Autumn Springs

UN-paid. Nice pun though that probably wasn't your intention

That's a similar consideration for some of us. For me, my main concern is the scholarship, which IHEID has addressed. I'm pretty much good with either school.

Same, probably iheid.. I asked PSIA about when their scholarships result would be released, and they replied end-april. I will probably be going IHEID, given that few Boutmy scholarships are given every year. Jobs/internships opportunities are a big pull factor to iheid, and I really like their public lecture series where they invite someone from the UN or so to talk about issues in the world. I recently realised, after I applied, that someone i knew went to iheid from MIA, and i have another classmate who is doing a second degree with SciencesPo, so I'll probably ask them for their opinions as well.

Just woke up to the results, it's 3am in my country now... Accepted, with tuition fee scholarship. Thanks to all for the support from this forum for the past few months @ediypzy Thought I will share my profile here for the future applicants. I have found profiles incredibly useful from past forum threads, I have been 'stalking' them for the past 2 years. Would like to hear from the other applicants as well. Applied to (and results, if known): Grade: Activity outside academic work: Preparation: Motivation Letter: Financial Aid: What I think is important in application: Here I go: Applied to: Mdev (Iheid), International Development (SciencesPo), LSE (Development Management). Accepted for them. Grade: middle 2:1 in Economics (4 year undergrad prog). In my last semester. Activity outside academic work: I had an internship with an overseas charity (among other internships less related to development), led 2 overseas school programme for community development, and did other programmes related to social enterprises. So I had a range of activities which I could write about that are related to the programme. I was also part of a pro-bono consulting group as a student, a teaching assistant, and was a research assistant for a faculty for a while. Preparation: I started following gradcafe since 2 years ago, when I searching for a programme. I made mental notes of important stuff for Iheid (and other schools) and application materials, and doing budget calculations. I messaged past applicants on this forum to find out more. I started writing my motivation letter in May last year, and I asked for recommendation letters from my referees once the school semester opened in August. One of my referee is young, and I took 3 modules under her so she knew me pretty well. My second referee was more senior, I took a module under him, and he was also the supervisor of many of the school programmes, so he knew me even better. Motivation letter: I talked about how I explored my interest in development during university, and how that led me to the choice of programme and school. I had like 3 versions written from different perspectives and with different structures. I started writing for LSE (1500 words), before using it as a base for the other 2 schools, Iheid (800 words) and SciencesPo (1000 words). Financial Aid: I detailed very clearly, right down to almost the last cents, about what I have, and what I need. What I think is important in application: Start early. Almost every school I applied to talk about the importance of writing about why you choose the programme and school, and I tried my best to do so in the motivation letter. Hope this helps. And I wish the best for every one on this thread. Now back to doing my assignments after this long post (sorry if it is annoyingly long)....

@ediypzy Which programme did you apply for? Affirmative action can take many forms... Let's see how it goes

yes

Many of the common perceptions, such as certain countries are preferred, or the importance of grades, have already been addressed in the online videos they posted in November, for their online open day. These were some things I remembered the admission officer mentioning: 1. While no countries are preferred, students from some countries are more familiar/comfortable with the need to highlight what they do in schools, and 'promoting' themselves in the motivation letter. Applicants who are unable to do so in the application letter therefore find themselves at a disadvantage. 2. There is no strict cut-off for grades. (Master's degree typically requires 2:1, but the admission officer encourage everyone to apply, since they do not have a cut-off). 3. For the motivation letter, it is important to highlight why you choose iheid and the particular course. Hope ^this^ helps Agreed. And i stupidly drank coffee in the evening so I can't sleep now. urgh And I realised we have reached 20 people following this thread. All the hidden ninjas haha

You may have been deferred to the late application deadline, since the reference letter was submitted after the Jan deadline

Latest update: 8 results http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=IHEID&t=m&o=i 4 rejected Mdev 3 rejected IA 1 rejected Int. Econs 0 accepted They are probably sending out rejections first. No news yet is good news, i suppose...

It's Monday! The revelation begins!

I still check anyway...

Yes i was admitted for SciencesPo PSIA... Iheid seems to have better internship opportunities while PSIA is more well-established in terms of curriculum. I prefer the one that gives me the scholarship If all else equal, I really don't know which to select, but I'm leaning towards PSIA.

International Development, which is quite similar to Mdev@Iheid

I applied in the second week of Jan and got the results 24 days later. So it probably depends on the volume of application they are processing. Exactly

Does anyone know what are the chances of getting scholarship from IHEID or SciencesPo PSIA?

thanks for the info i hope they release the scholarship results at the same time

Not sure which day, but it will come out in March...I believe it was March 20 last year so it should be around then

Same... Maybe too many people emailed them to ask for updates haha I have been checking the status more than 3 times every day...

There is a financial undertaking form (basically declaring that I can pay the tuition and survive), which I have to submit by July online, so I guess that's the deadline. Usually acceptance of offer comes with paying a significant deposit to the institution, so I guess you can change your decision, but the deposit will be forfeited, if I am not wrong.

I applied to LSE Development Management (admitted but no financial aid), Sciencespo International Development and IHEID Mdev...

@fernandomli I think you almost certainly will only receive the results in mid-march since there is no early admission for interdisciplinary masters this year...Welcome aboard the waiting train and I think professional experience, even if not in the development field, will help your application if you have used it thoughtfully to explain your motivation to take the course Best of luck to all Currently it is week 1 of 9 on the waiting time calendar

Just submitted ...any other MDEV applicant?

I happen to see your post, so here's my opinion... I completely agree with fuzzy...I don't think your profs will mind, but you have to be sincere and apologetic when informing them that the deadline is earlier than you mentioned. The thing is, some referees will wait until near the deadline to write the letters anyway, and they do not spend as much time writing their references as compared to us when writing motivation letters. So, don't be too worried in emailing them.

Have you guys submitted your application? It has been incredibly difficult to stick to 800 words for the motivation letter. I have made 3 drafts of the motivation letter with various word counts. What have you all exclude or include?

Hi and welcome! I think the main difference lies in MIA being an interdisciplinary course, but IR/PS is a disciplinary masters. As such, the course and electives are likely to differ quite a bit, so you might want to check out the course catalogue which details the entire course list which you can take. It should become clearer which course is of more interest to you, by comparing the curriculum to your career aspirations and academic interest