SAIS

[decisionsihope]

Sorry for the confusion...I was notified of admission into the China Studies program, which I believe is not capped, not in letter to by home containing the unfortunate aid info but in an earlier email from the deputy director of the program.

[thereject]

Pika, Do you have any insights on the African Studies program. I got accepted into that program but with no funding, I am weighing my options between Fletcher and SAIS

[impatiens]

FINALLY got my official letter in the mail today and the verdict is no funding. I got a little too hopeful because I'd heard/lurked on an old CollegeConfidential thread that there tended to be funding offers tied specifically to Canadian Studies and Southeast Asian studies (coincidentally my first and second choices). It would've been nice to have part of my tuition covered if only because of the atrocious CAD-USD exchange rate these days. Alors, c'est la vie, but I am still happy! Just going to take everything in stride and figure it out as I go.

[jpa]

Haha oh well, I guess I'm the only one who didn't get an email from my department, then...I guess we're not that special? I don't even remember what I put as my 2nd choice.

[pika2]

Pika, Do you have any insights on the African Studies program. I got accepted into that program but with no funding, I am weighing my options between Fletcher and SAIS

Sorry, I don't, as I'm not a current SAIS student nor have I asked anyone about the African Studies program at SAIS. I will say, however, that a couple of SAIS students have told me that the regional studies programs at SAIS are all great and that you can't go wrong w/ whichever one you choose. I don't know anything about the African Studies program at Fletcher, sorry.

Perhaps you could ask the admissions office at both schools and ask if they could put you in touch w/ current students who are concentrating in Africa? I know the SAIS acceptance letter mentions this, and I'm sure the admissions office at Fletcher would also be willing to help you get in touch w/ current Fletcher students.

[console]

Wow, this thread's been pretty active. Sorry I've been gone for a while there. Mountains of readings...

1) Yes, I'm a current SAIS student.

2) On the weakness of Korea, Canadian, Japan studies, maybe it's not fair to say that those programs are weak. But I do think they are weaker than some of the others at SAIS, which may not be a bad thing. I'm thinking mainly of the ability of the director, funding, courses, opportunities across a broad range (kinda vague?). For example, the China program offers 8 classes this semester, compared to 3 by Korea studies (one of which is a NE Asia class with a Korea component). The same is true for Canada and Japan in the paucity of course offerings. While it's possible that those few classes are amazing, finding classes that fit your interests might be an issue. I've also been told that the SAIS Korea program is security focused, which makes sense, but it can be a bit limiting. In terms of directors, China's Lampton is well respected, loved by students and very active, compared to Korea's Suh, who I haven't heard the most flattering things about. But funding's a different story. Korea and Japan (not sure about Canada) have lots of money so that's a plus--lots of program/class trips to the countries. I do think that the US-Korea Institute is a great resource, though I really don't know about the research opportunities. Another thought is to consider which professors you'd like to work with at the various IR schools--Victor Cha at Georgetown for Korea maybe. On a side note, SE Asia does have a lot of money it seems. It gives grants for language study in SE Asia for winter break. Ridiculously cool. My thoughts are based on talking with students in the programs, as I'm not in any of the ones mentioned, so maybe I'm not the best source. And if SAIS offers the best Korea or Canada program, I'm totally with you. I'm just trying to offer some details that I didn't have last year.

3) Jobs in specific sectors/orgs. This is a great question, one that SAIS students frequently talk/worry about. It's generally true that folks getting jobs in any field, had some experience before SAIS. Grads who get finance jobs were i-bankers before coming here, etc. I don't think there are any game-changing IR degrees out there. The MPA/ID at HKS might be the closest thing for dev finance, but that thing's not a free pass either. Work experience certainly is the most important component of your resume, and some people argue that working for two years (if you don't have a lot of experience) might serve you better in the long-run than getting an MA in IR. I think (hope?) if you take full advantage of the econ courses at SAIS, network heavily, do relevant and substantive internships, WB, OPIC and other intl' finance positions are attainable. If you don't have the relevant background, you're just gonna have to work a little harder. Lastly, folks from dev countries seem to face less competition, but plenty of American students get into the multilaterals as well. I don't have any specifics though.

