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keithc

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    AMA: Current SAIS Europe Student

    in Government Affairs Forum

    Posted

    I think is pretty much a no brainer. IHEID has a great reputation, living in Geneva offers plenty of opportunities for professional development and you can even learn/improve your French, all while saving $70-80k (imagine what you could otherwise do with this money and how much freedom of choice regarding your job search it is gonna award you!).

    Thanks pyrhuss! I know what you mean but i still have some concerns. IHEID is with no doubt a great school, but for Chinese students, not so much. For one thing, from what I hear there does exist discrimination against non-EU students in the job market. It's not necessarily someone's fault, for we do have disadvantages in terms of languages, etc. So pretty much for sure i have to come back to my home country when i graduate, but i think the reputation of IHEID is kind of confined to Europe. For another, the courses in SAIS are more quant so i might be equipped with some "hard skills".

     

    To be honest the money thing is the only thing that's holding me back from confirming the acceptance at SAIS. i can only hope this will turn out be a fine investment and that i can earn the money back before too long.  

    AMA: Current SAIS Europe Student

    in Government Affairs Forum

    Posted

    Thank you soooooooo much for answering the questions. I'm now choosing between SAIS DC and IHEID, both no funding. I'm leaning toward SAIS but it could be $70-80k more expensive. Do you think it's worth it, to spend that amount of money for its uncertain advantage over IHEID? My mom is willing to help me out but still....

     

    BTW spending the first year in Europe sounds really attractive. All that bonding with classmates and focusing on study...I'm not really an internship/job-hunting type of person.   

    International Development Applicants 2014/15 for SOAS, IHEID, LSE or Sciences Po?

    in Interdisciplinary Studies

    Posted

    I think student debt is a BIG consideration. As much as I would be inclined to say the same thing - I'll work it out... - it's hard to say. 140k in loans over two years (assuming you have no funding both years) for a job that will only get you 60-70k a year on average (these are numbers I've seen other people post about SAIS job placement) isn't that great. (This also doesn't consider people who can pay that out themselves without the loan). The networking at SAIS might well be considered a priceless venture, but networking in DC is very different than networking in Geneva.

     

    Ultimately, money aside, I think your decision rests on where you see yourself. If you're considering the private sector, or the American job market then SAIS will get you into DC circle and the name and rigor of the program itself suits the US job market. IHEID, on the other hand, gives you access to almost every major international organization (UN, WTO, etc...) so if you see yourself oriented towards a career related to those services, then it might be best to select Geneva. This is really only one consideration of many you should be thinking about though.

     

    I've gone to my advisors and professors many times to get them to tell me where I should go, where I should apply. When I started this process it came out of my now thesis advisor telling me on a whim in third year that I should consider graduate school during his office hours. I had never considered it and when it seemed like something I wanted to commit myself to, I had no knowledge on what suited my interests best. Funnily, none of them told me specifically that I needed to apply to a particular program or school (and I spoke about this with five of my faculty at least).

     

    Instead they worked me through a series of questions that made me think out loud about where I wanted to end up, what I wanted to do, bearing in mind the skill set I've developed. Ultimately I had to hear myself think on the spot about those answers - where do I see myself in five years? Do I see myself in policy analysis or in an academic setting? What side of policy do I want to work on, the domestic or international levels? And outside of that, there were questions about myself specifically that really got me to understand what I wanted (and sometimes they corrected me on what I thought I was thinking...some of these people really do know me better than myself). At this point as well, it's okay to not know where you're going to end up. There are definitely people who are aiming to work for a particular institution, or get a particular job. That's great. But if you have a general idea, that is the US or international institutions, I think that's a great place to start when it comes to your decision. If you're undecided on that front, then SAIS might also be a better fit because, as many people have mentioned, most of those organizations have an office in the US or DC in particular, and connections at large to them.

     

    Still, at the end of the day, wherever you pick and how you do is really up to you. All you need is one school to accept you. From there, what you make of that opportunity is ultimately up to you. Things don't fall into your lap because you have a degree from either institution, but they each have their own networks to consider.

     

    Hope this helps. :]

    Hi carefree! Sorry for the late response.

    Thanks soooooooooooo much for your reply. It's been truly helpful.

    I know money is a big issue, after all we are not in the ideal world where students don't have to worry about tuition. Luckily my family is willing to give me some financial support so I get to choose the one that i think would work best for me. 

