bubblegun

I actually got admitted into Elliott's Security Policy Studies but can't really afford it at the moment. I'm leaning heavily towards Syracuse's Maxwell because of the affordability but I'm wondering if that's going to be worth anything. In theory, people in the IC come from a variety of backgrounds so that shouldn't decrease my chances to a near-zero level, but in practice, it might be a whole different story. And to answer your question: international organizations via my own government.

What is regional and national accreditation, exactly? I only have a basic grasp of the American educational system; things like this escape me. Either way - no, I'm not a military member, nor do I have any connection with the government. I'm pretty much at the start of my career but with a bit of a twist away from my previous education. I'm a lawyer, and I'm trying to get into the IR field. Ideally, I'd like to work in the intelligence community, hence my question. Would AMU's degree make any sense as a way of enhancing my knowledge, not just getting a degree? Or would it be regarded as worthless anyway? Do you know of any 'traditional' programs that offer such a specialization? I've managed to find only one - in Australia, of all places.

What is says on the tin. I've seen AMU's ads in Foreign Affairs a couple of times; they advertise themselves as 'the #1 provider of higher education to the U.S. military'; the programs offered seem rather interesting - the MA in Intelligence Studies especially; the cost is moderate. In theory, it seems like a good option to add to a degree in International Relations from a 'regular' university. The question is, though, would it be worth anything on the job market? Or make any sense, for that matter? Do you have any insight into what is the perception of online degrees in the IR field, or in general? I've always associated it with scam attempts and, frankly, bullshit. It might be completely unjustified, though. Well-respected universities offer online programs these days. Maybe the perception has changed, or maybe it has been my skewed perspective all along. What do you think?

Do they, now? Well, that's a whole different story. What kind of options are available? My financial situation is a bit desperate, to be perfectly honest. I have absolutely ZERO when it comes to my own money and I have no option of taking out a loan (my home country doesn't offer any student loans seeing as higher educations is basically free here, and I'm not eligible for one in the US - no cosigner). I will be waiting on the Fulbright decision until mid-June, more or less, but I was just informed by Maxwell that they will cut half of my award if I get one from Fulbright. I'm going back and forth between furious and completely heartbroken. Every time I manage to find a solution to one of my problems, another one pops up. Argh. Answering your question: yes, Elliott is pretty much off the table for me. Pity, though.

That sounds pretty neat. Waiting for more! If I only had the money! I'm not to keen on the Manning brothers, though, so that helps to alleviate my pain a little. Thanks for the insight in general, though!

Good to know we're in the same boat! It's international security that I'm interested in so Korbel seemed like a really great option. The faculty there seem really great, the curriculum very interesting and the overall experience of applying there has been very pleasant. There are a few drawbacks, though: - While it's possible to chose the DC track (Korbel and Maxwell are actually partner schools in this respect!), the sheer distance makes it pretty inconvenient; - It's a 2-year program which in comparison to Maxwell's 16 months makes it more costly. Going by Korbel's financial estimates, the amount of money I'd be able to save oscillates around $30k. Given the fact that I don't have that kind of money, the choice seems pretty easy. - It doesn't seem like there are a lot of internship opportunities in Denver - correct me if I'm wrong? While it's about a 6-hour drive to either DC or NY, the relative proximity of both those cities makes me feel like there's a bit more field to play in; - I read somewhere on this forum that the post-grad networking in Denver really sucked. On the other hand, there's the Maxwell Mafia - in theory, at least; - Pretty silly and possibly completely wrong - Denver doesn't really appeal to me as a city. I've never been there, obviously, but from what I see in the pictures or read on various forums, it's not overly user-friendly, so to say. There's no consensus about Syracuse either but it seems a bit more appealing. Well, there's also the fact that there's no college football in Denver (I wish I was kidding.)

Thanks for this! It did discourage me a little bit but hey.

Hi, guys! Has anyone made their decision yet? Did you receive any funding? I was offered $21k in a combined scholarship + GA packet, which kind of made up my mind. For a long time, I was leaning towards Korbel, who also offered me a substantial scholarship (a lot more than I was expecting, to be perfectly honest), but for me, Maxwell has a really big advantage over Korbel - namely, Denver is well, in the middle of nowhere. I'm an international student so the proximity of Colorado Springs wouldn't do me much good. Is there something I should know before I commit? What other factors do you take into consideration? Aside from the weather which, admittedly, scares me something fierce!

No problem. I'm an international applicant with a MA in Law from a top three university in my country (although I doubt that matters). I wrote my thesis in Forensic Science. GRE Q157, V159, AW4.0 GPA 3.6 (calculated roughly into the 4.0 scale so that might be pretty irrelevant, too) 9 months spent living in Spain to work on the language, 4 months in the Netherlands; a bit of Chinese on the side. Very nearly offered a position at the European Court of Human Rights (passed 3 super competitive stages; in the end wasn't offered the position due to limited work experience - just 1.5 years). I used it for all that it's worth Did I miss something relevant?

I'm not sure if it will be helpful to anyone seeing as I'm a MAIR applicant, but I was offered $21k in a scholarship + GA packet. I received the e-mail today.

Has anyone heard from Maxwell re: funding yet?

Me, I'm kind of freaking the hell out here. When I applied, I was certain I'd be able to secure a loan directly in the US - something that proved undoable. I was going by Columbia's website which said a cosigner for international students would be recommended but not strictly required; my mistake I didn't double-check it. Now, I have a $25k scholarship, which is far more than I was hoping for, but pretty much no way of financing the rest. Maybe you know something I don't, re: loans? All help will be really appreciated!

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm having trouble with - higher education is free here so there are no loan options that would work for me. I'm going between utter despair and hope that I'd be able to find something; it's really freaking exhausting.

Just a quick - and possibly silly - question. Is there any way around the cosigner requirement that you know of? I don't have any relatives in the US and I can't really imagine anybody else taking up such a commitment. I have been offered a $25k scholarship but without a loan I don't think I'll be going anywhere. I haven't been this frustrated in a long time. Help?

I'm going to refresh this page at least ten times every hour. Curse you.

Rejected as well. To be perfectly honest, I mostly applied because I wanted to see if I could make it. In reality, the program is far too academic for me, so maybe that's a good thing I got dinged after all. Congrats to all who made the cut!

In at Elliott as well! What a crazy, crazy day.

In at Korbel with $25k. I'm still in a bit of a shock seeing as the e-mail was both very personal and came in about two hours after my application has been forwarded for review. I'm an international applicant and after all the time my papers spent at the international credentials evaluation office I was positive I'm not going anywhere. Oh my.

Nothing! Logging onto this forum was one of the poorest decisions I've made recently. I was the epitome of calm before I did it and now I'm psyching myself up for no good reason at all. Curse you, gradcafe!

And now I'm going to refresh like a crazy person.

Hi, guys. I got accepted into Maxwell (MAIR) as well; I received the e-mail on the 16th. Still no word on funding, though, just like a few other people mentioned above. Still waiting on four more schools. Fingers crossed!