Dreydenn

So, while I'm applying to something completely different, my sister and her husband are both applying for English lit PhD programs right now. They mentioned that they expect to hear in March, which makes sense to me, but on this board I keep on seeing people applying for PhDs (mostly in other programs, admittedly) talking about acceptances and interviews already. When should these things start happening? This is just me being a worried brother/brother-in-law, but I don't feel like I understand the process as well for her field as well as I do for my own. Anyone?

A few of my own thoughts to kick this off: I have the best impression of DC schools and Columbia, as I lived and worked in NYC and DC prior to going abroad. SAIS- I applied to SAIS because of its strong China program, essentially. I have mixed feelings about the mandatory econ track, but I do want to tool up on quant work in grad school so I'm ok with that. SAIS is certainly well-regarded in DC, and I've seen SAIS alumni in positions that I find interesting ranging from academia (with a subsequent PhD, of course) to the Treasury to the Carnegie Council. I also collected an enormous amount of World Bank friends, most of whom seemed to be from SIPA and SAIS with a smattering of others. SAIS people did come across as a bit more conservative on average than, say, SFS people. However, with SAIS' large incoming class, I hear it's easy to find people one get's along with. For me, the positive of SAIS are, located in DC, strong on China, good alumni base, interesting classes, alumni seem to get frequently get good jobs, etc Downsides: Located in DC (I worked there before and wouldn't mind a break, as I very well might end up working there anyway )large incoming class size, not attached to research university (JHU is inconveniently far away) so electives are relatively narrow, etc. Georgetown MSFS - I lived with two people who went to the Walsh School while I was working in DC. Both were nice, laid back, smart, and interesting, as were most of my other friends who attended. In many ways I liked SFS better than SAIS (smaller class size, perhaps better perceived "fit" based on my interactions with current students), but their lack of dedicated East Asia resources put me off a bit. SFS also prides itself on being very professionally focused, and I hear few people go on to a PhD from SFS (except for Parag Khana). I'd like to keep the PhD option open. Tufts Fletcher - I toured it and did the interview last summer prior to coming to Beijing. I have to say that I was really impressed with how nice everyone is. I also have family in Boston, so the location is especially great for me. Pluses include flexibility, top notch staff, ability to take courses at Harvard and HKS, great career services (according to my friends), great sense of community (no snarky competitiveness), and people go on to get PhDs with some frequency. Downsides may include lower "brand" recognition outside of the IR field and abroad, though I'm not sure how to evaluate that. HKS - I have a friend who worked in the administration at HKS for 10 years and waxes lyrical about its strengths. It does seem like a great program, and I had a good experience when I went there to visit, but I've heard a mix of superlative and negative comments from friends. The person I talked to in admissions was extremely helpful and quite nice. I have very little in the way of personal impressions of SIPA, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard EAS. I didn't apply to GW, but I took a class there when I was working in DC. The professor was great, as are many of GW's adjuncts, but I felt like students were a bit scattershot and many seemed to be straight from undergrad. That was a sample size of one, however. Anyway, just a few thoughts. I don't know how many others are currently turning similar considerations over in their heads, but I'd love to hear what people are thinking. And it's something to do for the next month. :-)

The purpose of this thread is for those of us applying to IR/Policy schools for Fall 2010 to share experiences and thoughts as we try to figure out where we want to go. There is already a Final Decisions thread, which I'm sure I'll post to eventually, but for many of us who won't hear from our first school until March, there is still a lot of considering to do. Since I'm applying from Beijing and won't have a chance to shoot back to the US to visit schools, I am especially interested in hearing other people's impressions of the various schools in terms of admissions processes, visits, etc. I'm sure there are others who won't be able to visit all of the schools that they've applied to, and I think that sharing our thoughts and impressions about the various schools could be an especially useful resource. I'm not sure why there seems to be so little activity on this board during this application cycle in comparison the last cycle. I've gone through the archives to look for useful threads, and I'll post a few below in case others feel like reading them. I'm sure that there are a lot more useful threads that I've missed. HKS IGA article

