SAIS Bologna

[ivydreams3]

That's a really good point. It will be more than a $38K difference, particularly bc SAIS isn't known for giving out much second year funding, cost of living will be more, and I would likely get second year funding at Fletcher. Telling myself it would be a $38K difference was merely the result of cognitive dissonance. ( :

 

I don't think things happen for a reason, but maybe trying to force SAIS on myself isn't the best thing for me, not just fiscally, but content-wise as well. While I want to strengthen and hone my economic skills, I don't necessarily want to be a quasi economist, either. If I exercise some self control, I can get the econ and language training I want from Fletcher while keeping my focus international security and conflict resolution.

 

Also, in a slightly unrelated note, for those banking on the fed loan forgivenss program, I suggest you research it a bit more. It's definitely not as easy as 10 years in the public sector and your debt disappears. For those 10 years, you must be on a payment plan that, theoretically, would allow you to pay your debt off in that 10 year time span. In other words, the debt forgiveness program requires you to be on the most expensive loan repayment program for those 10 years. Essentially, at the end of the 10 years you'll likely have very little debt to repay, anyway.  I've worked in the public sector for 2 years now, and I've had a few colleagues who've looked into the program and found that most of their previous payments don't qualify. Just FYI.

 

Actually, at the financial aid chat last week I heard them say that they save most of their funding for second year students. Maybe I misunderstood but I am pretty sure that is what was said.

 

Also, when I researched the Loan Forgiveness Program, it stipulated that you could use a 10-year standard loan repayment plan OR a plan based on income contigency (ICR) or income based repayment plan(IBR). The ICR and IBR plans allow you to chose a longer repayment period and thus leave room for a pretty substantial amount of debt to be forgiven. But it is also a catch-22 because if you use IBR or ICR then you end up with more interest acrued and a higher total loan balance putting you at a greater risk if you end up not being eligible for PSLF. I am curious as to how being laid off from your public service job would affect your eligibility.

 

Directly from the Govt website http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/public-service:

 

"Before deciding which repayment plan you want to use to repay your Direct Loans, it is important that you understand the implications and costs of that decision. The longer you make PSLF-qualifying payments under a 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan, the lower the remaining balance on your loans will be when you meet all of the PSLF Program's eligibility requirements. In fact, if you make all of the required 120 monthly payments under the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan, there will be no balance left on your loans to be forgiven.

Under the IBR and ICR plans, your monthly payment amount will likely be lower than under any of the other PSLF-qualifying repayment plans and your repayment period will likely be longer. Because of the longer repayment period, additional interest that will accrue on your loan, and the smaller monthly payment amount, you will be left with a higher loan balance that could be forgiven. However, if you ultimately do not meet the eligibility requirements for PSLF, you will be responsible for repaying the entire balance of your loan, including all accrued interest."

Edited March 25, 2013 by ivydreams3

[DaniCM]

Actually, at the financial aid chat last week I heard them say that they save most of their funding for second year students. Maybe I misunderstood but I am pretty sure that is what was said.

 

Also, when I researched the Loan Forgiveness Program, it stipulated that you could use a 10-year standard loan repayment plan OR a plan based on income contigency (ICR) or income based repayment plan(IBR). The ICR and IBR plans allow you to chose a longer repayment period and thus leave room for a pretty substantial amount of debt to be forgiven. But it is also a catch-22 because if you use IBR or ICR then you end up with more interest acrued and a higher total loan balance putting you at a greater risk if you end up not being eligible for PSLF. I am curious as to how being laid off from your public service job would affect your eligibility.

 

Directly from the Govt website http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/public-service:

 

"Before deciding which repayment plan you want to use to repay your Direct Loans, it is important that you understand the implications and costs of that decision. The longer you make PSLF-qualifying payments under a 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan, the lower the remaining balance on your loans will be when you meet all of the PSLF Program's eligibility requirements. In fact, if you make all of the required 120 monthly payments under the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan, there will be no balance left on your loans to be forgiven.

Under the IBR and ICR plans, your monthly payment amount will likely be lower than under any of the other PSLF-qualifying repayment plans and your repayment period will likely be longer. Because of the longer repayment period, additional interest that will accrue on your loan, and the smaller monthly payment amount, you will be left with a higher loan balance that could be forgiven. However, if you ultimately do not meet the eligibility requirements for PSLF, you will be responsible for repaying the entire balance of your loan, including all accrued interest."

