zerolife

I agree that a lot of the SOPs from Chinese students have been edited by a third-party and recommendation letters are usually written and signed by the student (with permission from the recommender). However I'm pretty sure the admissions panels at the top schools here are aware of this and can easily see through the non-genuine ones. I know at least the increase in Chinese students in the MISM program in recent years is attributed to an increase in GRE/GMAT score among the Chinese applicants, and this isn't something you can cheat on. Congrats to those that were admitted to Heinz

I can't comment on the other programs but in regard to MSISPM at CMU, do you have a real interest in security? If so, then you got hands down the top InfoSec program in the nation and perhaps the world (I might be biased here as a MSISPM student but I think with Cylab on campus and most security classes taught by senior CERT staff says a lot). However, if you are leaning more toward MPA/MPP, then MSISPM may not be for you. I think everyone in the program is looking for a career in the security or a technical field. Yes, we are under the same roof with the MSPPM students but MSISPM is part of the Information Systems Management side. You can definitiv take MSPPM classes but that's not the norm. btw the class size is actually 15. They experimented with 25 a few years ago but decided to go back to 15. There are a couple of good reasons why the class size is intentionally kept small.

I've considered the JHU program last year but couldn't find anything that would support its reputation. It seems like you don't have to take the healthcare related courses but if that's something interesting to you, I don't think any other InfoSec program can beat JHU in this area. Otherwise, I would highly suggest to take a look at CMU's two InfoSec program. Yes, there are two, one offered by INI which is more technical and another offered by Heinz that's more on the policy & management side. However the difference is pretty much just whether you want "Technology" or "Policy & Management" printed on your diploma. Students from either program can take courses from Heinz, INI, CS (yes the top school in the US), ECE (Engineering), SEI (Software Engineering), or Tepper (Business School). Why CMU? You have CERT and CyLab are on campus. Most of the Information Security related professors are CERT staff.

CMU INI (information Networking Institute) is a good choice but they are very heavy on the technology side. One of their admissions requirement is having taken a programming course. For a more balanced program, I would go with CMU's Information Systems Management program or Information Security Policy & Management if that interests him. Both are offered by Heinz College and neither require previous CS/Engineering background. That doesn't mean you can't make it more technical as many of the students also take courses from CS, INI or Software Engineering Institute. Heinz itself also offers many technical courses. Source: current Info. Sec. student at Heinz

I have to disagree with luvalicious. The driving test in the US is super easy. In my opinion, most of the people don't belong on the street. What will be harder for you is to find someone crazy enough to loan you a car and sit with you while you practise. You won't be able to drive by yourself until you get the full license. Unless you have a very close friend with a car, I would suggest to spend some money on driving school.

Elliott, especially at the graduate level, does help a lot if you want to find a job in DC in terms of connections, a great career center, and location. You might already know, the Elliott school building is basically one short block to IMF. However, Elliott is not going to guarantee you a job and a non-US degree is not going to prevent you from getting a job in the US. If I were in your position, I would just go with your dream school.

as far as I know, Pittsburgh is pretty cheap ... around $500 a month should get you a nice room in a shared apartment. However, you are looking at someone living in DC talking so your definition of cheap might be different. CMU has a housing registry system for grad student. You can get a temporary account by following the below instruction (got it from admissions office) First time access and you DO NOT have a Carnegie Mellon email address: 1). Go to http://pr.housingregistry.us/cmu/. 2). List all information requested. Starting date is first day on campus. 3). Students: List your department/college and advisor. If advisor is unknown, list your admission counselor. 4). Wait for email approval, which may take 1-2 days. 5). Go to http://www.housing.cmu.edu/communityhousing/ and select “Search for a Listing in the Housing Registry” to access the listings. Personally, I haven't started looking yet. Feels like it's too early yet.

unless Emory is giving you significantly better funding, I would choose JHU (or HKU). I don't think anyone can beat JHU's Public Heath program. As to JHU vs. HKU, only you are able to figure out whether you can comfortably pay JHU's tuition without spending your parent's & your entire life saving. As an international student myself, I suggest not to expect finding employment in the US with your major. Unemployment in US is really terrible (and things aren't look good for the near future either), you don't have any advantage as an international student in Public Health, and most importantly, while American students are able to move home and keep the living cost to a minimum, you are continuing burning through $$ while you are trying to find a job after graduation.

how bad is the next best you got into? Do you have anything to do for next year if you go for a third round?

not really, but just be aware that you are at least somewhat competition against people from your country. Highly ranked undergrad university might help but it's definitiv not necessary. I have plenty of international friends that graduated from no-name Chinese universities

I wouldn't be too worried. My understanding is that most schools do not have a minimum GPA. Instead, they are looking for the overall package. Sure, you might have a low GPA but you probably also have something else the highest ranked school values more than the other schools.

I'll comment as somewho who grew up in Germany and have travelled to France many times. Don't get me wrong, France is a great country. However, one of the cons about France is that more than any other countries I've been (that's 50+), you really need to speak French. I remember the first time I was in Paris alone, I asked four people for direction in English. Three simply ignored me, the fourth showed me the wrong direction (could be due to his limited English). I think overall, there tend to be the attitude that if you are in our country, you'll need to follow our culture including speaking our language. I'm not saying you shouldn't go there. I would just suggest to work hard on your French starting as soon as possible.

