monocle

Im suspicious of trolling haha the two that got yes emails with one and two posts only? And the yes email at midnight? but maybe im just holding out hope.... Since i didnt get one

Well good luck to you wherever you go! I still think it's worth an email, though.

I think so. They said in the next few weeks they'll let us know about sources of possible funding, though. That being said, none of us without funding should decline outright. There are a lot of people who will reject their funding meaning it may become free (again just maybe), so I'm certainly going to ask for some more money when the deadline nears. Just be smart about it. If you don't ask, then it's definitely $0. I may end up asking two or three times just in case money frees up at the right time.

I got in too! Mine also says funding information will come in a few weeks, so probably didnt get anything. Very relieved though, first of my cycle!

Don't freak out now. We only have one to two weeks left. go watch some netflix.

^^This.

I definitely read through the bios of current students. There was one school I decided not to apply after reading through them. My main factors were clear employment data (to a lesser extent salary), debt burden, and location. One thing I see often that I didn't really put much thought into was school "culture." I don't really understand how Fletcher's culture is any different from SAIS culture. Or what the different cultures would mean for my academic and professional experience.. "warm, tight-knit" versus "large, diverse" type comparisons didn't really factor into my applications.

I just looked this up from last year's forum. It seems last year the YES! emails came out the same day as the rejections? or the day before perhaps. I too am hoping for next Thursday/Friday. I hope WWS used their leap day this year to make decisions come out a day sooner than last year!

Not likely based on the previous years' data. Don't start freaking out til the 10th or 11th. My prediction [not based on a lot of evidence] is that they go out in the middle of the week between the 13-17. Based on the AdComm's desire to keep people updated, I think there will be a blog post that comes out a day or two beforehand though saying "decisions to be out this week" so really don't start freaking out til you see something like that.

You could probably design a matrix in excel that weighted factors you deem important (employment percentages with breakdowns by location/organization, salaries, geographic location, etc.) and it would be much more useful for choosing schools than any rankings you could find on the internet. A lot of that data is on the programs' specific websites. For someone wanting to work her way up through elected office in Indiana, maybe University of Indiana would be ranked number 1. Personally, I think Princeton has the best combination of faculty, employment numbers, and low debt burden. It also seems that Wilson school graduates take more unique jobs after graduation (likely enabled by the no-debt thing), so that probably means fewer in big consulting groups and lower salaries. Once I am a student though, wherever I go I will probably tell people it is the best program.. haha

The beauty of the American university system is that you can choose your one-semester/quarter long courses. So, really at any of the IR programs, you could register in heavy economics/econometrics/quant courses outside the program and design your program that way The downside for you is that most of the best professional programs (as opposed to research-based) are two-years long.

let's all bring it back down a bit.. you're both right about some things. bsack is right that the name does matter. But the Michigan name is really strong, and is one of the top two best public universities in the country along with UC Berkeley (speaking of which, bsack you could check out Berkeley's programs). There actually is a sizeable amount of people who are applying to Ford--I know bsack wasn't talking about Ford--and they send 45% of their graduates to NY/DC/Intl, which is huge for not being in NY or DC. Anyways, I think something like 40-50% of people get into SIPA and SAIS (if you exclude PhD admissions rates), so it really does drop off after HKS and WWS in terms of selectivity. And Michigan's rate might be higher.. because after all it is a public university serving the residents of Michigan. I think part of the reason Ben414 wrote what he did was because bsack explained not wanting Michigan because it isn't an ivy/ivy-caliber, when probably the real reason is that it isn't based in the metropolitan areas that have the organizations for which you want to work. I think the other problem came with the semantics of calling it a safety school, by which you probably meant not a top choice, but you might consider applying. We know you haven't decided on anything yet, but it just feels wrong not to keep advising that the best course of action is to get work experience, so that you don't preclude yourself from the best quant-heavy IR programs. That being said, you're on the right track, and you probably don't even need a list of more than four or five schools.

I've had the dreams, too.. but I dreamt I got in. Which frankly made it hurt the next morning hahaha and probably again in a couple weeks

Shouldn't really be a problem. Go ahead and ask! Worst case scenario they say no. I would ask for an extension til the end of April and just explain that you are waiting to hear from other schools and financial information so you can make the best decision. You might even be able to get them to give you some tuition remission or something if you phrase it right.

