somewhatslightlydazed

Thanks! Email came through at 5:09 pm EST. Good luck!

Just got an emailing informing me I'd been admitted!! The email said official announcements along with financial aid info will go out tomorrow ?

Thanks for the advice Yeah I agree that neither school is worth paying full price for; luckily SAIS has offered me a scholarship covering 75% of tuition and if I get the external fellowship, I'll have about $60k/year worth of scholarship money from SIPA (if I get that, I'm going to see if SAIS is willing to up their offer at all). It makes sense that SIPA's better with human rights, though SAIS has a year-long international human rights clinic that also sounds really cool (and for what it's worth, SAIS Bologna is separate from the University of Bologna so it's not free or cheaper for European students). And I do like Fletcher a lot but they've said they basically max out their scholarships at around half tuition and they gave me over half, so I doubt I could get them to up that scholarship much. One opinion I feel like I've seen a lot on these boards is that SIPA isn't as highly regarded in the IR field as SAIS (but that might only be true in DC). Do you think that they're about equal in terms of prestige/alumni networks? I agree that SIPA's a better choice if I specifically want to work in a multilateral org, but since I'm not 100% sure about that, I feel like I want to go to a school that's going to give me as many options as possible.

Hi all - hoping for some advice on choosing between SIPA's MIA program and SAIS's MA program. I'm interested in studying human rights and conflict prevention/resolution and I'm hoping to work in an advocacy-based NGO after finishing grad school (though I'm also interested in multilateral work or possibly federal gov work under a different administration). I've visited both schools and overall had great impressions of both, so I'm not sure how to make a final decision. My current pro-con list is below, but I'd love to hear others' thoughts on what I should put the most weight on or if there are other factors I should be considering! Pro-SAIS: I'd get to spend my first year living in Bologna and traveling through Europe and North Africa during breaks, which seems like a really amazing, unique opportunity More tight-knit cohort from spending a year abroad together SAIS seems more prestigious than SIPA, though perhaps only marginally I live in DC now and probably want to continue working here long-term, so having a mostly DC-based network would be useful Their program is smaller than SIPA's and the classes seem smaller in general Pro-SIPA: I got scholarships from both schools, but SIPA will be about $10k cheaper/year* (but I can still afford either with no debt) Being close to the UN and having school connections there would be a great way for me to get internship experience in a multilateral org and figure out if I like the sector Studying in NYC for 2 years would be a great way for me to test out living in the city and see if it's somewhere I'd be interested in living long-term (since most jobs that interest me are in DC or NYC, and I already know what I like and don't like about DC life) Their "human rights and humanitarian policy" concentration perfectly aligns with my career goals (I can study human rights at SAIS, it would just be under the "international law and orgs" concentration so it might be a bit less focused) I could cross-register with Columbia Law School and take courses in international law *Assuming I get the FLAS fellowship, which I find out about next week. If I don't get it, I can't afford SIPA and in that case the decision is easy! Thanks for sharing any thoughts you have ?

Just called the admissions office and they said scholarship info would come out the end of this week or the beginning of next week!

I was admitted around Feb 5 and haven’t heard anything about funding yet. I haven’t heard of anyone getting scholarship info yet so I don’t think it means anything that we haven’t! If I don’t hear anything in the next day or two I’m going to email/call to see if they can give us a timeline.

I’m not sure about internships in SD, sorry. But I know their east Asia program is great, so they probably have research centers where you could work/intern! And nope SFS is out for me, I’m probably going to either SIPA or SAIS since both gave me around $30k/year in funding (and I’m hoping for an additional $30k fellowship from SIPA that I’ll hear about in the next few weeks)

Yeah I was disappointed to not get any scholarship money too. But full tuition at UCSD is amazing - that's a great school! It's true that some things would be easier in DC (like being able to intern during the semester), but in my opinion the relatively minor advantages of Georgetown over UCSD are not worth six figures in debt. Go to the school that's throwing a ton of money at you and enjoy the California weather

I got the unofficial email this morning - got in but no funding :/

Congrats! Those are all great schools, and if any of them has given you substantially more funding, I'd weigh that heavily. But specifically in terms of internships, it seems like American SIS would be your best option because there are so many nonprofits, think tanks, and government offices in DC that you can find internships in and start making connections that will make it easier to get a job after graduation. All three schools can help you find good internships in the summer, but American has the advantage of letting you intern in DC during the semesters as well

Just got my scholarship update! $25k/year ?

