Polk011

To add my two cents, I think for most MA schools its extremely hard to get a fellowship offer for your first year. I know some schools like Princeton are good about funding their MA students, but others, like SIPA (where I went) basically assume you'll take out loans to pay your way. With that said, a lot (again like SIPA) do say that while they give very few fellowships to first year students, they do give a large amount to students in their second year. I'd check with your MA program about that and see the sort of percentage of 2nd year students they fund, and importantly, what is required so you can factor that into your decision. I'm no expert on this, but I think outside funding for MA programs is pretty hard since a lot of them are policy schools and not research programs, the latter of which are more appealing for fellowships. I could be wrong though and you should definitely look into options, but sadly I think MA funding is sort of the neglected middle child between BA and PhD. Good luck!

Yup I'll be there as well, and also live in DC. For hotels I'd suggest finding something actually in DC--maybe Foggy Bottom, Du Pont area if possible--rather than VA. Might be a little more expensive but you'll get a better feel for the city. Then again, if you find a good deal in VA make sure it's in or near Rosslyn so you can take the shuttle or just walk over.

Nope still weighing both. Gtown was my top choice when I first applied but I've been really impressed w/ GWU so far. They have their GWU has its admit day on Monday so we'll see how that goes, and importantly, if the funding comes through for one or both of them!

I posted my acceptance a few days ago even though they were actually given to me back in February. I hope I put the actual acceptance date on there, which was Feb 28. For what it's worth, they're admit day is very late--April 8--so they may not be done with acceptances yet, though I have no inside knowledge of any of that. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply! Actually I'm looking to study the ME--with an emphasis on Iran--which is why I'm leaning towards gtown. Although GWU has great faculty like Brown and Lynch. I'll be going to both admit days though so we'll see how I feel after then.

Hey everyone, I've been in DC now for a total of about 5 years and thankfully am going to be staying here for my PhD program (deciding b/w GWU and Gtown). Aside from the rankings that are out there, which I know tend to rank GWU higher than Gtown, I was hoping to get people's thoughts about what the different reputations are of the schools in DC. I ask because I ran into someone who works in for the government on policy issues the other day and when I told them about my PhD options they seemed to have opinions of them that were different from the rankings. Obviously the people they know work on the policy side, speak at various events about town, and may even do some advising/consulting to the USG, but would still be interested to hear what others thought and/or had heard. Especially for those like myself who may be looking to go into research institutes or even policy after we get our PhDs (academia-lite, I know, but options open). And I should probably also add American, Hopkins-SAIS, and George Mason to the DC list. Thanks

also confirming a Columbia reject by email. Assuming UCLA is a lost cause--which I'm assuming it us, not just by timing but also because they apparently didn't admit any people w/ a MENA focus this year--finally have all my responses. Phew!

I'll be there. I live in DC and GWU is one of my top choices, so should definitely check it out Though I asked them about the prospects for funding and they didn't sound that optimistic from their reply....

Claiming a GW acceptance via email (Comparative). They said they're looking for 15 students out 350 applicants, but not sure if that 15 refers to the number they admitted or hope will accept. No funding "at the time" unfortunately, but I suppose now the negotiations begin!

Claiming a gtown admit (comparative). No funding (for now) unfortunately but still delighted to get something at this point.

congrats as well! any idea on class size and/or if those of us who didn't get emails are out

Ah well, should be a fun weekend. Thanks for the info. I may walk by gtown on Saturday afternoon just to put out good vibes

Wow will be on pins and needles this weekend. Does that mean we could get a response from them during the weekend or will they wait until a workday to actually send this off? Speaking of DC schools, anyone heard anything about when GWU will be making their decisions?

Hey everyone, I've been reading this forum anxiously for the past week and figured I should stop free-riding and contribute something. After seeing the Columbia admit posts I emailed someone in the department asking when we'd get official notice, and all the person said was that GSAS will be sending out their formal acceptances "in the coming week." So looks like those in limbo will remain so a least for a few more days....