Colocho

Not to disillusion people, but the financial aid office told me that they award more than they actually have, figuring that people will turn down offers. The readjustments that they do are for a few k, and wont be substantial increases. I told them I had another offer for full tuition and they pretty much told me to take it.

You and I are in almost identical situations! Fletcher has given me a bit more funding though. I'm curious how you got to need only 65k in loans from fletcher with 20k in scholarships... by my calculations the total cost of the MALD degree would be about 110k, including room, board, books, etc. I'm excited to see people's input here. Yale doesn't seem to be as highly regarded professionally at Fletcher, and the Jackson Institute is relatively new. But it's Yale we're talking about--so that counts for something! I wonder how employers would react to degrees from each institution. Yale's small cohort seems to be an advantage as well. Overall I don't think that Yale is a good choice unless you know exactly what you want to do and how you plan to do it--the curriculum is very unstructured, and MUCH more flexible that fletcher's. Coincidentally admit weekend falls on the same dates for both institutions. Will you be attending either? And if you don't mind me asking, why did you say no to SAIS?

Anyone else offered a travel stipend to visit campus for admitted students weekend? Wasn't planning on going, but I'm now reconsidering!

Everyone is finding out about financial aid! Anyone admitted to SAIS Europe hear anything yet?

Not to hijack the thread--but I was also admitted to Bologna and received an email saying that financial aid was still under consideration. Did you also get this email, or did they provide you with additional information in your acceptance email?

I can't justify spending that much on a master's degree with a low ceiling for potential future earnings... but I'm in the same dilema. Haven't heard from SAIS about $ yet but I don't expect them to match Fletcher's offer, which would leave me 80k in debt upon graduation. Curious to know what others think about this!

FAFSA is not the same as financial aid. FAFSA is for federally subsidized loans, your scholarship from SAIS, if I understand correctly, has nothing to do with that.

Same here, a scholarship is nice but I'm not convinced that this degree is woth $80,000+ in loans.

In with a partial scholarship.

In a follow up email from the Bologna admissions office 10 minutes after the acceptance email.

The acceptance emails came from the Bologna campus right as the workday ended. I'm sure DC emails will come shortly! I'd also speculate that if your email hasn't come yet that you've been placed at the DC campus.

Why not? Honestly for me the only way I'll attend is if financial aid is very generous. Here's hoping that we both receive good news in a couple of weeks! Applied for the MA, and will be attending open house in DC on April 6-7th. Hope to see some of you there!

Didn't do an interview, but I'm confident about my chances. It all comes down to financial aid at this point. Good luck to all!

Emails are out! I'm in at SAIS Europe! No news on financial aid however. Hopefully we'll hear more this afternoon. EDIT: No further financial aid news until the week of the 21st!!! UGH! Anyone else in the same situation?

The student who was assigned to you is probably busy. Don't worry, you're already in! The hard part is over! I applied from abroad and would be surprised to get an international call from a current student... Would greatly appreciate if anyone who does speak with a student/admissions could share info! Did you all already reply to the initial email?

Just got the rejection email. So it is, at least I've got a solid plan b!

Except for loveglove's friend (which could possibly be an international application?). Either way, it's all speculation... The only thing we know for sure is that there are more emails to be sent out!

Yale Jackson sent out emails to admitted students a day or so before the rejections went out. I'm assuming that this is the case here too.

Accepted as well! Absolutely shocked! Definitely headed to open house in a few weeks. Did anyone hear anything about scholarship money? My email didn't mention it at all.

Who else is putting the finishing touches on their policy memo? I feel pretty good about my topic and how it relates to the rest of my application. However WWS is very vague about what they're looking for in the memo. I'm particularly curious to know how others are approaching formatting. The WWS website states: Structure. The format of a memo should enhance its readability. It is not written as one lengthy essay. Rather, it is divided into sections, with headings that identify the content or major point of each section. Each paragraph should begin with a significant point (the “topic sentence”), to be supported or expanded upon in the rest of the paragraph. Each major point should be the focus of a separate paragraph. Do not “bury” major themes in the middle of a paragraph. A typical memo may include the following sections: Description and significance of the issue or problem you are examining. Evidence of the scope of the issue. Factors contributing to the issue or problem. Recommendations or conclusions about the issue. Counter-arguments against your position. Rebuttal to counter-arguments. Implementation issues for any recommendations (i.e. political, economic, environmental, technical, etc.). I feel like all of these elements are incorporated into my memo, but I don't explicitly use each recommended bullet as its own section. Other examples of policy memos that I've seen online typically have 3-4 sections. 7 Seems like a lot. How are others approaching this?