Just got an email (with the wrong name in the first line lol) saying that funding info will be released later today!

What kind of terrible things have you heard? I'm visiting this weekend so it would be great to know what I should keep my eyes open for!

I got two separate emails (admissions, then funding later) - seems like most people got both decisions last night, but funding might come later for international students! If you don't get any funding news in the next few days I'd suggest emailing/calling the admissions office to check in.

Congrats everyone! Got my admissions notice and fellowship award as well - $8.5k/semester, which is solid but SAIS offered me more so looks like GW is officially out for me.

I got the email half an hour ago, so they probably updated the portal right before sending notifications! Did you receive any info on funding? I assumed I'd hear at the same time but didn't see any mention of it.

Thanks, and congrats yourself! Does seem like we're applying to most of the same schools. My top choice right now is SAIS (mostly because I really want to live in Bologna for a year, plus they've given me the most aid so far), but depending on scholarships I'm also seriously considering SIPA, Fletcher, and Georgetown. How about you?

Got a call from GW Elliott this afternoon letting me know I was admitted, so hopefully that means that Trachtenberg isn't far behind!

Do you guys know if it's only the CPL fellowships that do interviews? I applied for a few fellowships (Public Service, Carr Center, Belfer Center) but no CPL ones, not sure if I should read anything into it if I don't hear anything within the next week or so (I feel like it probably mentioned whether or not there would be interviews in the finaid application but I can't access it anymore).

Program Applied To: (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.) IR programs with a variety of names (MA, MIA, MALD, MPP, etc) Schools Applied To: Johns Hopkins SAIS, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher, Georgetown SFS, Harvard Kennedy, Princeton WWS, GW Elliott, American SIS, Middlebury Institute of International Studies Schools Admitted To: SAIS ($$$), SIPA ($$$), Middlebury ($$), Fletcher (funding TBA), American SIS (funding TBA) Schools Rejected From: None so far! Still Waiting: Georgetown SFS, Harvard Kennedy, Princeton WWS, GW Elliott Undergraduate institution: University of Maryland Undergraduate GPA: 3.99 (a beginner's art class ruined my 4.0 ?) Undergraduate Major: Government & Arabic Studies GRE Scores: 168/168/5.0 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 3 Years of Work Experience: 2 (did a post-grad year in the Middle East) Describe Relevant Work Experience: entry-level nonprofit work (on nuclear policy, though my role is more administrative) and a bunch of relevant internships in undergrad (terrorism research, language and cultural education, social service work with refugee communities) Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): I think they were all solid - I started each at least a month ahead of time and tailored each one, reusing a paragraph here and there when I was talking about a specific experience, like writing my undergrad thesis. I also had a few friends look the essays over and give suggestions. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Probably pretty good, though I didn't read them. Had my current supervisor, my thesis advisor, and a language professor, so I think they spoke to a broad range of skills/experiences. Other: I was worried that a comparative lack of work experience was going to hold me back, but so far I've gotten good results! I think having good academic stats, writing and defending a thesis, and learning a critical language all helped make up for the fact that my post-grad work experience wasn't as extensive as some other applicants.

I feel like they wouldn't just not email you though (they should have sent everyone either an acceptance or deferral by Friday). I would email or call the office and see if they can tell you what's going on - one possibility is that one of your supporting documents came in late so they put you in the regular notification pool, but it's worth checking in with them so they can explain what's happening.

Also got a funding email, 75% tuition! Still going to wait to hear back from other schools, but chances are I'm heading to Bologna next fall ?

I applied to the MA program (first year in Bologna, second in DC). Notifications for the DC-based programs may not come out until the afternoon - I have a feeling the Europe decisions were posted earlier since it was already afternoon over there

Thanks! I got an email that instructed me to log into the application portal, then I could read the acceptance letter. It included an enrollment deadline of April 20.

Just got admitted to SAIS Europe! (DC decisions may be coming out later today) No word on funding yet - I'm hoping that'll come out later today but it might not be until March, not sure how that works with the Bologna campus...