4) Fin aid for second years. I'm actually still waiting to find out myself. The consensus is that more second years get money, but it's kind of an awkward subject to broach. I can't imagine that SAIS will give significant money, but apparently a lot of second years get something.

5) Comparisons between SAIS and MSFS. You're probably bored with the usual comparisons: private sector v. govt, area studies, who throws the better parties. I might be able to give you a better response if you provide some more details about your interests/preferences or specific questions. Here's a quick anecdote though: I went on an "ocean safari" off the coast of Africa, and out of the six people sleeping on this totally deserted island, one was a recent MSFS grad. He absolutely loved his time there, referring to it as a "two-year vacation," and got a great job at Treasury. That's totally useless info, but I thought it was kinda funny.

Hope that helps.

[pika2]

Thanks for the honest input, console. Well, I figure every college or university in the US is probably going to have way more courses on China than on Korea (or even Canada and Japan, for that matter), so that doesn't discourage me in the least bit. Plus, SAIS actually seems to have more courses on Korea (not to mention more professors specializing in Korea) than any other IR program I've encountered so far (I'd imagine it might be the same w/ Canadian Studies, as I haven't even heard of Canadian Studies being offered at any other top IR school. Not sure about Japan though; I think SIPA's program might be better for that.). Also, the director of the program told me they'll be adding more courses on Korea next year, so hopefully when I'm there they'll have a few courses on non-security-related stuff

Anyway, it's always nice to hear a current student's perspective on SAIS, so thanks again

[impatiens]

Thanks for your input, Console!

I'm really excited about SAIS.

[Cornell07]

I am currently in the SAIS building and just met with some people and I am fantastically underwhelmed. If you want to work at the World Bank or do finance, this is definitely your place. If you don't want to work in the private sector, do want to intern in DC during the school year, or don't really have any strong feelings for economics, this is not your place. After having a very good time at Yale yesterday, my initially thought is that Yale has moved up on my list and SAIS has dropped a notch in my book.

[slothrop99]

I am currently in the SAIS building and just met with some people and I am fantastically underwhelmed. If you want to work at the World Bank or do finance, this is definitely your place. If you don't want to work in the private sector, do want to intern in DC during the school year, or don't really have any strong feelings for economics, this is not your place. After having a very good time at Yale yesterday, my initially thought is that Yale has moved up on my list and SAIS has dropped a notch in my book.

Hey, thanks for your input. I won't be able to make it out to DC before making a decision, so your description is helpful (although I recognize that it's just one person's opinion). Sounds about like how I imagined it.

[jduds]

I am currently in the SAIS building and just met with some people and I am fantastically underwhelmed. If you want to work at the World Bank or do finance, this is definitely your place. If you don't want to work in the private sector, do want to intern in DC during the school year, or don't really have any strong feelings for economics, this is not your place. After having a very good time at Yale yesterday, my initially thought is that Yale has moved up on my list and SAIS has dropped a notch in my book.

Cornell07, could you please expound on this? What gave you the impression that SAIS is only for those interested in the World Bank or finance? And do you think it's too econ-centric. Thanks.

[Cornell07]

I have not totally given up on SAIS yet -- maybe administrators instead of faculty are not the best people to speak with -- so I am about to meet with the faculty in my admitted department. I promise to provide more insight.

I'm presently sitting on a couch in a dept. office waiting for a prof to come back from a dissertation defense, so more details will be forthcoming.

[Cornell07]

Update:

I sat in on a class that is spot on with my professional/academic interests -- what role should history have in relation to policy decisions. For me, I found the class in many ways more enlightening than the class on a similar subject that I sat in on at Yale because of the work experiences of the students. At Yale, the most popular prior experiences were peace corps, the army, and professional life (e.g. paralegal, business etc.). After going to SAIS, I noticed that most students had specifically government experience -- Pentagon, White House, The Hill -- and this definitely shaped the direction of class discussions. Many observations about historical analogies and precedents generated the same issue for the students: "if this paper or analogy plopped down on my desk, what am I supposed to do with it?" Read into this what you will about the nature of the two programs.

[redrover]

Hey!

I'm new here..also was accepted to the SAIS MA program. I was wondering if anyone knows about the different cross-registering opportunities at SAIS DC, if any. I can't find any information on the website. I'm particularly curious whether we are allowed to cross-register for courses at Georgetown SFS. I'm assuming JHU poli sci classes are a go?

