michael_scott_14

Totally valid points!! Me personally, I've been in DC for a few years (been here since undergrad) and currently work for USAID. Though I admit to being tempted by the name of Georgetown, I also genuinely think the prestige of SAIS and other peer institutions is equal (at least in the circles I run in at work!). I've gone over this a bit in my head, and when you get to this level you're just looking at a personal fit for a university. The IDEV curriculum and the GHD curriculum are not dramatically different, so it's all about what interests you! While I still need to mull it over myself, I'm glad that things worked out for you!!! It's such a relieving feeling

Also accepted off the wait list. However, I was accepted to SAIS' IDEV program with $20k a year...I don't know if anything GU has to offer can beat that!

Let me just chime in for my undergrad alma mater, GWU. I grant you, I was both in the Honors program and in greek life, which definitely gave me more of a sense of community in terms of being around a smaller group of people very frequently, but I have no idea why GW has such a bad rap that way. I interned nearly every semester I was at GW, but I never felt like GW was just "the place I took classes." I always felt a strong sense of GW community and loyalty (there are tons of events on campus, like concerts and fairs, and little nooks and crannies where people study and hang out, including restaurants and bars that GWers frequent). And in my opinion you could always "feel" the moment you stepped onto GW's campus...it's not closed off like Georgetown's, but you could always sense the bustling momentum of university life. I felt like I had the best of both worlds - I truly loved that I felt completely integrated into DC (way more than Georgetowners could, as it's quite literally a city on a hill) though when I graduated I realized how much I was a part of the GW community and still had so much more to learn about the city itself. I'm happy to answer any questions about GW's community and the Elliott school through my undergrad perspective if it is at all helpful!

So true. I was rejected from Columbia's DP, but was accepted to SAIS with 20k for my first year, and an additional 20k my second if I maintain a 3.25. The dings from WWS and HKS were kind of expected (it really is a true lottery with those, even if my numbers were in range who knows what they want!), but I was so surprised to get literally double the cash from SAIS than GW or AU (my other two admits) and a straight rejection from Columbia. The world works in mysterious ways I guess!

Rejected for MPA/DP. Frankly shocked - I was accepted to SAIS' IDEV and waitlisted for GU's Global Human Development program, and I have solid GREs/GPA. SAIS has always been my number one, but I'm very, very confused.

Don't let it! I'm on the "priority wait list" but I never was asked for an interview...who knows what's going on inside the AdCom. We'll all know soon (I hope!)

My advice would be to find the e-mail from SAIS with your application status - I got one a few weeks after the deadline saying my app was complete and under full review. In the auto e-mail generated after you submit your app it says they'll contact you directly with your status - if you can prove they read your app as complete and never flagged a problem for you, you might be in much better shape. Alternatively, if they told you to submit additional documents you'll have a harder time getting them to change their minds. Good luck though! I experienced a similar issue with late transcripts from abroad and it was horrifying...I completely understand how you feel.

I got the same e-mail - it was for GHD. I can't imagine they accepted 20, but I'm not sure how much higher the number actually is.

Just received an email placing me on the "priority wait list." Good luck to all!

Well this is encouraging - I called the school I'm most invested in that was late, and asked if even though my file is now complete if it would be junked due to the lateness. She said while she was unsure of the hard deadline, the fact that they're still accepting docs meant that my application would definitely be reviewed and not to worry. This particular uni is rather competitive, so what a relief! I hope the same is true for everyone!

I think it depends on the school. For me, I didn't think about it because my study abroad credits and summer credits were listed on my undergraduate transcript - credits towards my degree but not to fulfill major reqs or anything like that. The grades were not listed on that transcript though, and that's where the issue was - I had to frantically find copies of my grades/have my alma mater certify them for me in a pinch, and wrestle the grades from what amounted to summer camp in high school to have my file marked "complete." I truly thought it was a clerical error on their end until the horror sunk in that I had made a mistake. I am truly hoping that the hard deadline listed applies to materials I submitted myself and that the schools wouldn't tease me by saying they'll add documents to my file with no intention of reviewing them. I'm rather freaked out, but I'm not sure there's anything left to do...it would be devastating to be rejected over study abroad transcripts.

I'm in the same boat - I didn't realize the study abroad transcripts, and ones from summer courses I took in high school, also needed to be sent. With the holidays, processing delays, and my own oversight they clock in at 5.5 weeks late. Yowza. I'm worried, but trying not to panic. I'm not sure if schools want to process additional documents from you if they have no intention of reviewing it or outrightly rejecting you. It seems a bit excessive. But perhaps that's just me trying to talk myself off the ledge.

Thanks so much for the quick reply, it's reassuring. Seeing the "iit's absolutely all due on the 7th" freaked me out with the holiday and all cutting into response time. I hope it gets turned around in a few days - I was working so much on the essays I forgot about the easiest part of the app!

In the haze that is the application process, I could have sworn I sent my GRE scores to SAIS a few weeks ago. I checked last night and noticed that this was not the case, and promptly freaked out. I've searched everywhere, and can't find if ETS even offers rush/overnight delivery of scores. I can't imagine why they wouldn't offer such a service, but the fact that I can't find it is making me very nervous. Does anyone know if this exists/has used it before? I'd really appreciate it! Happy new year everyone -