SAIS vs SIPA

[IRboundgrad]

I received an admissions offer from SIPA with no funding, and the price is even more than than I expected. They just released tuition figures: $42K for the 09-10 academic year compared to $36K for the previous year.

But as the price increases, my impression of the program is dwindling somewhat. I am getting mixed reviews from current SIPA students and alumni with regard to the sincerity of their 2nd-year award statistics (http://themorningsidepost.com/2008/08/5 ... very-time/) and the faculty/student body (viewtopic.php?f=67&t=15518#p70971).

I am still waiting for a response from SAIS, but am posing myself the question already. Is the New York City location worth sacrificing some quality in the program that I choose, and is SIPA really even a sacrifice?

Is anyone dealing with a similar issue or can anyone chime in with respect to these two programs (SIPA and SAIS)?

[Mathgirl]

Regarding location, I think that SAIS has an advantage over SIPA due to the wealth of internships and job contacts you can make in the DC area.

I applied to both also and will choose SAIS if I am lucky enough to be accepted to both schools.

[younglions]

I

[HisRoyalHighness]

Can someone explain why SAIS is so highly regarded? They trumpet Francis Fukuyama as head of their ID program, who hasn't been right about a single thing in three decades (Hey Francis - whatever happened to The End of History?) and yet, like much of his brethren, has managed to continually fail upwards even after supporting (and then opposing) the disastrous Iraq war, which anyone with half a brain could have told you was a terrible idea and not in the long-term interests of the United States. And don't get me started on convicted felon Elliot Cohen, who subverted the US Constitution, ran guns to terrorists in Nicaragua and then was pardoned for his crimes and landed a nice post at SAIS while not busy strewing wreckage around the State Department in the second Bush administration.

Too bad I didn't apply to SAIS. I could have learned a lot about terrorism and irrationality from the feet of two who know about, and have caused, quite a bit of both.

[USAF_applicant]

Can someone explain why SAIS is so highly regarded? They trumpet Francis Fukuyama as head of their ID program, who hasn't been right about a single thing in three decades (Hey Francis - whatever happened to The End of History?) and yet, like much of his brethren, has managed to continually fail upwards even after supporting (and then opposing) the disastrous Iraq war, which anyone with half a brain could have told you was a terrible idea and not in the long-term interests of the United States. And don't get me started on convicted felon Elliot Cohen, who subverted the US Constitution, ran guns to terrorists in Nicaragua and then was pardoned for his crimes and landed a nice post at SAIS while not busy strewing wreckage around the State Department in the second Bush administration.

Too bad I didn't apply to SAIS. I could have learned a lot about terrorism and irrationality from the feet of two who know about, and have caused, quite a bit of both.

SAIS graduates tend to do very well, and the quality of education is consistently ranked top-notch by the usual suspects -- FP Magazine, US News and World Report, Princeton Review et al.

It sounds like you might be going more off emotion here than disinterested evaluation of the program?

[HisRoyalHighness]

Yeah probably - I had just finished having a conversation with someone about how being a tenured academic means never having to admit you're wrong, which led into that post amid further discussion over John Yoo's tenured position at Boalt - UC Berkeley.

Regardless - I don't want to learn from convicted felons or those who feel the US Constitution can be suspended whenever the president wants it suspended. It's particularly important in grad school that you respect your professors. I have no respect for Fukuyama or Cohen or for that matter John Yoo.

Too often in the study of IR or International Security we forget that real people bear the consequences of our decisions - there is a human face to the suffering caused by those who carelessly advocate war or torture. These are not simply abstract ideas without repurcussions.

[jakels6]

These blasted SAIS invites to information sessions and meet and greets keep faking me out. They get me all excited when I find them in my inbox before I actually realize what it is. They do sound cool though. Wish I lived closer.

[IRboundgrad]

I know. I just got another one. And with each step ..."You're invited (OMG) ... to attend the SAIS (OMFG!) ... Bologna campus (OK, still) ... 's information session (WTF?)"

[rico]

did all those who applied with Bologna as their first choice receive an invite to the information session on March 17?

[Faparusi18]

Is the first year Bologna program looked down on at SAIS and how is your financial aid effected? So far I got into SAIS (Bologna), SIPA, Elliot GW, Maxwell Syracuse, SIS American, and I'm waiting on Georgetown, any thoughts? I am planning on doing my phd perhaps directly after these programs if that helps focus any commentary...