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007

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  1. Scholarships from my home country plus some money from SAIS. But given the current exchange rate €/$, it might get more expensive than I thought. Let's hope for a return of the Euro If it's worth the money entirely depends on your career aspirations and personal debt situation. For me, it wasn't. But if SAIS will be your last degree and you don't have too much past debt, it could be ok to borrow the money. I think you could go for a deferral. However, that does not help you with financial aid next year as long as you don't significantly improve your cv within the year. If you reapply, it think it is quite likely that you will be accepted again. Good Luck!
  2. I decided for SAIS now. After giving it some thought, I was convinced that I should take up the privilege of almost full funding now instead of postponing the whole thing. SIPA might have offered the ideal package for me but SAIS is still a fantsatic choice, and for IR as such most likely the better one. As I posted in some other thread, one tends to get lost in an internal debate over prestige and name recognition. In the end, SAIS is THE top IR school although not being at an ivy uni and that should be the only argument worth counting. Anyways, thanks a lot for your input!
  3. I have had a similar decision to make between SAIS (with big, almost 100% stipend) or a SIPA application in one or two years. Although SIPA and the city had been my dream for long, I have decided to forget about a later application and take what's being offered. I came to the reason that such an offer is an enormous privilege which one should be proud of and which will justify any decision where to go for graduate studies. Interestingly, people on the forum reacted in a similar way, i.e. questioning my mental sanity. And you know what: They were right! One tends to get lost in the inner discussion about prestige of schools, ivy-brand and so on. But in the end, you'll get a fantastic program at an evenly fantastic institution (which is much better than many ivy schools!) for a fantastic price (or non-price ). So go for it!
  4. I think it depends. If you want quant training and more course options, choose SAIS! If you just want a short, specialised academic course, take Oxford. So, what's your background and what are your goals in terms of jobs or personal academic fulfilment?
  5. I think you would need some work experience first. WWS seems to be particularly focused on public commitment, so I'd suggest you try to find something adequate, work some 2-3 years and then apply to WWS. Unless if you are dead set on going to WWS. Otherwise, I would try and apply to schools like SAIS and hope for admittance without work experience (that is what I did, also escaping 6 years of law).
  6. Future MA, I had similar thoughts like you but in the end, I didn't even apply to LSE. The LSE is a good institution with an equally good brand name. However, the school has the habit of putting together a few courses and creating a new Master's degree every once in a while. To me, these courses lack a sound structure and differentiation from other courses. In the end, people graduate with uncountable Master's degrees from a comparably small institution. To me, that is definitly not appealing and when talking to current and former students, they confirmed that one tends to feel lost in the multitude of courses. Nevertheless, LSE is very good if you want to go into the private sector as most European banks or companies will know the school somehow. It is also preferable if you want a more academic-oriented degree. SAIS will be more practical (it's a professional school) and students there will be older than in London (with the exception of the European Bologna students). SAIS, on the other side, may not be as well known in the private sector. However, the school offers many options integrated into one degree and thus enables students to pick a variety of courses which may not be combined in an LSE class. It gives you a solid economics training plus development classes. Moreover, when graduating from SAIS, you get THE SAIS M.A. degree which comes with some brand value. The administration will pay much much more attention to your concerns and you will be part of one SAIS community (as opposed to many anonymous LSE co-students in 2400 different courses). That was decisive for me. American schools like SAIS care much more about you, have better facilities and simply offer more for your money. This even compensated for the potential lack of name recognition in the private sector for me. Other than that, London is the cooler place in my opinion. For IR people, DC might be better but I personally don't care about the IR quality of a location. But still, SAIS is the way to go!
  7. Thanks! Which school will you attend? And are you French (as your info says Paris as location)? Would be interesting to know about the recognition of the programs and SAIS particularly in France.
  8. From your remarks, it seems to be somewhat implied that SIPA has a better shot in the private sector. As I am thinking of forfeiting my SAIS admission and instead applying to SIPA in two years, would you say this is reasonable? I am particulalry concerned about the IFEP concentration at SIPA and its potential advantage over SAIS in terms of entry into the financial industry. Any more advice?
