jcass

rrrruoyao on career services, reputation in private sector, % second year funding, community, China studies:
I've had a positive experience with career services. SAIS does a good job of regularly updating job postings, hosting informal meet and greets/information sessions and job fairs with a bevy of employers, and helping students connect with alumni with in fields of interest. SAIS does also require all first years to go through a professional development course that covers topics like SAIS resume formatting, writing targeted cover letters, managing your LinkedIn profile, etc. This was helpful as a refresher, but many students come into SAIS already knowing how to do a lot of this stuff, so it was a bit irritating to sit through. You cannot meet with a career counselor until you've completed the course. My interactions have with career services have otherwise been great, and they've been a huge help in writing targeted internship applications. I sometimes wonder if career services at other programs might be more hands-on. IR grad students in DC I think are sort of expected to hustle on their own. Perhaps career services staff at programs outside the DC circuit (think Korbel, UCSD, Tufts, etc) might be more involved in a student's professional development given the lack of proximity to DC (a nexus for IR careers). 
SAIS seems to do well in the private sector, particularly in the consulting field. Deloitte is on campus frequently, as are other big consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, Albright Stonebridge, etc). Internships and positions at these places are very competitive though; it's important to keep in mind that you're competing with your peers at SAIS as well as those at other prestigious IR programs (MSFS, SIS, Elliot School, etc). The consulting firms seem to like SAIS grads however as we offer a similar skillset to the typical MBA (econ/quant/finance) with regional or functional expertise. This is SAIS' biggest selling point, in my view. MBAs will typically just do micro and macro, whereas SAIS students do those plus international trade and international monetary theory, not to mention an econometrics, risk analysis, and/or corporate finance class(es). 
I'm not sure what % of second year students receive funding
I'd say the student body at SAIS has quite a bit of camaraderie. Student government hosts happy hours once per week and there's always a lot of events and club meetings, etc. I'd say the majority of the friends I've made have been through classes and study groups for problem sets. I do wonder if the community at SAIS would be even more cohesive if there was a contiguous campus; as it stands, students are scattered in classrooms and buildings that dot Mass ave. 
On China Studies: this is actually my concentration. You can PM if you have more specific questions, but I'd say the faculty is quite approachable. They are professors first, and regularly make themselves available to discuss assignments, course selection, career options, etc. SAIS has one of the more robust IR programs on China, with more China-related courses than any other program. You can change concentrations at anytime, though you probably want to settle on something by the end of your first year. The only concentration that you can't transfer into is IDEV, as the program is capped. Otherwise, there aren't any barriers to changing concentrations. 
coffeeandtravel on LASP:
I have a few friends in LASP and they all rave about it. It seems like a small cohort, and from what I gather, the department is pretty hands-on in helping concentrators secure internships, go on study tours, etc. 

Hi everyone,
New here. Can't wait for the decisions to come out, but I'm reallly nervous, too. I don't know if I have any chance for funding. I'd really appreciate your take on it.
Age: 23
Program: MIA/MPP
School Applying to:  HKS, SAIS, Georgetown MSFS, Tufts, American SIS, Yale, NYU GSAS, UofT Munk, Carleton NPSIA
Undergrad Institution: University of Toronto (#1 in Canada, #17 in the World), Class of 2015 (Bachelor of Commerce, Major in Management, Minor in Economics) 
Undergrad GPA: 3.12 (due to one terrible, early semester)
Grad Institution: University of Toronto, Class of 2016 (Master of Arts in Germanic Languages, Literatures and Cultures). I was offered a Graduate Scholarship Award that covered my full tuition, as well as a paid course instructor position. 
Grad GPA: 3.8
GRE: 157 V, 153 Q, 5.0 Writing 
Years of Full-Time Work Experience: 1 year + internships, volunteer work and part-time jobs. (5 months volunteering in the Middle East, co-founder of an NPO in Toronto that gives all profits to charity, instructor of German at University of Toronto, German Translator for the Huffington Post, a couple of corporate jobs)
Published Work: Recently had an article published on the Huffington Post. Unfortunately it was after the application deadlines passed, and most admissions committees won't even get to read it.
Languages: Fluent in Arabic, English and German. Proficient in French.
Background: I grew up in the Middle East and have volunteered there through the Church or as a member of an NGO. I have a somewhat unique background story, as I took part in one of the Arab Spring Revolutions and have had some incredible experiences, which I mention in all of my essays. I plan to concentrate on Middle East issues in my studies.
Quant Experience: A bunch of economics courses as part of my undergraduate degree (Grades range from A to C, but mostly As). Some quant and analytical experience in my corporate jobs. 
Strength of LoR 1: Professor and Teaching Supervisor. She is a Harvard PHD and wrote me a very strong letter.
Strength of LoR 2: From a professor who knows me very well (4 courses, all As) and offered me the graduate scholarship award
Strength of LoR 3: My former manager at a large corporation, who vouched for my business skills. I've read it and it is a solid letter.
Results: I have already gotten accepted at American SIS and NYU GSAS. 
Concerns: My GRE scores obviously could have been a bit higher, but I hope that the fact that I am not a native English speaker will make up for the verbal section. As for the quant., I hope that my past econ courses make up for that. I am also worried about a lack of work experience. I felt uneasy putting 1 year on the application for 'years of full-time work experience', since I have almost always been working part-time, translating for the Huff-Post, volunteering and completing summer internships. Will that lower my chances? My undergrad GPA is also somewhat weak, but I think the fact that I was offered a graduate award by the same university will make up for that. My grad GPA is much better
Thanks for your time!

god I love the internet

They'll release it tomorrow - http://sites.tufts.edu/fletcheradmissions/

I took the time to do a bit of research on the NYU webpage for the Masters degree you've described. Also, I am quite familiar with the AU webpage from a substantial amount of research I have done on their degree offerings.
Basically, after reading through what your inteded career goals are, I would personally chose the degree from AU. The experience from their faculty appears to be top notch for any career in the International Affairs field that you wish to get into.
Also, NYU masters programs, to my knoqwedge, will be quite stingy in terms of financial assistance (being a TA, RA, fellowships, scholarships, etc). And while I can not garuntee funding for you from AU, I'm thinknig they could offer you a more attractive package to attend.
Given your goals, AU seems like the more practical option given the type of curriculum you are looking for, its prime location, and its APSIA membership (if that matters to you). Also, American's SIS has a great reputation, so there is no need for worries as far as that goes.

Ah well I meant the MPP program there through McCourt