HisRoyalHighness

Stop taking the practice tests if they're freaking you out. You've taken enough - taking more isn't going to make a bit of difference. My scores didn't change that much from the practice tests to the actual. My verbal went up 55 points and my quantitative stayed the same.

Why are you "waiting" to hear from two schools when you've already accepted an offer from another? That seems highly unethical. I thought the standard paradigm was to accept an offer then withdraw your applications from any other schools to which you applied and were either waiting for a decision or were already on a waitlist.

I'm a big believer in graduating with as little debt as possible. But I'm also not exactly unbiased because I'll be attending Korbel in September for the same program. PM me if you have any questions. I visited both schools (but ultimately decided not to apply to Georgetown) so I can try and outline what I see as the positives and negatives of both programs.

Like I said - I know someone on an admissions committee who has seen it happen. Better safe than sorry. And I agree totally with the advice that you ask your recommender if they can write a positive, strong recommendation. Still - it doesn't hurt to ask to see it. By waiving your right to do so all you're really doing is perpetuating the non-opaque process of admissions which is really the last bastion of the star chamber. Fight the power.

It's the cowardly way of doing what I did. If someone wants to see their recommendation letter they should either ask for a copy or refuse to waive their right to review the letters in their application file. Every school I applied to gave me that option and I thought about taking it - instead I just asked my recommenders. I agree - you should not open sealed recommendation letters. Asking for an extra copy so you can do so is unethical and dishonest.

I got slammed when I wrote this in response to another post asking the same question. But I asked all of my recommenders to provide me with a copy of the letter they wrote on my behalf and told them if they didn't feel comfortable doing so I'd find someone else. All of them agreed with no hesitation. I spent too much time and effort applying to grad school for it to be screwed up by a vengeful former professor or adviser. I've heard of recommenders who will tell a student to their face how much they like them and respect them and how happy they would be to provide a recommendation letter for them and then turn around and write a letter savaging the student. As a matter of fact I know someone on an admissions committee who specifically mentioned a recommender who called a student "lazy" and said their work was of "poor quality." I don't know why someone would do that but it happens, a lot more than people think it does. I have a right to know what people are saying about me. Businesses cannot give anonymous recommendations and risk being sued if they provide negative ones. I don't know why academia should be any different.

Uhhh - No.

You can apply for a PLUS loan, which is a hybrid government-loan with a fixed rate of 8.5%. You can borrow up to the cost of tuition + expenses. Personally I would NOT recommend taking out a private loan for graduate study when PLUS is available. Private loans have adjustable rates (and interest rates have nowhere to go but up), cannot be consolidated AND must be paid back after you graduate even if you re-enroll in school again (no deferral). I took out two private loans for undergrad and now am resigned to having to pay them even when I'm in graduate school. You also cannot deduct the interest for private loans off your taxes. In short - don't borrow private if you can borrow PLUS.

If someone really finds the FAFSA difficult to fill out then they're probably going to find most graduate programs extraordinarily difficult. I can't empathize with people who complain about how hard it is to fill in an electronic form which asks such difficult questions like: "how much was your total income last year."

If you're very politically conservative then you'll LOVE Texas. Otherwise - go somewhere else.

No, name doesn't matter as long as the school has a good reputation in the IR community. It's really that simple.

You MUST go to school in DC. There is NO other option. All knowledge and power emanate from DC. Without DC there is NO life - you'll be cast into outer darkness if you don't go to American - because outside of DC (and maybe NY) there exists only darkness - deep, pitch-black never-ending darkness... If you don't go to DC you won't be able to build a "network" and get "contacts" or work at "internships" throughout the year. Basically outside of DC there exists a black hole from which DC is exempt - there is nothing outside DC - NOTHING. So IMHO - go to Syracuse.

Seriously? "For my friend?" I don't mean to be harsh but Cal is in the Bay Area - put two and two together here. Tell him to get ahold of the GLBT student group on campus - there's a large one at Cal. And unless someone is going to school in the South or a religious university like Jerry Falwell's Liberty - I don't really think this is an issue anymore.

