thevillagersid

Yale Jackson does not currently provide scholarships for all students, but I would say that they seem to be quite generous overall. Many students not already financed externally seem to receive some sort of award.

Have you checked out glassdoor.com? You can search reported salaries by job title, organization, and location.

Current Jackson student here. Just thought I'd pop in to say that everyone at Jackson is super excited about finding out who our new classmates will be. Once decisions come out admitted students will be matched with current Jackson students to answer any questions they have, but I'm also happy to answer any questions that people have here. Best of luck to everyone who applied! (P.s. I know it's killing you, but I don't have any inside information on the decision process--so please don't make things awkward by asking. )

Syracuse (1 year!), UPenn Fels, and Michigan all seem like good schools that might be a bit less competitive.

Having personally squeaked into Yale with a 3.2 undergrad GPA, I'd definitely encourage you not to think of that as an automatic disqualification. It might need a bit of explanation, but I would also recommend applying to all the schools you think would be a good fit for you, as long as you have the time to do the apps.

I think Yale is perfect for people who are trying to work across multiple fields, but I second the advice you got about making sure that your plans seem focused--they don't want people coming in and floundering around trying to figure out what they're doing.

As Gov2School suggested, work experience is pretty important for the American schools. Even if you're certain you want/need to get an MA, having 1-2 years of experience working someplace relevant before you apply will make your application *much* more competitive at US schools.

Many people are coming back to graduate school to change careers, so it won't seem unusual at all. As Kaneisha, mentioned, you just need to make a convincing case as to how your experience and educational plans fit in with what you hope to do.

If your work experience is relevant and your GRE scores and GPA in your current program are good, I don't think there's any reason you shouldn't be able to get into some or all of the schools you mentioned. That said, I'm not sure that another two years for an IR degree would be particularly worthwhile after having done an MPP. This is especially true if your goal is working in the federal gov't, where they seem pretty indifferent about what schools people graduate from and not particularly concerned about MPP vs. IR. (Maryland's own website suggests that grads there have gone on to work in most of the same places that people graduating from Georgetown, GWU, etc. go to.) The Pickering seems to be a great "in" for the foreign service, but it's definitely not going to be any easier than getting hired through the regular FSO exam process.

Also, the Yale student blog has been moved onto the Jackson website. The new address is: http://jackson.yale.edu/blog

The Jackson program is a bit unique in that it has only a limited number of core courses (3), which leaves students free to put largely together their own program around their interests. Being able to take courses at all the other schools on campus means that you also have full access to the full range of 'superstar' faculty members and fellows that Yale attracts. If there's anything that defines the students at Jackson, it would be a passion for making a difference in the world--but each one of us has very different aspirations for how we'd like to make that happen. But I imagine your real question was about the perception of Jackson amongst employers. The small number of graduates and youth of the program also made me a bit worried that it might not be recognized by the people hiring me later. This concern has proven to be entirely unfounded. Speaking with potential employers and observing the second years as they begin to job hunt, it seems the more important factors when it comes time to get a job are: It's backed by the Yale brand, which employers *do* respond to. (I don't personally believe that alma mater is necessarily a strong quality signal for a person, but such is the world we live in.) You're one of only 30 Yale Jackson grads in a year. Most public policy/IA types gravitate to a few sorts of places, and there are honestly a glut of SIPA, SAIS, etc. grads applying for the same jobs. Small program size means easy access to Jackson's Senior and World Fellows, and several people each year seem to get internships/jobs with incredible organizations through those on campus connections. And, finally, we have an awesome career services director (Elizabeth Gill), who takes an active interest to meet and strategize with all of the program's students. Long post short, no one seems to have any difficulty getting a great job after Jackson.

A couple of Jackson students have recently begun a blog offering a look at life in the Jackson program and on the Yale campus in general. There are also occasional posts with practical information for those thinking about applying, so I highly recommend it to anyone interested in coming to Yale Jackson. Link: The Jackson Journal - Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs Student Blog

Yale Jackson is also about 50-50 domestic/international, and there seem to be excellent opportunities for those who want to go abroad after graduation. Many of the top programs (Yale included) are quite good about offering funding in the form of scholarships or teaching assistantships, so I'd encourage you to apply to all the schools you think would be a good fit for your interests and worry about funding later.

Take a look at Yale. Jackson allows students to design their own concentrations, and if you know that you're interested in Asia it would be very easy to put together a concentration with a regional focus. You would have access to courses in all the other graduate departments on campus to choose from. Offerings on China and Japan are especially good.

