bgreenster

I think this may be a newer thing, as I don't remember getting a personalized email (other than the one asking to set up a Skype chat). Sorry not to have much info, but hopefully you'll hear from them soon!

You already say things like confirmation bias in regular conversation - totally ready for grad school Get ready for more of that and critiquing every "study" anyone puts up on Facebook (even more so than you already do) - "How big is their sample?" "What kind of omitted variables might we be dealing with here" and of course "did they run an RCT?" All jokes aside, I have basically gotten the same sense about the new vs. established programs. As in, word for word. I think being the 3rd cohort will be interesting because things will be running much more smoothly and you'll have precedents for projects, etc., but they're still open to change.

Congrats on the acceptance I am now a second year in the program, and I still love it. My overall thoughts haven't changed much since my other postings, as I do still find GHD to be responsive, flexible, and providing really useful career prep. We definitely do interact with other SFS departments - for example, last Friday we had a happy hour that GHD put together for us and MSFS. Also, we are with other programs in classes outside of the core courses, either in the GHD electives or by taking classes outside of the department (or even at other unis). I think it might depend on your own preferences, but I really like having a small cohort. For reasons I've posted in the past, I think it really lends itself to individualized attention from the department, and honestly it also makes it easier to get to know everyone in the cohort. We are a pretty tight bunch, and all kinda know what is going on with each other and can help out with making connections, etc. This is one of the big reasons I chose the program, but I'm sure there are people out there that prefer large cohorts and this wouldn't be as great for them. I am now starting the job hunting process, and can't totally speak for perceptions of our program, but in general people hear "Georgetown SFS" and think of it like that. I've been glad to see that, since I also figured it wouldn't be so bad going into a brand-new program since the school itself is so established. Feel free to message me for any other questions or better explanations of what I just wrote. I'm not sure how well I just covered your questions as my brain is mush these days from school/work/job hunt fun Also, if anyone is able to make it to the Admitted Students' Day, I think that is really helpful and there will be a bunch of us there to answer questions, hang out, etc.

It isn't a bad thing It's probably somewhere in the middle of the two, although hard to say. I think not everyone was interviewed in my cohort, such as those living somewhere without internet - I did have one, but I was back in the States by then. Hope it went well for ya!

I used Turbo Tax last year, and again this year. This year, I'm on a fellowship that includes a stipend, so that made things more difficult - I ended up on the phone with a Turbo Tax accountant who helped walk me through it all. Even before grad school, I've used their program for years, with good experiences. And if your tax situation is fairly straightforward, you should be able to use their free version (I also was Tennessee resident until this past year, where you don't have to fill out a state form... which was nice). Otherwise, I'd go with the others' suggestions. I think some of this is hard to answer, as each person's situation and fellowship may be a bit different. Is your fellowship just for tuition, or does it include a stipend? If it's just for tuition, it shouldn't count against you - and the school should give you a 1098-T that you put into your deductions (and not under income). Even if it is higher than your tuition, if your household income is low enough, you shouldn't have to pay. I ended up having to pay taxes on mine this year, which was brutal, because of the stipend. Actually, don't even get me started - this year's taxes had me all up in arms about the IRS

Hi guys, current GHD-er here Just wanted to clear some things up - Yes, it is in SFS. Also, for our electives, we can take courses from any of Gtown's programs - so you can take classes through GPPI, the business school, the law school, and obviously a lot of us take straight-up SFS courses (GHD also has its own electives that we are guaranteed spots in and which have been popular this semester with students from other programs). As for the fellowships, I can't really say for sure. There are some to apply for (I am applying for FLAS as we speak). Some people have jobs (I currently have a paid internship at an NGO, that I got thanks to our program) and I think a couple have scholarships outside of GHD. I can't say for certain because we don't really talk about money amongst ourselves. This is definitely where it would help just to email our program heads, as they are very upfront about everything, and they would be able to tell you best what your options are. The program is staying at 20. I imagine when you were speaking with someone and they said 40, they probably meant something along the lines of the program in total having 40 people once the new cohort gets here. (this is something we talk about, as it will be strange to have a new cohort soon! haha) For experience, everyone in our program now has at least a year of development experience. Most have more, or at least some other kind of work experience. I'd say beyond development work, at least international experience is a must. Frankly, it makes our classes a lot better because we've all worked in the field in some way, so you come into the program at least with a basic understanding of how these concepts and such work in the real world. It's been pretty great learning from other students' experiences as well. Please feel free to message me with any questions. And congrats to all who got in - all of us in the current cohort are super excited to meet people! **EDIT - we can also take classes at any school in the DC Consortium, such as American, GW, Maryland, etc. http://www.consortium.org/consortium/index.cfm **

Hey guys, congrats on getting in! I'm currently at GHD, so feel free to message me if you have any questions

