WinterSolstice

My guess is you could possibly take it without fear of it really dinging your GPA? If it's just a pass/fail, if you pass, you're probably good to go? That's only a guess though. I suppose the real benefit would be taking it with the rest of the incoming class, making connections, friends, and also identifying who is good at econ and can help you later on down the road for the other econ requirements.

Agreed. If I were to do italian prep, I would do it before I left and study it on my own. I'm fluent in french, so I can't really imagine italian being too too hard, or a pre-term course in it worth the money. Econ could be worth it though. The pre-term econ fulfills the econ graduation requirements, right? so it would definitely provide more options, whereas I couldn't really justify taking italian.

@IA+Math: From my impressions of the schools, MSFS seems to churn out a lot of state department/diplomat types. While SAIS is very business/econ heavy. The schools are both big enough with enough resources to allow students to explore other options, of course. But it has always been my impression that's what they specialize in.

@joseon4th. I think that's a really apt way to delineate the schools. SAIS is definitely very flashy and well-marketed. They go for the hard sell, and I'll admit for me it was hook, line and sinker. I think at the end of the day, it depends on what someone is looking for. I'm looking for a concrete, established program that would offer practical skills, but in an IR context. And SAIS is probably a little more in line with that, despite being a more rigid program. I will say though, the program has a lot of similarities to an MBA. It seems to fill a niche for people who are interested in economics and trade, but in a political policy framework. Which could be good or bad. But anyway, in terms of MSFS, the community feel and individualized aspect of the program is a huge bonus. It's one of the things I'm a little dubious about with SAIS. It feels like the student body is very driven and ambitious and probably compete for resources and attention from professors, career services, etc.

I honestly can't really speak to GW very much because I left early. I will say that before I went to the open houses, GW was my top choice. I got into their IDEV program, and it has a designated gender and development studies concentration. So it really seemed like it would be ideal. At the open house, the only thing the Dean really talked about GW's location. Really kept harping on being across the street from the World Bank, but without really mentioning if students are ever able to obtain work there. He seemed surly and uninvested, to be honest. He also went on to list types of people he thought wouldn't do well there, such as people who may want to get a phd, or people who aren't ready for a "serious commitment". It was all very patronizing. The whole atmosphere was very uncomfortable and awkward. Some people brought their parents. It seemed a bizarre mix of kids fresh from undergrad and 40-somethings looking to get a mid-career masters. The following panel was a person from admissions, a person from academic advising, a person from the career center and I believe someone from student affairs. The career center person seemed clueless. The person from student affairs was actually a recent GW Elliott Alum, who started working at GW. She joked how she used what she learned from a negotiation/conflict management class to negotiate with her landlord. It just seemed like a cash cow program. I'm sure it's really great for some students, but it's just not the program for me, which is incredibly disappointing. But bringing it back to SAIS, you and others have mentioned hoping for second year funding. Do you happen to have any idea on the stats for the number of people who get second year funding? At open house, financial aid was pretty tight lipped about it. I think they only thing they really spoke to was that the top 30% almost always receive "some sort" of second year funding. Which is about as vague as you can get!

I was in a similar situation. I went to the GW open house and left before lunch even happened. It just seemed so...flimsy? Like a fluff program? I don't know. Definitely didn't help that some people brought their parents and the presentations weren't that good. It didn't seem like a good investment to me. But I hear you regarding the SAIS debt thing. If I go to SAIS, I'm looking at 80k debt, if I am particularly unlucky in terms of securing second year or additional external funding. I think it's probably a big reason why a lot of SAIS grads end up going to the private sector. It's the only conceivable way to make a significant dent in the loans! Edit: @IA+Math - what in particular made you feel that the SAIS career services was weak? I don't have MSFS for reference, but I left the SAIS open house feeling satisfied with career services.

Good to know I'm not the only one in this situation. Mostly I'm thinking about things in general terms of what the value of brand name is, how these schools compare and what would be most useful in terms of where I want to go. I have a friend who is at MSFS at the moment, and he actually dislikes it immensely because it isn't a good fit for what he wants. So it's of course not simply a question of branding. I'm simply trying to assess the sitaution at the moment and determine how much better of a school is SAIS versus GW. The decision I came to weeks ago was requesting a deferrment from GW, as they seem to be far more flexible than SAIS, and taking time to save up more money, and if I'm feeling ambitious, apply to SAIS again and see what happens. In terms of what I want to do, however, I think GW is really an ideal fit (and being cheaper is just a bonus). They have so many opportunities to focus on gender and development, which is what I want to do. They have more diverse options for study abroad than SAIS, which is very important to me. I'm personally just getting hung up on the brand name of things and my own ego. I'm working on it. Anyway, I hear a lot of people saying they're just going to bite the bullet and do SAIS even with no aid and hope for second year funding. I would be interested to know how that pans out. I haven't heard any concrete statistics on that kind of thing, and looking further down the line, SAIS is not nearly as detailed with their employment statistics as GW (at least in terms of what's online). With SAIS being so expensive, does it REALLY help you get consulting jobs? I wonder if it's truly worth the price sticker to people. Not to mention I imagine there's a pretty serious spread between how much money the IDEV people make and how much their IR program people make. At the end of the day, it's about the individual tolerance towards debt, but I do wonder if in terms of salary gains, if one name makes a difference over another, and how much of a difference that is.

