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Great points, Poli92. My friends who work in the federal government or for contractors are making exit plans. A friend who works for a development consulting firm that has a lot of USAID contracts said the head of the company sent an email telling staff not to worry, they probably won't lose their funding for another year or so. Even for those whose jobs are not in jeopardy - working for a Trump State Department or EPA is a very different prospect than working for an Obama one.

Now that the US has elected Trump, everything is up in the air. This would not be the year to assume you can manage your loans with an IBR program like REPAYE.

I got money from all the programs I got into, including one full ride, and none of them had teaching requirements. I don't think TA'ships are typically required for MPP/IR master's students because they are professional programs and not academic ones. In terms of SAIS, the undergrad campus is located in another city and in terms of schools like Columbia, they have actual econ/poli sci PhD students to TA undergrad courses. In terms of how hard it is to get money...I think only 25-40% of students typically get scholarships from these kinds of programs, if I remember what I was told when I asked during the process in 2012-2013. You can call up admissions offices to ask for more current figures. But a scholarship can mean knocking 5k/yr off of tuition. Full rides are very rare. I can't say for sure why I got a good amount of money, but as I believe I referenced above I had pretty high GRE scores.

I graduated from a top IR program in 2015, and before that was an anxiety-ridden gradcafe poster under another handle (trying to retain a little anonymity here). Scrolling through these anxious posts on a lazy Saturday morning, I want to assure that it's not as hard to get into these programs as many gradcafe posters seem to think. I had a solid GRE, mediocre GPA, decent but not exceptional work experience. I worked hard on my essays and two of my professional recommendation letter writers definitely liked me a lot (although I never saw their letters), but I was a number of years out of undergrad and the academic reference I got was from a professor in a totally unrelated field who probably barely remembered who I was. I had never had a proper IR job, had never lived in DC. It was a mixed application. But it got me into Johns Hopkins SAIS with a hefty scholarship, and a number of other top programs most of which gave me money. This is not Yale Law. You don't need a 3.96 GPA from an elite undergrad and a 98th percentile GRE/LSAT. One of my good friends at SAIS once casually referenced being happy about having cracked the 50th percentile on the math portion of the GRE. I have a number of friends that came from no-name undergrads (and of course some from Princeton, Vanderbilt, Middlebury, Boston College, Brown, etc.). If you're looking for $$$, then you probably want to pump up your GRE scores and write the best letters you possibly can. ETA: Most gradcafe-ers are probably some of the top applicants to these schools. That's why when results season comes around, you'll see lots of posts like "I can't believe I got into X school with Y dollars!"

@charlemagne88 As others have suggested, your perspective makes more sense for an academic master's degree. For an MPA or MA in IR - which is what OP's post was addressing - it is off-base. One - you really only need one academic reference for these programs, the others can be professional. Two, most of the people I met who had scholarships were a little bit older (maybe 25-28 when starting) - I think largely because the school recognizes they will have better employment outcomes upon graduation, making the program look better and the alumni base stronger. My SAIS friends who have struggled the most to find meaningful, well-compensated employment have typically been those who went straight through from undergrad. Often they lacked the experience or maturity to qualify for mid-tier positions, despite their degrees. Remember, these are two-year programs so graduates who took no time off will be 23-25 at the end of the degree. Those who've gotten jobs are typically hired at the way lower end of the salary/title range, with the exception of a few brilliant people, which OP's post allows room for. I agree with OP - unless you are super exceptional, top of your class, never wanted to do anything except IR since you were in diapers, I would hold off a few years before applying. Even if that means doing an admin job or the like. @MaxwellAlum I'm surprised you don't feel your salary has been higher at all because of your experience. I work in the private sector, but my understanding that government salaries were calculated something like BASE + DEGREES + YEARS EXPERIENCE.

At SAIS at least there were a decent number of ex-finance people. I think SAIS has a major boner for quanty people so that be part of it.

