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le_neocon

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Everything posted by le_neocon

  1. Octavia, I don't know what makes you say that. But a lot of us have chosen SIPA over SAIS and it really is a question of finance and personal career goals more than anything else. Both of them will give you the same amount of debt and I'm not sure where you get the whole Admin Assistant thing at UN thingie from. I don't want to get into an argument, but I believe your particular comments are extremely flawed and not based on any reliable data, if at all you have any. However, a free ride at any top school is a no brainer. You go there and nowhere else.
  2. For a 35k differential I might choose the better known program, Georgetown. So I wouldn't let the extra money cushion at Cornell get in the way. Choose the school which you think has the better curriculum and would help you pursue your desired career path.
  3. I will be attending SIPA this fall, and I will be choosing it over SAIS and CMU($). The stark prospect of debt does lie ahead of me, but I'm absolutely confident that this is the best route given my specific career interests and goals. What convinced me the most, to choose SIPA was some of the feedback I received from both current students and alumnus. I think talking to alumnus who have your current interest and are working in your preferred career will be your best bet. You can use networking sites to work your way around. Another way is to contact some of the current students in the SIPA message board. I was able to talk in detail with one of the students and was pleasantly surprised at the honest feedback he gave me. I'm sure they'd be happy to help you out and direct you to some useful sources. Harris is no doubt a great school and the money makes it a difficult choice to make. All the best !
  4. Agree with narius..SAIS for sure !
  5. Did anyone go for SIPA Open house ? How did it go ?
  6. On a sidenote, I wish SIPA had more marketing videos. SAIS seems to have loads of them on their site. SIPA uploads quite a few panel discussions but none thats really program specific. Of course, there are the SIPA follies videos on youtube. Anyone else found any SIPA videos ?
  7. This link might be outdated and you may have already found this http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/286389-fletcher-vs-sais.html
  8. Tell me about the confusion. I'm debating the full SIPA - New York vs SAIS - DC option. I've even paid the deposit at SIPA just to speed up my visa process and I'm still confused. For me they will eventually turn out to be equally expensive. And that 50 grad thing at SIPA freaks me out too, though I shouldn't be trusting just hearsay...
  9. It really depends on what you want to get out of the degree. I'm in a different scenario and had to turn down CMU with some aid, because it didn't actually align with my intended career path. The Harris full ride definitely looks like the way to go, and I'd look into SIPA only if you can back yourself completely to get second year scholarships and get your dream job after you graduate. If it can help, I'd suggest you join the linkedin alumni group of both Harris and SIPA and check out what people do after they graduate. And it includes both recent and old alumni, average alumni, top alumni, the whole bunch. I just think it could give you an additional perspective and justify your choices.
  10. I was mailed on the 5th asking me to call them on the 6th or the 8th.
  11. Did Cornell just vanish off the list ?? Anyhow, I guess you should not go on these rankings completely. These take into account various factors such as size of department, variety and amount of research. Moreover, these rankings are for the IE department. You will have to look into each of these department's websites to find out more about what the research interest of the faculty there is. From my research on some of these colleges, I remember noting that Purdue was more focused on manufacturing and so was VaTech. The more you look into these departments and/or forums where these are being discussed, the better informed you will be to take a decision on your target schools. All the best.
  12. MPAIndia2010 I'm in the process of securing loans (SBI) which I want to use only for the first year, given their limit of only $45K(20 lakh). I want to leave the second year funding either to US private loans like Sallie Mae and scholarships/internships (if i get lucky) Can't we use the bank loans only for the first year, given that they are a small amount anyways. Once we are in the US, we'll be able to avail of the US loans, which have lower interest rates, higher lending amount, all with the help of a cosigner.
  13. i think this is in reference to the federal aid packages etc. Nothing for international students to look forward to.
  14. I'm located 8000 miles away !! I won't be there for any of the open houses
  15. I wouldn't trust a lot of the vibes that go on here. You should judge each school for its individual pros and cons and then make the decision for yourself. I'm in a similar predicament w.r.t SIPA/SAIS. But I have my own needs and requirements which may be well met by only one of the two. Each school has its advantages/disadvantages, some of which are well documented, some of which we'll get to know when we go there. Statistics whether its employment stats or admission rates will tell you only a part of the story, I'd rather trust first hand information from honest students at either place.
  16. I don't understand why SIPA is the only school that'll give you a financial load. Jobs for international students are going to be difficult to come by at all schools, including HKS, for sure. One advantage that SIPA has over SAIS is that being in NY and not DC ( where most jobs will be reserved for citizens ), it surely gives us a lot more options.
