I am a CURRENT SAIS Bologna Student (MA)

[SAIS BC 2010]

Hello Fellow Grad Students.

I am currently attending the SAIS Bologna campus, intending to continue my studies next year in DC. I am an AFP concentrator (though may change), and I want to share some of my opinions and observations about SAIS BC to people still on the fence about accepting their invitations to attend. Feel free to ask questions!

Thanks,

[Banannie]

Hi!

I just found out Tuesday that I got into the SAIS Bologna program, and now I am deciding between Fletcher and SAIS. I think I want to do concentrations in Economic Development and African Studies but I've heard that African studies can be hard to do if you start out in Bologna, do you know if this is true? What are you studying? I'd also just appreciate any feedback you can give me about SAIS Bologna! I have a couple of friends who are at/grads from Fletcher so I have plenty of positive feedback about that program, but still know relatively little about SAIS.

I did econ in undergrad and want to continue in a program that has a strong econ and quant classes, which is what SAIS is known for, and thus I am leaning in that direction, but I'm just worried that I know almost nothing about the program beyond general reputation!

[goingintodebt]

I was accepted to the Bologna campus as well. I am wondering if it is worth 120k in debt to go to SAIS. Do you know anything about funding for second year students (based off grades, etc) and what have you learned about peoples ability to pay off significant debt after they graduate. Any input is appreciated.

-About to be broke

[IR Dude]

Hi SAIS BC 2010,

I was accepted into the AFP program as well, though only for the DC program. A friend of mine is currently a second year student there and has expressed fairly negative opinions of it. Can I ask you why you're switching and what you are thinking about switching to? Actually, I have lots of questions about the AFP program. Do you mind if I PM them to you?

Thanks,

IR Dude

[SAIS BC 2010]

Hi!

I just found out Tuesday that I got into the SAIS Bologna program, and now I am deciding between Fletcher and SAIS. I think I want to do concentrations in Economic Development and African Studies but I've heard that African studies can be hard to do if you start out in Bologna, do you know if this is true? What are you studying? I'd also just appreciate any feedback you can give me about SAIS Bologna! I have a couple of friends who are at/grads from Fletcher so I have plenty of positive feedback about that program, but still know relatively little about SAIS.

I did econ in undergrad and want to continue in a program that has a strong econ and quant classes, which is what SAIS is known for, and thus I am leaning in that direction, but I'm just worried that I know almost nothing about the program beyond general reputation!

Congratulations on your admission! I am an AFP concentrator, however, I am on Student Government, and have addressed the African Studies issues. Your perceptions on African Studies are accurate. The course selection is pretty limited. The econ component, in my mind is EXCELLENT. The profs at the BC, in my opinion are, overall, good.

You are doing the right thing by investigating SAIS BC before choosing. I urge you not to rely solely or even substantially on the SAIS BC brochures. The BC campus is VERY different from the DC campus. A few people have asked me some specific questions on this website and I responded in a pretty detailed manner. Here is what I have written...

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I am not a Latin American Studies concentrator, but from what I gather from those who are, the program at the BC is good. The course selection is decent and the career services for LA studies specifically may be the best of all the concentrations (I believe they more actively help you find summer internships, and in addition, have organized trips to LA countries. For instance, this year a few students from the Bologna Center went to Costa Rica on a school trip?). If items like guest speakers are important to you, very few, if any talk about Latin America. Again this may be natural since in fact you are on a European campus. In addition, there is quite a large contigent of LA studies concentrators at SAIS BC. So that is a positive as well.

American Foreign Policy on the other hand is a totally different issue. Only about a handful of students. There are courses offered, but they are VERY LIMITED in scope. You will find no exposure of AFP courses related to Africa, Asia, South America (in my eyes those are the regions which will dominate AFP in the 21st century, less so Europe). Also, if you are searching for a more policy-oriented, practical curriculum, taught by former practitioners/policy-makers/etc, that is more common at DC.