Working as a foreign respondent sounds prima facie like excellent work experience for I.R. and won't need to be justified. Many students are also expecting to change or better define their career paths after doing an I.R. degree (this student included), so that's not usually a problem either. The key is just to put together the pieces of how your prior experience motivated and prepared you for the career change, and then explain how your studies at school X fit into your plans.

@Henson: I just messaged you. I haven't been on Gradcafe often recently, but will try to log on a bit more frequently during application season. The biggest application tip that I can give, however, is to not worry overly much about what a "typical" student profile might look like. The class that I entered with this year is an incredibly diverse group of hugely talented individuals with incredible variation in academic background and professional experiences. I wouldn't be so cynical as to say that larger programs might simply rank and cut applicants, but it is apparent that admissions here is more an act of curation than simple numerical culling. Great care has obviously been taken to ensure everyone who comes has their own unique strengths to contribute, as well as a clearly developed plan for the two years they spend here and their career after graduation. (While you'd definitely want your academic records to clearly signal that you're ready for graduate studies, there's no reason to stress if you didn't graduate summa cum laude from an Ivy or don't have a perfect GRE score.) Also: I encourage everyone to take a thorough look at the website. The profiles of current students are posted, and admissions events are beginning to be announced.

Hi Yuanyang--GPA can be a deal breaker, but raising your GRE scores (quant esp.) and doing an MS could help show you have what it takes for a PhD. Solid research experience and good recs are definitely a plus, but you should probably ask in another forum for advice on those--this is government affairs.

Declining admission today in favor of Yale Jackson. Hopefully this opens up a spot on the waitlist for someone else.

Was anyone here able to make it to admitted students day on the 4th, or to the alumni night in Washington DC the week before? It would be great if someone could provide a report on what those events were like.

Maybe it's because of the small number of admits, but not much has been said about Yale Jackson on this forum lately. Is anyone else thinking of turning down one of the 'typical' IR/public policy powerhouses (SIPA/HKS/WWS/SAIS) for Yale? Coming into the application process, I thought that SIPA and HKS were *the* schools, and Yale was relatively low on my list. But now that I've been admitted and started really thinking about what it would be like to go to different schools, Yale has begun to look better and better. The advantages: 1. Small program size. No one seems to feel 'lost' in the program, and several people have indicated that the small size means more personalized attention from school staff and greater access to professors. 2. Small number of graduates. Places like the World Bank pull a ton of people from schools like SIPA. That said, I'm worried that being "one SIPA grad among 600" would make me fairly anonymous as an applicant. Whatever else Jackson may or may not be, it's definitely not a degree mill. 3. It seems to be trending upwards and have good momentum. The last couple of years have seen both a large donation and a complete overhaul of the program. The school has attracted a lot of strong professors for a program of its size. 4. Without funding Jackson is marginally cheaper than SIPA or HKS, and the school offers grants for students pursuing unpaid internships. Life in New Haven is also a discount off of life in New York or Boston. 5. Lots of opportunities to take classes across the campus. A current student mentioned that being able to take classes in the other professional schools at Yale offered great exposure to different communities on campus where people have very different ways of thinking and interacting. I didn't look into the Yale SOM before applying, but it seems like that school is also famous for their non-profit/public sector courses. 6. The Yale vibe seems pretty laid back compared to other places. (I'm from the West coast--this is important! ) At the same time, the school seems to attract a lot of accomplished, capable students who seem like they would be awesome to study with. Possible disadvantages: 1. What is 'global affairs' anyway? Will employers actually recognize this as a professional degree, or am I going to have to take an extra year and do an MBA to make up for the weak degree recognition? MPA/MPP seem like they might be recognized as more serious degrees. 2. Public sector employers seem to love SIPA/HKS/SAIS, but not many people seem aware of Yale Jackson yet. Anecdotally, it seems like SIPA would be a bit of a 'safer' choice than Yale when it comes to getting a job. (But then why does SIPA have a six-month unemployment rate of 10-17% for MPA/MIA grads...? Is this typical for other programs as well? ) 3. All that stuff people say about violent crime in parts of New Haven... What are other people thinking about this program? I'd be happy to hear what smilinggirl or other current Yale students think as well.

I'm in, too! This is going to be a tough decision...

I'm in the same boat as well. The good ship Indebtedness may be shabby, but at least she's not lonely.

Admitted!

I don't think we can be too hard on them. Perhaps attempting to provide a concrete date for results is unrealistic and a bit of a PR mistake... but at the same time, I think Harris admissions has a more engaged SM strategy than many other schools. Several schools (including a certain school in New York...) have provided almost no information regarding the application review process or what to expect.

@ynh2008: I sent you a private message