 

Great info, Ivydreams! I can definitely see why people are tempted to take on bigger debt, get on one of the income based repayment plans, and bank on the gov forgiving the remainder of their loans after 10 years, but I still don't feel like that's a good plan A, or good rationale for taking on substantial debt. I believe the program began in 2007, so the first people wont be eligible for debt forgiveness until 2017...I'm really curious to see how things work out that first year. I feel like the program is still somewhat shrouded in mystery and confusion. Like I said, I have a number of colleagues surprised to find many of their loan payments didn't qualify and they had a difficult time understanding why.

 

Anyway, when my time comes, I hope too to benefit from the program, but I'm definitely not putting all my eggs in the PSLF basket. ( :

[flyingjellyfish]

I've been checking out some of SAIS Bologna's promotional videos.  This one made me want to hop on a plane and go there right now 

 

[ivydreams3]

Great info, Ivydreams! I can definitely see why people are tempted to take on bigger debt, get on one of the income based repayment plans, and bank on the gov forgiving the remainder of their loans after 10 years, but I still don't feel like that's a good plan A, or good rationale for taking on substantial debt. I believe the program began in 2007, so the first people wont be eligible for debt forgiveness until 2017...I'm really curious to see how things work out that first year. I feel like the program is still somewhat shrouded in mystery and confusion. Like I said, I have a number of colleagues surprised to find many of their loan payments didn't qualify and they had a difficult time understanding why.

 

Anyway, when my time comes, I hope too to benefit from the program, but I'm definitely not putting all my eggs in the PSLF basket. ( :

 

I completely agree. There are so many factors that could throw you off. Will the program still exist in 2024-2025? Will they change the rules for eligibility? Will they decide to only forgive interest or only forgive up to a cap? Will you even end up working in a public service job, etc, etc.

 

Best we can do is hope but not really base our borrowing decisions off of it.

[ivydreams3]

At the SAIS Bologna Info Session they gave us the link to this 2013-2014 Incoming Students Guidebook: http://www.jhubc.it/DOCUMENTS/incominginfo.pdf

[JFactor]

I've tried contacting different people at SAIS but I still don't have a solid answer to the question of what are the chances of getting second-year funding (that you weren't awarded to already)? What does it require in terms of GPA, approximately how many scholarships are out there/how many students receive extra funding for year two etc.? Have any of you guys heard anything more concrete about the funding for the second year?

[Revolution]

I've tried contacting different people at SAIS but I still don't have a solid answer to the question of what are the chances of getting second-year funding (that you weren't awarded to already)? What does it require in terms of GPA, approximately how many scholarships are out there/how many students receive extra funding for year two etc.? Have any of you guys heard anything more concrete about the funding for the second year?

 

I actually asked SAIS financial aid about this as well, but they were very vague. They said that funding for second year could go up depending on "academic performance." But they didn't give me any criteria for what my gpa would need to be to get more money. And they didn't give any details on how much more i could get either. The fellowship i got was contingent upon getting at least a 3.25 gpa the first year, so i'm guessing that i would need to get 3.5+ for any chance of getting more money in the second year. But this is all speculation, and it seems like financial aid likes to keep quiet on the details of funding.

[JFactor]

I actually asked SAIS financial aid about this as well, but they were very vague. They said that funding for second year could go up depending on "academic performance." But they didn't give me any criteria for what my gpa would need to be to get more money. And they didn't give any details on how much more i could get either. The fellowship i got was contingent upon getting at least a 3.25 gpa the first year, so i'm guessing that i would need to get 3.5+ for any chance of getting more money in the second year. But this is all speculation, and it seems like financial aid likes to keep quiet on the details of funding.

 

Interesting. It really does seem they are not very transparent about this on purpose, which is a little disconcerting and, well, odd.

[Revolution]

Interesting. It really does seem they are not very transparent about this on purpose, which is a little disconcerting and, well, odd.

 

Yeah I mean I wish they had a specific gpa criteria for getting more funding. So if they said something like "if you get a 3.7+ gpa in your first year, we'll raise your funding by 20%." I think that would be helpful, but from the school's standpoint, perhaps revealing such information will lead to way too much academic competition amongst classmates, thereby ruining SAIS' collegial atomosphere. Either way, financial aid, career services, and admissions, have been very opaque when i asked them for specifics (the conversation with sidney jackson was the one exception).

[flyingjellyfish]

@JFactor- I'm sorry, I forget, are you a US or non-US student?  Nelson mentioned an info session today that non-US students can apply for 2nd year funding at the end of their first semester in Bologna and that it is based on academic performance.  He did say though that typically funding is higher for the first year at the Bologna Center than is offered for the second year in DC due to scholarships provided by Bologna Center alumni. 

