mych

Got my first response today! Accepted for MPP at Hertie in Berlin! As new as the school is, it's definitely among my top choices - subject to financing. Also helps that they have exchange programmes with IHEID and Sciences Po, two of my other top choices. )

Someone's just posted that question to their Facebook page, and Paola answered with this about half an hour ago: "dear Yasir, you will be notified around mid-March. Only 2 more weeks left. best of luck to you. Paola Eicher" Mid-march! Only two more weeks of hyperventilation and anxious page-refreshing. Hang in there everyone - we're on the home stretch.

Tomorrow is 27th February again! Here's hoping that it doesn't herald any unfortunate news for any of us.

I feel exactly the same way. I simultaneously want to receive my IHEID result as soon as possible, but I don't want to receive it early if it means I've been rejected. I'm just trying to maintain my sanity while waiting.

Congratulations!!! That's wonderful news. You're the first person I know of who has been admitted for the 2014/15 intake. From what I understand "admitted" means an unconditional admittance - all you need to do is pay your pre-registration fees and you will be confirmed (or have your scholarship confirm it). Was the LLM in International Law always scheduled to release its admittance results around this time? MDEV (which I applied to) is only scheduled to announce theirs in March.

In case anyone is interested, I've just stumbled across a document from the IHEID Student Association detailing how they determine scholarship awards: http://mygisa.ch/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Scholarship-Allocation-Process-IHEID.pdf I suppose you're right. The Swiss system is the same in that it's extremely difficult to get a 6.0 in qualitative subjects, and while that's recognised locally it can sometimes be difficult to explain this to people unfamiliar with the system. I've also been struggling to find very much on IHEID; would love to hear more.

Wow. That sounds absolutely horrendous - I do hope it's an isolated case. Sciences Po is my second choice between IHEID and Uv Amsterdam, but I may have to reconsider if it turns out that what enviropol describes is pervasive throughout the PSIA. Guess some digging's called for.

Congratulations alchyna! That's fantastic news! Which programme would you favour if you were also to receive funding from ScPo?

Crud. I didn't know it was a 6-question system either. One of the academic referees I submitted has never been extremely close to me - I wonder how he completed it. I hope that won't end up counting against me. I would double check with Sciences Po, perhaps call and explain. According to their website, "Graduate and dual degree programmes require two academic references (professional references are optional and do not replace academic references)." Source: http://www.sciencespo.fr/admissions/en/graduate-international-references On a somewhat related note, how do you find your correspondence with Sciences Po? They always reply to my questions in French even though I ask them in English. I would be quite lost without Google Translate.

Sounds like a plan. Do you have space for one more at your hypothetical vineyard? I don't know much about producing wine, but I'm pretty good at drinking it.

Unfortunately not. It just means that they have begun processing the application, which is neither here nor there. Nothing to do but hope for the best now! Good luck to you

Status of application for IHEID just changed to "Under Consideration"! Somehow feel even jumpier now.

Hi Alchyna, That is quite a dilemma! I'm not that far along with my Sciences Po application, so I have no personal experience to share. However, perhaps the following link is of use? http://www.sciencespo.fr/welcome/en/content/confirm-your-admissionhttp://www.sciencespo.fr/welcome/en/content/administrative-registration It states that "Compulsory registration will start few month before the beginning of classes. Tuition payment is also due by that time." According to their Registration Calendar (academic year 2013/14; was unable to find one for 2014/15): From… Before… New students (this is the first time you register at Sciences Po) Early June 2013 June 28, 2013 There's quite a difference between a 21 February and a 28 June deadline! In your shoes I would contact the admissions office and inform them that your acceptance is contingent on receiving the scholarship, and that that decision will only be released in April (by which time you will certainly have heard from IHEID, and possibly from LSE as well). This way you can request an extension without declaring that it's because you are considering other schools. Perhaps Sciences Po is open to a conditional acceptance for the time being?

