myacu

Hello Im starting next fall in DC at SAIS. Just to throw in my two cents for those of you struggling to find funding have you applied to any fellowships? Particularly foreign service programs like the Pickering and Rangel? Last year I had zero funding so I deferred for a year to save up more money. Now I will be starting on a full ride scholarship plus living stipend and after I graduate I will start A100 in the foreign service. I gather not all of you are oriented towards the public sector but if you havent exhausted all of your financing options definitely consider applying for a fellowship next year. Id be happy to give any advice.

I've just been notified that I'm a finalist for the Rangel fellowship. Just to confirm, even if you are a finalist for Rangel, you can still be selected as a finalist for Pickering? Obviously you can only select one but I was wondering if accepting an interview for one would exclude you from the other. Thanks!

Havent seen a thread for this yet. Anyone applying from out of the country?

Hello, I have been admitted to the DC SAIS 2 year program for Fall 2013. However, I have the option to change my first year location to Bologna. For those who are in the Bologna-DC program and have already concluded their first year, can you please offer me any insight about the differences between the two campuses, mainly from a coursework perspective. Also, I would be interested in knowing your concentration. I am intending to do the Energy Environment and Resources concentration. I feel like most students at Bologna have a focus on Europe or Central Asia. My area of research will be around East Asia. I still feel like DC would be a better match in terms of coursework, but I have personal reasons for considering Bologna now. Please it's really a chance of a lifetime! So please advise.

Woudl you mind sharing yoru reason for deferral? I would like to defer but it was my understanding that MSFS rarely ever grants deferrals. Then again, with a 50% scholarship, they were probably willing to do anything so as to now lose you to another school

I am in a similar position. I've been accepted into Georgetown MSFS and SAIS, both are dream schools. I'm currently teaching English in Korea and am considering deferring for one year. Primarily, another year would offer me the opportunity to save up some more money, apply for fellowships. Moreover, I plan on continuing language study because I would like to take my proficiency exam in Korean. Does anyone have any idea of deferrals are only granted on rare occasions or are they pretty regular, so long as you have a legitimate reason for deferring? Obvious I wouldnt' use "saving money" as an excuse but would spending more time abroad, particularly when East Asia will by my area of concentration be regarded as a credible reason for deferring?

Hi everyone! Congratulations to all those who have been accepted. I am currently abroad and missed the HKS deadline but if I had applied I would have gone for the MPP program. That being said, I just received two acceptances from Georgetown MSFS and SAIS MA this week. The third school I applied to was SIPA and I was rejected because, according to the letter, I did not have enough professional experience. I graduated in August of 2011 so I honestly had no hope of being accepted into any programs, based on how my work experience consists of mostly government internships, a few short-term full-time jobs non-related to IR, and a year teaching in South Korea. I do have a strong academic record, with a solid quantitative background (economics major) probably the main reason for my present acceptances. Now that I have more confidence, I regret not having applied to HKS. I was wondering amongst those of you who were accepted already if any of you have a similar profile. I realize that I already have great schools to choose from, but I would willing to postpone grad school to obtain more work experience in the field. Is it too optimistic to think that an acceptance into MSFS makes acceptance into HKS reasonably probable?

The email said the incoming class is less than 100 - so maybe 90?

Really excited to be accepted. I'm abroad right now so I'll be missing open house. Still waiting to hear back from GPPI though.. ;/

I am still waiting to hear some news. Do I have any reason to still be optimistic? :/

Just accepted but I'm confused as to which specific concentration I have been admitted for. My first choice was ERE. This is what the acceptance letter stated: The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is pleased to offer you admission to the Master of Arts degree program at SAIS with your enrollment beginning in fall 2012 at the Washington, D.C., campus. Can I assume I am in for ERE? Has anyone received a similar letter?

Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): MPP, MIA, MSFS Schools Applied To: Georgetown, Columbia SIPA, Johns Hopkins SAIS Schools Admitted To: Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: Undergraduate institution: UC Berkeley Undergraduate GPA: 3.71 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.9 Undergraduate Major: Economics GRE Quantitative Score: 750 (82%) GRE Verbal Score: 800 (99%) GRE AW Score: 5.5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 1 Years of Work Experience: 2 Describe Relevant Work Experience: U.S. Treasury intern, Trade assistant at U.S. commercial service, Marketing Assistant for French publishing company, EPIK teacher Languages: English, French (working fluency), Vietnamese (native), Korean (elementary) Quant: Multivariable calculus, econometrics, statistics Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Connects teaching in Korea to research goals, focuses on quantitative background and how it will relate to research methods Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Two professors and professional rec from government internship with connections to department of commerce foreign service Other: Offered a Fulbright ETA grant that I chose to decline

Hello! So it has been a while since I've posted here. I originally applied for a Fulbright ETA to South Korea and was rejected in the final round. So I decided to pack off on my own to Korea to teach in a public school. However, I've now received an email asking if I want to accept an ETA in Malaysia starting in Jan for the rest of the year. My mind is kind of reeling because I just got settled here, but I'd love to get in contact with any Malaysia ETAs to get some insight before I make my decision. Thanks!

Sorry to hear about that. As someone who never thought they could do well on standardized tests (took the SAT four times) I approached the GRE from the standpoint that its definitely not a metric of your competency to succeed in graduate school but simply a matter of "can you figure out the "formula" to do well on the test. Test taking is certainly an art and unfortunately doesn't reward creative thinking often. I took the old GRE and did quite well but the same principles of good studying apply to the new one. For the writing, I highly recommend reading sample essays and breaking each paragraph apart line by line. Examine the "function" of each sentence so that you can literally make a "road map" of the essay . It doesn't hurt to rewrite a sample 6 essay in your own words (while staying faithful to the original version) so that you can get a sense of what makes a strong introductory sentence, thesis, how to introduce supportive evidence, etc. Hope this helps!

Yeah, I think I'm going to leave it at that. I do know that the GRE is just one small portion of your overall application. In my case, I am a recent graduate so my work experience is lacking. But at this point, I would have to study for the new GRE and I'm too lazy to be bothered. Thanks for the help guys!