 

To provide context, I will have to maintain a 3.4 GPA in my first semester there to keep my second year funding.  US students typically receive a 2-year package upfront that outlines first and second year funding. 

 

They recorded the info session if you were unable to attend and are interested in watching the recording.  You should follow-up with them directly to get the link. 

[JFactor]

Yeah I mean I wish they had a specific gpa criteria for getting more funding. So if they said something like "if you get a 3.7+ gpa in your first year, we'll raise your funding by 20%." I think that would be helpful, but from the school's standpoint, perhaps revealing such information will lead to way too much academic competition amongst classmates, thereby ruining SAIS' collegial atomosphere. Either way, financial aid, career services, and admissions, have been very opaque when i asked them for specifics (the conversation with sidney jackson was the one exception).

 

Yeah, I can't really figure out why they're not very forthcoming about that other than not wanting to increase the competitive atmosphere (or there's something shady going on with how they allocate the funds but can't really believe that to be the case). I know someone here said that they heard someone from SAIS mention (during a webinar?) that there is plenty of further second year funding but that goes against my impression of the situation.

[JFactor]

@JFactor- I'm sorry, I forget, are you a US or non-US student?  Nelson mentioned an info session today that non-US students can apply for 2nd year funding at the end of their first semester in Bologna and that it is based on academic performance.  He did say though that typically funding is higher for the first year at the Bologna Center than is offered for the second year in DC due to scholarships provided by Bologna Center alumni. 

 

To provide context, I will have to maintain a 3.4 GPA in my first semester there to keep my second year funding.  US students typically receive a 2-year package upfront that outlines first and second year funding. 

 

They recorded the info session if you were unable to attend and are interested in watching the recording.  You should follow-up with them directly to get the link. 

 

Thanks for your response. I'm a non-US student and they've already promised me $10k in second year funding if I maintain a 3.4GPA in my first semester like with you. But I know I read somewhere that the funding can be greater if you do even better than 3.4GPA; I wonder if you're "stuck" with what they've conditionally offered you already or if you can qualify for larger scholarships if you do even better academically? Did they say anything about that?

 

For some reason I missed the info session completely so I'll contact them and ask for the link. Thanks for the tip.

[DaniCM]

I've tried contacting different people at SAIS but I still don't have a solid answer to the question of what are the chances of getting second-year funding (that you weren't awarded to already)? What does it require in terms of GPA, approximately how many scholarships are out there/how many students receive extra funding for year two etc.? Have any of you guys heard anything more concrete about the funding for the second year?

 

I just spoke with Naomi Crespo, the Director of Fin Aid. I was trying to get them to reevaluate my funding offer...no go, by the way. She did tell me, however, that 25% of first year students receive aid, based almost entirely on meritt. Essentially, they rank you based on a number of factors (undergrad GPA, GRE scores, LORs, SOP, etc. ect.) and those ranked as being in the top 25% of applicants are offered some amount of aid. There is no second round of financial aid given after/if those awarded reject their admissions offer. 

 

A bigger pot of fin aid money is reserved for second year students. She said the percentage of second year students flutuates, but this year it was 50%...again, based on meritt - largely your GPA from your first year. Additionally, they "strongly" take into consideration those students who did not receive aid their first year but who excelled academically.

 

Essentially, I feel I was told I had about 50% chance of getting an unknown amount of funding my second year if I were to meet an unarticulated academic performance measure, against which I am competing with every other second year student. Suffice to say, I don't like the odds considering I'm gambling the possibility of $120K in student loans.

I will say, Naomi was extremely nice, candid, and even empathetic to my situation. In not so many words, she urged me to take my offer from Fletcher. I'll heed her advice.

[MPPgal]

Yeah, I can't really figure out why they're not very forthcoming about that other than not wanting to increase the competitive atmosphere (or there's something shady going on with how they allocate the funds but can't really believe that to be the case). I know someone here said that they heard someone from SAIS mention (during a webinar?) that there is plenty of further second year funding but that goes against my impression of the situation.

Sorry to say it but I do believe it, I have very high GREs, ok GPA and come from a poor country, yet I got nothing while many from richer countries and lower GREs got 20k. My guess is alumni may give country specific scholarships!