That's a question i would love the answer to as well and one we'll probably never get. I see a lot of people on here insist that if you work to make your GRE a killer score and you have a good GPA then you will get aid. But every person I've actually talked to has said it's pretty random and that MAs are usually pretty poorly funded and first years almost always get shafted. But it would be interesting to find out regardless. I thought having gotten into SAIS, that I was pretty sure to get aid from GWU (which, don't get me wrong is an amazing school, but it's not SAIS), but it wasn't the case. So I wonder if I was particularly unlucky in aid or particularly lucky in admissions. Because say I do go the route of deferring and working on my applications, I don't really know if that will necessarily yield more aid.

@azuljen, that's a good point. How you use savings definitely makes a big impact on the final balance. Looking at the schools you were accepted into, I'd be curious about how you're weighing the options. Do you consider, SAIS, for example, worth going to considering they didn't give aid (which is my situation with them)?. Getting an MA in this area, it's pretty much a necessary evil to take out loans. I'm interested in knowing what amount of loans people consider to be an acceptable level, and how much a "brand name" is really worth. What are your thoughts?

Hi all, I noticed there weren't any threads addressing this topic, so sorry if this is taboo or something! As everyone is finalizing decisions now, I'd love to hear people weigh in on the realities of paying for an MA. What do you all consider to be an acceptable amount of debt? How much do brand names matter? I personally did not receive funding, and I imagine there are others in similar situations. I feel like I'm some kind of statistical anomaly to have gotten into SAIS, but have gotten zero funding from Elliott or LSE, which are typically viewed as lower ranked schools. But anyway, how is it factoring into your decisions? Is anyone paying full-freight with only loans? Deferring and then re-applying? Would love to hear some opinions!

@Ruella, I agree with all your thoughts on France. When I lived in France, I didn't really have a problem with how the education system was run, but I think you're right in that it would limit me professionally. I do like the GWU has an opportunity for study abroad. That's one major downside that I see with SAIS. It is pretty rigidly structured, and given I know I want to focus on gender and development, going to SAIS seems a little limiting. @The Woodsman, On the subject of SAIS, I agree that this board seems to be rabid for it. And I mean, I get it. It's up there, but you're also right that at this level, going to SAIS or GWU isn't really going to fundamentally change your career prospects. I think by this point, the experience on your resume is probably going to be a bigger factor, and the fact that GWU puts so much of an emphasis on professional experience might be a plus in this instance. But at the same time, I wonder if the quality of education would be better at SAIS. I'm still pretty torn.

They are definitely pretty tight lipped about this. I spoke with the Director of Admissions and he said my request was being reviewed, but not much else. I've heard mixed reviews about the Bologna campus, so I guess they wouldn't exactly make it easy for students to jump between the two campuses.

I think for me, I've narrowed it down to GWU Elliott or SAIS. Professionally, LSE would not be as useful. Sciences Po is a great school, but its usefulness is pretty much limited to France. I would like to move back to France eventually, but I don't think it's worth going to a school that would essentially limit my options. It's not completely off the table, but in terms of price and return on investment, it's not worth it. So that brings us to Elliott or SAIS. @TheWoodsman, what are your feelings about Elliott? I appreciate how transparent they are about their employment numbers. They seem to be far more open than SAIS is (SAIS's lack of details kind of throws up red flags for me). What are your thoughts on SIPA? At the end of the day, it really comes down to money for me. I would rather SAIS, definitely, for it's reputation. But is it worth the money? I'm beginning to think no. Had I received aid from them, I would almost certainly go there. In any program rankings, Elliott and SAIS are both top 10. I would rather go to number 1 than number 8, but when we're looking at schools at this level, I don't think it makes a considerable difference in salary or employment options (unless you're in SAIS for IDEV and want to work at the world bank). As someone who applied to SAIS for IR, I can't really see it being worth it. Yet, I'm still hesitant. Right now, I'm considering deferring with GW, retaking my GRE and seeing what shakes out that way. If upping my GRE and re-applying would get me more aid from SAIS, then I would probably end up going there.