  9. Thanks again for your input. I was just checking out the employment statistics of last year from both SAIS and SIPA. It somehow occurred to me that SIPA tends to place more people into the bulge bracket banks. As this is one potential career path for me, I am somewhat worried that SIPA in fact is the better place for finance-related jobs. Do you think this is unjustified?
  10. At least this is my perception. The name Georgetown will somehow be familiar to people, but they wouldn't necessarily associate it with any stellar IR program. SAIS might be better known due to the amount of Germans graduating from the program each year and going into the private sector. However, when it comes to brand name, nothing will beat Harvard/Yale/Stanford.
  11. I have had smiliar thoughts before applying to IR schools. I would say that both prepare quite well for a career in the private sector. A friend of mine who graduated from MSFS confirmed that many of his classmates went into consulting or finance. The term Foreign Service is somewhat misleading and should rather be seen as a brand name. The only remarkable difference at SAIS is the opportunity to focus more on economics and / or finance. This has been decisive to me but may not serve as proof for its better preparation for the private sector. On the other side, Georgetown will offer a decent campus and university life and a smaller class, making it a more intense experience. In Germany, I know quite a few people that graduated from SAIS and now work at places like McKinsey, Booz, Bain or BCG. So I would think it is acknowledged over here for providing a good education. It may have a slight edge over G'Town in that sense, but this might only be a result of many many more Germans graduating from SAIS than from the MSFS.
  12. No, I haven't applied for jobs so far but wouldn't think of this to be a major problem. You might be right about the more sophisticated type of jobs that I would be doing after the MA degree. Never really thought about this...
  13. Thank you for the advice you have given. Although it might seem arrogant or strange, I am truly facing the difficulties I have described. However, I do understand that for other people, only getting into SAIS is the main concern. I would say that Columbia is much better known in Germany than JHU. I wouldn't be honest if I'd deny this to be one (among many) reasons why I face this internal decision process at all. In Germany, everyone will know Harvard, and some may know Yale or Oxbridge. MIT certainly not. Berkeley maybe (although I always wonder why it has got this outstanding reputation). Columbia will be partially known because of its location and ivy-league-affliation. JHU is more or less unknown (deducing from the look on people's face when told where I might be heading). The Columbia name might open doors to me in the professional world. I cannot really figure out what the advantage over SAIS would be, but I know that people connect it to the ivy-thing / business school, so that brand name might be an issue, particularly in the financial realm. My focus is economics, economic policy and finance. Both schools somehow focus on this, while SIPA would enable me to take classes at the business school. I have thought of the alternative of a later Columbia-MBA. However, this will take another two years and if I'd want to do a MBA at all, I could also do it in one year in Europe. In general, it seems to me that turning down the SAIS package could be a serious mistake (which you all have more or less confirmed), but the idea of being in NYC after some WE is slightly tempting as well. Just out of curiosity: Is there a comparable brand name difference between the two institutions in the US as I face it over here?
  14. Hey people, I am facing a difficult decision: I have been admitted to SAIS (Bologna-DC) and will be able to go there for free (I will even get paid some money per month). However, I have always been fond of the idea of going to SIPA (love NY, love Columbia) but I would need some work experience and would have to apply there in something like two years time. What would you do? Should I forfeit my scholarship for SAIS and apply to SIPA in two years after getting some professional experience? Or should I take the money and the opportunities given by SAIS? This also given the fact that my chances to obtain another schlarship in two years might not be same. My ultimate goal is to work in the private sector, most likely in the financial sector. I would be glad for any help on this. Regards, 007
  15. Hey there, does anyone of you have some sort of experience with Columbia SIPA's financial aid? From what I have read so far, the school does not seem to be very generous for first year students but does offer grants for the second year. Do you have any kind of more detailed knowledge? Best, 007
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