Bubba94

So I'm deciding between Yale Jackson and a few other programs, but I can answer as to why I did not apply to Princeton. They have a really massive core curriculum and my friends who are in other schools with super large core curricula say that they end up regretting the fact that they're spending half of their Masters degree taking classes that they don't feel is relevant to what they want to do with their lives/aren't interesting. This is especially true for Princeton and HKS because neither of these schools are solely IR programs. It's a bit different at Georgetown which also has essentially of full first-year core curriculum, but at least it's all geared towards international relations. I think we only have 2 years to do this master and I really wanted to spend as much time as possible taking classes that really interest me and being surrounded by students to share my passion for going into international relations. It's interesting because I for some reason ended up applying to HKS anyways, probably because my sister is at Harvard so that would be fun, and now that I'm in the admitted students slack channel it's crazy to see how many people are so different from me with their interests and career paths, and it solidified my decision to go to an IR school and made me not regret doing Princeton. So pretty much after talking to some of my friends I decided that since I want to work in international relations in my life I'm only going to apply to IR specific programs. Hope that helps!

Hi are you still checking this site? I'm choosing between Fletcher Yale and Georgetown right now and would love to talk to someone!

Oh i do have that I'm fever-y and stupid right now i'll get back to this when i'm sane and hope I got aid!

i think I got no merit aid because I only see stuff about loans

oh it says "You will receive an email shortly from your financial aid counselor, __name__, (email ), that will include important information about financial assistance."

ahh I'm in! nothing about financial aid

Ahh I feel like I'm supposed to have it more figured out by now but currently deciding between 4 options still. Was counting on admitted students days to help me figure it out but nope haha anyways picking between Yale Jackson (full ride + living stipend, nervous about whether it's a "known" enough program or not), SIPA (full ride), MSFS (half ride), and Georgetown Democracy and Governance (expensive but I'm obsessed with it). And confused about which programs help get into a PhD program later because I want to keep that option on the table. Where are you at in the process?

This is so relieving to hear that you found this about Georgetown. I was nervous that with the curve and all of the other opportunities in DC that people wouldn't be friends

I don't want to dissuade you from your decision, but I was an undergrad at Tufts and absolutely loved the Fletcher students who mentored me. I had students who started to recognize me because I went to a lot of Fletcher events, and teaching assistants were amazing and would help me after class with career advice because they knew I was really serious about following in their footsteps, and there were also a number of events where they gave advice to undergraduates. However I can't tell from the way writing this whether or not you're already in graduate school so no biggie but for anybody who reads this and feels the same way, I just want to offer a different opinion that I got a lot of mentorship from Fletcher students and was really jealous of their supertight community just because they were all best friends and always had so much fun together and I always really wanted that for myself in grad school

Hi I also love the class size, that's a pro for me too! Some schools in DC were making me nervous because it seems like students are just doing their own thing and I really want to be friends with fellow students but I also want the kind of close relationships with at least one or 2 professors or senior fellows where I can continue to get their help for years to come. I don't want to go to a school where I'm just one of hundreds of students and where nobody will really help me with recommendations, connecting me to people, or offering me career advice. I have one professor from college and 2 former bosses that I've stayed in close touch with and their mentorship and willingness to write insane letters of recommendation for me has helped me get jobs, get into grad school, etc. I'm also a little nervous that Yales reputation is still so underdeveloped in our field. I know this is only one comment, but one girl from Georgetown said to me, "we always talked about students from our competitors schools like SAIS, SIPA, Fletcher, GW, HKS, etc. but we never talked about Yale, which should tell you something." I know that's one student and one comment but I'm worried it might be representative of how others will feel about us, where they might dismiss us because were not coming from one of the well-known powerhouse IR programs. I don't know enough to fully help you so I hope other people share their opinions as well, but I do know that my friend who is at SIPA right now took 2 classes in cybersecurity and is now doing an internship with some kind of cybersecurity startup thing at Columbia. I think SIPA is very very practical, which can be a minus if you're ever interested in going into academia because something like only 2% of students get their PhD afterwards, but if you want to just wrack up a ton of practical skills, SIPA may be better for you. You'd also have an easier time doing internships in New York while youre a student. The only downside to SIPA I'm seeing for you is that it's a lot of students and you have to make sure you build a good relationship with at least one professor who will help you in your career, and not get lost in the crowd. But I would look at classes at the school of management at Yale and see if those offer the kinds of practical skills you want too