Also, I think these salaries are a little optimistic, especially for a second-tier grad. I make a bit more than 61k, but I work in the private sector, graduated from a first tier school, and had some solid work experience before going back for my degree. I also had to negotiate for my salary. Getting those USAID jobs is quite hard, and getting those UN jobs is almost impossible. I have friends who work for USAID contractors, with the hope of eventually working for USAID, and they're making in the upper 40s and low 50s - and expect to do so for a few years. That kind of salary is quite hard to live on in DC even without a loan payment. I do have some friends who've gone abroad, but I haven't discussed salary with them too much.

In all honesty, if you're taking out loans to fund the entire degree at a second tier school, it probably is a bad financial decision outside of a few narrow circumstances where you can get the loans forgiven without a tax penalty after 10 years of small payments (i.e. PSLF). But going into grad school assuming that that's how you're going to deal with your massive pile of loans is not a good strategy, because 1) who knows how long the program will be around and 2) it's often challenging to get public sector jobs - the bureaucracy makes it a long process even for the best applicants (I know a PMF finalist who is still waiting for a security clearance more than a year after we graduated). Not only that, but what you think you want before going into grad school might not be what you want when you come out. That doesn't mean you shouldn't apply. Public sector or public sector-adjacent careers can be deeply satisfying, and you may be a better candidate for scholarships than you thought (I certainly was). But if your chief concern is financial ROI and you have a shot at a computer science degree then than that would probably be the wiser path for you.

I'm sure they care about the prestige of the institution where you did the bulk of your degree, but in my case I took some classes 3 years after graduating or so, clearly in preparation for grad school. I think they view that differently, and like the fact that you're making an effort to understand what you're getting into.

AAAAAAAA has made some great points. I think a LOT of it depends on what kind of program you can get into, and how much debt you'll have to take out in each scenario. If you go to an elite MPP program you can easily make 60-75 out the gate if you go in the private sector and have some work experience (and I have a few late-20s friends making in the 80s), but it's harder if you don't have prior work experience or want to go into non-profit land (where some of my friends are making in the mid-40s to low 50s). Also, the higher salaries tend to be in higher COL cities, so 60k might not stretch as far as you would think - especially if you have loans to pay. Post-law school salaries can be surprisingly low if you don't go into Big Law and if you're outside the T-14. My best friend from high school went to a top 30 school with a very good reputation in our home city (which has a big legal market), graduated in 2014 and it her 6+ months and a personal connection to get a ~$50k/yr state government job. And she did law review and had good grades. Another friend of mine graduated from Georgetown and it still took him almost two years to find a 60kish full-time job with benefits at a small private law firm (he was doing doc review and then an hourly/no-benefits position before that), although this was a few years ago so maybe more peak recession. I also have no idea what his grades were like.

Here's the thing with applying right away - if you have a good academic record you can get in. But unless you are exceptional (and a few 22-year-olds definitely are), you are going to have more trouble than your older peers finding a good job after graduation. You could very easily find yourself doing an internship for a bit after graduating, or applying for months only to get a 40k/yr "program assistant" position that could easily go to someone with just an undergraduate degree and 2 years experience.

You check something at some point saying "I would like to be considered for funding" but even if you were rich you'd be stupid not to check that. You can't even do your FAFSA until after most (if not all) of the apps are due, so they will have no idea of your personal background when making an admit decision. And yes, as MD guy said, everyone in the US can pay full freight technically speaking...which is another can of worms.

I did something similar and got money from everywhere I got in (including SAIS) so I would go for it.

Re: second-year funding... I was lucky to get funding in the first year that carried over, but for those who didn't, I believe there was a GPA cut-off to be considered for second-year funding. You could call the financial aid office to find out what it has been in recent years. There are also various scholarships and fellowships you can apply for. But I wouldn't base any financing decisions on second-year funding because my impression is that few people get it.

