pyrhuss

Only somewhat related, but I send you a PM.

All of these are terminal Master programs that are in no way intended to prepare you for a career in academia. While it will certainly not be held against you, completing one of these programs will by no means work in your favor for a PhD or later academic career. If you already know you want to go down that path, I suggest you take another year, get some more research experience in a related job and apply for PhD programs during the next application cycle. In any way, I think that way you will save yourself some serious time and money. Unlike in Europe, you don't need to complete a Masters before entering a PhD program, that's why American PhDs take you 5-6 years.

Anyone heading to either Fletcher's or Jackson's Admitted Students Weekend and would mind sharing their impressions afterwards?

Anyone heading to the Admitted Students Weekend and would mind sharing their impressions afterwards?

Curiously enough, I'm in the opposite position. I got full tuition from Jackson, but I still haven't come around to convince myself of going to Yale over Fletcher/SAIS/Columbia who all offered me half-tuition, for many of the same reasons @MENAaddict mentions above: Particularly, I worry about the lack of dedicated faculty and real-world practitioners (besides the odd Senior Fellow who only teach one class each), a small to non-existent alumni network and small choice of IR classes since most coursework would take place in disciplinary departments or the other professional schools. At the same time, the overall Yale brand does appeal to me and it might be foolish to turn down such an offer. After all, every alumni I ever talked to pretty much recommended to go where you get the best funding and minimize debt. I'm an international student as well by the way.

You're not alone. I didn't hear anything either.

Strange, I applied to the same program and haven't received anything yet.

Did anyone hear from the International Development program? Also, what is the acceptance deadline you guys had in your letters? That might be a pointer towards funding or no funding.

Wow, congrats! May I ask what your other options are/were?

Which program did you apply to if I may ask?

GMT+2 and Fridays off? Doesn't leave that many countries ... you're not in Jordan as well by any chance?

If you log into ApplyYourself, what does it say about the date of completion? For some strange reason it says "Your application was completed on 3/9/2016 1:55:00 AM", so yesterday.

Anyone else who was admitted and was contacted by a 2nd year student? Yet, still nothing official or word on funding... it's kinda strange

You might want to take a look at this report compiled by the Hertie Student Organisation in 2014, which evaluates the MPP program against other established policy schools. It helps to get a bit of an inside perspective on where the school stands and where it is going. But that being said, all my friends there are extremely happy with the quality of instruction. Hertie seems to offer good value for money, and some of the people I know that went on to do the dual degree with SIPA even told me that - besides the Columbia name and a much wider course selection - they still felt they got a better education during their year at Hertie.

I'd be really interested if you could tell us a bit more about your (or second-hand) experiences with SAIS career services in Bologna and DC. How approachable are they, especially given the relatively large student body? What kind of services do they offer? Is it satisfying? How easy is it to reach out to Alumni to build the network for you job search? I'm also curious as to how much work experience the younger Bologna crowd can really bring to the table? And how that reflects/impacts class discussion.

Don't worry, you'll get an answer soon, I'm sure. Took them two months to get back to me as well, it's just a matter of luck whether you apply close to a scheduled admissions committee session or not. Scholarship decisions should also be out in the next two weeks from what I hear.

Check the application portal guys, my decision has been posted already. Haven't received an email or any word about aid yet however.

A couple of more things to consider: 1.) As far as opportunities for professional development are concerned, IHEID definitely has the upper hand as you would be spending two years in Geneva where there are tons of NGOs, Think Tanks and UN organizations around that offer part-time jobs and internships to students, including internationals. While I'm not 100% familiar with the employment regulations for Chinese students in Switzerland (NOT a EU member!), but I would suggest you call the school and talk to them about it. With SAIS, you would spend one year in Bologna, which is a great city, but does not offer a lot of those opportunities, and then the second year in DC, where, as a F-1 student, you would confined to a job ON campus (i.e. you could not benefit from the professional opportunities DC offers at all!). In general, European countries also seem less restrictive with employment for foreigners than the US. 2.) The most important thing to consider is what you want to do after you graduate. What field do you want to enter? With what kind of organization (domestic, international, multilateral)? Unless you're set on forging a career in the private sector, your income will be limited and you will not ear significantly (or even anything) more entering the job market with a SAIS degree rather than one from IHEID. It is true that IHEID is certainly better known in Europe, however, remember that this is a VERY (!) international school (much more so than SAIS which still tends to be somewhat US-centric) with graduates all over the world. I would not underestimate how well the school is known in relevant circles (certainly less so in the private sector). In general, I think the idea that you are gonna get a job just because you went to this or that school is completely misleading if you are comparing schools of that quality. What matters much more than the name is the quality and rigor of your education as well as are the connections you forge that help you land your first job. N.B.: I am not in any way affiliated with IHEID. I have friends attending both schools and both seem perfectly happy with their choices. I just want to force you to really ponder whether there is anything that justifies spending such an insane amount of money over a much cheaper, albeit not lesser school.

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!).

It sounds like the Pardee School at RAND should be a good match. I'm not super familiar with their program, but you should look into it, given RAND's strong credentials in the field of national security.

I just got a welcoming email from the MAIA director, but still no word on funding.

i would not jump to conclusions too quickly. I also got the May 1 deadline, but I think they might apply this deadline to everyone this year given that they had a couple of hickups throughout the admissions process and even extended their original deadline for fellowship considerations by two weeks.

@Ruella76, that is an amazing package from American (and SAIS, which is generally considered quite stingy). May I ask what your background/profile is?

I don't think it's a bad sign. They specifically said so last year when they also rolled out their decisions over the course of a week or two. I guess we just have to sit tight and see.

Nothing on my portal either