    I think I'll go to SAIS eventually because the courses are more attractive. I'm not sure where i'll end up in, say, five years. Nor do i have a clear career goal. So I guess I'll go where this road takes me.

    I have to see that it HURTS SO MUCH to give up IHEID. I feel like a jerk who ditches his true love for a rich girl. :(  

    International Development Applicants 2014/15 for SOAS, IHEID, LSE or Sciences Po?

    in Interdisciplinary Studies

    Posted

    Most of us don't, because our campus is separate, we are allowed to take one course at UniGe, but no more etc. Many do use UniGe facilities, though! B)  IHEID kind of is its own little bubble in Geneva, we tend to be closer to the intern crowd than the general student crowd, since many of us intern at the UN while studying. I will say that there's completely different IHEID experiences depending on which program you choose. I chose IHEID over Oxford, JHU SAIS, Yale and Warwick, and changed from MIA to M.A. in IR/PS after arriving. I did not regret any of my choices!

    The difference between programs within IHEID is THAT big?!

    To choose IHEID over Oxford and Yale is kind of hard for me to imagine... :P

    Good for you not to regret any of your choices. i may have to choose between IHEID and SAIS, either way there is bound to be some regret. :(

    International Development Applicants 2014/15 for SOAS, IHEID, LSE or Sciences Po?

    in Interdisciplinary Studies

    Posted

    So well I checked my online application follow up status and well what do you know!

    ACCEPTED MDev :)

    Unfortunately no scholarship and it remains refused as yesterday which means it wasn't a technical fault. Nevertheless thanks for the support you guys!

    Guess I am the first one to know from the deferred applicants. Haha irony! Though I haven't received an official email yet!

    As for everyone else waiting I hope you guys get through with full scholarship!

    Loads of wishes :)

    Congrats angie! Anyway better acceptance than rej.  ;)  Sincerely hope the scholarship thing works out for you.

    International Development Applicants 2014/15 for SOAS, IHEID, LSE or Sciences Po?

    in Interdisciplinary Studies

    Posted

    70.000 USD for IHEID seems overstating things a lot, even if 1 CHF is 1.15 USD currently. IHEID itself says to budget 20,000 CHF/year, which honestly seems to grossly overestimate things.  I know I definitely did not spend as much while in Geneva!

     

    Also, rankings are a fickle thing, because IHEID is so small, so young (it used to be, and still is for some purposes part of the University of Geneva).

     

    I'm not saying to choose IHEID over LSE, because I think there can be a case made for each of these schools, just saying that I think the basis of comparison you brought up here is not very useful and even wrong!

    so do IHEID students consider themselves as part of University of Geneva? :rolleyes:

    International Development Applicants 2014/15 for SOAS, IHEID, LSE or Sciences Po?

    in Interdisciplinary Studies

    Posted · Edited by Yuanchen Cai

    In my case, I missed the housing deadline.

    I got the housing info email and everything, so i can't blame anyone haha

    just forgot about it.....

     

    And unsurprisingly, housing may be an issue in geneva...

    it's really hard to find good resources for housing, and many student housing and just housing in geneva have all their websites in French, and my grasp of French is very rudimentary....  

    Many IHEID students live in the dormitories of University of Geneva, which i'm considering applying. Certainly it's not as convenient since it might take 40-60minutes to get to IHEID but the neighborhood is very nice, all quiet and everything. The rent is about 200 francs cheaper too.

    i have no knowledge of French. i should really start learning now i think... 

    International Development Applicants 2014/15 for SOAS, IHEID, LSE or Sciences Po?

    in Interdisciplinary Studies

    Posted

    Cai, did you get your financial aid package ?

    No...I missed my chance to apply for financial aid :( By the time i knew i was supposed to upload an application for scholarship along with other documents it was already too late. No time for income statement and the like...So my priority now is to explore all the possible means for financial aid.

    I guess this why I received my result a little bit early. They don't have to take time to evaluate whether i'm qualified for scholarship. :unsure:

    International Development Applicants 2014/15 for SOAS, IHEID, LSE or Sciences Po?

    in Interdisciplinary Studies

    Posted

    Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Is that your first choice, or are you still waiting on other schools??

     

    Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    In my case, the admission module first gave me the decision, and the next day I received an email from IHEID.

    I'm sure you'll get an email soon, but since only an official email from IHEID is binding, you should contact IHEID if the email doesn't arrive in a couple days.

    thx!  hope i can receive the email today...

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