For the first semester, I personally would not recommend doing anything approaching full-time work. Even if your job's hours are reduced, if the duties are taxing/time-consuming it's gonna be tough. I worked part-time for all of SAIS (including first semester), but they were the kinds of student-y jobs where you could sit there and do your homework during down times, and where you could ask for a week off around midterms. One semester I did about 25hrs/week combined internship and job and it was hell (this was second year). But if you have the kind of job where you might have a free two hours in the afternoon to do some readings...or even space out and relax...that's a different ballgame. Also, people tend to take their quant courses early to use as pre-reqs for more interesting courses. If you were an undergrad econ major then perhaps this will be no big whoop, but many (myself included) found them challenging and will want to have the time to do study groups, go to office hours/TA sessions, etc. Also, I will echo the "why JD/MAIR combo" comments. It would be one thing if you have money to burn and just wanted the education, but if this involves loans I would say give up the IR degree if what you want is to become a lawyer, and take a few IR-focused electives. Or vice versa. I don't know anyone who did the combined JD (there were a number of joint MBAs/MPHs though), but I would recommend talking to someone who did that combo to get a sense of their experiences. In terms of debt - my total is around where you'd be without the undergrad loans, but I still find it a little burdensome. Not in an existential "why did I make all the decisions that have led me to this point" kind of way, but enough that I think about it a fair amount (as is evidenced by the fact that I'm commenting on gradcafe a year after graduation!). It makes what were once considered basic features of middle class+ adulthood - being able to afford a studio, saving up for a downpayment, saving up for a *real* vacation - a bit more challenging. I also have no faith whatsoever in any of the income-based repayment programs and am not participating, so whatever your attitude is towards those could make a difference.

I, too, am interested in where the OP attended grad school. As I've mentioned in other threads, I graduated from SAIS a year ago and the vast majority of my friends have full-time jobs in-field. They're not all perfect matches, but they're reasonable fits that will hopefully serve as stepping stones to something better. Some non-US citizen friends have struggled to find employers willing to sponsor them for visas, but most people in that category have gone into multi-laterals (with the World Bank being the top destination by far) or found jobs back home. What I will say is that I agree with the sentiment about debt. Even my friends with great jobs are struggling massively if they took the whole thing out in loans. Adulthood is basically deferred until they find a significant other who can bankroll them, or until they miraculously become a superstar like SAIS alum Wolf Blitzer -- definitely not the likely career outcome for most IR grads, and besides, I doubt Wolfie took out 140k in loans to get his degree back in the day. And the other disheartening aspect of taking out mega loans is that a good chunk of students at elite grad schools will have mommy and daddy footing the whole bill, and so you will have to watch as they merrily accept the sub-50k/year development job while living on their own in a luxury building near 14th and U. Meanwhile you're on the bus from your group house in Petworth, vowing to spend less money next month at the local watering whole where you go drown your sorrows with your other friends who complain about loans.

Perhaps a little harsher than my take, but I think the sentiment is correct.

2015 SAIS grad here. Yes, 100k in debt IS insane. I have about half that and still feel very stressed by my loan payment every month, even though I'm making just at the median private sector salary that SAIS publishes and got a job shortly after graduation, which I happen to enjoy greatly (i.e. I'm not itching to get out but feeling trapped b/c of my debt). I'm also a single 20-something with no kids and have a good family safety net. Alter any of those factors and the situation could be unmanageable. As it is, there's almost nothing left each month after I pay my rent (I live with roommates in a non-luxury apartment, btw), my loan payment, my basic bills, make a 401k contribution, and occasionally pay for a plane ticket to go to a friend's wedding or visit family during the holidays. I remember reading this thread and other similar ones when I was applying for the fall 2013 cycle. The warnings of other posters about the burdens of debt made a big impact on me and I'm so glad that they did, because I have many friends who took on 6-figure loans without thinking too carefully and I don't envy any of their positions right now. DC is a very pricey city if you're not already aware of that (it's a feat to pay less than $1000/month rent even with roommates), and while a lot of these IBR/deferral/forbearance/PSLF/whatever schemes can make the short-term situation bearable, when a massive tax bill comes due 10-25 years down the road it might not seem like such a brilliant idea after all. I really, really would advise you not to take out massive debts based on any of the following: 1) Getting your dream job right after graduation 2) Getting that rare, super hard-to-get consulting/MBA-lite job 3) Somehow not caring about living with roommates until you're 35 because IR is your PASSION (caveat being that I know there are a few people who really don't care, but you're probably not one of them) 4) Having all your debt forgiven by the government

