HandsomeNerd

this. so this.

Actually, as a graduate student, there appears to be no difference between subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans: they both clock in at 6.8%. http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp?tab=funding

^ this. I was on the student loan website the other day, and correct me if I'm wrong, but there's basically no difference between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal loans at the graduate level. Subsidized are like 3.4% but only for undergrads-- for grads, it's 6.8%, the same as unsubsidized...

Though situational, I agree with 2. But for 1, don't most schools have gym facilities? I often commute to my school even when I don't have class if I need to make it to the gym. Screw paying a membership on top of tuition. Anyone training in mma or a particular martial art as a grad student?

family guy

I wonder if he's getting funded? If not, does that even influence the chances of 'regular' folks' chances for admission?

carolinesays, thanks for rundown so far! i'd like to hear your thoughts on the question above, but for gtown instead of gwu.

yea i felt the same way about asking for recs. on that note, i cosign all the "face-to-face" advice. if you are physically able to meet in person, you should-- especially if you haven't seen them in a while.

Have you guys talked to admissions or financial aid about post-decision reevaluations for potential funding? I declined my funded offer yesterday, so that's at least one pot of money that's been freed up. Good luck!

nice! i'm headed into security studies. when are you guys starting to look for places to live?

how far is silver spring from georgetown?

Mal83, your conjecture about American's admission process is pretty far off the mark. Like you, I submitted my application on the day it was due, but it was the second school I heard back from. It was the first school that I got my formal acceptance package from, with a letter of funding dated March 4. So no, when we submitted our applications has nothing to do with how we were reviewed by the admissions committee. I'm sure both our applications were considered at or around the same time. It sucks that you didn't make it. And maybe you don't mean to, but I agree with wtncffts when he says you give off an air of entitlement or the impression of being tragically wronged somehow. The director of admissions mentioned, in multiple instances, how this year, they had the biggest and most competitive pool of applicants they've ever had. To be perfectly blunt, if you got rejected, there were surely some areas of your application which could have been more competitive. Do you really feel as if between your GREs/GPA/SOP and recommendations, everything was perfect? I got into most of my schools, and I still feel like I boogered my GREs, that my SOPs were far from my best writing. You really ought to look inward a little more than you lash outward.

So who's bound for Gtown this fall?

@ mikejbutera: The things about the open house that sold it for me were (in no particular order) impressive career services, a well-connected alumni network, and the diverse backgrounds of current/admitted students with whom I spoke. I met some interesting people representing prior military, DHS, State, finance/banking, tech-centered folks that majored in hard sciences, in addition to some go-getters straight out of undergrad. In the past few weeks, I've gone over all the material I could find about the program (and about SS programs in general, particularly the debate over generalist IR degrees v. a SS degree), so the presentations and powerpoint hard-sells didn't really break any new ground for me. I did, however, have reservations about the level of, I donno, pretentiousness in the program-- both within the student population and the faculty. Friendly interactions with both current students and faculty alleviated this anxiety. @Soccergo9: Yeah, I worried about this at first as well. Not as much room for coursework as more generalist programs like MSFS or SAIS, for example. But between strategically double counting courses to free up electives and the fact that I have no plans to go beyond an MA, I'm confident that I can construct a satisfying portfolio of engaging and relevant coursework.

so the open house sold me and i'm bound for gtown. who else went? thoughts?

hostels look like a great deal. i think i'm going to go with international student center, or duo housing.

yep. consider retaking the GREs as well.

just select 'security studies' and do class search

cool, hope to see you guys down there if i can make it. i'm looking at the fall 2011 course listing right now, and it's really exciting! i've done a fair amount of research on Iran, so i was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the leading Iran scholars Ray Takeyh will be teaching Problems in Middle East/Persian Gulf this fall. i didn't even know he was SSP faculty, lol!

so who's heading down for Visiting Day on the 12th?

I think your question begs another: how satisfied are you with what you're doing and the opportunities for advancement within your field? If you're satisfied and fulfilled, SSP sounds like a safe bet: steady income while staying competitive for promotion. If, on the other hand, you're interested in a career change or the possibility of a PhD later on, then SAIS might be worth it. It might be worth it to try to quantify how much you (and prospective new employers) would value the horizon-broadening education you'd get from SAIS. The demanding econ proficiency from the mandatory Int'l Econ concentration seems for example, seems like a fantastic skill-set to develop. The language proficiency, on the other hand, just seems onerous. Iirc, USDA offers free language classes at night. Why would you want to burden yourself with having to demonstrate language proficiency while completing a demanding MAIR program when you could take some free classes and demonstrate proficiency at your own leisure? While the econ aspect of the SAIS degree is impressive and unique, the language requirement just seems like something extra to puff up the reputation of the degree/program. Your proposed concentrations at each program seem similar. US Nat'l SecPolicy at SSP and American Foreign Policy at SAIS. Have you compared the concentration courses from each program? Compared possible SAIS electives with SFS electives? Is US SecPolicy at SSP broad enough to accommodate electives in Chinese History/Chinese Foreign Policy? Int'l Security? Either way, they both seem like great programs. I doubt you'll be hurting for employment if you do decide to take time off and go SAIS full-time.

just heard back from the dream school. 1/2 tuition. unless something insane happens, i'm going.

yea, Game is thoroughly entertaining. i picked the book up soon after this thread, and i'm almost done now. to the detriment of other readings that i am academically responsible for, lol

Declined my offer today. Good luck to the waitlisted!