kayoko.ly Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Wondering if anyone out there has taken the waiver examination to get out of the micro/macro intermediate economic requirement prior to starting at SAIS? I was accepted to the IDEV program and told I could take the test, but should I fail, I would be kicked out of the IDEV program and have to choose another path. Don't want to take this risk, but also was an economics major as an undergrad and took several econ classes. Just not sure what level the test is at.... Assuming I will play it safe and take the econ class in the pre-term, but wondering if anyone had any feedback? Likewise - looking for feedback on the language examination as well. What level of fluency is required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erry3779 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I wish i could start thinking about this already. I havent even made up my mind whether I willgo for SAIS or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nouveau.ukiyo Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) I was accepted to SAIS Bologna and haven't made up my mind either. If I choose to go here though, it seems like the best course of action is to take both Macro/Micro during the DC pre-term session, then jet over to Bologna and take the Intensive Italian course during their pre-term session. Edited March 18, 2012 by nouveau.ukiyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayoko.ly Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Agreed, that is what I am thinking as well. I do not want to risk failing the test and being unable to participate in the IDEV program. The woman in admissions recommended I speak with someone in the econ group at the new admit open house on April 11th to get a better idea of what level of economics background they require. When I talk to them, I will try to remember to post what they say on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wantgrad Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 kayoko please do post back! There is no additional charge for the pre-term econ right? I am also an econ major, but I'm worried about the calc that comes with micro...haven't used that at all since graduating in 2009. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasistdas Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 kayoko please do post back! There is no additional charge for the pre-term econ right? I am also an econ major, but I'm worried about the calc that comes with micro...haven't used that at all since graduating in 2009. I am pretty sure the online pre-term econ is $1200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayoko.ly Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Does anyone know how much attending pre-term in person in DC costs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cckrspnl56 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 $1200 for one course, $1800 for two. It can be charged to your student account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggerjp Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) I was an economics / finance major in undergrad and have worked in related fields. I am planning on taking waiver exams for micro and int'l trade, enroll in macro during the pre-term + accelerated monetary theory during the first semester, since I want a rigorous re-introduction to these subjects. This means.. I should start opening up my books again pretty soon if I want to take the May exam. Any thoughts? Edited March 19, 2012 by hoggerjp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayoko.ly Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 hoggerjp - were you admitted to the IDEV program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggerjp Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) No, development isn't my thing. More into monetary economics and international finance. Worked in finance. If I were to major in development though, probably would make sense to retake micro instead of macro as a full credit course. Edited March 19, 2012 by hoggerjp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingschu Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Same dilemma here--was accepted to the IDEV program and plan on taking at least the intermed. microecon waiver exam, but not sure how difficult this can be. I would feel extremely stupid and embarassed if I fail the waiver exam, since I've got an Econ master's degree already. Are you guys sure that if we indeed flunk the exam, we can't take the pre-term anymore to make it up so that we can still successfully enroll in IDEV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gzdzcca Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 just a reminder for all those international students As long as your high school was not taught in English, you will have to take english placement test even if your undergraduate degree was taught in English Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerusalemS Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 just a reminder for all those international students As long as your high school was not taught in English, you will have to take english placement test even if your undergraduate degree was taught in English You mean even after TOEFL? there's an extra step? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avr2012 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Same dilemma here--was accepted to the IDEV program and plan on taking at least the intermed. microecon waiver exam, but not sure how difficult this can be. I would feel extremely stupid and embarassed if I fail the waiver exam, since I've got an Econ master's degree already. Are you guys sure that if we indeed flunk the exam, we can't take the pre-term anymore to make it up so that we can still successfully enroll in IDEV? If you take the waiver exams sufficiently far in advance, you'll still have time to register for pre-term if you fail them. I think the latest date for which this would be possible is the June 1 - 3 test date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gzdzcca Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 You mean even after TOEFL? there's an extra step? my undergraduate degree was from the US so I did not use TOEFL. But I believe you have take that placement exam even after TOEFL. Maybe you can ask the admission office about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayokolyons Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Looks like avr2012 already confirmed what I was going to say, but I did speak with a professor at SAIS who said that you can take the econ waivers and should you fail, as long as you still are able to sign up for pre-term you will be able to fulfill your intermediate micro requirement for IDEV. I was told the waiver is a 25 question multiple choice exam. Sounds as though if you've had a good amount of econ background you will be fine on the exam, just make sure to review beforehand. I would think if you were an economics major you should definitely try to take the waiver if you have a little time to review before. Worst that happens is you have to go to pre-term. hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jct329 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 How much does it take to test out of micro and macro? I was an economics major and got As in Micro/Macro and Intermediate Micro/Macro, but have done nothing related to the field in 4 years (and I'm not applying until the 2014 cycle, so just more curious than anything else). Will dusting off the old Mankiw and Hal Varian books be enough? Are the tests super math heavy or more conceptual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingschu Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Looks like avr2012 already confirmed what I was going to say, but I did speak with a professor at SAIS who said that you can take the econ waivers and should you fail, as long as you still are able to sign up for pre-term you will be able to fulfill your intermediate micro requirement for IDEV. I was told the waiver is a 25 question multiple choice exam. Sounds as though if you've had a good amount of econ background you will be fine on the exam, just make sure to review beforehand. I would think if you were an economics major you should definitely try to take the waiver if you have a little time to review before. Worst that happens is you have to go to pre-term. hope that helps! thank you for the re-assurance! Worst case scenario-I will cut short my summer vacation and fly to DC one month earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayokolyons Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 You are welcome! jct329 -- Not sure how quant focused the tests are. I am guessing they probably require basic math but nothing too complex. I think they are just trying to confirm you remember basic economics and graphs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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