Overall the students are very cohesive group. Of course, the more we get to know each other, the more we find folks we are more compatible with, but from my experience, mostly everyone is pretty friendly, outgoing, and typically, when social events are held by students, the whole class is invited. Also from my experience, the professors are very helpful and willing to meet with students. Every once in a while, professors may attend a student happy hour (though this is not common). Often you may run into some profs at the bar on the first floor, grabbing food/drink/coffee. This is a good opportunity to mingle. I found that the number of informal interactions between students/profs are not as common as the student brochure makes it out to be. That said, if you take the initiative to want to meet the profs, they are almost always willing.

The overall course selection is VERY LIMITED. This is understandable since the BC is a smaller campus, but if you know what you want to do and what you are looking for, then you may be disappointed with the course selection. Some students arrive to the BC with assumption that they can simply take the curriculum requirements and then the following year, at DC, take the courses they find more interesting. This strategy doesn't work so well since, at some point, you will have fufilled your reqts and then have to potentially choose from classes that you have no interest. When you are paying a lot of money to attend, this can become very frustrating. This has happened to me. I find myself disinterested with the course offerings, whereas the DC campus, there arent enough hours in a day to attend all the classes I want to.

The class sizes vary GREATLY. Beware of what the student brochure tells you. The core courses as well as the required econ courses will have somewhere between 35-60 students per class. The more "boutique" the course, the lesser the students. If enrollment falls below 6, the school may cancel the course. In my first semester, my average class size for four classes was 40 (2 of my 4 classes were reqd econ classes). This semester, my average class size is 33. (one as big as 72, another as small as 10).

Living in bologna is difficult to answer. For me the novelty has worn off, but that may change since the weather is finally changing for the better! Other students love living here. You will definitely get an interesting perspective to AFP (I am an AFP concentrator). The courses are taught by left-leaning professors. This combined in an environment where most of the student body leans left and learning/living in a city that is known for its left-wing political ideology and you definitely get something that you wont in DC. Is the experience valuable? I am not sure. Personally, my politics fall left of center and often I find the views, perspectives, readings, course work, class discussions sometimes ridiculously biased. Again that is only my opinion.

I urge you to contact other students if you can to get more opinions.

Hope that helps

[SAIS BC 2010]

I was accepted to the Bologna campus as well. I am wondering if it is worth 120k in debt to go to SAIS. Do you know anything about funding for second year students (based off grades, etc) and what have you learned about peoples ability to pay off significant debt after they graduate. Any input is appreciated.

-About to be broke

Congrats on getting in! Quite an accomplishment. Unfortunately, I dont think I can be of much help with your questions. In my very SUBJECTIVE opinion, I do not think its worth it. For me personally, the BC is not the right type of graduate school environment. This of course, is only my opinion. It is best to get multiple opinions from various students.

In my case, SAIS did give me money, and the second year is guaranteed provided that I get some reasonable level of GPA. I cant speak of the ability to pay off upon graduation. I thing the best thing to do is to look at average starting salary report on the career services website. I do know there are plenty of opportunities to work while in Bologna, but of course, its only min wage. It helps pay for incidentals. Throughout the year, the school periodically informs the students of fellowship opportunities. Internships can pay as well. if you are especially motivated, you can try to take 5 courses/semester, one in the summer, and thus finsih a semester early? I dont know if this is allowed (or even physically feasible), but if its possible, you can save a whole semester's worth of costs. (you dont get charged extra for taking 5 courses versus 4).

Thanks, I hope that was helpful.

[le_neocon]

Thanks BC, I find your replies to be honest and forthcoming. Do you have any ideas about the DC campus ? Are scholarships etc. easily available in the second year ?

[rtbrewer]

Thanks for answering questions. Do you have any information on the Strategic Studies program at Bologna? How many students are there, are they pleased with course offerings, etc.? You mentioned there are plenty of minimum wage jobs. What is minimum wage in Bologna and are solid Italian language skills required? On class size, excluding the large econ courses you refer to, are classes typically less than a dozen students or so?

[SAIS BC 2010]

Thanks for answering questions. Do you have any information on the Strategic Studies program at Bologna? How many students are there, are they pleased with course offerings, etc.? You mentioned there are plenty of minimum wage jobs. What is minimum wage in Bologna and are solid Italian language skills required? On class size, excluding the large econ courses you refer to, are classes typically less than a dozen students or so?

