SBL

98 cents USPS.... Maybe they sent internationals earlier than domestics assuming it would take that much longer for us to receive them.

I am in Europe and I have already received my letter. Dated March 24, it said the following: "Upon the recommendation of the Admissions Committee, I am pleased to approve your admission to the M.A. in Security Studies program, effective with the Fall 2010 Semester. A $200 nonrefundable deposit is required in order to ensure your place in the program. This deposit will be applied to your tuition upon matriculation. Your deposit and the enclosed Confirmation Form must be submitted to Georgetown University, Office of Graduate Admissions, Attn: Enrollment Confirmation, Box 571004, Washington, DC 20057-1004, by April 26, 2010. If applicable, please submit your check or money order in U.S. dollars, made payable to "Georgetown University". If there are any specific departmental or programmatic conditions of admission, you will be notified by separate letter. Please contact your department or program for information about advising, orientation, and registration. Congratulations and best wishes on your admission. We look forward to working with you in the fulfillment of your education and professional objectives. Sincerely, Timothy A. Barbari (Dean)." Quantic, I however have not received the admission packet you mentioned. It seems that came from the SSP whilst mine came from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Maybe GSAS are still mailing out their letters. It seems GSAS are responsible for official admissions notifications as well as details on deposits etc (it is GSAS that takes the money after all, not SSP). Pacer, it might be worth contacting the GSAS next week?

Are everyone's letters saying the deadline is April 15th? Mine says April 26th... Also it was mentioned in the online chat that funding decisions likely wouldn't be made until this week. The transcripts for the online chats are available on the SSP website. They aren't particularly easy to follow, but they answer a number of questions many of you likely have.

Well, I can't comment on the admissions decision processes of the schools you applied to and how your application was weighed - not my domain. What I do know is that I had a number of interactions with faculty at a number of schools that I visited where this appeared to be the case. I've worked professionally long enough to recognize disdain in somebody's eyes when I mentioned the potential policy relevance of my interests. Uncle Joe would agree with me(!): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/12/AR2009041202260.html

That was general advice to everybody, not specifically directed at you. Mentioning poli sci's relevance to policy can put you on a very slippery slope with some schools!

Well, I didn't apply to Brandeis....

Come on man, I'm not a troll

Don't write this in your personal statements!

"Foreigners" in State and the agency are naturalized US citizens. It's a requirement for getting the requisite security clearances. Therefore you need more than your generic H1-B. Maybe there are other arms where this isn't required (USAID?), but for intelligence and/or political roles this isn't the case. Where this doesn't always apply is in contracting, and usually assuming you are off-site (e.g. temporarily consulting the USG on say, Chinese military expenditure). Economics / finance is different because of the less sensitive nature of the work.

Private sector. Look up any number of private intelligence firms and private security firms with analytical components. Also political risk (and increasingly violent risk) analysis units within investment banks (both in research departments and in their global security offices) and within the larger insurance companies. Also strategy and security offices within energy firms. Anybody who has money riding on what is happening somewhere in the world and is large enough to require their own analytical arm. Of course this is all directed at IR students and comparative students with regional / area foci. Someone coming in with theory or methods will likely not be appealing (nat least not for this kind of role - the numerical competency of very good quant methods students will probably help open doors into all sorts of other areas of finance).

Personally I am very disappointed in this thread. Not so much you IRmiester (I understand the comedic appeal of rocking the boat every now and then even if I don't agree with it) - but certainly with some of the responses. Troll or no (and I have no reason to believe SP has lied in any way whatsoever), it has little material relevance. The only purpose this thread has served is to illustrate the competitive insecurities and snide gossiping I can expect to encounter when I eventually go to grad school.

a couple of UCLA rejections have gone up on the results page. Anyone claiming? Given it's not even 8am there yet, seems slightly dubious. But you never know...

Also accepted to Chicago CIR. I'd love to give it a go, but unfortunately have no money

Just noticed the poli sci board owned the February top 10 posters ranking haha

Official rejection from MIT - email directing me to website