I would disagree with the above poster. Dictatorship - yes. If you can't live without election then Singapore is the wrong place for you. However in terms of freedom, I think they are doing a much better job than the US. I think NUS has a MBA program where you take classes at three universities in three countries (NUS in Singapore, PKU in China, and one in Japan I can't remember). You also ended up getting a degree from NUS and either PKU or the Japanese one. Not sure about the reputation but it sounds like an interesting one and I'm sure the whole Asia coverage will be a big advantage.

I don't really know this particular program either. As far as I know, CMU's Computer Science department is one of the best, if not the best, in the US. However, I just noticed on the program admissions page that they've extended the deadline to April. I think this might be a big red flag as it indicates that they have trouble recruiting enough people for the next class.

yup I have. Funding was pretty much the deciding factor for me. Althrough I was hoping for a full ride, it seems based on my research that the $18000 a year I got isn't that bad. The next best gave me no funding at all

True, I would not expect to find a job in the US. I'm an international student myself and know that it's nearly impossible for me to find a Public Policy or even IR related job in the current market. I'm currently doing a business analyst type of job that has nothing to do with IR. At least three of my American IR buddies (yes US citizens) went to China to teach English ... to give you an idea how bad the job market is. Things might be better if you have a Master degree but I still wouldn't expect a lot. I would suggest to consider which program get you the furthest with your career in China, rather than in the US. In this case, it seems like UCSD is the better choice since it's focused on the Pacific region.

i'm more curious whether the admissions letter or their website mentioned the April 15th date. If so I think legally, they have to wait for you until then.

I've never heard of UCSD IR/PS and a quick googling showed me that it's an International Relations school specialized to the Pacific region. As someone who has graduated from an undergrad International Affairs / Relations program, I'm not really sure if IR will fit your career goal. Most of my IR buddies went into government, non-profits or went somewhere teaching English (ok I do have to mention that my school is in DC). However the course listing for UCSD IR/PS does show a lot of business related courses unlike the more well known IR programs like SAIS or SIPA so maybe it's not that bad at all for your career goal. I'll be going to Heinz but for a different program (Information Security Policy & Management) and my understanding is that consulting firm is where most are heading to. MSPPM probably is not too much different. I totally agree that Pittsburgh is a big minus ... but you don't have to stay there past the 1 1/2 years ... and I think the MSPPM program has an option where you can go to DC for a semester (or a year?) However, your girlfriend going to UCSD is a big plus point for UCSD

Is there any reason why you can't contact the schools and ask how much funding you are getting? I've contacted one of my school and they were very understanding with my request to get some preliminary award breakdown before the offer acceptance deadline.

wow I see a lot of horror stories here. Let me add my story that's actually for undergraduate transfer application: So I applied for transfer to a very well known school (School A) and a 2nd tier state school (School B ) both in the same Metro area and near my home. Got accepted at both school. School A gave me a very good financial package that almost matches the in-state tuition from School B, so obviously School A is where I've decided to go. Somewhere along the line, I must have forgotten to reject the offer from School B but I did not accept it nor paid the deposit. Two years later around the time I was graduating, out of nowhere, my state tax refund was withheld because School B was trying to collect the student fee I haven't paid for the two years. Well I contacted School B thinking it was a mistake and to my surprise, I was told that I'm a enrolled student there! I argued that 1) I have never taken a class at the school, 2) I have never attempted to use any student services at the school, 3) I never received any other communication from the school for the two years except the offer of admission I did not accept, 4) I provided transcript as evidence that I was a full time student and about to graduate at School A so I couldn't possibly be a student at both places. Well to sum up the ending, they continued to insist that I'm an enrolled student ... well because that's what their computer system is showing them. They couldn't or were unwilling to answer how I became an enrolled student when I didn't accept the admissions offer or paid the required deposit. One guy I spoke to on the phone even sounded like since I applied to their school, I must have wanted to go and claims that I would be automatically enrolled with my offer of admission!

i agree with murpstud. Tuition should go down rather than encourage people to borrow more under more favorable terms. Haven't we learned anything from the recession?

so I've finally made the decision where to go and I guess now is the time to thank all my recommender. However, the dilemma I'm facing is that for the academic LOR, I have used four professors, each for a different school (long story). On top of that, only two of the schools are for related program. Only one professor's LOR (in addition to the one from my boss) has actually contributed to me getting into the school I've decided to go but nevertheless, I'll thank all of them since they all spent a lot of time writing a LOR for me. The problem is that the other three professors don't even know that I applied to the school I'm going to, not to mention the major. My question is should I explain this in my thank you note (and risk the chance that they might think their LOR was useless) or not say anything and hope that they don't remember for which school they wrote a LOR for me.

my understanding is that - you need three LOR - you have two recommender who are able to write the letter on their own (professor and mentor) - only your boss asked you to write one on your own for him/her to review If that's the case, why do you need "three formats" unless the programs you are applying are very different from each other? Couldn't you just draft one and make as many copies as the number of schools you are applying to? If you meant giving your boss three different drafts to pick from then I don't think that's necessary. Just write one perfect one and submit it to your boss. He/she will make changes if there are something he/she doesn't like

I would vote for Schweiz too ... seriously, GW Elliott School is not bad but it's not a golden ticket either. GW would be nothing if it wasn't for the location. You probably will get a much better education in Switzerland (I was a GW student so I think I have the right to say that). As others have said, I don't agree that you can't find a job in the US unless you have a US degree. I know plenty of people who have found great jobs with degrees from average universities abroad. I think the only case where you should seriously consider going to GW (for the internship opportunities) is if you have to work in DC in the future.

yeah I have considered a UK Masters too and from what I've heard, some UK schools have a even better global reputation than comparable US schools ... you just have to pick the right one