smirrah Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 Anyone know how LSE stands in the States? I'm heavily considering the two-year MPA in Intl Dev at LSE, which is very quant & econ focused (in comparison to their one-year MScs in IR topics). I'm in at SAIS as well as GW ($$), but my sig. other is English and will be in London for the next couple of years. I know SAIS has a much stronger rep. and better network, but is it that much better than LSE if I were to come back to the States once I'm done? Would I be making a mistake doing LSE over SAIS? I don't want to go into a potentially disastrous long distance relationship if the difference isn't that major.
hudwa Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) Anyone know how LSE stands in the States? I'm heavily considering the two-year MPA in Intl Dev at LSE, which is very quant & econ focused (in comparison to their one-year MScs in IR topics). I'm in at SAIS as well as GW ($$), but my sig. other is English and will be in London for the next couple of years. I know SAIS has a much stronger rep. and better network, but is it that much better than LSE if I were to come back to the States once I'm done? Would I be making a mistake doing LSE over SAIS? I don't want to go into a potentially disastrous long distance relationship if the difference isn't that major. I generally stay away from saying "you should/shouldn't go here" because everyone is different, but bottom line, unless you want to work in Europe or somewhere in the developing world, or you want to get a PhD, do not go to LSE. I have heard many horror stories from LSE graduates who came back to the States and found that their very high quality education was essentially useless when it came to getting a job. The network is very thin here and the degree simply isn't reognized like it is in other parts of the world. You seem to know all of SAIS's strengths, but you need to understand the very serious weaknesses of LSE in the US job market upon graduation. Edited March 15, 2012 by hudwa
fenderpete Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 Any idea when we hear about funding from SAIS?
smirrah Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 I generally stay away from saying "you should/shouldn't go here" because everyone is different, but bottom line, unless you want to work in Europe or somewhere in the developing world, or you want to get a PhD, do not go to LSE. I have heard many horror stories from LSE graduates who came back to the States and found that their very high quality education was essentially useless when it came to getting a job. The network is very thin here and the degree simply isn't reognized like it is in other parts of the world. You seem to know all of SAIS's strengths, but you need to understand the very serious weaknesses of LSE in the US job market upon graduation. Thanks for your input. I have heard of people getting decent jobs after the LSE MPA in the States, but they seemed to all have done the dual degree route with SIPA. I know no one can tell me where I should or shouldn't go, but I'm trying to get insight on job prospects after. I was hoping to avoid the degree not being useful in the States (like a very theoretical MSc in International Political Economy or something) by doing a professional program, hence the MPA. Any more insight on job US prospects post-LSE would be incredibly helpful.
charlotte_asia Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 Anyone know how LSE stands in the States? This is entirely anecdotal, but I had a good friend who went to LSE after undergrad who has lamented in the years since that her degree is "worthless" in the US. (She wanted to work in Brussels but work visa difficulties prevented that). I am not sure what it is-- name recognition, network, etc-- that is lacking, but she had a very difficult time finding full-time employment in the US after graduating. My understanding is that her Europe-bound classmates had much better prospects than she did in the US. And one thing that always stuck out to me was that she nonchalantly mentioned she would probably "end up going to SAIS or something" for a second masters just to get on an even playing field in the US. Yikes. Again, this is anecdotal, so I'm not sure how much that helps you, but exemplifies one of the "horror stories" to which hudwa referred.
avr2012 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Posted March 15, 2012 My impression from talking with professors, practitioners, and students is that the IR MSc from LSE is fairly academic--closer to Yale's Jackson program than to Georgetown/SAIS/SIPA. That said, the LSE MSc in Economics/Econometrics & Mathematical Economics is perhaps the most respected master's program in economics in the world, and certainly would be recognized in the U.S. at financial institutions and international financial organizations. If the MPA program is housed within the Economics department, or at least has a strong connection to it, then I would imagine it would offer somewhat similar recognition.
smirrah Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 My impression from talking with professors, practitioners, and students is that the IR MSc from LSE is fairly academic--closer to Yale's Jackson program than to Georgetown/SAIS/SIPA. That said, the LSE MSc in Economics/Econometrics & Mathematical Economics is perhaps the most respected master's program in economics in the world, and certainly would be recognized in the U.S. at financial institutions and international financial organizations. If the MPA program is housed within the Economics department, or at least has a strong connection to it, then I would imagine it would offer somewhat similar recognition. Hi and thank you very much. The MPA is housed in the government department, but it does require coursework in economics. I would be taking micro and macro economics for public policy, econometrics, development economics, and other courses if I can possibly get into them (I don't have a econ major from undergrad but took four courses). It also has a dual degree option with SIPA, so I think it is fairly set up to be similar to SIPA's MPAs, just being more UK. Also charlotte_asia, do you know what your friend did? I can only assume that doing an MSc in something like IR or Global Politics at LSE would not be useful by any means in the US... I'm just hoping the MPA, being more structured like US professional degree (although still very UK), would avoid the horror stories.