You should try to see whether UChicago could sweeten the deal based on your other offers. Otherwise eliminate it, as Georgetown seems to have similar employment prospects and starting salaries with less debt. Not to mention being in DC might help you find internships/experience with advocacy/lobbying groups in case you change your mind. You certainly would save a lot of money at OSU or Wisconsin. Both are top-notch public schools. OSU says nearly half their MPA's go on to work in local/state Government. Wisconsin has similar numbers. Do you have connections there? or the desire to live there in case you change your mind about the PhD? While I went to a Big 10 school for undergrad, and they're all great academically, I think for the most part their MPA programs truly serve those in their states, which doesn't seem like the best fit for your goals (unless you want to do in-state advocacy/lobbying). Michigan's Ford school seems to be an exception sending 25% internationally, and another 20% to NY/DC.. but you didn't apply it seems. The last three are the most "prestigious" of your choices, and might afford the most flexibility in terms of job placement, so post back when you know about the admissions/financial situations of those three. Since you want to continue on to a PhD, you might consider following the money, taking a ton of econ/quant courses and doing well and cozying up to professors. But none of these programs are designed for those looking to go onto a PhD.

fisherman knot

This is what I thought my senior year of undergrad, too.. but man I feel extremely grateful that someone convinced me to take a couple years off. One thing is that my professors all told me to do grad school right away, while i was still young and things were fresh. But I think that was bad advice coming from a small group of people who have done nothing but be in a university setting. If anything, I feel smarter and sharper than I did when I finished. Ah, but I'm sure you'll be fine whatever path you choose. I feel bad for you that everyone is raining on your parade a little bit. I think the general consensus is that your reasons for wanting to do the two degrees are not very strong and that the Master's degree at Oxbridge doesn't really help your application as much as you think it will. Also you're really limiting yourself in program options not to consider non-IR programs and two-year programs with heavy econ. As a last word for me, as an employer I literally will not know how much quant you did in your degree based on what it was called, so definitely stop worrying about that. The way I will know is by asking you. And it wouldn't matter to me whether you audited those classes, took them for supplementary credit, or they were core curriculum classes. So, if you can do it all at Cambridge, I think that would still be the best option.

endless suffering

Holy shit, that is a big perk. Thank you for posting! Also I have questions for you. haha May I ask in which program you're studying? I'm most interested in UTokyo and Singapore. Is it true that most who apply to the programs get in? What are you looking at for jobs and salaries? How much work experience did you have before? My biggest concern is the employment aspect, above everything else. The experience (cultural and academic) seem amazing, which is why I'm interested. But like you said, there's precious little information about those who go through the dual degree programs (and what I'm most interested in is where they work, how many were empoyed immediately after graduation, and how much they make)

To be honest--and I've said this in a couple other threads--I don't really see the UK master's adding much to employability if there was no prior work experience (in any field even if unrelated). So, seeing two master's degrees without work experience is what raises the biggest question. I might see the two degrees as possibly being a dual degree program. I would definitely ask you about each experience in the interview. It doesn't really matter what the degree says. If your response was that you wanted more professionally-oriented, quantitative experience and thusly applied to the second, US master's. I might wonder why you didn't do that in the first place. But, when it comes down to it... having two master's degrees isn't a *bad* thing.. it's just that it raises questions and it's your answers that really matter. I think this is probably the best option. Then, you might as well try to get a job in PRA right after you finish your MA from Cambridge, because why not? During application season your profile won't really look any different than it does right now since you will not yet have the Master's nor any grades to show for it, nor new work experience. You should try the job market.

As someone who has done hiring in international development/human rights related field (albeit not the same as political risk analysis), I would not at first be able to differentiate between the two degrees.. It would definitely raise questions for me. Why do you need the two degrees? Getting the job will come down to how you frame those two different experiences during the interview and on your cover letter and resume. To your original question of which programs to look at: given that you're probably too stubborn to change your mind and do a two-year master's in the US.. the SAIS one-year MIEF does seem to be what you're looking for. You could also check out UChicago Harris's one-year MA in Public Policy, which is only for those who already have another graduate degree "designed for students who want to learn the fundamental skills of quantitative policy analysis." Stanford's IPS is somewhat of an enigma.. because it's so small, I haven't really found much information about it outside its website. It doesn't seem to be any more quantitatively focused than any other program. And it's been around for 35 years with only 700 graduates, which doesn't sound like the large network you are talking about. Though if you want the prestigious name, it wouldn't hurt. If you really are willing to do 2-years though, why not do the two-year at SAIS? Or apply to the MPA/ID at Harvard which is well known to be one of the most rigorous in quantitative analysis?

application season

I have not and am not applying to this school, but I happened across the topic and did some cursory research. Under almost all circumstances, I would recommend NOT attending this school. Take a look at their law school degree employment numbers where a whopping 46% of graduates are underemployed (32% unemployed). This screams "school in trouble," and I wouldn't want to be a part of the new Master's program they decided to open up to try to relieve the woes of their law program...

I think both schools are probably willing to forgive a quant score of 155 if you were able to explain how your score doesn't reflect your true ability. What are your other qualifications? Do you think you have unique, meaningful work experience? For both these schools especially, I think if they found a unicorn they wouldn't let it go just because it wasn't the best at math.

That's my general understanding.. Considering I will have been abroad for 2 and a half years, the only advantages I see are a head start on languages I plan to learn anyways and cool personal experience. From my encounters where I currently live, while it certainly helps to know the local language to get by, it is not necessarily an advantage for getting a job at one of the multilateral organizations or development organizations.