Cornell, sounds like you had an interesting visit. I'll be visiting tomorrow and will see if my impressions match yours.

[georgia82]

I am currently in the SAIS building and just met with some people and I am fantastically underwhelmed. If you want to work at the World Bank or do finance, this is definitely your place. If you don't want to work in the private sector, do want to intern in DC during the school year, or don't really have any strong feelings for economics, this is not your place. After having a very good time at Yale yesterday, my initially thought is that Yale has moved up on my list and SAIS has dropped a notch in my book.

Cornell,

Did you feel that people at SAIS were talking up the World Bank specifically or IDEV jobs in general, or both?

[polisciworries]

I think it's easy to overstate the finance and World Bank aspect of SAIS. There are certainly a number of people there who focus on those things, but the "functional studies" folks (i.e. Conflict Management, Strat, Intl Law, etc.) tend not to pay much attention to those areas. It's also easy to get caught up in the econ focus of SAIS, but only a small portion of students actually focus on the finance side of things (typically people who were also considering B-school), and the econ classes are really good for providing a necessary (in my opinion) understanding of a major aspect of world events, even if you plan to focus on non-economic issues like strat. Plenty of people go on to work at non-profits, the state dept, etc. and not in finance or the Bank. That all being said, a significant number of IDEV folks do end up at the Bank simply because the network over there is huge.

Also, in response to a question about cross-registering - SAIS has no agreement with any other DC school for cross-registering classes so that won't be a possibility. You can take some classes up in Baltimore if you really want to (only for the electives you'll have), but frankly, I'm not sure you'll find that necessary given the number of classes offered (let alone the hassle of going up to Baltimore).

[jpa]

I think it's easy to overstate the finance and World Bank aspect of SAIS. There are certainly a number of people there who focus on those things, but the "functional studies" folks (i.e. Conflict Management, Strat, Intl Law, etc.) tend not to pay much attention to those areas. It's also easy to get caught up in the econ focus of SAIS, but only a small portion of students actually focus on the finance side of things (typically people who were also considering B-school), and the econ classes are really good for providing a necessary (in my opinion) understanding of a major aspect of world events, even if you plan to focus on non-economic issues like strat. Plenty of people go on to work at non-profits, the state dept, etc. and not in finance or the Bank. That all being said, a significant number of IDEV folks do end up at the Bank simply because the network over there is huge.

Also, in response to a question about cross-registering - SAIS has no agreement with any other DC school for cross-registering classes so that won't be a possibility. You can take some classes up in Baltimore if you really want to (only for the electives you'll have), but frankly, I'm not sure you'll find that necessary given the number of classes offered (let alone the hassle of going up to Baltimore).

Ditto...well said. I have 13 (yes, I counted) friends (all located in Asia and SE Asia, where SAIS has a very good reputation and solid alumni network) who went to SAIS and they all were placed in their "dream jobs," which are not limited to finance/econ focused fields. The quant focusonly helps graduates become equipped with strong analytical skills needed in many IR related jobs. Also, as an econ. and polisci major in college, I can say that I received a well-rounded view of the world.

[spitts77]

Am I the only one who didn't have my intended concentration mentioned in my letter? I'll just assume I got into Strat Studies? When I mailed in my letter accepting their offer, I just said that I was planning on studying strat studies...uhhh

I don't think they state a concentration in the letter unless you are in a capped program. I want to do strat studies as well and nothing mentioned. I get the feeling that you can probably change your concentration when you get there if you wish to.

Incidentally, since you are interested in strat studies, any thoughts on Walsh and Fletcher, both of which have strong securities studies programs?

[spitts77]

Haha oh well, I guess I'm the only one who didn't get an email from my department, then...I guess we're not that special? I don't even remember what I put as my 2nd choice.

I didn't either. We can feel not special together.

[zourah]

My notes from the morning sessions at SAIS are already up, thanks to their easily-accessed guest wi-fi. Points for technology.

[thereject]

Thanks Zourah, I was not abe to attend the open house, your notes have been helpful, post more when you can

[redrover]

So who decided to attend SAIS? I just submitted my online acceptance form after much consternation and feel relieved to get the decision out of the way.