can plan on paying someone else's mortgage via rent for sure. Ahhh I'm just bummed out. Wish I could find a way to justify it. Maybe I'll keep saving and apply again next year.. :-(

No funding. I can crash with relatives in the DC area and get my total SAIS debt down to only about 80 grand. No thanks. Every current SAIS student that I've talked to has said the same thing: It's not worth it at full price.

Ughhh I was hoping to receive the funding email today..I thought I might since the Bologna students did...

Is this in everyone's offer letter?? Candidates who have submitted their SAIS financial aid application and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 15 will be sent a separate communication from the Office of Financial Aid providing them with instructions to access and accept their financial aid awards. If your FAFSA was submitted after the 15th, award information will follow within two weeks of receipt.

Anyone receive funding from dc yet?

In at SAIS!!! The letter states that a separate email will be sent with funding info! Thrilled!!

Congrats ruella!!!

Wonder if its just bologna first..

Agreed....gonna be a long day

From the SAIS Bologna blog: "Candidates who have applied to SAIS for 2014-15 will learn very soon if they were admitted or not. Some will be accepted, others not." I bet they'll announce all decisions tomorrow. I read somewhere that it's usually done in the evening...should be an interesting day tomorrow...

If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on tomorrow.

Anyone know apprx what percentage of those accepted receive some sort of funding?

I wouldnt worry too much about that. I doubt that would weigh heavily if your overall application package is strong.

Website says itll be the 14th.. Trying not to think about it

I applied for the DC only option. So if accepted, I'd like to work two days per week 9-5 (this would GREATLY reduce the amount of debt that I incur). I'm hoping this is possible, given both the difficulty of the coursework and the class times/scheduling. I actually may be able to pass proficiency upon matriculation (which would be a huge help I suppose). ((All of this is assuming that I'm even accepted haha))