marwanslm
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Posts posted by marwanslm
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I've finally decided to go to Elliott School. My program is MAIA. Anyone with me?
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Also, there are quite a number of international students in San Diego and everyone is incredibly friendly and welcoming.
Hi, @ceid90,
Thank you for the information. It's quite interesting that IR/PS is particularly popular among international students and Elliott School seems not so attractive. Many friends of mine (like 6-7) all received ad from IR/PS with no funding and still going. I guess the environment of California is so irresistible. But many people also told me that D.C. is also a very diverse place. So there may be some other things to think about besides academics and work opportunities.
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I’m really in the middle of a tough decision: MA International Affairs, Elliott School, GWU or Master of Pacific International Affairs, IR/PS, UCSD. There is no significant difference in the cost of attendance.
Here is my analysis of the advantages of both programs.
GWU: Location, reputation, rich internship opportunities and alumni resource
UCSD: Strong focus on quantitative training and intensive curriculum
I’m more leaning to UCSD. First, my undergraduate is foreign language studies, and no full-time employment experience. I guess what I need most is to learn some hard skills which can possibly lead to jobs. Though a lot of people are saying there are more opportunities at D.C. and Elliott is a great school, as an international student with limited academic/professional background, I don’t think those resources can do the most good. After all, the effect of networking still needs to be built on individual strengths. Second, I’m interested in the academia and may finally do a PhD. UCSD has stronger departments in political science and economics. I guess that may be a better fit.
So I really hope to hear about any thoughts or comments on my decision process. Thanks a lot!
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I’m really in the middle of a tough decision: MA International Affairs, Elliott School, GWU or Master of Pacific International Affairs, IR/PS, UCSD. There is no significant difference in the cost of attendance.
Here is my analysis of the advantages of both programs.
GWU: Location, reputation, rich internship opportunities and alumni resource
UCSD: Strong focus on quantitative training and intensive curriculum
I’m more leaning to UCSD. First, my undergraduate is foreign language studies, and no full-time employment experience. I guess what I need most is to learn some hard skills which can possibly lead to jobs. Though a lot of people are saying there are more opportunities at D.C. and Elliott is a great school, as an international student with limited academic/professional background, I don’t think those resources can do the most good. After all, the effect of networking still needs to be built on individual strengths. Second, I’m interested in the academia and may finally do a PhD. UCSD has stronger departments in political science and economics. I guess that may be a better fit.
So I really hope to hear about any thoughts or comments on my decision process. Thanks a lot!
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I’m really in the middle of a tough decision: MA International Affairs, Elliott School, GWU or Master of Pacific International Affairs, IR/PS, UCSD. There is no significant difference in the cost of attendance.
Here is my analysis of the advantages of both programs.
GWU: Location, reputation, rich internship opportunities and alumni resource
UCSD: Strong focus on quantitative training and intensive curriculum
I’m more leaning to UCSD. First, my undergraduate is foreign language studies, and no full-time employment experience. I guess what I need most is to learn some hard skills which can possibly lead to jobs. Though a lot of people are saying there are more opportunities at D.C. and Elliott is a great school, as an international student with limited academic/professional background, I don’t think those resources can do the most good. After all, the effect of networking still needs to be built on individual strengths. Second, I’m interested in the academia and may finally do a PhD. UCSD has stronger departments in political science and economics. I guess that may be a better fit.
So I really hope to hear about any thoughts or comments on my decision process. Thanks a lot!
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I've heard a lot people saying that GWU's reputation is better than AU's. I guess reputation still matters a lot in the field. Frankly, it's really hard to choose between the two. I'm still waiting for the result from AU.
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Received my official ad letter this morning and no funding
I really like IR/PS's strong focus on quantitative skills training.It was difficult for me to choose between UCSD's IR/PS and GWU's Elliott. But now I'm pretty leaning to GWU, since I got 20k over two years, which makes GWU even more affordable.
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In terms of sequence of reputation, it parallels roughly with the median GRE scores of the schools, take it as you will. In the end, if you want a government job, it doesn't matter where you went to school.
Not sure what kind of job you want but I'm going to choose SAIS over GWU because of SAIS's emphasis on economics and quantitative skills along with a concentration of one's choosing. SAIS also gives refresher courses to prepare for the econ and quant courses for those who don't have a strong background in such subjects. I can only see the upsides in honing one's hard skills. Also you can always do internships in DC during the summer.
@marwanslm:
I agree with everyone's statements so far that SAIS and SFS are at the top, with GW being a step down, and then AU being half a step or a step down from GW (speaking purely from my impression of what the reputations seem to be, not the value of their educations).
That being said, I agree with @bjorntsui. Government job pay out is not going to be higher coming from SAIS or SFS, and NGOs aren't going to pay significantly more either. Looking at private sector or consulting jobs, while a SAIS degree would probably give better connections, employment statistics from the two schools show the pay out being roughly the same. At the end of the day, even in the private sector, you're not going to be pulling MBA salaries, so if you're in it for the money, an MA in IR probably isn't the way to go anyway. I will say that if the World Bank is your goal, SAIS will almost definitely give a leg up, especially if you're coming from IDEV. Not entirely sure for the other concentrations. But at the end of the day, a lot of the cushy World Bank and think tank jobs often require a PhD, so something to think about.
