Snowden12

Well, I wish I had a success story to report...but no luck. I wrote the dean of admissions to ask about 2nd year funding. I explained that I would love to attend their program, but without any financial aid, it would be very difficult. I said that I respected their decision about not funding me for the 1st year and was interested in whether I could get assistance the following year if I proved worthy. I was hoping, obviously, that he'd look into helping me for this year as well. I got a very polite email back saying that they were sorry but funding was generally offered only in the 1st year, so I was unlikely to get any next year if I didn't get an offer this year. He mentioned that most of their students work full time in addition to attending classes and he sent me the appropriate links for the Stafford Loans. He did explain that this was an especially tough year because of the large applicant pool and all. All in all, I can't say I was upset with the decision. He was polite, helpful, etc....he just didn't have the reply I'd hoped for. That being said, perhaps someone else will have better luck.

This is more question than comment, but I was hoping some of you might elaborate. I didn't apply to either of these schools but I did have a friend that attended each open house. His opinion of the two was that Gtown really rolled out the red carpet and pushed the prestige angle. GW was much less impressive to him but he came away with the impression that GW was going to land a better class. In fact, his opinion was that several schools (CMU, GW, SAIS, etc.) were going to land better classes because Gtown wasn't offering equal financial aid packages this year. He came to this opinion through talking with other prospective students, so there's no way to prove this is the case. I was just curious if anyone else came away feeling the same way...that Georgetown was relying on prestige and name-recognition too much this year and that other schools were benefiting as a result.

Depending on how much you're moving and how much you want to pay, you might look into your postal service. They're usually much cheaper than UPS, FedEx, etc. If you're moving kitchen tables and all, obviously this isn't an option. Also, if you have the ability to wait, you can send your stuff with Space Available Mail. This is usually much cheaper but it might arrive anywhere from 1 week to 2 months. Again, if you don't have much and can wait, you can't do better. If you intend on shipping couches, tables, etc. then obviously you need to look into other moving services. You might contact the American embassy and ask them if there are any companies their workers use....you'll have to ask "off the record" though as they're wary of giving advice and having you file a lawsuit for bad advice. Still, they'd be a good place to inquire from.

I could be wrong, but I thought they granted the student visas for a year. At least that's what my ex got. If possible, I'd try for the one year option if you're worried. It would be insane to ask for proof that you can sustain yourself for a couple years...who has that? With my wife's immigration visa, they just needed proof that for the last year she wasn't below the poverty line. The amount of money incoming or saved didn't matter. I'd imagine they want similar proof from you. If you weren't below the poverty line and have funding, you shouldn't have a problem. Then again...I'm not an expert.

I'm not sure about the F-1, but for most visas, they ask about felony convictions. Any traffic citations or minor infractions aren't considered. So no, I wouldn't mention it if I were you. If it helps you sleep better, you could always call the consulate or embassy ahead of time and ask. Especially if you remain anonymous, you've got nothing to worry about.

give me cancer now, God...

I'm waiting on other financial offers...but for the cost and location considerations, looks like Elliott is it for me.

fuzzylogician wrote: I'm just curious, but how did you approach them? I figured the best person to write would be the program director but I haven't thought out the best strategy yet. Do you go right for it and ask outright for more funding? Or do you beat around the bush and hope he/she might offer you something? I was leaning towards the latter approach. My initial idea was that I would just inquire about possible 2nd year financial aid while noting that it would really help make my decision easier, as school B is already offering help this year. Is that a fair approach or would I be wasting time?

