Minerva473

Rejected as well. Booo. But at least I don't have to worry about paying $120,000!

With respect to the GPPI, I hadn't noticed the section on salaries. They seem really high, particularly for the nonprofit sector. I have heard that employment stats from these programs can be deceptive, and I do wonder if the GPPI's <70% job placement rate is just more honest than other programs. But then the salary stats just seem too weird; the fact that they are so high and the fact that they even listed them given the low number of salaries represented. Also I wonder, how long after graduation was the survey conducted?

I do know how you feel! Choosing is quite stressful but it helps to remember that both Berkeley and SAIS are really excellent and you'll probably have a great experience at either one. I suspect if you do the MA in IR and you want to really use those IR skills you'll likely need to spend some time abroad, and some time in New York and/or DC. Perhaps if you want to later go the academic route, you could get a Ph.D. and get a job in a university in the Midwest. There may be some opportunities in Chicago as well. Also, I think state governments often have offices to support international trade. But in general, from what I can see, the Midwest is probably not the place to start or develop an exciting career in IR.

How many electives do you get to take at Duke (didn't apply there)? I've noticed that the MPA- MA-IR program at Syracuse is pretty jam packed. Unless you pass out of stats and micro the first elective you can take is in the spring of your first year (assuming you take the core courses all first). Then if you do an internship abroad, your choices of electives are limited by where you do the internship (though it sounds like the DC and Santiago courses aren't bad, haven't looked at the others in detail). Looks like in total you take 7 electives and the internship.

Thank you! Yes, it's a tough choice. I have a friend at Fletcher who has been telling me how great it is, and have attended an alumni event where I was told by lots of people that I wouldn't regret going to Fletcher. But I like my other choices as well and they will cost a good bit less, so even though Fletcher is great with its flexibility, I just can't decide!

It's funny, I didn't apply to Georgetown SFS in part because I don't want to be a diplomat (I applied to GPPI instead as I was looking at IR degrees and MPPs) and now I realize that SFS doesn't refer to the U.S. Foreign Service (though there may very well be a strong connection between the two). Check this out from the website: "Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service conferred the first graduate degree in international affairs in 1922, pre-dating the US State Department's adoption of the term "foreign service." Since that initial class, over 3,000 students have completed the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) Program. Graduates have attained notable success in careers with national governments, international organizations, private businesses and civil society groups." ::bangs head against wall::

Okay, I'm still waiting on HKS and SIPA, but I've heard from the schools that most excite me. Based on various factors including funding offers, savings and being able to live with family, I've calculated expected total debt burden for two years of study each one (including living expenses): Fletcher MALD: $94,000 Pros: flexibility, prestige, spoken to lots of alumni + current students that love it,; fantastic alumni network Cons: the only con would be if I decided I wanted to study something domestic, this probably isn't the place to do it Syracuse Maxwell joint MPA and MA-IR: $64,000 Pros: Two degrees in two years, perhaps gives more career opps, living in cheap city that, although cold, would be a nice break from the big cities I've been living in lately; fantastic alumni network Cons: Lots of requirements and you are required to do an internship for credit which means you pay to do an internship (booo); less flexibility and no thesis Georgetown Public Policy Institute MPP: $53,000 Pros: Great if I want to do something domestic, and they seem to have some interesting faculty on international development; strong quantitative training with three stats courses Cons: The international concentration may not be as strong if talent all gets pulled to the School of Foreign Service; not part of APSIA or NASPAA; relatively new school so less alumni to call upon Obviously I'm still a little torn about what I actually want to study. My professional background (2 years full time) is in domestic nonprofit work, but I'm interested in international stuff based on my personal background and academic studies. Not sure what kinds of jobs I could get in international relations afterwards if I don't have international work experience. I never realized how stressful it would be to sort through acceptances! Even with the funding I've been offered it all seems so expensive... so I want to make the best of it...

I'm still waiting, not worried about it given the blog post. Also waiting on HKS and I assume that wait will be even longer.

How awful. I've had the experience of being offered a promotion at work, then two days later being told it was a mistake (and then, by the way, they made another offer, told me a week later it was another mistake and hadn't been fully approved, at which point I freaked out and threatened hell until they gave me back the 2nd offer -- yes I'm still bitter). I know it's not the same... but I can relate to the feeling of disappointment. Congrats on getting waitlisted -- you truly are a rockstar as people on this board have said, though I can imagine how frustrating it must be to BE a rockstar and not have been offered admission. Those of us rejected by an impersonal email from the graduate school are still jealous!