[flyingjellyfish]

Thanks for your response. I'm a non-US student and they've already promised me $10k in second year funding if I maintain a 3.4GPA in my first semester like with you. But I know I read somewhere that the funding can be greater if you do even better than 3.4GPA; I wonder if you're "stuck" with what they've conditionally offered you already or if you can qualify for larger scholarships if you do even better academically? Did they say anything about that?

 

For some reason I missed the info session completely so I'll contact them and ask for the link. Thanks for the tip.

 

There's another info session tomorrow: Thursday, March 28 at 10 am Italy time (0900 GMT).  I received an email with information about these sessions back on March 18 with the information on how to connect.  Not sure if that timing will work for you, but I did find it very helpful and it was nice to see some of the questions other students asked.

 

They didn't say anything about qualifying for more money than already awarded during this session.  Thanks DaniCM for providing more info!

[JFactor]

Dani: thanks a lot for your post, that was really helpful. And I agree, Fletcher is definitely a great school and a good choice for you. I would consider going there as well but my situation is the opposite of yours - I got more money from SAIS than from Fletcher (which I think is pretty rare - I think Fletcher is known to give more funding?).

 

MPPGal: You might be right regarding the initial scholarships that people get. Many of those are funded by the alumni and they can pretty much choose whatever criteria they want, so some nationalities/backgrounds might be in a beneficial position. Dani said that the second year funding is mostly based on merit (or at least that's what they say) so hopefully then the playing ground is more even.

 

Flyingjellyfish: I wonder if I'm not on some sort of a mailing list because I don't think I've got invitations to these events (but I've received other email from them). I currently live on the East coast so the timing is pretty difficult but at least I can get links to the events afterwards. I'll ask them.

Edited March 27, 2013 by JFactor

[flyingjellyfish]

 

Flyingjellyfish: I wonder if I'm not on some sort of a mailing list because I don't think I've got invitations to these events (but I've received other email from them). I currently live on the East coast so the timing is pretty difficult but at least I can get links to the events afterwards. I'll ask them.

 

That is odd.  The email for the info sessions came directly from Nelson.  I was included in the bcc so I assumed it was sent out to all admitted students.  I would follow-up and make sure you're not missing things!

[JFactor]

That is odd.  The email for the info sessions came directly from Nelson.  I was included in the bcc so I assumed it was sent out to all admitted students.  I would follow-up and make sure you're not missing things!

 

Actually, now that I double checked, I have received those emails...Since I had already registered for the SAIS open house and the Bologna reception, I must've completely missed the section on the information sessions in those emails. So that's on me - sorry about that!

[flyingjellyfish]

Oh good! And can you please share your thoughts on the SAIS open house and reception? Unfortunately I can't attend :/

[JFactor]

Oh good! And can you please share your thoughts on the SAIS open house and reception? Unfortunately I can't attend :/

 

Of course, no problem!

[Vans12]

Of course, no problem!

 

 

JFactor, we'll see in bologna on 15th, I guess. I’ll try to be there.

About the vibe in December: the professor were good (plummer in particular). I really like their focus on economics. I had the chance to attend to a lesson (American relations) and it was interesting, well done and with just 6 student (a plus, in my view).

I'm a non US student, and I received funding for the 1th and for the 2th (if my gpa will be 3.4 or more). 

Georgetown didn't give me a penny. I'm going to SAIS.

[JFactor]

JFactor, we'll see in bologna on 15th, I guess. I’ll try to be there.

About the vibe in December: the professor were good (plummer in particular). I really like their focus on economics. I had the chance to attend to a lesson (American relations) and it was interesting, well done and with just 6 student (a plus, in my view).

I'm a non US student, and I received funding for the 1th and for the 2th (if my gpa will be 3.4 or more). 

Georgetown didn't give me a penny. I'm going to SAIS.

 

I was talking about attending the DC events, not the one in Bologna, so I guess we'll not see each other. But that's very nice you might have the chance to attend the actual open house in Bologna, very cool.

 

I'm also a non-US student and I'm in a very similar situation to yours in terms of scholarships (similar funding from SAIS, none from Gtown) so I just have to decide between AU and SAIS and then my decision is done.

[ndeutsch77]

Is anyone able to attend the Bologna Open House? 

[MPPgal]

Is anyone able to attend the Bologna Open House? 

nope just going to attend the DC one as I live a lot closer to the US

[123seekay123]

Is anyone considering SAIS who does not have a strong econ background? I think that the econ requirements are useful, but am a little intimidated. Is SAIS considered a school geared towards econ-minded people, or is there more diversity?