Proun

Ahh okay. From what I know of Georgetown, it seems like it would be a better fit for your interests. I don't really know much about GW, so I can't really offer any advice on that front. But I actually did my undergrad at Illinois in Russian, East European, Eurasian Studies a few years back and it's definitely more geared towards academic careers-- like you said. They're also more history-oriented-- almost all the MA students I knew in REEES had a background in history and continued to focus on history. Illinois only has one faculty member that deals with Soviet/post-Soviet politics and policy, so that may prove to be a problem. With that being said, Illinois is still a great program and has great resources, but it's more of a matter of what's a better fit for you and your interests. I hope this helped!

I agree with KingNikolai-- there's no harm in giving it some more time, especially since it seems like you're more interested in Georgetown and GW. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you plan on studying?