Figgamonda

IHEID has a huge advantage in that its located in the international district of Geneva with many organisations located right next to the school. So in terms of encountering and interacting with professional practitioners, IHEID beats the other schools any day.

LSE, Sciences Po, IHEID are all solid choices. Well-known schools within the field of IR and beyond. You have to think more about the overall reputation of the school than the subject ranking ie. development. Employers will never know how each school ranks in terms of development studies but they'll have a general feeling regarding the school. I think the most important thing is to look closely at each program and see which ones resonates with your goals and what you want. For example, LSE is more academically focused wheras IHEID is more practically based preparing students for future employment. At Sciences Po, you'd be taking classes that are shared with other masters programs.

I think that European Schools are increasingly wanting applicants with work experience. Remember that youre competing against students who have BOTH excellent grades and a lot of work experience. Its common for students who study in Europe to do there masters directly after undergrad, so if you take a year out, they might have slightly higher expectations in terms of work experience or how youve spent your year. Dont rely too much on excellent grades, although that is of course important as well.

MohamedAyman, you DO have a chance of getting in to IHEID. Whatever you lack in grades, you need to make up for it with a really strong personal statement and CV. I'm under the impression that the MDev program require slightly lower grades than the other programs, but I might be wrong of course. I was admitted to the MDev programme despite not having super good grades. I've worked very hard to attain practical experiences (internships) which I think weighed up for the slightly lower grades.

I also got accepted to the MDev! Looking forward to meeting you in Geneva in the fall!

I was accepted to the MDev today. I´m still finishing off my undergrad, so I think its important to highlight that they want people with a variety of backgrounds. My grades were alright (but definitely nothing special). However, I made my personal statement very simple and clear, telling them exactly why I want to study Development at the Institute. They are also looking to see potential in people. Those are just some of my thoughts.

Admitted to MDev!!!

Grad888, for me, the reason why I had to wait for the second round was because of my referees. I wanted a professor from last semester and he didn't know me well enough by mid-November to write a reference for me, especially since our assessments were all at the end of the semester. Otherwise, I definitely would've applied by the earlier deadline!

Thanks for calling them lorita! Guess we don't have to frantically check our emails for a couple days....or not I emailed them a couple days ago asking them about something, and they started the email with 'Unfortunately...' For a second there my heart stopped as I thought it was the application result!

Good luck guys!! Not too long now. Hopefully see you guys in Geneva in the fall!

It says the same on my application. My strategy is trying to forget about it, as we won't know until mid-March! But that strategy isn't working very well Best of luck!

I think there are a lot of private accommodation options in Geneva, with residents of Geneva subletting rooms in their house to students. Guess its best to start arranging it until after the decisions come out, which will probably be in mid-March. Got a while to go then! Has your application status changed to "Under consideration" yet? Applied to any other schools? Best of luck!

PBK, what are you applying for? And when did you send in your application for Sciences Po? I'm also applying there! Congratulations on getting in! Good luck to everyone expecting results in the next few days!

Congrats guys!! I sent in my application last week, so I probably won't here back until next year at some point. I had to finish it so that my referees could write the references, I have exams coming up and then its the holidays. Feels good to have it done anyways! You guys will probably here from them in December. Exciting! I did an internship last summer in Ghana. It was my first time in Africa and I really liked it. I'd love to travel more in Africa- Rwanda, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Angola etc. -- so many places! Ahh that makes sense that you want to go back then. Where in Switzerland are you from? I did a language course in Lausanne a couple years ago and loved it. I visited Geneva for a day, so I know its a place where I would love to live. I'm trying to not get my hopes up in case I don't get in though.

I'm Scandinavian, but lived a bit all over the place. Where are you from? I'm applying to Int. Dev. at Sciences Po, which also appeals to me greatly. I think the main thing is that I'm drawn to a Francophone country/region, as I really want to become fluent in French. Its always important to consider the place of the school when applying/ making a decision. Geneva would be such a great place to live! Having several schools to chose from would be incredible-- but I'm not counting on it! Hoping for IHEID!!

Thanks! My top choice is IHEID, closely followed by Sciences Po. I'd prefer not to stay in the UK-- but we'll see of course. I know, having just submitted I keep on evaluating my chances, but its impossible to know. That's also how I approached my SOP, but limiting it to 800 words was such a challenge. I used my CV as a platform to highlight things that I didn't have enough space for in the SOP. I lived abroad as a child and I'm currently studying abroad as well. I've had internship experiences in Africa and Central Asia, plus I did some volunteering in Eastern Europe. That's about it. I'm assuming you've had quite a bit? You'll have to post here when you find out from IHEID! And everyone else of course!

I hope you get accepted-- you were successful in the past, and having more experience now makes you an even stronger candidate. Will you apply for MIA at LSE and Oxford as well? From my understanding, Oxford places enormous weight on academics i.e. grades. That sounds amazing-- will definitely apply to SOAS as well! Do you think IHEID cares a lot about where one went to University, as the difficulty of attaining a certain grade will vary according to the University?

I'm studying International Relations and Psychology in the UK. I'm applying to Sciences Po and Leiden University but other than that I don't really know...considering LSE and SOAS, but I'm not a big fan of London, nor the enormous tuition fees lol. Since I'm going direct from undergrad, I can't apply to American universities, as they normally require two years of work experience. Grad888, where else are you applying? When you applied the first time, was it to MIA as well?

Sent in my application today! Even though its past the mid-Nov deadline, I hope I hear back from them by February. Don't know if I can wait until mid-March lol. I'll be finishing my bachelors in June and then hopefully starting my masters somerwhere, possibly at the IHEID if I'm accepted!! We'll see.

Glad that you've created this space! I'm applying for the MDev. Planning to send in my application at the end of the week. Anyone else applying for this? I read somewhere that the acceptance rate at IHEID is 30%, but I think it varies from program to program. MIA, I've heard, is very competitive. Good luck with your application!