Is anyone still checking this thread and want to talk about the pros/cons of Jackson? with admitted students cancelled I'm so bummed I can't discuss this with future classmates. my friends who have already been through this process said that's how they really figured out where they wanted to go

Can I give a strong heck yes to picking each other's brains later to weigh options

Hi I could really use some help thinking about the following programs: Background: I really want to work in democracy and elections and highly considering doing a PhD after my Masters so I don't want to shut the door on that, but I also want to graduate prepared to get a job at places like NDI, IRI, IFES, State, etc. 1. Georgetown Democracy and Governance: I love that is a tiny program of between 10 and 20 students because I do really well with a ton of mentorship and individual attention. I also want to work in democracy and elections in my career, and this program is kind of a feeder program for jobs NDI, IRI, and IFES. After my tiny scholarship that I got from their the cost of tuition is 60K TOTAL or 30k per year, plus cost of living in DC. I've been saving up money for years and found a part-time job I can do making $12,000 a year while studying so between this and a little help from my family I can graduate debt-free, but it's not like I come from a family of brain surgeons, I don't take it lightly to spend this money but if this is ultimately the best education then it's worth it. 2. SIPA: SIPA is now on the table because I just got a full ride. I'm nervous about being in a bigger program only because I noticed that when I'm in large programs I tend to get lost and not do as well whereas when I have the opportunities to be in a tiny program or work environment where I have very close relationships with my mentors/professors I succeed a lot more. There's internships here in New York or in DC so both this and Georgetown are good for building my resume as well but I'm nervous about just being totally lost and not getting the kind of mentorship I would in a program that's 10 students, which isn't Columbia's fault, it's just that it's hard to compete with that small the program in terms of offering really tailored career advice, career services help, mentorship, etc. 3. Yale Jackson: I got a full ride to Yale plus living stipend so moneywise this is obviously the best but I don't want this to be the only deciding factor because even if I graduate after an extra free education but I can't get into jobs that I want, then I'll really regret not taking an opportunity to go to a different program. This Global Affairs program is so new I've noticed a lot of people haven't heard of it, I'm worried that people might not value as much as the students who graduate from the more well-known powerhouse IR schools. I know that the Yale name goes very far outside of my field, but I'm pretty diehard about working in democracy and elections so I want to go to program that's really respected within my field. The pluses are that I can take classes at the law school and other departments/schools and its program size is about 20 students, which means I get that kind of individual attention I would get at Georgetown, and the administrators and career services are really invested in making you successful because you're only one of 20 students that they have to focus on. If anyone has any input I would really appreciate it. I think that these are 3 really different programs, because SIPA is a well known powerhouse large IR school, Yale is a new and small IR program that's still establishing itself, and Georgetown's is actually in the Dept of Government so it's not an IR school but its essentially a feeder program to my dream jobs and the curriculum feels like it was custom made for my dreams and interests

I also got $27,000 and MSFS offered $31,881 so I guess that's MSFS for me! Also got full tuition from Yale which is amazing but also it's not a major IR school so lots of decisions ahead! Although the most expensive program (Conflict Res at Georgetown) is still where my heart is at

I don't know if I should make a separate thread for this but I would love to discuss pros/cons of the MSFS. Is anyone else worried about the pressure to intern and to be a full-time student at the same time? Obviously this is a great opportunity to build your resume, but there are schools outside of DC were students also end up getting incredible jobs after graduation and they don't have to balance internships with school during the school year