ansac111

Indeed. If you look at my original post, it was intended to find out some soft and subtle differences between the two DC programs, so as to gauge which would a better cultural fit for me. I didn't want the conversation to drift towards rankings, usefulness of IR degree, allegations of arrogance coupled with inferiority complex

I don't intend to practice as an advocate but there are lot of jobs in Regulatory and Compliance field for big corporations as well as law firms which does not necessarily require JD Moreover firms like Patton Boggs and Hogan & Lovels have lobbying wing to their offerings. Any idea on how both the programs would be for my intended career field?

Dude you can disagree with his/her ranking but to rephrase the whole discussion and question whether IR field itself is meaningful is a moot point. Everyone who is on this forum have already answer this question for themselves. So it is not fair to compare SAIS with HBS or HLS but to its 'Peer' programs at GTown, Columbia, Fletcher etc. dft 309 did that only but somehow it offended you and invoked such passionate response

Thanks guys for your posts ! I have a background in law and the reasons why I am tilting towards MSFS is because it affords the opportunity to take courses at GTown Law. Also the Director of the program Anthony Clark Arend is a distinguish personality in International Law @dft 309: Your detailed response was indeed helpful and I do realize that heavy econ aspect of SAIS makes the overall program better, perhaps even better than MSFS, but how strong is the 'International Law' component of SAIS? I know SAIS has ILO concentration and Prof. Wedgwood was a former professor at YLS, but I don't hear much about their law electives. Overall SAIS would be considered better for career with World bank et al and MSFS for career in Foreign Service. But which program would you consider stronger for career in lobbying/ law firms?

Thanks. anyone with some insights to my questions above

Thanks guys, I think my impressions of SAIS was largely formed by forums like Gradcafe. Any views on the cultural difference between the two programs?

As we are getting closer to decision deadline, I am getting progressively more confused. The comparison between these two good programs have been done many times across various forums, but I wonder how they compare on some of the softer aspects Brand name: Even though I am not a sucker for a brand but I got this impression that SAIS has the best brand name in DC for IR. My question is would I be at a disadvantage (from a brand perspective) if I choose GTown over SAIS? Ideological bent: SAIS had a reputation of being neocon hub , but I guess that has changed to a large extent, especially with Valis Nasr (who is a centrist at best) as the new dean Also would you classify Gtown as liberal? Conservative ? Or somewhere in the middle Average age: on a random search I found the SAIS student body to be on a younger side and MSFS having more experienced people. Would you agree with this assessment? Any other info which you think sharply distinguish the two programs

Hi Clay made, I can totally understand your frustration especially what you went through last year with deferral et al. For what its worth, my two cents below: My guess is that you are high on their ranking and as per their estimation you are almost sure to get "some" funding but they cant commit till April 20th ( when the scholarship deadline ends). It may very well be the case that you are awarded the full scholarship but its difficult to infer this meaning from the e-mail Going solely by these wordings, the key thing above is "some' which weakens your case of full scholarship. if they would have used the word "the' then it would have been a different thing. Anyhow, April 20th is just hours away and I am turning down my offer. Here is hoping that my money goes to you All the best !

Hi Riverguide, could you please PM this info to me as well?

I really don't know anything about the program but studying security studies in Israel do sound interesting...It would surely provide you different perspective, however you should also think about your employability. where do you want to work after your MA? You are right in assessing that , on a general level a degree from Israel does not have the same cache as a degree from US and UK, on the other hand you may be able to meet some niche demand for a mid-east policy expert with some on-ground experience. Also, are you jewish? the reason why I am asking is, as a plan B (and if you're interested) you can make aliyah and find employment in foreign policy circles in Israel.

whats happening at GTown, why are they not releasing all the decisions ?

Does anybody know how this thing works? do they provide assistance to the admitted students who were not given fellowship in the first place or do they simply increase the fellowship amount to existing scholarship holders?

For IDEV go to SAIS, I think it is next only to HKS for development studies

Thanks for the info and all the best for the decisions that you are awaiting !

Any idea whether they will send the video recording of the open house to International candidates?