washdc

Yes. The only way you can apply for more than one degree at Columbia is if you are applying to different schools.

Are you a dual citizen or solely a US citizen? I think most of all, with your background your security process will take *much* longer than say the average person.. for each study abroad experience you have to list a person you knew who can verify you were there.. and if you studied or traveled often it's quite a pain in the butt, not to mention you start running out of people. How high of a clearance you get cleared for might also be dependent upon your background. I don't think you should have a problem it just might take a really long time because they will throughly investigate your familial ties to Pakistan and you will have to list that your parents are from Pakistan, etc. But I wouldn't worry about it.. as someone else mentioned. The Foreign Service exam could take well over a year, and even if you get through until the very end, the security process will be out of your hands anyway.

Did you look into any joint programs? AU has a joint MA/JD program in International Affairs and International Law that's 3 years.

Ah okay, I thought you were giving an 'example' of your future situation.

You can do DC for less of a budget than that. I have a stipend of $1950, and I lived in Silver Spring by myself in a studio, commuted to classes in DC and shopped at Whole Foods for that price (for a full year) - plus I was still able to go out once or twice a month with friends. Granted, you're not going to be *saving* any money but it's doable. For housing.. do you need a 3K/mo 1 bedroom in Adams Morgan? Which school are you going to that you're living in Adams Morgan? 3k/mo is pretty expensive.. you can find something much cheaper. I currently live in a 2 bedroom luxury apartment with a pool on the rooftop, indoor gym and 24/hr concierge downstairs for $2200 in Crystal City. DC has many farmers markets.. there's one here in C City a couple times a month, Dupont has a weekly farmer's market on Sundays. I was spending more than $250/mo going to Whole Foods often, but I thought it was worth it. Again, not sure where you're going to school.. and living in Adams Morgan in relation to your school for the metro - but $200 sounds about right. We don't have monthly metro passes, so you pay for each trip - metro fares will be going up this Summer. Socially $150 works depending on where you go.. if you're into dive bars, 930 club, etc. then that works. You can even get cheap tickets at basketball games, etc (they sometimes have really good deals for $5 dollar tickets the day-of). Let me know if you have any other questions on DC, I've been living here for three years.

Does anyone currently live by Columbia? Could someone tell me if the surrounding apartments are filled with Columbia students etc. I want to live within walking distance, but I don't want to feel like I'm in the middle of campus when I go home (Greenwich sort of feels this way whenever I visit, I almost feel like an NYUer). I lived on the UES this past summer and loved feeling like a regular New Yorker..

No.. now you're referring to Syracuse, which yes has the #1 public affairs school in the country. Not the same as IP, different programs. Get over it. Harvard and Yale are not #1 in everything. Yes, Syracuse has the better program. Why is that such a big deal for you? And they are on par.

Are you joking? Have you seen the rankings? GWU is 7th, AU is 8th. You actually have no idea what you're talking about (and I immediately knew this when you said Elliot is comparable to SAIS- SAIS is 2nd, better than Princeton and Harvard). Please move along and let people who actually have gone to these schools/had to choose between these schools to comment on this thread and offer their advice. PS In addition, you've just single-handedly dissed all applicants who have gone/go to/are contemplating going to AU. Way to go, buddy. Feel better?

I have a friend at GW now.. and I also looked at GW for my Master's, we both feel the same way (about both of our schools- he GW and myself AU) that they are not student-focused at all. I am assuming they just feel at our level we should be self-motivated.. Especially my feeling of GW is that mostly everyone is a working professional, so people mostly come in for class after work.. my friend said he's one of a select few actually not working but just purely studying. He already has his job lined up post-graduating, but that's because he's very well-connected and a part of a wealthy foreign family actively involved in international politics. GW isn't a slight step below SAIS, it's on par with AU's SIS. SAIS is in its own league with HKS, WWS, and SFS. UMD is not in the same league as either GW or AU but much further below both. Did you receive funding at SAIS? I would strongly encourage you to accept SAIS..

6 - 8 weeks from the March 9 deadline is Mid-May, which is why she's saying you'll hear back in Mid-May. I agree with someone else that perhaps earlier notifications were a result of early-submits on the app deadline. I don't think you've been accepted/waitlisted/rejected yet.

Is there anyway you can do PT like 2 classes instead of 3 (including the summer) and work, putting at least 25 - 50% of your paycheck towards tuition costs? That way it will at least cushion your fall? At AU 3 classes is a semester is on track to graduate. So if you do two each semester and summer you are still on track to grad in 2 years.

Hahaha, this made me laugh. I needed that. :D

tl;dr.. I was merely stating why it *might* have been the case OP didn't get into BU but into Harvard. I don't need a lecture on what rankings mean.

A $700 budget is going to be realllllllllllllly tough to manage, even with roomies. I think the cheapest I heard any of my friends paying was $900 for a studio, and he had to go through all the legal hoopla to get a rent-controlled apartment for that price, or 1K with roomies. You definitely might have to switch metros, and if you don't mind that.. I would suggest looking as far out into VA that's still on the metro line, such as East/West Falls Church area, or Springfield.. which might have better options. Or areas that are kind of sketch, but as long as you're next to the metro aren't "that bad" like Takoma, Ft Totten (red lines), Capitol Hill area (which is not as nice as it sounds) in NE, or even way out there like Glenmont.

Ah, this definitely makes sense. I have similar problems.. (I go to SIS), and if I leave at 7:30 for my 8:10 class, I actually sit through traffic more than if I leave at 7:45.. it's so bizarre. I arrive at the exact same time, so I tend to just leave at 7:45. It's that last bit of rush hour traffic leaving M street. And even the metro is hell.. surprisingly it takes an hour to commute o.O and then you have to fight people to get on the train.