Accepted for MALD with $7000 per year! Nice surprise after getting rejected from Woody Woo this evening.

The strangeness of the timing could be a technical issue. When I spoke with someone from admissions back in November they told me they were working with a new vendor (for their application processing system); maybe this has caused a glitch that stopped all of the admissions notices from going out as planned.

Don't worry, a lot of people haven't heard. If you do a results search on this site, you'll see that people have been rejected and that last year, they accepted, rejected and waitlisted into mid-late March. Check out the SIPA admissions blog; on Wednesday they said: "The Admission Committee continues to move right along in finalizing decisions. I just wanted to provide quick update and state that over 60% of our decisions have been made. In addition, I can let you know that decisions will be posted well into next week. So hang in there, we still have a way to go but are working as quickly, and accurately, as we can and appreciate your patience." http://rtl.lamp.colu...ng-right-along/

Having read about it more this does seem to be the case. The degrees do seem different, but it sounds like neither degree (regardless of how quantitative it is) is really going to train you to take on a super technical position in international development (except for the MPA-ID). IR degrees tend to be more flexible, with more electives, but if you want to take the MPP stats / management courses anyway (and if the MPP has an international concentration) then maybe the difference isn't that important.

Interesting -- I had been thinking that this might be the case and have done a lot of questioning as to the benefits of MPPs / MA-IRs. I know how competitive the Young Professionals Program at the World Bank is, with floods of Ph.D.s banging at the doors for a position, and I'm not even sure that I want to "tell people 3,000 miles away what to do". Good food for thought -- thanks!

This is very helpful indeed. Both sound interesting but you've pretty much summed up why my instinct was to look into MPP programs when I started to think about applying. I want something really practical, though I do appreciate the value of the theory. Looking at many of the graduate IR degrees like Fletcher's and SAIS, the concentration/elective classes they offer do seem quite practical but the required courses are about the theory you're talking about (I notice however that there are fewer required classes for IR degrees than for MPPs).

The whole time I've been applying to graduate programs I've been quite indecisive about what I wanted and I think it's because I'm not entirely clear on the benefits of doing an MPP versus an IR degree. Lots of MPPs (Harvard, UChicago Harris, GPPI) have international concentration options, so for me it's not necessarily a domestic/international issue. I'm interested in international development, by the way. In particular I'm looking at one MPP program (GPPI) that requires 3 full courses in statistical analysis and a thesis that incorporates quantitative methods, versus IR degrees that have quantitative components but don't seem as focused on them. To what extent is this level of quantitative background useful for an international development career? Any other comments on the great MPP - IR divide are welcome. Many people have said the degrees are very different and attract different types of people, but I think it would be interesting to hear people's takes on the specifics of these differences.

:: sigh :: we can dream

I haven't received word from SIPA yet, and am reading into it that either: A. I'm a borderline case and they're deciding whether to accept or reject me OR B. I'm being considered for a fellowship I'm thinking it's A and I'm at least happy they didn't reject me right away (my personal statement was not terribly strong)

Interesting... I never received any word about open houses though I've been admitted. Hmm.

I received my acceptance email on the 25th of February, and then was asked to submit a short statement for scholarship consideration on the 1st of March. For what it's worth, I know that they've done more than one round of scholarship considerations (based on this board I was considered on the 2nd one) so they may have another. It would be nice if they just told everyone everything at once -- I was pretty stressed out when I found out other people were being considered for a scholarship and I wasn't (during the first round).

Mine is for the first year, renewable for the second year depending on grades.

Got my scholarship notification as well. Phew, that's a relief! I was just about ready to give up!

I was admitted to the full time program.

Ugh I don't think it's worth being nervous. Unless everyone who has heard is being very discreet, it sounds like they haven't told anyone and judging by these boards, the GPPI admissions / scholarships people aren't exactly famous for getting back to people on time. I'm putting it out of my mind (yeah right)!

My understanding is that for MALD and MA applications there won't be a lag, but for MIB and LLM you might end up hearing 10 days after everyone else.