pika2

yes, great piece of advice from Stephen33! wish i'd thought of that prior to sending my email to the fin aid office, though i doubt it would've made a difference in my case. the korea studies program. and i do think the SAIS fin aid office asked the program and found out that i'd been offered a fellowship, b/c i received an updated fin aid letter in the mail two days after they emailed me their response noting that the fellowship has been included as part of my fin aid package. yeah, i guess it was kind of stupid of me to hope they wouldn't know or find out :oops: but it's true that nevertheless SAIS would be more expensive for me to attend, so i guess my case would still be valid...

...yeah, I think that's definitely an overstatement, but I do agree that Harvard carries w/ it a level of prestige that no other school in the world can match. However, as a lot of people have already mentioned on this board, I think that the most important thing to consider when choosing a graduate program is to determine whether it truly fits your goals and interests. I didn't think Harvard KSG was a good fit for me b/c of the very limited number of IR courses it offers in comparison to many other top IR schools. Plus, most of the courses offered w/in the International and Global Affairs program seemed to deal with some aspect of US foreign policy, which I guess makes sense since KSG is first and foremost a public policy school.

yeah, while i haven't actually seen for myself what the global economic crisis is doing to other countries, i have friends and relatives who are living in europe and asia, and i can't believe some of the things they are telling me. as bad as things are here in the US, i guess we're actually kind of lucky compared to other countries... i'll just add a few more things you might want to keep in mind as you work on your applications. A lot of these IR schools say that the personal statement is the most important part of your application, and I think they're definitely telling the truth there. I was accepted to all of the schools that I thought were a good fit for me b/c I'd made sure to make that clear in my personal statement (or statement of purpose). Not surprisingly, I was either waitlisted or rejected by the schools for which I struggled w/ writing my SOP b/c I wasn't convinced they were a good fit for me, and I think they could sense that too (now I wonder why I bothered applying to those schools at all. You live and learn, I guess.) Also, it'd be good to have some work experience prior to applying. Many of the top IR programs state that admitted applicants have about 3-4 years of previous work experience on average. I applied and got into Georgetown, Tufts Fletcher, and JHU SAIS with about a year of post-grad work experience, but I think a lot of it had to do w/ the nature of the work I did (interned for another country's foreign ministry, which apparently a lot of Americans think is nearly impossible, lol) and the recommendations I had (one from my supervisor at the foreign ministry, 2 from my professors who I was closest w/ in college). Also, I made sure to tie everything together in my SOP so that the adcomm would hopefully see that even w/ my relatively little work experience, the next logical step for me would be grad school. Of course, there are also some people who get in straight from undergrad, though usually they're IR or poli sci majors and have had at least a couple of IR-related internships while in undergrad, neither of which describes me. That said, I'm wondering if schools expect most international applicants to have had less work experience in general? Because I know the concept of "internships" and "getting work experience prior to going to grad school" isn't as well-established in Europe (and certainly not in Asia) as it is in the US. So perhaps the IR schools will know that and be more lax about the work requirement for international students? I don't know. Oh, last thing, study hard and do your best on the GRE. While schools understand that international applicants will generally have a lower verbal (and perhaps analytical writing) score than American applicants, they still would like to see a high score on the quantitative section. And, of course, if you can get a high score on the verbal, so much the better!! Whew, this was longer than I originally intended. Hope this helps, and good luck!

ahaha, yeah, i know a lot of international students from my college who have decided to stay in the US for good. but france seems like it could be a cool country to work in, if you can get a job that is, and if you don't mind the strikes (no offense) i'm sure if you put at least some effort into your application, you'll have a good chance at getting into at least some of those schools. as "selective" as some people might say these schools are, i think they're less selective than, say, many of the Grandes Ecoles in France. And much of the selection process is pretty subjective (a lot of it depends on whether the adcomm thinks you're a good fit for the school and if the school can really help you achieve your goals), so you could get into a school that is higher-ranked and generally more selective while getting rejected by a lower-ranked and less selective school.

um, you might also want to add Johns Hopkins SAIS to that list. I've been told SAIS has a great Strategic Studies program, and a couple of the students there have told me that it's probably one of the best, if not the best, program at SAIS. Like Georgetown, SAIS is located in DC and is considered to be one of the best IR master's programs in the US, though one of my French friends who's studying at Sciences Po told me that for some reason JHU SAIS doesn't seem to be as renowned in France as Georgetown or Columbia.