  17. I found this link..overall seems to be pro SAIS even though it ranks Gtown higher. http://www.imadahmed.com/695955411/international-affairs-programme-ratings/
  18. This is proving to be a tough decision. SAIS or SIPA. I have no funding at SIPA, and I'm yet to receive any funding info from SAIS. I've seen people rejecting either one for the other. SIPA receives bad press from every college, for some strange reason, even though its just as expensive as any other school. Here's what I've managed to gather myself. Facts and Assumptions 1. SAIS seems to be more 'revered' academically and professionally and a lot of it is in part due to a notable alumni base and well known people in the faculty. 2. Theres nothing between the two in terms of curriculum content. I think SIPA's IFEP is just as good, if not better than anything SAIS will have to offer. 3. The SAIS student community seems to be more well knit. I've been spending a lot of time reading their newsletters, SAIS observer, morningside post I'm not sure about SIPA on that front. A large class size, well .. 4. SAIS seems to put in you a strong position for World Bank, IMF jobs etc. SIPA doesn't do too bad either, with the UN office nearby. I'm really not going to read too much into average salaries here. I really think its level of significance is wrongly overstated. 5. At the end of the day, New York is New York. I'm guessing DC is just as expensive as New York. And maybe a New York budget is more flexible. 6. Columbia is more revered internationally at the end of the day. I've already tried explaining Johns Hopkins to a lot of common folk here and they do inevitably ask about the medical school connection. Open Questions 1. I'm of the opinion that domestic students might favor SAIS a little more, which leads me to question what international students would prefer ? I've yet to talk to an international student from SAIS. From what I've seen SAIS has a strong US perspective in their policy studies. SIPA has a more international faculty base. Also, does DC - the location work for just domestic students, or is it equally good for international students. For now I'm tending towards the former. 2. What is the average debt at SAIS ? SIPA has been quite vocal about its second year scholarship and the full year tuition seems to be really appealing. How about SAIS ? Except for a few instances of $10-15K scholarships, I haven't seen people receiving aid ( I'm yet to receive any info myself ). Do SAIS students at least get a sizeable amount during their second year ? For now its even stevens, if anyone has an honest opinion, feel free to answer/add to this
  19. I agree. I think your prospective salary is also a function of prior work experience and other academic credentials. And this applies to whether you're studying in SIPA or SAIS or HKS or even any business school. You can't always get your dream job because you're in A or B. I'd suggest that one should pay attention to improving ones profile while in college too. I'd initially applied for the MPA at SIPA then changed my preference to MIA after looking at a curriculum ( though there isn't much of a difference ). The lower crust of any top school will tend to get lower salaries etc. than the top crust of a lower ranked school. There really isn't much between the top schools and I really believe its a matter of available choices and personal conviction at the end of the day !
  20. I also think the MBA is a ticket to a two year long networking event. Theres clearly no real academic knowledge you're going to get in an MBA. I just believe, given the right environment and if you use your resources well, you can do well without an MBA as well. MBAs do well at places which require only MBAs to fit into their corporate hierarchy. Some companies hire MBAs from good schools just to improve their reputation. Whereas for things like entrepreneurship, what you need is a sustainable idea and a huge ability to back yourself. Some of the best entrepreneurs of our day aren't necessarily MBAs from Harvard. That said, the applicant pool for MBA programs these days is extremely high quality, some of the best talent there is. So these people will inevitably tend to do well.
  21. No news here. I just realized a couple of days back that I may have filled up a different form to the one I saw on my application site. Thats made me wonder if that is the cause for the delay. I wrote to them and they replied that if one did apply for international aid, a response would be due shortly.
  22. Thanks BC, I find your replies to be honest and forthcoming. Do you have any ideas about the DC campus ? Are scholarships etc. easily available in the second year ?
  23. Sorry carpecc. I guess that post was a little confusing. What I meant was that there are a lot of MBAs at the place I work. And I really don't see anything special in them. Its just that more often than not an MBA is one step you're forced to take. It really is, as you put it, generic. Also, what makes an MBA click is that some private companies do insist on MBAs only when they hire at Associate/Consultant levels. And thats because MBAs from the good schools do have a lot of varied experience behind them. As for them coming into IR, I'm sure they'll be asked why they didn't study international affairs/economics themselves. I think in most policy schools, you have a variety of non profit/government/international jobs etc. to choose from. You'd be first choice there. At the same time, you can tailor make your course to make yourself compete for private sector jobs. It will be difficult, but judging by the numbers, if you know what you want you can make there too. But at the end of the day, you really can't have it all
  24. I haven't. I'm an international. I even got a conditional offer with a requirement to do some econ courses over the summer. So I really don't have high hopes.
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