I took Macro and Micro online last year before starting grad school. I'm now at Georgetown, and they accepted both. I took Micro first, while I was still applying, through UCB. The course was actually really great (I took it there even though it was a little pricy for the name, since I was still applying) with active feedback and ability to email with the professor. To take the final, you just have to have the exam sent to any testing center near you and then they mail it to UCB. This can be like a standard testing center, or as I did, a local college. I took Macro after I had been accepted, and just needing to fulfill a requirement. I took that at straighterline - http://www.straighterline.com/online-college-courses/online-business-courses/economics-i-macroeconomics/ which was not nearly as good, but got the job done for cheap. It's basically $99, if you can do the course quickly - sign up for the trial (which isn't much of a trial) and then wait to sign up, and they give you the course for free. I did my course in a month, and since you pay $99/month to be part of straighterline, I didn't have to pay much. And they are legit credits. However, I don't feel like it was a good course, since the online tutoring didn't do it for me. UCB was way better, but also 7x the cost. Depends on what you need it for - it's worth it if you need the credits and aren't too worried about your ability to teach yourself (It ook Macro back in undergrad but didn't get a good grade, so it was mostly review for me). But as others said, there are tons of places that do these online courses, and I think most schools just care about the credits and the fact that you're taking the course.

Hey everyone, Now that the new application season is in full swing, I wanted to offer to answer any questions people may have about the GHD program. Please feel free to ask any questions, either here or by PM. In general terms, I will say that the things I listed above are all true, and I absolutely love this program. Obviously, I don't personally have other grad schools to compare it to, but we get so much individual attention and the professors are so approachable that it still kinda blows my mind

A year later, I can share what ended up happening. As we could see, I really had no idea about how all this financial aid worked in grad school. I filled out my FAFSA after applying, and qualified for the loans for each school I was accepted to. My impression, though, was that basically everyone qualified for those loans... at least that's what it seemed like when the financial people at the admitted students day were talking about it. (Obviously, I could be WAY off on this, esp since I mostly applied to programs with small cohorts) Fortunately, I ended up getting a full tuition scholarship, so I only have to worry about cost of living. With that being the case, it doesn't really make sense for me to take out loans (since my fiancee has a job). The ones offered to me, though, were basically to cover what the school files as the cost of living each year (so, for example, at Gtown we were all offered 65k in loans to cover tuition and COL). With that being the case, it doesn't seem like your marital status makes a difference in the procurement of loans. I had kind of thought it was like with undergrad, where students got better gov't loans with lower incomes (or being independent)... and correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't seem to be the case for grad school.

Congrats to both of you! Taylox, I officially accepted my offer, so it looks like I'll be seeing you in August! Michael_Scott - I completely understand where you're coming from. As much as I love the possibilities of this program, I agree that any school in the higher tier will bring about similar connections and education, so it's more of a matter of what makes sense personally. I know that funding was a BIG thing for me (as with many of us going into development work, let's be real...)

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): University of Virginia Previous Degrees and GPAs: Double major in English and Spanish; minor in Religious Studies - GPA 3.2 (3.4 last 2 years) GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V: 680 Q: 700 AW: 5.5 Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 5 years teaching ESL/volunteering; Peace Corps (included in those 5 years) Math/Econ Background: AP Stat; Micro/Macro in college, but didn't do well so re-took Micro for my apps, now taking Macro Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): Spanish and Azerbaijani - conversational, beginner Turkish (although can get by based on my Azeri) Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International Development (applied mostly to MPA/MPP programs) Long Term Professional Goals: to work with refugees/displaced peoples in conflict/post-conflict areas Schools Applied to & Results: UVA-Batten (accepted, some funding) LBJ-MGPS (accepted, in-state funding) Georgetown SFS-GHD (accepted, full funding) SIS-EPGA (accepted, little funding) Tennessee (accepted, no funding) and Duke Sanford (wait listed) Ultimate Decision & Why: Georgetown. It was a dream of mine for years to go to SFS, and this new program is perfect for my career goals. I'll be going for the Refugee and Humanitarian Emergencies certificate, and I was really excited after meeting the faculty and those involved with the school. I really feel like SFS is deeply invested in this program, and that no other school was better for my career options. The full ride has also been a huge plus, of course. Advice for Future Applicants: Don't be too hard on yourselves. I honestly didn't think I'd get in anywhere, especially with my "low" GPA and poor performance in quant classes in college. But I started on my applications as soon as I possibly could, and started writing drafts of my SOP in early summer last year. I am fairly certain that I got into schools because I made sure my essays showed my genuine passion for this field, and I had great professional LORs. Overall, I would say being older helps, and knowing exactly what I want to do so that I could show schools how it connects to my past and their programs of study are what gave me the extra push.