thediesel

Just got bumped to Mandarin finalist. Pumped!

It's out. I'm in!!! No word on funding in the letter though.

Damn, alternate for Mandarin. Better than a rejection I suppose, but it still means I can't solidify my summer plans.

Mandarin is super competitive, rooting for you!

Congratulations all  Excited to be a finalist for Urdu this year. Most of us if not all will be virtual, but be sure to make the best of the experience regardless!!

Nothing for Russian yet either. Congrats to the finalists who've received results already!
Edit: Looks like program sites for all languages are up on the website, although they say in a press release that the majority of programs will be virtual.

Losing hope that it'll come out today, but it should come out at some point this week for sure! Who knows, maybe we'll be surprised in an hour or two. Good luck everyone!  

This is good to know. If I get it, I will definitely accept and find a way to supplement my income.

Recipient from last summer's virtual program here. There was an allotment for 'technology' expenses, so that we each could purchase a proper laptop/headset if we didn't have one already. I used part of it to pay rent because that was a way to secure a proper studying environment for me, but they made it clear that it wasn't really intended to be helpful in that department. It was given in the form of direct deposit, $750
From what I understand, they were considerably defunded due to the impossibility of study abroad programming last year. Whether or not the amount would be the same or more this year, not sure

I've received no information yet regarding Mandarin. I am cautiously optimistic about in-person learning, but I know some other programs have switched to virtual.

Just got an email that I’m a semifinalist for Mandarin!

Just got an email that I’m a semifinalist for Mandarin!

Just got an email that I’m a semifinalist for Mandarin!

I committed to the SAIS-Tsinghua program this morning. Super excited for what’s to come!

I got aid reconsideration results (in an email from financial aid like the first round) late this afternoon. It felt like "finally," but they said they would reply by 4/17, so it really wasn't too bad of a wait and considerate of them to provide the decision in time for the numerous 4/15 deadlines.
Went from $27k/year to $42k/year, so I'm super stoked. As I mentioned before, I had a substantial fellowship offer from Mercatus/GMU, so I think that helped move me along, despite the programs being pretty different. Anyway, it looks like they really are bumping some up, so good luck!

PSA...just go wherever is cheapest.

Oh of course. My point is I could potentially defer but see if I could take one class per semester part time to make the full-time load easier the following year. Not even sure if that's possible though. SAIS doesn't charge per credit hour, so it might be too pricey to do it that way.

Thanks, appreciate your perspective! 

I highly doubt that considering they already awarded it to you.

Not yet. I imagine it will be after April 3 once the deadline to submit the form has passed.

Something I recommend people think about is how COVID-19 could possibly create massive resource issues for their graduate program / University for the next year or so.

For elite programs like Harvard Kennedy School,  Princeton's Woodrow Wilson, Columbia SIPA, this will likely be less of an issue since resource wise they tend to be relatively sheltered. They have the combination of A: A crazy war chest of endowment money, B: a name brand, and C : A persistent large pool of applicants (even if it shrinks, it will be fine) to deliver high quality students.

All other policy schools (even other well-regarded ones) may struggle because COVID-19 has A: hurt their endowments and B: Massively shrank their applicant pool.

The applicant pool shrinkage issue is particularly relevant if a grad program has become financially dependent on Chinese international students paying full cost. I have encountered some MPP programs that were approx up to 40% Chinese international students. With everything going with COVID-19 and all the related consequences. That population will likely shrink drastically. That means less resources for the program to spend (especially after fulfilling scholarship funding promises to students) on programming.

What does this mean? If you were sold on a graduate program that had a sales pitch of "we are investing lots of resources into XYZ - like a new building, a new center, a surge of famous faculty" + the student population is not diverse, that program will suffer the most with COVID-19. If you were thinking about enrolling in that program, I recommend you think of alternatives that are more COVID-19 durable. 

As for deferring, I think that all depends on how stable your job is now and how much you want to gamble on when the recession will end. 

I'll probably defer if that happens. No way I'm paying full tuition for online classes.

I sent an email saying I received other fellowships and asking if there's a way to be reconsidered. I will post their response next week.

Yeah, I can always brag that I was admitted to the Ivy League and said no thanks. 

Should still feel proud that we got in, despite no funding information yet! Still a great achievement