As an applicant for MPP/MIA programs this year, I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on how top MPP/MIA programs are regarded. I'm particularly interested in Princeton WWS, Harvard Kennedy, Columbia SIPA, Tufts Fletcher, JHU SAIS and Georgetown MSFS. Even after working in policy in New York and Washington for two years after graduating, it remains difficult for me to differentiate these schools in a meaningful way, particularly because rankings are rare and rather unreliable (based on rank-ordered results of polls of professors and administrators). I know full well that these are all good programs. When asking bosses, colleagues, and professors, however, I often found that people have certain conceptions of these schools, relative to one another, that may not be readily apparent to the average applicant. For example, I was told not to go to MSFS if you have any desire for a PHD afterward, but that the others regularly send people on, especially Princeton and Columbia. I'm interested in keeping that option open. To sum things up, however, the whole process from the outside is rather opaque. I'd love to hear the impressions that anyone has about these schools. No flames, please.

Since it isn't quite too late, I'd also add Duke to the mix. It's been known to give out fundiliving costs are cheap. When I was living in DC, I heard of a number of (I assume qualified) students at AU and GWU getting funding. SFS gives out funding sometimes to first years, and like many of these schools is more generous to second years. That is something to think about, as I know that Fletcher, for example, is known to give out more aid up front, but without upping it in the second year as places like SFS and SIPA generally do. SIPA might be a good, though more difficult to get into, option if you can apply for a FLAS. Also, UCSD is a decent choice if you interests lie in Asia. Good luck.

Wow, if medical clearance takes a month, that cuts it a bit close for starting in July.

You're not off the mark. A friend of mine who is the Fulbright Advisor at a major DC university told me that last year, about 1/5 of at large applicants went through, while roughly 1/3 of applicants who applied through schools received funding. If it makes you feel better, I think that a lot of it, as someone previously said, comes down to fit and similar factors, such as perceived strength of one's local affiliation, etc.

I went to India on a travel visa back in 2005, and I believe I got my visa in a week, expedited. It was good for six months. Also, I've never done an extended program in India, but I know for similar programs that I've done in Taiwan, Mainland China, and Jordan, you can often enter on a tourist visa in a pinch and then (with the help of program officers on the ground) get it switched. Usually it costs extra money. However, I can't advise you on whether or not India presents special difficulties for that kind of gambit. Best of luck! I made an error in reading. The visa type is "Entry" with the affiliate being faculty at the school the ETA is assisting at. It seems both Research and Entry types both require 6 weeks. According to the outsourcing site: "Applications sent by mail take about 3 to 5 working/business days to process from the date of receipt. This time schedule does not apply to services where prior approval is required from authorities in India or other Indian embassies or for Non-US citizens." Does anyone here have experience with "Entry" visas? In your experience, do they typically take 6 weeks to process or is it feasible to expediate the process (for extra $$)?

Just found out that I've been selected as a Principal for the Critical Languages Enhancement Award. Any other China scholars plan on attending the summer CET Harbin program?

Now the waiting for the CLEA starts. I hear that they're really tight this year, with many more applicants than normal. Good luck to everyone waiting on that; notifications will start in the next few weeks.

Jonathan Akeley, the Program Officer in charge of China, mentioned the dates for the China orientation in one of his earlier emails.

Thanks to everyone here for providing a community to make the waiting easier. It really has been helpful, and the knowledge pooled here made me feel much better informed about the process than several of my good friend who previously applied. Good luck to all who are still waiting, and I think that it's a brilliant idea to try to gather the experiences collected on this board into a little guide for the Fulbright. I'm looking forward to meeting those of you, heading to China or otherwise, who will be in DC during the June 25-27 orientation.

OMG, I got it! I'm going to China!!!!!!!!!!

Condolences... :| *edited due to lack of talent with these smiley things

Still no word from China. I knew that my recent address change might slow this down. Trying not to go mad. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if IIE sends out acceptance/rejection/alternate status updates on the same day, generally?