Hi, I hope my response gets to you in time! It sounds like you've had a very successful application season, that's awesome! I'm sure you're going to be happy whatever you choose, but here are my thoughts: 1) I don't feel comfortable telling you to go to one school over another as I don't fully know your personal situation or future goals, but I will generally say that my decision-making came down to trying to find the best combination of funding and prestige. If you would have to take out loans to cover costs, I would proceed very cautiously. My friends who have six-figure loan burdens right now really feel that weight on their shoulders, even if they've gotten well-paying jobs for the field, and it's a situation to avoid if you can. 2) I don't think your income would be higher coming out of Harvard in the multilateral/development sector. For post-master's positions, these orgs tend to have very fixed salary bands with not much room to negotiate. You might get a bit of a bump in the private sector, but again, IR jobs tend not to pay that much in the first place, so it's hard to imagine getting something that would be enough to justify a huge extra loan payment. It's possible that Kennedy School grads have all kinds of extra connections that give them access to jobs that I don't even know about, but I couldn't really speak to that. 3) In the DC world I have found that the SAIS brand has carried me far. I think that SAIS grads often tend to compete for slightly different roles than MPP students from Georgetown might - I haven't really met people from that program in my professional endeavors, but that's because perhaps they're moving more into domestic-focused federal agencies and the like, or perhaps the non-profit world, whereas SAIS grads tend to flock to companies focused on defense, energy, finance, international stuff, etc. 4) This is an anecdotal estimate but probably 70% of my non-American friends who have stayed in DC post-SAIS are working at the World Bank right now. I don't want to say it's "easy" to get a job there, but with a SAIS degree, you are in a very good position to get an STC. In fact, some people I know used the World Bank as a back-up when they had trouble finding jobs in the private sector. Another bonus for non-Americans is that you don't have to worry about visa issues because Bank jobs use diplomatic visa which don't have a quota/limit. The quality of the positions varies though - some of my friends absolutely love their jobs, get to travel internationally on a regular basis, feel like they're doing meaningful work, etc., while some others are stuck in less stimulating roles or in unorganized departments. But that's just the Bank for you, not a reflection of where a SAIS degree gets you vis-a-vis other programs.

In my essays, I talked about the issues that mattered to me and how a SAIS education, including the quant and econ focus, could help me achieve those goals. Funnily enough, I completely changed what I wanted to do by the end of my second semester. But I do think it's important to show admissions that you have thoroughly thought through your post-SAIS plans to show that you are proactive, taking it seriously, a good planner, etc. Yes, now that I think about it, I believe they might be tearing down that building, probably for some fancy new condos. But there are still a lot of cheap gyms in the neighborhood - Gold's Gym, Washington Sports Club (which i think offers a SAIS discount), etc.