Having just married a foreign national, I have a little advice on the subject. Ahem...don't do it. In all seriousness though, just be sure you're careful with it. Homeland Security is in charge of the investigative process now and they don't mess around. The process is more expensive (significantly) than it has been in years past and is quite lengthy. My shortend story is that we eventually decided to marry abroad in a small country (Estonia) where the embassy could expedite the process. She got her green card in about a month. My friend that did it in a large country (Germany) ended up waiting 14 months. In this time, the passport is handed in, so no travel is allowed for the spouse...read: she could not visit him for 14 months. Your options at this point are to get your fiance the fiance visa and marry him/her in the next 3 months in the States, marry abroad, or try to be sneaky...I'll get to that. First, marrying in the States is your easiest route. The only downside is that your husband/wife will have to stay in the States while the process is ongoing. At least that means you're together. If you marry abroad, try to do it in a small country. South Africa might be risky. Lastly, you COULD bring him/her over on a normal tourist visa and marry. However, the WILL do a background check and interview process. If they decide that he/she came to the States with the intent to get married, you could face real trouble, as in having your spouse blackballed from future immigration. Anyway, I hope this abbreviated version can help. I've been through the process myself and have several friends I've learned from as well. If there are any questions, I'll try to help out. My advice though...if your fiance can spend time in the States, you're best just doing the process here. Don't risk the long separation.

I can totally understsand that. I've mentioned several times in this forum that financial aid should be a bigger factor than just a name. However, I think this post is just considering the difference between the two schools with all things being equal. GW is an expensive school, of course, but not more so than American. In fact it's one of the most affordable schools of its caliber. My posts, I think, were aimed at explaining that GW and American are awfully similar is most regards. The only difference that seems to stand out is the recognition factor. Of course this shouldn't make up a differnce in financial aid, but it is a difference.

Just curious what advice you received. The post you linked to was a pro/con assessment of GW. Similar posts have been made about other schools as well. What did you hear that was contrary in the post? The comment that I think you were referring to was that GW is slightly more regarded than American. I've found nothing on this site that would refute that and I've never heard such a thing from any advisers. While Foreign Policy and US News aren't proof positive, I haven't seen a publication that ranked American higher than GW or that recommended one over the either at all. If you've heard something that would make you steer clear, by all means share it.

Elliott School's accepted day is the 17th of April. I'd love to attend but coming in from overseas makes it an expensive trip. So I'd love to hear if the GWU day was worth it as well. Impressions and opinions?

I think there is a valid point to be made in the relationship of student loan costs and the salary you can expect upon graduating from ESIA. If you look at the Graduate Employment Survey (http://www.gwu.edu/~elliott/assets/docs/gscd/results07-08.pdf), you'll see that the average graduate will make 50-60k, with very few earning more than 100k. If you've already looked into living in the DC area, you'll see it's not cheap. Living in the DC Metro area on 50-60k will make it pretty difficult to pay back a significant amount of student loans. If you're attending ESIA at sticker price, remember that the cost of living in DC is going to be equal to the cost of school. You're looking at probably more than 40k per year while you're in school. If you're not working, that's a lot of loans. Even if you take only 50% loans, how quickly do you hope to pay off 40k in student loans? Anyway, the question shouldn't be one entirely of money anyway. If your goal is to wok in the IR or ID fields, money probably isn't the largest motivating factor. Yes, you can expect to pay a significant amount of loans, but at least you're looking at recession-proof employment; that's a much better prospect than most law students face. If you know this is the field you want to get into, you can't do much better than a top 10 IR program located in DC. Just be ready to pay for it... In fairness, those salaries are for recent graduates, not for tenured professionals.

I suppose it depends, obviously. I have no experience in any governmental work aside serving in military intel for 5 years. So that's real-world experience but entirely unrelated. I've done no internships and have never worked in state or local government. For what it's worth, I had terrible GRE scores and a good, if not great, GPA. I didn't apply to as many programs as I should have but I got accepted by the Ford School's MPP program and was turned down by A&M's and LBJ's. I also got accepted to ESIA's and AU's international affairs programs...so I didn't do too bad. Again, I guess it's a case-by-case issue. I'm certain there are some that got in on grades alone, some that got in because of their expertise...and then there are those like me. Having been turned down by 30-something ranked A&M but accepted by a few top 10 programs, I'm pretty convinced the process is pretty subjective.