Thanks for the honest input, console. Well, I figure every college or university in the US is probably going to have way more courses on China than on Korea (or even Canada and Japan, for that matter), so that doesn't discourage me in the least bit. Plus, SAIS actually seems to have more courses on Korea (not to mention more professors specializing in Korea) than any other IR program I've encountered so far (I'd imagine it might be the same w/ Canadian Studies, as I haven't even heard of Canadian Studies being offered at any other top IR school. Not sure about Japan though; I think SIPA's program might be better for that.). Also, the director of the program told me they'll be adding more courses on Korea next year, so hopefully when I'm there they'll have a few courses on non-security-related stuff Anyway, it's always nice to hear a current student's perspective on SAIS, so thanks again

Well, originally the offer was meant to be given over the phone, but for some reason my phone didn't pick up his call, so the director sent me an email instead saying that I'd been awarded the program fellowship, which is in addition to whatever financial aid the school gives me. He didn't tell me anything about sending me any sort of letter or other written confirmation. But I know many SAIS students in my intended concentration have been awarded the fellowship in the past, so I didn't think it'd be necessary to ask, but you do bring up a good point. I'll probably ask the director about this later today... Edit: Or I guess the email could serve as a written confirmation, albeit a less formal one? I don't know; I'm pretty bad w/ all this administrative/legal stuff. And I don't know when or how the fellowship will be disbursed to me (all I know is that it will be paid directly to me in some way or another), so I'm still planning on asking about the details.

Funny how I found a thread on this topic, considering that I just heard back earlier this morning from the financial aid office at JHU SAIS. I wrote them an email on Monday asking if they might be able to raise their initial fellowship offer of $10k and mentioned that I'd been offered $16k from Fletcher. I also wrote how much I wanted to attend SAIS but that after comparing the costs of attendance at both schools, Fletcher would be a much cheaper option for me and that, unfortunately in my case, financial aid would be a huge factor in determining where I'd be able to go. I wrote all of that in the nicest and most polite way I could think of and received a polite denial hours ago. Here's the email they sent me: "Dear _____, Although our desire would be to award every admitted student some form of fellowship assistance, financially we are unable to do so. In an effort to serve our applicants, we have awarded as much aid as possible in our initial offers, and as such, are not able to take re-consideration requests. We thank you in advance for your understanding, and we realize that graduate school is an investment to be weighed carefully. We hope that after a careful consideration of all of the benefits we have to offer, you will decide to invest in your future at SAIS." I'm actually wondering if the SAIS fin aid office asked the director of the program I've been accepted to whether I was offered any extra funding by the program (which I was--I got an additional $10k from the program, but to my knowledge, the funding is from an external source, so I don't think the school's fin aid office would be aware of it unless it actually asked the particular program). Even so, I thought my request was still valid b/c believe it or not, even w/ the combined offer of $20k from SAIS, it would still be cheaper for me to attend Fletcher. :shock: ...or maybe the school thought I wasn't worth investing more dollars in, based on my application and credentials ...or maybe the fin aid staff had a feeling I would choose to attend SAIS regardless of their decision, in which case, they'd be right I'm not sure what other schools' financial aid policies are, but I'd say it's at least worth a try. And I'd think as long as you're nice and polite when inquiring about the possibility of additional fin aid in your email, the worst they could do would be to say no. I seriously doubt any reputable school would rescind its offer of admission b/c of your inquiry, and if it does, well, it probably doesn't care about its students as much as it should, and you probably wouldn't want to go there anyway. Hope this helps.

Sorry, I don't, as I'm not a current SAIS student nor have I asked anyone about the African Studies program at SAIS. I will say, however, that a couple of SAIS students have told me that the regional studies programs at SAIS are all great and that you can't go wrong w/ whichever one you choose. I don't know anything about the African Studies program at Fletcher, sorry. Perhaps you could ask the admissions office at both schools and ask if they could put you in touch w/ current students who are concentrating in Africa? I know the SAIS acceptance letter mentions this, and I'm sure the admissions office at Fletcher would also be willing to help you get in touch w/ current Fletcher students.

I've heard some rave reviews from current SAIS students about its strategic studies program. A couple of students who are concentrating in strat told me it's one of the best, if not the best, program at SAIS. I can't comment on the other schools b/c I don't know as much about their strategic/security studies programs and haven't talked w/ students in those programs. I was also a bit concerned about SAIS's "reputation" as a "bastion of neoconservatism," but I think those are mostly online rumors. The SAIS students I've talked with said that the school overall actually seems to be liberal; much of the student body is liberal, and there is a very diverse mix of political leanings throughout the faculty (it's just that some of the most prominent profs at SAIS happen to be neoconservative), though the staff tends to be right-wing in general. And as for the professors who are labeled as neoconservatives, they don't really carry their beliefs into their teaching but try to be as objective as possible.

My letter didn't mention my intended concentration (Korea Studies) either, but I got an email from the director of the program who told me I was accepted into the program. I'm guessing perhaps only those who applied to one of the two capped programs were notified in their letters whether or not they were accepted into their program of choice? And as for the rest of us who've been admitted to SAIS, I think we can just assume that we got into our first choice program?