JAubrey Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 My two cents as someone whose master's is from a top UK university: I have not found this at all. My university has large-ish alumni clubs in NYC, DC. Boston, LA, Toronto, Ottawa, and San Francisco as well as smaller ones in Atlanta, Houston, and Chicago. Granted when people ask about my master's they mostly instantly recognize the name, but I would say within our field LSE would be little different. However, a place like Columbia still would have a larger network in the US. That said, I wouldn't trade it or the experience for any US university.
saisgspia2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Hey guys, I've recently been accepted to GSPIA and SAIS (bologna first year), and waitlisted at GW....was wondering everyone's thoughts on the programs..... obviously SAIS is amazing, but i'm worried about tuition costs there....especially because I'm instate for GSPIA. Is the SAIS name worth taking out 100k in loans? Would I really be making that much more money with a M.A. from SAIS? I'm going to both open houses in April but would definitely appreciate some input!
hoggerjp Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Hi all. To those that were admitted: Do you know if SAIS has sent out a hard copy of the decision letter/ welcome package? I need the letter to apply for a non-SAIS fellowship. I will try to find out through the admissions office and will circle back to you, but would also appreciate your input in the meantime. Thanks.
charlotte_asia Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 smirrah, she studied finance and global/European politics. So yes, absolutely, it was a degree that would have been more relevant in Europe than some of their other degrees. She is passionate about European studies and enjoyed her experience at LSE, but I think realized a program with more name recognition on either side of the Atlantic would have better prepared her for getting a job in the US should visa problems prevent her from working in the EU (which it did). That said, I personally think that in most fields after you secure your first post-grad job your networking skills, job performance, etc get you further than the name of your graduate school.
wantgrad Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 @hoggerjp would a print-out of the soft copy not suffice? that's what I'm planning on using...don't trust snail mail to reach me on time in new delhi (it always reaches, but sometimes gets delayed)
rzkp Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 In at SAIS, but with micro and macroeconomics pre-requisite, plus Academic English pre-term courses. Just figure out that SAIS does not have on campus-housing, and their housing website only offers off-campus housing. Still browsing for a room/basement in a walking distance to SAIS under $600. Any hint?
charlotte_asia Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Still browsing for a room/basement in a walking distance to SAIS under $600. Any hint? Possible, but you would have to live in a pretty rough neighborhood (northeast of Logan Circle, east of Convention Center, for example). Personally I would not trust anything within walking distance of SAIS for $1000 or less. Better to live a bit further (Capitol Hill/H street, Adams Morgan, U Street, Columbia Heights) and take the metro or bike to school. Though you are very unlikely to find anything less than $700, and that's with multiple roommates. If you do, I would have a friend check out the neighborhood/apartment.
hoggerjp Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) @hoggerjp would a print-out of the soft copy not suffice? that's what I'm planning on using...don't trust snail mail to reach me on time in new delhi (it always reaches, but sometimes gets delayed) Thanks wantgrad. Told by the admissions office that they do not mail out hard copies of the decision letter, but they would be happy to do so if requested by e-mail. Edited March 16, 2012 by hoggerjp
dcenergygirl Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Still browsing for a room/basement in a walking distance to SAIS under $600. Any hint? Charlotte's advice is good but if you're really looking for something specific: M St NW between 8 - 2nd Sts will probably be your best bet The area east of Mt. Vernon Metro and north of NY Ave. This is a pretty boarder line, if not down right bad neighborhood (many muggings, drug dealers etc), but your cheapest closest bet if you want to walk to SAIS. I would recommend capitol hill NE for more affordable options, but you will need to figure out the bus system (really not that bad) to get to and from class.
hudwa Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 In at SAIS, but with micro and macroeconomics pre-requisite, plus Academic English pre-term courses. Just figure out that SAIS does not have on campus-housing, and their housing website only offers off-campus housing. Still browsing for a room/basement in a walking distance to SAIS under $600. Any hint? Tenleytown is relatively cheap, and there are lots of AU students there who are looking to share apartments. Very suburban area, and completely safe. It's on the Metro Red Line, from which SAIS campus is about a 10 minute walk from the nearest station (DuPont Circle of Farragut North, I forget which one).
dcenergygirl Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Tenleytown is relatively cheap, and there are lots of AU students there who are looking to share apartments. Very suburban area, and completely safe. It's on the Metro Red Line, from which SAIS campus is about a 10 minute walk from the nearest station (DuPont Circle of Farragut North, I forget which one). uuuggghh Red Line is AWFUL. if you commute during peak hours be ready for hell.
wantgrad Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 They are rolling out financial awards...just received mine...20k for the first year! exciting, not sure it's enough...
smirrah Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 They are rolling out financial awards...just received mine...20k for the first year! exciting, not sure it's enough... Hey, congrats! I'm trying to read mine but am a little confused. On the ISIS page mine says: Bologna Fellowship - US $12,000.00 Federal Direct Loan $20,500.00 Sorry if this is an incredibly stupid question, but this mean they're giving me 12,000 for the first year to go to SAIS BC? Or is this something different. My brain is fried.
IRToni Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 I've got 20.000 US$. That means I'm still short about 40.000 US each year. Going to be looking for external sources now, I think... It's my dream school and they seem to want me, so not attending would suck. But having 50.000 US in loans would suck as well...
wasistdas Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) uuuggghh Red Line is AWFUL. if you commute during peak hours be ready for hell. 1st world problems I would be happy to have Edited March 16, 2012 by godlessgael
understatement700 Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 I got 2,000 in Work Study and 1,500 in Perkins loans, yay.
strangertimes Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 $8,000 fellowship. not nearly enough. will be declining unless something changes.
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