CalSeeker

Hi Coloradical, I actually orignally preferred SAIS due to the name recognition and emphasis on int'l econ. (I was never considering SFS as seriously because I wanted more of an econ focus.) In the end, Elliott offered me a better financial deal and I decided that I needed to work while going to school. SAIS would have been more expensive, it does not allow part-time students, and all of the classes are during the day. At Elliott the classes are in the evening, allowing me to work and go to school part-time. This was a huge consideration for me, but I think it has been a pretty big positive for my classmates that are not necessarily in the same situation as me. Almost everyone in my program is able to get a relevant internship/job during the day, which is absolutely key for both building resumes and making connections. I think that the alumni network is pretty strong, based on my limited experience. I have run into several people through work that went to Elliott, and I think that Elliott has a strong reputation in DC. There have also been some events through my program (more on that below) that alumni also attended. They had a lot of good advice/info. My program at least seems to have good internship placement success, with agencies/companies actively seeking out students in our program. Obviously internships do not always turn into jobs, but it seems alumni have had pretty good success in the past. I have not gone to many of the wider Elliott School networking/career events, but it does seem that they always have a lot going on. I am in the international trade and investment policy (ITIP) program, and I am very satisfied with it. I like that it is smaller than the more general IA program, and I feel like we get more individual attention. I do not have a lot of experience with the other programs, though, so that may not be true. We have had several ITIP events to meet other students and alumni from the program. Also, all of the incoming students each year have all of the core classes together as a cohort. I feel like all of this has helped foster a good sense of community for the ITIP students (including those in the year ahead of us). The ITIP capstone project seems like a great opportunity as well. I have not started it yet, but basically we will split into teams and work on a project as consultants to an outside agency/organization/company in our area of interest. Again, I am not certain what the other programs are like. As far as Elliott School classes go, I like that most have given a strong focus to real-world policies and issues. Of course that is what you would expect from a professional program. Overall, I Elliott has been a great fit for me, and I have had a great balance of academic, professional, and extracurricular opportunities. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'd be happy to offer my thoughts.

I am a current Elliott School student and would be happy to answer questions. I am really enjoying my program and would recommend GW to people weighing their options. As others have mentioned, the location in DC and opportunities outside of class are key.

If you are interested in trade, I recommend GW's international trade and investment policy program (which I am currently in). If you got into the more general IA program, it is possible to transfer after starting. It is smaller and more focused, and I feel like we might get more individual attention than the larger IA group. With regard to GW more generally, for me a major advantage was that all the classes are in the evening. I think everyone in my program has been able to get relevant internships during the day or is working. This is key for making connections and building the resume. It is a huge benefit to be in DC to take advantage of these opportunities. I think that GW has pretty good name recognition in the DC area, from my limited experience so far. As you note, Georgetown is a bigger brand and is better-known outside of DC. Also, I think that at Georgetown, GW, and AU students are able to cross-register for classes at the other universities, if that is something you are interested in.

As a current grad student that worked for several years before going back to school, I thought I would offer my input with the realization that I am probably biased by my own experience. I focused on security studies in undergrad and was sure that I would work in that field. However, I ended up taking a job related to international trade "temporarily" after graduating. I found I actually liked that a lot more than security studies, and that is what I decided to study in grad school. So I think that having actual work experience in the field is important before investing the money/time in another degree, to make sure that it is actually what you want. Also, I feel like what I am learning now is much more interesting/valuable to me after getting a bit of real-world perspective. I feel more equipped to apply what I learn to my professional life. That is not to say that there are not downsides to going to grad school later. I am doing school part-time so that I can continue to work, and I do not have much time for extracurriculars. If I had to do it over again, I might have gone back a year or two earlier, but I think getting 2-3 years of work experience first is very helpful.

One of my coworkers is also in this position. She has been on the list for a while (for public diplomacy, I think), but has not gotten an offer. As suggested by Azrou, she is trying to pass the Arabic exam to get a score boost and get selected. I think you need to be prepared to spend some time in limbo. As to the choice of track, I believe the State Dept. website indicates which tracks are more impacted.

I am also a current ESIA grad student. Students live all over the area, but I know several people that live in Virginia. Living close to the Orange or Blue metro lines is convenient for school. Of course, the whole area is quite expensive, particularly for larger apartments without roommates (I also have a family). If you are going to drive or go on multiple means of public transportation (e.g., bus + subway) it can be cheaper.

Though it would take more than a year, I have met several people in grad school who were in the Peace Corps.

I did go back to a couple of professors after five years to get grad school recommendations. One of them did want to meet with me to catch up and mentioned that it had been a long time, but in the end she wrote me a good letter. I had saved one she wrote in the past, so she just had to update it. My impression is that the schools do place a lot of value on a letter from the academic side, though I do not have much to back that up.

In my opinion, the networking aspect of an IR degree is at least as important (if not more so) as the degree itself. So you might want to consider what an online degree would really get you. It is possible to get a masters degree and work full time, at least in the DC area. Both GWU Elliott and American SIS have part-time options. There may be other schools that offer this too. At Elliott, all of the grad classes are in the evenings (after working hours).

I realize no one has probably looked at this in some time, but I am in the Elliott ITIP program and can recommend it so far. They also just added a Finance concentration if that is something you are interested in. I had fairly good GRE scores but almost no undergrad math and very little econ, so that type of background is not really necessary. I also considered the general IA program with an economic concentration, but I am glad I did ITIP instead. It is a smaller program, so I feel like we get more individual attention and department assistance in finding internships/jobs, etc. There is also a significant proportion of international students in this particular program. I'd be happy to answer any other questions.