Wow, impatiens pretty much read my mind, except in my case it's Korea Studies and not Canadian Studies. I too assume that you're a current SAIS student, console? Why do you say that SAIS's programs in Korea/Canada/Japan Studies are weak? Weak in what sense? I got the impression from talking with SAIS students that the Korea Studies program there was great (none of them were actual Korea Studies students but either had friends who were or heard rumors about the program). If you mean that the program is relatively new and doesn't have that many professors in it, I think I could handle that b/c it seems to me to be the best IR program for someone wanting to study Korea and US-Korea relations at the master's level. I mean, the other two IR programs I can think of off the top of my head that actually offer Korea Studies (and there are only a handful, I'm sure) are SIPA and UCSD IR/PS. I didn't apply to UCSD b/c I felt it didn't quite match SAIS in terms of reputation and caliber of students/faculty (plus there ain't no way I'm moving all the way over to the West Coast). I applied to SIPA but later withdrew my application because I talked with a few SIPA students who had some complaints about SIPA (e.g., school feels more like a factory b/c of large # of students, little student-professor interaction (both inside and outside of class), no advising/mentoring from professors, etc.). And after reading an online catalog of East Asia courses offered at Columbia/SIPA, I got the impression that most of the classes on Korea (or East Asia in general, for that matter) were those that were offered by other departments w/in Columbia such as law, business, history, etc. and not SIPA, and weren't very IR-related, whereas JHU SAIS's Korea Studies program seems to be much more IR-focused. All that said, I think SIPA is still a great program, but it just seems that SAIS has a stronger (albeit newer) Korea Studies program for those wanting to do IR-related work on Korea. Plus, SAIS has the US-Korea Institute, which invites prominent guest speakers to give lectures on Korea and carries on a number of research projects on Korea, which students are allowed to assist with. I haven't been able to find a comparable university-affiliated research institute (on Korea) anywhere else in the US. And yes, I've heard about the bidding system at SAIS, which I find to be really weird (still not sure how it works), but I checked the online course schedule for JHU and most of the classes at SAIS seemed to be open well into the semester, which is why I thought that most students wouldn't have trouble getting into their chosen electives. A current SAIS student told me that he took some int'l development classes there and said that he was pretty disappointed w/ the quality of the material and teaching. He later switched to Strategic Studies and has been pretty happy and impressed w/ the Strat program. Well, seeing that IDev is a capped program and so many people seem to want to focus on IDev at SAIS, I'm thinking it still has to be a great program and that the student I talked with probably just had some unrealistically high expectations, right? I hope I'm right on this... One of the reasons I applied to SAIS is b/c it requires students to have a primary concentration in International Economics, and since I'm not a very quant-type person, I thought the only way I would end up taking econ in grad school was if it was actually required and if I knew I was going to be recognized for my efforts (i.e. w/ a clearly labeled concentration in int'l econ). I've heard that econ classes at some other places like KSG and SIPA are more rigorous and more integrated into the curriculum (as in, students are concentrating in econ in practice, if not in name), though I don't know if that's true. Maybe the SAIS students I talked w/ didn't feel int'l econ was really a concentration b/c everyone else at SAIS was also concentrating in it? I don't know. Anyway, those are just some things about SAIS (and other schools) I've heard so far. I do appreciate comments from other SAIS students who might have different perspectives on the school, since I need as much input and advice as I can get before making my final decision (though it might not make it any easier!)

to IRboundgrad: well, on second thought, if there's a certain region you're interested in for your development studies (say, Africa), then perhaps you could concentrate in something like African Studies at SAIS and take some international development courses on the side? I've heard SAIS has phenomenal regional studies programs (I applied to one of them).

IRboundgrad, if I were you, I would choose SIPA since you can concentrate in development there. You're probably not going to enjoy SAIS that much if you can't study what you're interested in, and if you say that none of the other tracks at SAIS really appeal to you, you might find it harder to keep up and stay focused b/c chances are, other people in those tracks will be really passionate about their chosen concentrations. SIPA might be more expensive, but I'm assuming it's not that much more expensive than SAIS. Plus, if you're thinking at all about working outside the US, you will benefit from the Columbia name (I know many Americans roll their eyes at this, but I've learned from working abroad in various countries that the perceived prestige of your school can be really important in determining how far you can go and how people treat you). A couple of SAIS students told me that International Economics isn't really considered to be a concentration--it's more like a basic requirement that every SAIS student needs to fulfill in order to show that they have the quantitative skills needed/desired for a future job in IR. I'm sure many other IR programs require their students to take econ courses--they just don't give the program a separate title or label it as a "concentration." I live on the East Coast, and I too received the SAIS package yesterday (Friday). Seriously, if the admissions office hadn't emailed me about my acceptance, I would've thought it was a rejection letter since the envelope's so small. My letter didn't tell me which track I've been accepted to, but the director of the program that I applied to emailed me a few days ago to tell me I'd been accepted into the program of my choice (he tried to call me but for some reason I didn't get the call. My phone's sometimes weird like that.) Oh, and the email was nice--very nice. So I'm sure the phone calls from the professors are just congratulatory--they're most likely not going to grill you or anything like that.

oh yeah, good point. they probably do have different deadlines then. well, i'll probably go to SAIS anyway, so hope that helps someone on the waitlist.