Hi. I do not have much info on Strategic Studies. I have heard that its difficult to switch into Strat if you do not take the required courses from the beginning (something to keep in mind if you are thinking about changing later). Unfortunately, I do not work, so I may not be the best person to ask. All the SAIS related jobs have constant pay, its listed somewhere in the informational materials. Some students babysit, teach english, even work for some companies. Unfortunately I can't comment too specifically on pay rates.

There are about 12 strat students this year. I urge you to contact the strat students for more information. I have heard mixed things. If you have already gained admission, you should by now have received an email list of current students. Of the approx 24 non econ, non-core courses, approx 9 are less than 12 students. These are not exact numbers, but pretty close to it.

[DL2K10]

Hi, I had some questions as well. I was accepted to SAIS BC, but denied enrollment into iDev. I have spoken to several SAIS graduates (D.C.) who seem to share more or less the same ideas/stigmas that I see here and I am trying to ascertain whether the limitations on course availability and general lack of concentrations (Africa Studies, specifically) should be harbingers in deciding to attend SAIS.

Do you know if it is possible to transfer into iDev, whether in Bologna, or second year in D.C.? Also, while I think SAIS has a stellar reputation across the board, I wanted to see if SAIS BC students feel like the Reputation at BC is not as good. Of course, this is all speculation and the answer will vary greatly from person to person, but I am interested to hear from current BC students.

Furthermore, I wanted to know whether SAIS was instrumental at all in helping find Summer internships and or jobs subsequent to the first year in Bologna. An issue I keep on debating is whether a year in Italy (albeit amazing for the cultural/linguistic part) will be a detriment in terms of career development and job placement post-matriculation.

Thanks for your help and good luck to everyone!

[DL2K10]

Also, in my rpevious post I forgot to ask about the Middle East regional concentration; any feedback on that program? Thanks!

[SAIS BC 2010]

Thanks for your response. I was also denied into iDev, however, after coming to SAIS, I realized it was not the right program for me anyway. I know it is very difficult if not IMPOSSIBLE to switch into idev if you havent gained admission. Of course, I always belief that if someone is ambitious enough, then can make anything happen. There are no limitation to concentrations at Bologna (compared to DC), but there are limitations on course offerings. Courses on Africa are highly limited. There are 3 Africa studies majors, and only 2 courses offered during the first semester.

I personally do not think SAIS BC lives up to the SAIS reputation. That said, I dont think people OUTSIDE of SAIS (i.e. in the professional world), realize this, so it shouldnt hurt you. Only thing that will hurt you is that you are paying the same exhorbitant amount at Bologna versus DC, and in my opinion are getting less. I will find out once I graduate if there is actually a stigma to SAIS BC or not. If there is, I will be sure to simple say SAIS graduate on my resume.

SAIS Career services is helpful in finding internship opportunities and putting them on the SAISWORKS website. In addition, students frequently send out mass emails regarding opportunities that they have come across, or have participated in the past. I do know that SAIS has a formal internship program for Western Hemisphere, ERE, and idev concentrators. As for career development, the career services is pretty helpful in terms of skills development, and job hunting, however, I am not very familiar with these areas.

Overall, Italy is a great experience, however, I personally believe that my experience at SAIS Bologna is not worth the 60K.

Hope that helps.

[afdjp15]

SAIS BC 2010,

Thanks for the postings. I wanted to ask what you thought about AFP in DC? Thanks.

[kcml]

Hi,

Thanks for offering to help us potential students and applicants. I wanted to ask you how math-intensive the econ courses at SAIS are. I've taken 3 econ classes as an undergrad: "Principles of Economics" (Macro/Micro combined), International Economics (all theory), and Economic Development (also all theory). I was able to pull off an A in all three courses, but they had VERY little math in them and I struggled quite a bit with the little math that did appear in the principles class. I never made it past algebra II in high school and have not taken math in college.

You seem pretty enthusiastic about the SAIS quantitative component, but do you know of other students who struggle with mathematics and how they were able to handle SAIS's econ concentration?

Thanks again!