Has anyone already found an apartment? I am planning to arrive in DC in the last week of July and am hoping to find a place within a couple days. Any suggestions?

I am in the International Trade and Investment Policy program and will also be working (full time). I was told not to do more than two full courses and one skills course. Depending on your program, there may be recommended skills courses. Our program director sent out a list of potential courses that would work well for the different tracks. I signed up for the Negotiating Skills course, which I am excited about.

I have also been looking in the Rosslyn/Clarendon/Courthouse areas. Really anywhere on the Orange line. Have you had any luck yet? I am in the ITIP program, but I have also started registering for classes. Two are required, but I also signed up for one of the one-unit seminars (that will be all for me as I will also be working). I will also be going out early to do some summer review courses that the program is offering. I can't wait!

I keep trying to use City-Data, but for some reason when I click on a thread it does not show up for me. I have tried using four different browsers. Anyone else have this problem?

If you don't mind me asking, where did you end up finding a place and how much are you going to pay? I am still looking in NoVa as well...

Awesome, congratulations! See you there!

I am also in California and looking for DC/Northern VA apartments. I could also definitely use apartment tips. It is pretty depressing how much more we will be paying for a much smaller space than I currently have. In response to Mal83, have actually heard a lot of positives about Craigslist in DC. When I have been looking, there have been a lot of actual apartment complexes advertising there too. Another option is to try to use a realtor to help you identify good areas and find apartments. That option is more likely to have you end up in a condo that someone is renting out, but I do not think that is really less secure than an apartment complex. Plus it seems to be much cheaper in many cases. I have been looking mainly on the orange and blue metro lines for easy access to school and downtown. That means mainly Arlington neighborhoods and Fairfax on the orange line and Alexandria on the blue line. I have heard that Capitol Hill in DC is improving, but it has a reputation for being more sketchy.

I have been wondering about this too. I think I could figure out how to use my GWID to set up an email, etc., but I have been holding off since I hadn't really heard anything. My program was also apparently going to have some kind of pre-term session, but I have not heard anything about that either. I have just been assuming that people are busy with the end of the semester.

I think this might depend on your concentration. I will be starting the international trade and investment policy program, and the people I have talked to have made it sound like a pretty close community (only about 20 people per year). Some of the courses must be taken with your cohort, so you end up knowing the people in your year pretty well. It might be different for other programs, though. I was not able to go to the open house either, so I would love to hear more impressions, even though I have already made my decision.

I will be going to the Elliott School of International Affairs at GWU in the fall. I am relocating from California.

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Top 50 (University of California system) Previous Degrees and GPA's: BA in International Relations and Russian, 3.91 GPA GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 760V, 770 Q, 5.0 AW Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 4.5 years in trade consulting, undergrad research assistant Math/Econ Background: Basic calculus and stats, principles of micro and macro, international econ Foreign Language Background: Russian, basic Spanish Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International affairs (with strong focus on econ/trade) Schools Applied to & Results: GW Elliott, Georgetown MSFS, SAIS, AU SIS (accepted to all) Ultimate Decision & Why: I will be going to GW, and am very excited about it. I knew I wanted a program in DC that was heavy on international econ, so GW and SAIS were my top choices. SAIS gave me a good fellowship offer, but it did not quite cover everything. At GW I have an external fellowship for full tuition. Also, the classes at GW are all in the evening, so I will be able to keep working while going to school. SAIS' reputation for international econ was very attractive, but the classes for my program at GW are probably even closer to my interests.

That does sound like an excellent opportunity. I think it would be worth asking GW if they have anything like that, or asking them for contact info for current students in Latin American Studies to talk about internships. I found that the program staff and students have been very helpful if you have specific questions or concerns. You might as well get all the info you can.

I did my undergrad at UC Davis and (until I relocate for grad school in the fall) live in the Sacramento area. Since we will be moving for grad school, we would love to rent out our house in West Sacramento (a separate city from Sacramento) to interested UCD attendees. The house is in a nice neighborhood, just a couple years old, and is about 12 minutes to downtown Sac and maybe 20 minutes to Davis. Let me know if anyone is interested in hearing more! I would also be happy to answer questions about Davis or Sacramento.

I just chose GW over SAIS, both for the debt reasons and due to the evening classes (and therefore work opportunities) at GW. Even though I would have loved to go to SAIS due to the brand recognition, I think that is more about ego than the belief that SAIS would really teach me more than GW. I am really excited about my program at Elliott, where I think I will be able to focus on quant/econ at least as much as I could have at SAIS. I also agree that as long as your degree qualifies you for the jobs you are interested in, the work experience/internships you have will probably mean more than the school you attended. I have spoken with several students in my program at GW, and they said that almost all of them are working 20+ hours in jobs or internships.

This is the decision I have to make too. I got some pretty good funding from SAIS, which is my top choice, and that would be hard to give up. Elliott did not give me any money, but I did get an outside fellowship that would give me full tuition if I work for federal/state/local government for four years after graduation. That's a great deal, but if I end up not finding a job in government, I would have to pay the money back and Elliott would end up more expensive for me than SAIS would have been. The other wrinkle is that at Elliott I could go part time and have a full-time job. I am not sure how I could go to SAIS and continue to support my family. In fact, I was hoping to find a job in DC before making a decision, but that does not look like it is panning out. Anyway, both are great options with advantages and disadvantages. It is going to be a hard, stressful decision.