turkish coffee

@TheSenator In that case, I'm looking forward to meeting you this September. Feel free to message me after the preview weekend if you want a detailed account of how it goes

@sturdyelm yes, thanks for providing all that! I do agree that Ford School has tons of money to give away. Not trying to influence anyone's decision one way or the other, but in terms of securing additional funding while actually in school, Michigan is probably one of your best bets. @aaresident yeah I ended up e-mailing them today, we'll see what they say. I have a friend in MSW if you want me to get you in touch or pass along any q's, although you probably have been connected through the department directly. By the way, Umich allows you to apply for a dual degree during your first year, so you could enroll in one program and defer/reapply in another year?

I am for sure attending the Ford School, and I'll be at Spring Preview as well. I actually didn't get a call yet, at least not that I know of. Not sure if I should email them about it. Looking forward to meeting you guys in a few weeks though?

@YunaCamel Thank you so much! I got a full ride for the Ford School's MPP program at the University of Michigan. I'm happy; they are not an IR program but they have a ton of faculty that are interested in international policy. They have a former diplomat who teaches there permanently and a Diplomat in Residence as well. Sad that I won't be in DC, but I think my career will take me there in the future. Best of luck to you with your grad school decision and pursuits!

Just rejected my acceptance to sais (didn't get funding) for a full ride at another school. Good luck to waitlisted folks!

Thank you to everyone who commented for your help and insight. It looks like I won't be choosing between Fletcher and GWU after all, because Michigan gave me a full ride that I just can't walk away from. I'd be happy to talk to anyone who finds themselves in the midst of a similarly difficult decision.

thank you so much, but don't give up hope yet, especially if this is your top choice school. There is a fellowship that covers full tuition for two years and provides you with an internship in the Mayor of Detroit's office (that's a big deal!), and Michigan will give you an answer if you apply before you have to accept/reject your offers from other schools, so you'll know ahead of time if you have the funding or not. On top of that, Michigan has a lot of GSI (same thing as TA) positions available and there's a good chance you'd get it for at least one semester. These positions cover tuition fully for that semester that you work, and also provide you with health insurance I believe. Let's say you only did it for 2 out of your 4 semester, that's still a 50% scholarship essentially, along with your 1/3 tuition scholarship, your tuition is suddenly is much more manageable and maybe comparable to other schools you are considering. I don't want to push you in one way or another, I just want you to know that these opportunities exist, and Michigan probably has more money to give than any other school when it comes to TA/RA positions and summer internship funding. If you're interested in studying a language, which Ford allows, you could always apply to the FLAS academic year fellowship, which would fully cover your tuition the second year as long as you take at least 1 regional studies course and 1 language course each semester of that year.

Congratulations!! Wow I'm so happy to see so many people on here getting acceptances. <3

Congrats!! So glad to hear it

Congrats! I'll be there for sure.

Congrats everyone! Are you guys set on Michigan, or do you have some decisions to consider?

In with full funding... I guess I'm not considering the IR schools in DC/Boston anymore. I am floored.

Decisions will come out tomorrow, since only admitted MPPs can apply to this Ford fellowship, and it says the Fellowship application opens Tuesday, March 14. Wishing Ford could see all of our investigative research and analysis based on data we have found

Hello, would appreciate thoughts regarding graduate school decisions/comments from people in the same boat. I've heard a lot of perspectives from International Affairs folks, but not as many from Middle East Studies people, please bear with my lengthy post. I Interested in the Middle East, development, and human rights. I have State Dept. experience and did some volunteer NGO work in Lebanon. Accepted to: Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey - International Policy and Development MA program ($14k fellowship over 2 years) George Washington University - Middle East Studies MA program, concentration in International Affairs and Development ($5k/year fellowship) - waiting on another fellowship that would fully fund 1st year. Fletcher at Tufts University - MALD program ($24k fellowship over 2 years) SAIS at Johns Hopkins University - MA program, no funding still waiting on a decision from the Ford School at University of Michigan (MPP program), where I can also take a lot of my electives from the Middle East Studies program. SAIS was my #1 because I wanted to strengthen my economic/quant skills.. took an online econ course to prepare and started to reconsider haha, and the $0 funding doesn't help. Fletcher seems up my alley with their human rights rep, and they gave me the most funding, but they're also more expensive than GWU and don't have the DC advantage. Michigan would probably be my top choice if I get accepted because of in-state tuition. Their MPP is ranked 3rd after Berkely and HKS, and they offer several international-oriented courses so I'd still walk away with the skills and expertise that I want. Middlebury is great but can't compare with the other schools, especially considering I will still have to take out significant loans to go there, so it's probably out of the running. I'd still like to consider SAIS despite no funding, as I'm waiting for a reply from Pickering Fellowship and that could be a game-changer. I would also appreciate advice considering Michigan's MPP and walking away with a maximum of $50k in student debt, vs. Fletcher or GWU, where tuition alone is going to be $65k. I'm interested in State for sure but don't see it as a lifetime career unless Pickering pans out. If not, I would love to end up working in Lebanon, either at a think tank/NGO or one of the UN agencies, ESCWA, UNICEF, and UNHCR are my preferences. If I go the PhD route, it would be so that I could teach at the American University of Beirut or Lebanese American University. I know what my interests are, but not so much my ultimate career goals, and I think delving further in the topics I'm interested in through an MA are a good way to develop a better sense of what I want to do as my day-to-day job. I do think that GWU is better for focusing on the Middle East, and the Middle East is my main priority (heritage Arabic speaker, lived in the region, family there, etc.), but I do think Fletcher could also be a great place for regional studies specifically because of their Fares Center for Eastern Meditteranean Studies.. my focus within the Middle East is definitely the Levant, especially Lebanon. GWU also has courses that would allow me to focus on the Levant more, and they even allow study abroad at the American University of Beirut, which is a plus. I actually attended AUB while I was living in Lebanon for three years, so abroad experience isn't the most important factor, but I do think it would help me rebuild/strengthen my network there if I don't end up doing something government-related in DC. I am a heritage speaker but obviously can always get better at Arabic, especially reading/writing, so there's that. I prefer to be abroad post-graduation, and am also considering going the PhD route at some point in the future, so I'd like to be somewhere where I could do an MA thesis. and with that I welcome any thoughts/advice