Program: MA in IR, MPA School Applying to: WWS, SAIS, Fletcher Undergrad Institution: Large state public Undergrad GPA: 3.91, with honors. Major/Minor: Double major in Anthropology and International Relations, focus on Economic Development. Thesis topic: The Double Bottom Line of Microfinance in Guatemala: Economic Development and Implementation of the 1996 Peace Accords GRE: 158 V, 159 Q, 6 Writing Age: 26 Years of Work Experience: 4 years. Published Work: None Languages: Spanish Other: Work Experience: Internship with microfinance agency in Latin America during study abroad in college. First year out of college with an environmental NGO, and since then working for a human rights/advocacy NGO in Latin America for 2 years, living in rural communities with human rights defenders, aiding them with legal proceedings for human rights abuses in front of the inter-american system of human rights. First year was in the field, the second was in the office in the capital city doing more advocacy/communications type work. The last year teaching English in Latin America. Quant Experience: Took AP Stats and AP Calc in high school. Got college credit, but bad grades (A in stats, Bs in Calc). Intro to macro economics, and advanced level agriculture and resource economics. Strength of LoR 1: From the NGO that I worked with in Latin America. I think it will be good, probably not outstanding. Strength of LoR 2: From a professor with whom I wrote my thesis. Good, not exceptional. Strength of LoR 3: One of a handful of other professors, good, not anything exceptional. Concerns: GRE scores, lack of quant experience, LORs. I write well and have a great policy memo for WWS, my SOPs will be great and unique. I'm confident about my chances at SAIS/Fletcher, but $ is a concern. Don't want to go heavily into debt for a MA. Are my goals too lofty? I'm also worried about the institutional culture at top IR institutions. SAIS seems like a trade school in some respects (pumping out state department, world bank employees), and I'm worried that I won't fit in politically. I tend to be very critical of institutional development initiatives, and the neo-liberal economic models upon which they are founded. I've seen first hand how they, more often than not, simply don't work. I've seen many more harmful effects of World Bank projects than benefits (harmful as in complicit in genocide, literally). Trade agreements generally seem to streamline human rights abuses. Aid packages generally seem to be politically motivated and benefit business interests over promoting the wellbeing of the people they are supposedly helping. Free market to me means economic imperialism. While I feel like the education will be helpful in allowing me to understand and construct policy, and the quant focus at SAIS for example will be helpful to the extent that it will allow be to be fluent in the language and critique what I see. I've been in what I guess are politically radical circles in Latin America, and I'm worried that I will be intellectually isolated at top IR programs.

Thanks for the reply Kaneisha. Do you think that the situation would be any different if I outright decline an offer instead of deferring? And then re-applying the following cycle with better GRE scores, more relevant work experience, and better LORs.

Thanks for the advice! I'm currently studying for the LSAT so I don't think I'll have time to retake the GREs this cycle. I'll probably apply and see what happens. I took the GRE 4 years ago so I should still be OK. Upon graduation I'm hoping to work in the non-profit world for an organization that aids in the creation of legal systems abroad. Definitely not interested in working for the state department or the government in any capacity. What about you? And where else are you planning on applying? Did you consider law school, for example a JD/LLM with a concentration in international law?

I'm just beginning my research into schools, but am interested in the Master in International Law at IHEID. And for the price, it seems like I'd be an idiot not to apply! I assume that a degree from IHEID would be much more employable in Europe than in the US. Would you say that this is the case unagi?

Hi all, I've searched around but there seems to be a dearth of information here regarding the International Law and Organizations concentration at SAIS. It seems to be an interesting alternative to an expensive JD/LLM for those of us interested in some sort of international human rights/international rule of law type of career trajectory. I'm applying from abroad and unfortunately haven't been able to find much info online, and haven't had luck contacting professors to set up informational interviews. Is anyone else interested in this degree? What are your thoughts as opposed to a JD/LLM? Furthermore, does anyone else know of any similar MA programs? From my research this seems to be unique to SAIS. Thanks!