I'm in a similar situation in that I'm trying to decide between GWU and SAIS, with no funding from SAIS. I'm coming to the conclusion that while brand name is important, the further you get from graduation, the more professional experience is going to matter more. So a huge benefit of GW is their professional focus. You mentioned looking for "hard skills" to find a job. If you're focused on a career, I think GW would be a good fit because they stress getting experience and you're able to work/intern during the day. Not to mention the DC connections, which I think is pretty important for this field.
Thank you both for your analysis. There are really a lot of things to think about. Actually, I’m choosing between UCSD’s IR/PS (not SAIS) and GWU’s Elliott School. I guess the preconditions may have changed. Anyway, I won’t make the final decision until I receive the funding information from both schools. I’m just wondering how IR/PS’s reputation is like at D.C.
Just recieved 20k fellowship over two years...can't say I'm happy or not.
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I got in either. No word on funding.
One of the practitioners in D.C. told me that the sequence of reputation goes like this: SAIS and SFS - above the average > GWU - average > AU - below the average. I'm not sure how credible is that.
I've also been admitted to UCSD's IR/PS and waitlisted at SIPA. Actually, it’s really hard for me to choose between IR/PS and GWU. IR/PS has a very competitive tuition and well-structured curriculum (esp. quantitative skills training) while GWU's location is so strong. Considering my undergraduate major is language, perhaps I need more HARD skills to find a job. So I'm leaning to UCSD right now. I would love to hear other thoughts
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Congrats to those who got in! I applied to the MIA program and got waitlisted. Anyway, I got in GWU's Elliott School and I have more interest in the nonprofit sector. So I guess I will finially go to GWU. Any thoughts?
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@marwanslm- dude-- you applied to so many schools. I do not envy the massive amount of work you must have put into your applications. Congrats on getting into GWU.
Thanks. Congrats too! You are right...It was a nightmare. I guess I should've been more confident about myself at the beginning.
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Nothing on mine either. Waiting is so unbearable
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YAY! Got in, my first DC school admission. My program is MA in International Affairs. I'm probably going. Also, nothing on funding...
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I haven't heard news from any of the DC school. That's a great suspense in my total application. Although received some admissions, I really hope to have a chance to see the US capital. And AU is really a dream of mine.
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I just received my admission letter today. No funding T_T Though the tuition is relatively affordable, still feeling a little disappointed.
I'm very interested in the question posted above.
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Congrats guys! I just got the same message this morning. I would say UCSD can be attractive and it's pretty strong in political science, economics and other IR-related fields. And I've been told the university community is very friendly to international students. Anyway, I still need to know the results from DC schools to make the final decision.
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I've been accepted to BU's Master's of Arts in International Affairs. Wondering if there are more like me/alums who want to share their experiences!
Good luck to you all as decisions come out! Nerve-wracking time for all of us M.A. applicants! STAY STRONG!
Congrats! So excited to find a thread like that. I got admitted to the MAIA Program too and still waiting for results from other schools. I've noticed that there are really few people talking about this program. Hope to get some advice too.
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So... someone's claiming on the results page that there were "10,000" applicants for Yale Jackson this year. I suspect there's an extra zero in that number, but even 1,000 seems quite high. Where is this number sourced from? Seems like it would be enough to make prospective students panic...
@marwansim: I got dinged by Berkeley yesterday, too. I like to hope that the admissions process really does help filter students into the places that will be most rewarding for them. Best of luck with the rest of your apps!
Thank you. I think you're right. Perhaps the program truly doesn't fit me so good. And good luck to you as well!
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Congrats! Did you get the email late tonight? Or earlier this afternoon?
The summary title would be that I am currently focusing on state behavior within the WTO. I looked for WTO oriented IPE scholars who had existing research that ran along similar lines, along with schools that had courses that would let me look more into the history of financial crises (which is my other passion). I went looking for particular scholars accessible at the MA level in top schools, which really limited my options. I know I'm aiming high, just hope it pays off. ><
Thank you! I got the e-mail in the afternoon. And that was mid-night in my time zone. Too excited to go to sleep.
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Hi everyone! I just got the e-mail saying that I'm offered admission to the MDev Program. Actually, I was only going to apply for US schools. But the low tuition is so irresistable and I decided to try. So lucky I got in.
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Hey guys! I just got the e-mail saying that I'm offered admission to the Master of Development Studies. The low tuition and the scenary of Geneva are just so irresistable.
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Congrats, guys! I just got rejected. Actually, I figured it out already. Wish myself good luck with the rest of my applications.
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Oh I just got the same e-mail. Really hope I could go to the reception and meet with everyone. But, the distance, so sad.
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Good luck to you....i got rejected
Don't be so sad. I got great hopes for you!
Elliott School 2014
in Government Affairs Forum
Posted
Hi there! I've decided to join the MA IA Program. I'm a senior studnet from China and my undergraduate major is Arabic. I don't have full-time work experience but did internship in the government and some NGOs. I guess life in D.C. could be a bit challenging yet exciting for me.
I've been searching for houses and that seems something tough. All the rooms near the campus seem quite expensive.
Hope to see you at school!