Defer Columbia or Reapply

[carpecc]

I applied this season for a Master’s in International Affairs and have been accepted by Columbia SIPA (no funding) and waitlisted by John Hopkins SAIS. I’ve already decided that I will probably not attend next fall due to my job and the fact that it would be impossible to get my Chinese girlfriend to the states unless we get hitched, which we’ll probably do next year, but I don’t want to rush things.

So should I defer and have it done with or reapply and keep my options open?

Columbia was originally my first choice since it’s in China friendly NYC and I really like their curriculum. It covers all the issues I want to study and has comprehensive econ but is not overwhelming.

On the other hand I wasn’t expecting to get into SAIS (almost no econ background, 3.0 undergrad GPA, so-so GRE), so I was pleased to get waitlisted. I'm not crazy about their econ intensity, but they’ve got a great curriculum on Asia issues and large presence in China. DC ain't too shabby either. If I take the econ prereqs I think I stand a chance.

I’ve also been reading more and more pleasant things about Tufts and some other schools that I didn’t apply to this time.

Of course retaking the GRE again (I’m confident I can improve my score) and redoing that whole application nonsense is really unappealing. And what if I get rejected from schools that accepted me this year? Is there any risk in this?

[so47]

Personally, I would just defer, just from not wanting to deal with the whole process all over again. There is always a risk of not getting in to the same schools next year since the applicant pool changes in quality and quantity, but I am not sure how often it happens that people don't get into the same school 2 years in a row.

So overall, if I were you, since it sounds like you do really like Columbia, I would take their offer and defer. But first, talk to Columbia and check to see if they offer deferrals...as some schools do not (my friend had that problem last year) As for finding other schools you like, I think that will always happen, one of those "grass is greener" things.

Good luck with your decision!

[carpecc]

So47,

Thanks for the insight. Yea, the "grass is greener" mentality is always an issue.

The more I think about it, the more I don't want to go through the cursed application process again. Besides, it looks like all these top programs are just shades of the same, they all have great faculty, students and network.

Still thinking though...