I've been accepted into each and have been debating the merits of each for some time. After talking with alumni and friends, I don't think there's a great difference. In fact, I'll probably attend the one that gives me more financial aid. Especially if your future is in the Beltway, you can't do wrong with either of these schools. Both are equally respected in the DC circles, along with Gtown, as they share the same internships, connections, etc. The biggest difference is going to be name recognition outside of DC (where Gtown holds a significant lead and American trails GW) and the professors/tracks that you want to pursue. Look around at the faculty and the study options and see which one is a better fit for you. Again, both are going to give you a great education and great connections. The cost and location are the same...the difference, in the end, is almost definitely going to be a personal preference.

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): International University Audentes (Tallinn, Estonia), private, and no tier Previous Degrees and GPA's: Bachelors of International Relations, GPA (converted): 3.73 GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 570/570/5.5 (no math is required in this school, so I've taken none since high school...9 years ago) Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 5 years intel with US Army, including time in Iraq Math/Econ Background: absolutely none/international economies, political economy, macro/micro Foreign Language Background: not fluent, but decent in German, Spanish, Estonian, with some knowledge of Russian Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Int Affairs, diplomacy, and/or security studies Long Term Professional Goals: public sector, but depends on my studies Schools Applied to & Results: LBJ (not considered due to int. transcripts), Bush (denied), Elliott (accepted), American (accepted), Ford (accepted), Harvard (denied) Ultimate Decision & Why: still waiting on financial packages, but because of location, most likely Elliott or American Additional: Because American schools don't care about foreign GPA's (how could they, as the schools aren't US accredited), I had to rely more on my GRE scores and recommendations. And because my GRE was terrible, my emphasis was on the recommendations. I think the best advice I could give someone is to chose your recommendation providers well and be sure to "sell" yourself well. I had no work experience in the field but my "unique" experience in military intelligence gave me small opening to make a point. There was no point in focusing on my grades or my GRE's, so I made sure the admissions people knew who I was as a person and how that separated me from the field. Thus, I guess the moral of the story: if you don't have great grades or scores, be sure you make up for it in your statement of purpose and recommendations.

Ahem...all arguing aside, has anyone learned if the begging worked or not? I haven''t heard back on my financial offer yet, but I'm going to beg regardless if it might be fruitful. Any updates?

Anyone know what happens to the financial aid that's not taken? If those offered 17k decide to go elsewhere, what happens to that money? I haven't heard a thing yet on the money, but I'm overseas so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

the girls at GW are waaay hotter. sorry, i can't back that up at all. i'm not a public policy expert but i believe both schools are pretty closely rated in every department. both are part of the DC consortium and will have similar contacts, internships, etc. i can't say anything of the professors or the communities but i'd venture to say they're pretty similar. slight nod to GW for name recognition though. still, in DC, they're both well known and respected.

Welcome aboard....let me see if I can change the name the post....no point in ostracizing our non-Elliott grads.

Anyone received mail yet? I only found my acceptance through the webpage, but I've heard nothing in the form of email or snailmail yet...what gives? Anybody else in a similar situation?

Echoing what he said, you can't beat DC's connections. American might not have the name recognition of SAIS or Gtown but they have a top 20 program nonetheless. If you're getting a full ride to a DC school, you're not gonna top that unless you have equal funding elsewhere. And even then, very few programs are going to be seen as heads and shoulders better than a DC education. Take the money, get a great education and as for where you live after graduation...thats on you anyway.

Elliott School it is.....oh Harvard, I barely knew you...

they're unable to offer.....blah blah... Good luck to those of you that get in though.

I've seen similar questions but not quite the same as what I'm looking for. I'll be attending GW for grad school. I'm married with (soon) 2 small children. I'm planning on living mostly off of loans and stipends and such, while the wife brings in close to minimum wage. The prices are terrible in DC if you want safety, and seem to be only affordable when you can do without. Because of the family, I'm not wanting to take the risk. Does GW offer family housing? I didn't see it on their webpage. If not, what might be suitable? I live in Europe right now and am quite accustomed to public transportation. I heard that Gaithersburg might be an option. Is it really too far away if you want to feel "part of the city" though? Thanks for any help you can offer!