[Current Yale Jackson Student - AMA]

On 8/20/2019 at 4:11 PM, inthelabyrinth said:

Hey thank you for starting this thread - it's very helpful to hear from someone actually in the program. Here are my questions: 

Do you feel like being outside of DC or NYC has been a disadvantage at all? And if so do the benefits seem to outweigh the drawbacks? I saw on Jackson's website that only 11% of graduates end up in DC for their first job after graduation. 

How helpful has your coursework been in developing hard skills? (specifically things like statistical analysis, R or STATA, financial management, policy memo writing, etc.) Have you found the coursework to include a strong quantitative component? 

Do you have many opportunities to get practical experience in applying the skills you learned through your coursework?

I graduated from Jackson in the same class as Bombaygunner.

I chose Jackson over schools in DC (and Boston) and don't regret my decision at all. The benefits of being able to take classes in other professional schools, having ample opportunities to develop relationships with senior fellows, etc. outweigh any drawbacks.

Plus, if you plan to spend the rest of your career in DC, it's a good idea to at least spend two years in a different city to gain a different perspective.

The Jackson senior fellows and professors are highly connected in DC. I worked in DC after graduating and others in my class did too. 

I used the policy writing and statistical analysis skills I developed at Jackson in both of the jobs I've had since graduating. 

Good luck to all applicants.

[Finalizing school list - some questions]

"jackson is IR and Global Affairs focused, interdisciplinary to all background and jackson has better funding. IDE is development, more technical and requires pre econ knowledge, narrower syllabus."

Jackson is much more flexible than IDE and allows you to blend business school, law school, global affairs, econ, anthropology, etc classes to tailor your schedule to your interests. You can also really get to know senior fellows, whereas IDE doesn't really have anything analogous. Also, you can take IDE courses as a Jackson student.

IDE students tend to be younger, almost all are international students, and were mostly econ undergraduate majors. Take a look at the Jackson student bios and IDE student bios (both are on our websites) to get a sense of the difference.

[Financially Crippling Loans]

On 12/21/2015 at 9:32 PM, kbui said:

If the stars do not align this year, I will try next year. I will pump up my application with more public service leadership experiences through using my new position with a large non-profit here in Minneapolis. And does Yale Jackson fully fund a large portion of admitted students? I haven't heard or read anything about it yet.

@kbui, Sorry for the delay in responding. Yes, my experience is that many of the admitted students are offered funding. 

[Financially Crippling Loans]

Hi @kbui, for the reasons you mention I suggest looking very closely at programs that fully fund a large portion of admitted students, like Yale Jackon or Princeton WWS.

[Programs that may fund?]

Hi paxi, take a look at the Yale Jackson institute. A number of my fellow Jackson students were offered generous fellowships. I encourage you to consider applying, especially with your interdisciplinary interests.

[HKS et al. with an F on my transcript?]

Hi tigertigertiger, I'm a current Yale Jackson student. I imagine the admissions committee will be understanding if you supply an explanation of the situation. Your background and interests seem like a good fit for Jackson - feel free to shoot me a message so we can discuss more about the program directly.