Hi there, I am in a similar boat as you are! I am deciding between these schools: Fletcher - MALD (with scholarship) GWU - MA Middle East Studies with a concentration in International Affairs and Development (small scholarship) SAIS - MA program (no scholarship) and I am waiting to hear back from the University of Michigan (MPP Program) because they are ranked #3 for MPP, have a lot of faculty interested in international affairs and offer internationally-focused courses, and I live in Michigan so I would receive in-state tuition. I think the first thing you should ask yourself is what are your interests within international affairs. I know that can be hard, because for me I'm trying to use my Master's degree to narrow it down further, but generally speaking I am focused on the Middle East (especially Lebanon because I am Lebanese American), human rights, development, and have strong interests in media, gender issues, and child rights as they pertain to education and refugee/economic migration. Obviously, this is still extremely broad. Next is definitely cost. SAIS was my number one specifically because of their strong Middle East Studies program, DC location, and focus on economics. I know that my quantitative skills are weak, so I wanted to use SAIS to ensure that I became well-versed in economics. I'm not sure I need it at all for what I enjoy doing, but I know that it is valued in the IR world and would make me a bit more competitive for jobs/open up more jobs to me. SAIS also didn't give me any funding, while the other schools did, so I really don't think I'm willing to commit to $90,000+ in tuition along with DC living expenses for two years if I don't get any funding. I am waiting to hear back from a few scholarship so it is still on my list, but I'm really looking between GWU and Fletcher until I hear back from Michigan. The nice thing is that for people who don't receive financial aid, SAIS gives you until May 1 to make your deposit, so there is a bit more time to figure out scholarships, etc. depending on your other schools. To end with a simplified opinion about cost, I don't think it's smart to have more than $50-80k debt overall, including tuition and living expenses. With SAIS, it would be at least $130k if not more, and I absolutely do not think it is worth the extra $50k. Other considerations are what KIND of work do you want to be doing? Let's stick to my interest in the middle east and development as an example since I don't know your specific focus. Do I want to be working as a Foreign Service Officer for State or USAID and maintaining relationships with Middle Eastern Countries/implementing policy programs? For you it would be different since you're Malaysian, but perhaps there is a way to enter the Malaysian Foreign Service? Especially if you are located in DC and make it a point to connect with Malaysian diplomats at the Embassy there? Do I want to be conducting research at a think-tank? Do I want to be writing articles and reporting on foreign policy news for a media outlet? Am I considering a PhD later on? If yes, do the schools I am considering allow me to undertake a Master's Thesis so that I am a better PhD candidate later? Do I want to be doing field work through an international NGO or a UN agency such as UNHCR, UNICEF, ESCWA, etc? Am I interested in entering the private sector and doing international government consulting? Is there something else I could do with my interests that I haven't thought about? This question is even harder to answer, especially for those of us who have many interests and haven't found our "passion" yet, but in general, it's easy to narrow it down to your top 2 or 3 choices. Then, take a look at how the school prepares you for these two or three choices. Where do most of their graduates end up working? If you hope to stay and work in the US, think about how easy it is to get a job in the city you study in as an international student. If you want to move back to your country afterwards, is there a particular school that has a stronger connection to Malaysia than others? These are the questions I am asking myself. I still have 3-4 schools I am considering because of it, but it helped me to eliminate two schools that I don't think will fit me as well as the others I mentioned. If you want to talk in more detail and bounce ideas off of each other, feel free to message me and we can email/skype/facebook chat We might even be classmates next year, who knows! Best of luck to you.