I also contacted the admissions office regarding this request. They said it's granted only in very rare circumstances, so we'll see. I was only assigned to Bologna for the first year, but I feel it would be completely unhelpful for my professional development goals. My selected concentration was international law and organizations, and Bologna should for all intents and purposes be great for that. Except for the fact that I've already spent the last two years working in an international law firm and building up contacts and professional development opportunities. Going to Bologna for a year would take me away from the internship and professional dev. opportunities I've cultivated through work contacts in nyc and dc. I doubt the request will be granted, but we'll see.

I'm in the same situation, actually. In your case though, given you have a job lined up in DC, do you feel you'd be able to maintain it and attend classes at SAIS? If it's a full-time job, that might be pretty difficult, as I don't think SAIS courses are all in the evening like at Elliott.

Thanks for the info, @kb6. And yes, I am American. I have a decent amount saved up, but certainly not enough to cover the entire cost. In terms of being able to afford SAIS only if I receive funding in the second year, I will have to take out loans regardless, unfortunately. I recognize that as the reality of my situation, but I'm trying to make as informed a decision as possible, especially given that I haven't received funding from what I would consider to be slightly lower ranked schools. So any additional info you have would be great!

@xenophobics. No funding either, from any of the schools I applied to. Kind of surprised to be honest (at least regarding Elliott). Makes the decision between SAIS and GWU pretty interesting, because while I could see myself paying full freight for an institution as respected as Johns Hopkins, somewhat less certain regarding GW.

Depends what you plan on using the degree for. For government work, your salary will be the same regardless of where you went, so taking out loads of debt for it wouldn't be worthwhile.

Thanks for answering all these questions! I was also accepted to SAIS with zero funding for 1 yr Bologna, 1 yr DC. Do you feel the Bologna students were able to integrate with the DC students? Also on the subject of funding, you mentioned that you felt that the SAIS degree wasn't worth the full freight price. Do you feel it's uncommon for students to receive funding in their second year?

@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.

On the subject of GW funding, does anyone have a sense of how generous they usually are with funding? I know some schools, such as SAIS, are more on the stingy side, but where does GW fit in terms of giving out aid?

Alrighty, I just called and spoke with admissions. Funding info is not on the admissions letter. Funding award information will apparently be sent out next week.

For a career in policy development, probably AU given it's in DC. Do you plan to get a PhD? If so, LSE could be a good choice. A lot of more advanced think tank positions require a PhD, but if you just wanted to do policy, the connections at AU would probably be more useful. A big part of it is what school you feel is a good fit though.

Nothing yet on my end. Is it possible that it's being sent via snail mail with the info packets? Because I've heard literally nothing so far. My guess is things could be held up because they extended the deadline for fellowship/aid consideration, but so far no word.

Okay, so let me start by saying I have a very clear idea of the field I want to go into. My specific interests are global gender issues within a development context. I have gotten into a number of good programs, but I am currently agonizing over what would be a good fit, especially because I have not ruled out later getting a PhD. I've been accepted into SAIS, one year in bologna, one year in DC for their IR program, with a concentration in International Law and Organizations. I really love the academic feel of it, and of course, the reputation. However, it is pretty quant. heavy, and I want more of a balance. Also it seems a very rigid program, and I would like to incorporate more of a gender aspect than the program seems to allow, despite having a heavy human rights focus. The biggest issue is of course money. I did not receive funding, and this is mad expensive. I am still not convinced that it is worth the money, though we'll see if the accepted students day wins me over. I have also been accepted to Elliott for the IDEV program, and it seems to be a good fit. There seems to be a lot of flexibility and opportunity to focus on gender development issues. They also have the Global Gender Program, which seems to be very plugged in to the issues I want to look at. I have no received word on funding yet, but the opportunity to work while in the program could potentially counter balance it. However, it is so professionally focused. Would I be shooting myself in the foot if I wanted to pursue a PhD? It doesn't have a dissertation component, just a capstone project. If any current students could chime in on the ability to find a professor to sponsor a dissertation project, that would be great. And while GW is a strong school, it does not pull the same reputation as SAIS. Would this hurt me down the line if I applied to a PhD program? Or am I letting my own ego affect my ability to look at this objectively? Not to mention I am dubious about the professors in the program. Most don't seem to publish very prolifically and don't seem to necessarily have a lot of connections with the big development organizations in DC, but I'm only going off the faculty profiles, so it's hard to say. And finally I got into both LSE and Sciences Po for international development. LSE is a one year program, and I am unsure of its ability to fit with what I'm looking to achieve, and Sciences Po, while very well regarded in France, may ultimately limit me back in the US. Sorry for the wall of text. Is anyone else dealing with a similar conundrum? Thoughts?