Pitt - why would you graduate $50,000+ in debt when you could attend a program as well regarded as American, just because it's in DC? I believe Pitt maintains a program in DC where you can 'build a network."

It's important when you're choosing a Security Studies program that you make sure you're picking the one which best fits your interests, are you interested in defense analysis, arms control or terrorism? Some of the best, most highly-regarded Security Studies programs are NOT in DC - for example Kansas State University's program is very highly regarded and is nowhere close to DC. Most good Security Studies programs in the US are located near large military installations - Kansas State's program is located near Ft. Leavenworth. The Korbel School at the University of Denver is located near NORAD - there's a reason these programs are highly regarded despite them NOT being located in DC, the Naval Postgraduate School is another outside of DC - located in Monterey, CA. If you want to stay in DC Georgetown's program in Security Studies is an excellent one but it feels like a part-time program because all of the classes are at night and it's also only 1.5 years - in addition it doesn't require a second language which makes it somewhat suspect in my eyes - if there's any field which SHOULD require a second language it's Security Studies. For the study of terrorism Columbia and Georgetown are really tops in NY and DC - Syracuse is another good option outside of the beltway. When making your choice try and consider some of the things I've written here as well as your own interests - but please do not listen to any advice which tells you you MUST go to school in DC or you won't "make connections." That advice is completely and totally untrue.

I think it sucks and it must feel like a person working with the old Soviet government in the Kremlin - it's not transparent and it feels highly sadistic - and I got into both schools to which I applied.

Thanks for letting me know! I just called them and they told me I needed to send in transcripts from undergrad - which surprised me as I thought the only requirement was HS graduation. If I hadn't called I probably never would have known and my application would have languished and then the school would have been filled - dooming my plans for the summer.

Really? I checked before I wrote that and again now and I don't see it on the affiliate list anywhere - am I missing something? APSIA isn't the end-all-and-be-all or anything but it helps - I don't think New School is on the list anywhere, but that doesn't mean it's not a decent program.

I took the LSATs and was going to apply to law school, mainly because I felt that my boyfriend and mother really wanted me to - in particular my mother who put a lot of pressure on me. I come from a single-parent household and am the oldest so I've always felt the need to try and please my mom. But one day I said to myself "why am I doing this?" I realized I wasn't interested in studying law, other than international law, and that I did not want to spend three years studying aspects of the law i didn't care about - with people who for the most part strike me as a bunch of self-important douchebags. So I turned on a dime and applied to grad school instead. The reaction from my mother? "I'm disappointed." The reaction from me? "Then maybe you should have applied to law school."

While at NYU as an undergraduate I had a professor from the New School who was excellent. But New School doesn't have the gravitas of either Columbia or NYU and it's also not a member of ASPIA - which is really important in quantifying one program from another.

When do they let you know about acceptance? I applied and sent in all my recommendations and took the placement test online and haven't heard a peep from them. Does anyone have feedback on when they found out they were accepted?

Depending on the program you're allowed to switch your focus in the first year, which gives you some room for flexibility in this area. I bet a lot of people take advantage of that option - especially in intelligence and counter-intelligence which seem like such amorphous fields.

Is anyone going into this program worried about the fact that it's a single year? How is an employer going to compare an applicant from that single-year program to one from a two-year program? One year seems quite short to learn about such a complex subject. Incidentally - I was told by someone from the Boren Fellowship program that applicants from one-year Masters programs are not as highly considered as those from a two-year program. If Boren (and by extension Fulbright) feel this way then how are employers going to take it?

You need a Ph.D to work for the World Bank and as far as the UN - if you're from the third-world you're likely in like Flynn - so considering that it's not really very important where you go. I mean - you seem to have done a longitudinally quantitative analysis of all aspects of not only admission and funding but employment afterward so why not draw your own conclusions?

I did so as soon as I knew. Then I asked for advice on which program to pick. Most professors I know in my field are interested in staying touch with students pursuing advanced degrees.