Hi alchyna, thanks for the warm welcome! It struck me after my first post that most people are probably most concerned about visa issues, so I figured I’d best preempt it with that disclaimer. J I apologise for the length of the following. Re. your questions: Living in Switzerland In a word: great. It’s certainly a higher standard of living than I’ve experienced anywhere else (with corresponding prices). Plenty of nature and fresh air, a continuous array of events, concerts, carnivals and festivals, and – most of all – fantastically located for exploring the continent. I quite like the fact that even the cities retain their traditional appearances in contrast to the congregation of glassy skyscrapers that characterise many other major cities. The opening hours of shops took some getting used to though. Shops generally close at 6pm on weekdays, 4pm on Fridays and all day Sundays, with slight variations depending on where in the country you are. True to stereotype, everything if highly organised and runs extremely efficiently – I’ve genuinely heard train drivers apologising for 2 minute delays. Adapting I had little trouble adapting to Switzerland (with the exception of the aforementioned shop hours), though given that I do speak the local German dialect my experience could well be skewed. Other international friends also claim to have found it easy to acclimatise here. Language is not necessarily an issue – many foreigners I’ve met don’t speak any of the local languages, and get around fine purely with English. Having said that, the locals do appreciate it when foreigners put in the effort to at least try, and many from the older generations are unable to converse in English. It can also be rather challenging to break into a local’s inner circle. In my experience the Swiss are rather guarded and more difficult to get to know than, say, Brits or the Dutch. Most are certainly friendly and helpful, but getting to know a Swiss person on a deeper level does seem to take more time. This, of course, is a generalisation based on my experience, and may not ring true everywhere. In terms of shopping, most major international brands are available here, along with many local or regional ones. Grocery shopping is where a local language comes in extra handy; most products only carry details in German, French and Italian. Accommodation There is unfortunately a hierarchy when it comes to renting. It isn’t too different from most other countries though. Owners tend to prefer local applicants, followed by foreign professionals from reputable companies and so on. The chances for foreigners depend largely on the type of visa they have (short term vs long term), where they are from (while not true of all places, discrimination does play a role), what company/university they’re working/studying at, and so on. The longer the validity of your visa and the more stable and trusted your company is, the better your chances. Geneva is known to have some of the highest rents in the country, due largely to the high demand and low supply of available accommodation. Switzerland also uses this odd system in which there are two “official moving dates” each year – 1 April and 1 October. Because of this system there’s usually a larger selection of places for rent available in the run up to these dates as compared to “unofficial” periods. I favour this site for vacancy listings: http://en.comparis.ch/immobilien/listgeo/show?mode=1. The following article also contains links to several other property sites: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/specials/switzerland_how_to/daily_life/Living.html?cid=29177976 (side note: www.swissinfo.ch is useful for updates on life in Switzerland, and www.englishforum.ch is a great resource for pretty much anything that an expat might need to know about moving to/living in Switzerland) Employment I have no experience with part-time employment here either. The usual student jobs exist (Starbucks, supermarkets etc), but it is extremely difficult to find part-time work if one doesn’t speak the local language, especially in a customer-facing role. You mentioned earlier in the thread that you’re fluent in French, so this shouldn’t be an issue in your case. From what I’ve read IHEID also assists students with finding part-time work, so that’s the route I’m planning to take. I reckon there’s a better chance of obtaining part-time work relevant to the programme in this way. tl; dr Switzerland is great, as expensive and organised as people say, and accommodation and employment can be difficult to obtain. www.englishforum.ch is a fantastic resource.

Ah. I should mention: I have no experience with visas, so I'm afraid that's an area in which I'm of little use.

Hi folks! Thanks for the 16 pages of useful information, and congratulations those of you who've already been accepted at your other choices! It's certainly comforting knowing that others are in the same boat - I applied for MDEV at IHEID as well, but with the January 15th deadline. Other choices are Uni v Amsterdam, Uni Oslo, Uni St Gallen and Sciences Po. If anyone has any questions regarding Switzerland in general I'd be happy to help as best I can. Though I'm not in the French part I've been here for nearly 3 years now, and may be able to answer a question or three anyway. Also, has anyone heard anything of the Development Studies at Wageningen University in the Netherlands? I stumbled across it on the web, and while the university seems relatively acclaimed overall there's scarce mention of their Development Studies program specifically.