j.ice

Hi all, I know I had a post earlier, but I finally got my acceptance letter for both schools and I know all the costs now so I would like more advice. Basically it is between: GWU, Elliot School of International Affairs, Master of Arts in International Trade and Investment Policy (41,000 USD per year, 82k total, ALL COST INCLUDED) OR University of Zurich, Master of Arts in Management and Economics, (18,000 USD per year, 36k total, ALL COSTS INCLUDED) The big question for me about the job prospects after. Ideally I would like to work for the IMF, WTO, BIS, Fed, or other central banking/ monetary policy institute, but I think I could also see myself being very happy working in a consultancy agency or normal bank or financing agency in the beginning as well (I don't really have any experience so I can't say one or the other more). Definitely the dream location for me is Switzerland more than the US (I am American so this can be a challenge). I am just wondering if I will have the same job opportunities with the degree from Uni Zurich as a I would if I went to GWU. I would REALLY appreciate anyone who went to either of these schools to tell me the truth about the job prospects after, because that will really make all the difference in my decision. If they are at all close I think I would much rather go to Zurich because I will just save so much money. Opinions and advice?

Well to be honest, I would definitely take the ETH option over a school in the US with no funding. I mean it depends on where you want to work, but ETH has a great reputation and it is just so cheap in comparison. I am not sure about the TU Vienna. Can you not just accept the offer and then reject it later? I mean I paid my enrollment deposit for GWU although I am probably still going to go somewhere else just to keep my options open. I think this sort of money is well spent... I know it is a bit of a pain in the neck to go through all the procedures and then not go, but it is still better than regretting it all later right?? Best of luck!

Yeah.. I just sent them an email asking and they said they sent out the finalist notifications last week via email and overnight letter. Thus if you didn't get informed you can assume that you were not selected :/ too bad.. I guess we will have to figure out something else...

Okay.. well I just called them and they told me that they would definitely not have anything for another 2 weeks... AT LEAST... so yeah.. I guess I will accept my other offers...

Did you hear anything??? I haven't heard a word... maybe I will call...

Yeah its a joint program between London School of Economics and Peking University... and I still haven't heard anything :/

<br /><br /><br /> Thanks for the info!

Hey everyone, Did anyone else apply to the Pickering Fellowship? Have you heard when they are going to announce finalists? It's April and I haven't heard anything so I was wondering if I was the only one.. Cheers, Jessica

Hi, I applied to the LSE PKU dual degree and it said that decisions would start Mid-April. It's march now and still nothing... plus there isn't really a way to contact anyone.. has anyone heard anything??? Cheers, Jessica

Oh and sorry Frau Moderator :/ It is a little hard to determine gender here

I don't know about any of the German Universities yet, I will find out about Humboldt in April, and Zurich and Goethe in May or June. The application deadlines are just very late. I am expecting to get accepted to the German Universities although it is definitely not guaranteed, but Jacobs University (where I study) has a very good reputation in Germany and many other students with lower GPAs and GREs than I have got accepted to similar programs. For Zurich it is more complicated because I didn't study exactly the same program in my bachelor, so from what I have heard is they most likely will accept me as a bachelor in which I have to finish the prerequisite courses (in German ..) and then go directly into the English master after. This could take up to a year depending on the courses I need.. but also considering I had to really run around to get so many strange documents (studienplatznachwies for example) for this school it might not be necessary at all... I obviously won't know until they tell me for sure. But at least they seemed willing to take me. St. Gallen (my absolute dream school) flat out rejected me before I even applied because they said a bachelor in International Politics and History was not complementary to a Master of International Affairs and Governance. .. So I do believe Switzerland is like Fort Knox in some ways.

The John Hopkins program is pretty awesome from what I have heard and you would be in DC where it might be easier to make connections you would need to get a job. I mean I think it depends on how much debt you would have in the end.. assumings its international relations with a master you can expect somewhere between 50,000 to 75,000 (lower for non-profit) so if you think you can pay off your debts in 2 to 3 years it is probably worth the better program in the long run. Also if you haven't had a lot of international experience then this program would be really worth it... But still if you think the Pittsburgh program is going to afford you other good opportunities and you will still end up where you want then take the money

Dankeschön Herr Moderator And thanks for all the feedback as well... The only problem I might have with Zurich is I will not know the admission decision until June or July AND even worse they might only accept me as a bachelor because I don't have exactly the same degree as the master program. So then I would have to take some bachelors courses in German to catch up.. thus if this happens I would more or less be forced to take the German grad school options which I would get directly accepted to or GWU. But I guess I won't know until they admit me .. I think I will definitely accept the GWU offer and then just turn it down later if necessary. I mean it is expensive and not so polite, but I think the 500 dollars is worth the security of having somewhere to go in the fall.

Hahahahah.. epic fail and I can't even change it... Hum.. but thanks for the input.. I would love to go to Zurich... but I guess I have to see that I have all the requirements and how it goes... plus my parents recommended exactly the opposite... so I guess I will just have to wait and see..

Even though I think SIPA is awesome, I honestly think that the GW program is also quite good.. plus being in DC you have access to all the contacts you need for a career. I mean I guess it depends on what you are going to do and if you think you can afford SIPA with the salary you will make... which can be hard with international relations.. but I mean I do realize that it would be hard to turn down such an opportunity...