I just scanned through that thread and a few thoughts come to mind. 1) If you know you want to go into a high-paying field like management consulting, why are you getting an IR master's in international development? I don't pose that question in an accusatory way, but I think it's an important one to ask yourself. If you get an MBA, you will have on-campus recruiting by those firms and easily earn 6-figures when you arrive. I have friends who have gone from SAIS to a big consulting firms (including from the IDEV program), but they all start at considerably lower salaries - sometimes on-par with people with no master's. 2) I definitely have a few friends who have done IDEV and have found high-paying jobs -- but typically their positions have nothing to do with international development. The ones with IDEV-y jobs are typically making around 50k/year (and in some cases, 10-15% less than that). You can go on IBR, but you might not even be covering your interest payments at that salary level, and your debt will continue to grow. And honestly, at that salary, it could be hard to live in DC as a single person even if you had no debt whatsoever. 3) For those thinking that they are going to do loan forgiveness: A LOT of IDEV jobs are with private-sector contractors. Yes, PRIVATE companies will pay people less than 50k/yr in a city where it apparently takes 108k/yr to live "comfortably" (LINK) while expecting them to have a master's degree and multiple years of experience working abroad. You can do IBR, but your loans will NOT be forgiven at the end of 10 years You think you want to work for the government to get PSLF? Well the majority of my SAIS friends involved with the federal gov are working for contractors. This means that while they are getting paid similarly to feds, work in the same building alongside of feds, have fancy badges that get them access to fed buildings, etc., they are NOT eligible for loan forgiveness.

Not sure if you have been to DC or Dupont Circle in particular, but the neighborhood is right downtown with lots of amenities. There are a TON of gyms in the area -- which one makes sense for you is dependent on your price range, but many have student discounts or are just cheap in general (such as the Y as already discussed or Gold's Gym, etc.). There are a lot of doctors' offices and health clinics around, too, but the only annoying thing is that we get our insurance through a Georgetown plan, so the student clinic we have access to is a bit inconvenient unless you happen to live in the Georgetown area (which almost no SAISers do) and they don't prescribe birth control b/c of the Catholic thing. But with the insurance plan you're free to go to regular doctors (with more convenient locations and the willingness to prescribe birth control!), so I never found it to be a problem.

I found the econ classes manageable, although my worst grade at SAIS was in monetary theory! Most people tend to stress a lot, but then pull of a decent grade in the end. I think if you did econ in undergrad, even it was eons ago, you'll be fine. There were maybe 4-5 people in Bologna who failed micro in the fall and had to re-take it in the spring, but this was out of a class of ~200.

I think an important step is to have a strong idea of what your salary will be coming out based on the specific kind of work you want to do and not just based on the grad school's stated averages. I went to SAIS, and their private sector average salary is something like 68k/year coming out. I happened to earn right near the median, but I have some friends who landed jobs with consulting firms and are making way more than that, and some friends who are working for privately run "international development" firms who are making way less. So if you took out a bunch of loans to go to SAIS with the idea that you're going to make 68k working for a private company focused on international development, you might be shocked to discover no one will pay you anywhere near that for an entry-level job in that field.

Yeah, I think smaller class sizes (both in terms of the cohort and individual courses) can make a difference, as does the department's staff's administrative/organizational capabilities (are there lots of talks/panels by outside experts, brown bags with faculty, organized study trips, etc.). For example, Energy Resources and Environment (ERE) is the biggest concentration I believe, and they have some amazing classes and professors, but i think it can also be easier to get lost in a crowd, and some ERE students complained about certain classes being oversubscribed. Contrast that with European studies or Latin American studies where core classes can have 12-15 people in them, not to mention electives -- almost all concentrators are on a first-name basis with the department heads, which is probably only true for a handful of ERE students. Smaller cohort size means you are competing with fewer people for (partially- or wholly-funded) study trips. But I don't think the the only reason you should pursue a concentration are the "perks." Some of my friends who are happiest with their concentration are Strat concentrators. Strat is one of the biggest concentrations at SAIS, and some classes are hard t to get into and competition for study trips was fierce. But for people who are interested in defense and intelligence, the faculty and the course selection and the broader connections of the department to those industries is absolutely worth it. So I think at the end of the day I think it's important to balance all of these different wants and needs. There's opportunity to change your concentration after you start SAIS in most cases (I think entrance into IDEV is restricted), so i would just make sure to be paying attention and asking questions when you arrive to figure out what's the best fit.