SAIS Bologna

[cckrspnl56]

A few things.

 

A typical semester course load is 4 courses + a language course.  Your language course does not affect your GPA, so don't worry about that.  Also, if they realize your above the class level they will just bump you up to the next level.

 

I came into SAIS with 0 econ, 1 semester of Calc, and a 770 Quant on my GRE.  I took two intro to micro/macro courses at my local community college and then chose to do the dreaded "double pre-term" of taking both Intermediate Micro and Intermediate Macro during DC preterm.  It sucked, and I had no social life for that month, but I'm glad I did it because I got two required courses out of the way.  When you only have 16 classes (+ audits), every course matters.

 

I would say if you want to do investment or consulting it would be fairly important to get as much econ out of the way as possible.  During my year, corporate finance was taught in the Fall semester (Micro is a pre-req), and I can't imagine it being too much fun taking Macro + Corp. Fin. at the same time.

 

If you want to go into either of those fields, you're pretty much going to need a summer internship.  Considering your applications for those will go out November-January, you'll want to pack your first semester with as many relevant courses as possible.

[lacanadiense]

^Did you find it difficult to get a summer internship in the US (specifically DC) coming from Bologna? And in terms of students' ages, how young are we talking? Thank you for coming here to post by the way!

[KF IA]

The other SAIS Bologna thread was definetely out of control.

 

I've been accepted to SAIS Bologna, Georgetown and GWU.  I'll be attending SAIS's open house in DC tomorrow, Georgetown's on Thursday, GWU's on Friday, and SAIS Bologna's next Monday. 

 

I'm in between SAIS Bologna and Georgetown.  I've spoken with a few MSFS students and have gone to the campus.  Their job placement program is crazy good and they are really good in matching people with interships. It seems to be expensive as well, but it seems it will be like that everywhere.  In all honesty, I'm leaning towards Georgetown.  One of the pros I see about GT is the contacts, but I guess thise would probably be more important if you live in the U.S. I have the impression that SAIS Bologna seems to be better for establishing contacts if you live in Europe.

 

I've been to Italy and love it.  I cannot make a decision without going to the open house, and seeing and speaking with SAIS Bologna professors, staff and students. 

[deadhead47]

A few things.

 

A typical semester course load is 4 courses + a language course.  Your language course does not affect your GPA, so don't worry about that.  Also, if they realize your above the class level they will just bump you up to the next level.

 

I came into SAIS with 0 econ, 1 semester of Calc, and a 770 Quant on my GRE.  I took two intro to micro/macro courses at my local community college and then chose to do the dreaded "double pre-term" of taking both Intermediate Micro and Intermediate Macro during DC preterm.  It sucked, and I had no social life for that month, but I'm glad I did it because I got two required courses out of the way.  When you only have 16 classes (+ audits), every course matters.

 

I would say if you want to do investment or consulting it would be fairly important to get as much econ out of the way as possible.  During my year, corporate finance was taught in the Fall semester (Micro is a pre-req), and I can't imagine it being too much fun taking Macro + Corp. Fin. at the same time.

 

If you want to go into either of those fields, you're pretty much going to need a summer internship.  Considering your applications for those will go out November-January, you'll want to pack your first semester with as many relevant courses as possible.

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

I will do it before the Fall semester then!

For the summer internship, I will go to the Boston Career Forum (a job fair for Japanese/English bilinguals) in November, so I can probably get one there.

I went there once and it was pretty easy to get a job.

I think I'm pretty competitive, giving that I have an MA from SAIS (very rare for Japanese ppl).

[cckrspnl56]

^Did you find it difficult to get a summer internship in the US (specifically DC) coming from Bologna? And in terms of students' ages, how young are we talking? Thank you for coming here to post by the way!

 

 

I didn't, but again, it's up to what you want to do.  The Bologna Career Service Center is very, very aware of the perception that it's harder for Bologna students to land an internships, and they will pester you from day one (literally) to work with them to develop your career goals.  I interned at the Department of State and had 0% problems (including receiving a security clearance) because it is all done online.  I have heard, however, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to land the appropriate clearances if you are looking to intern in an intelligence agency or the FBI.  

 

Age-wise, I believe the average for my  year was 26-27, which is a few years younger than the DC cohort.

[cckrspnl56]

Also, I'll be at school today after 1:00 and am more than willing to trade advice for whatever food and wine that they are bribing you with.

[flyingjellyfish]

@cckrspnl56 - Thank you for the very helpful insights!  I'm planning to take the more typical courseload of micro-econ and survival italian in pre-term in Bologna.  What are your thoughts on that?  Is that still a huge amount of work?  I want to try to get one econ class out of the way while getting some italian under my belt, but also don't want to sabotage myself early on by taking on too much.  It's very important that I maintain at least a 3.4 GPA to keep my 2nd year aid award.

 

Do most Bologna students choose to intern in the US?  I'm potentially interested in interning in Geneva in the sumnmer between Bologna and DC.  Any thoughts on that? 

 

Thanks again!

[MPPgal]

Open house thoughts, things I liked: Bologna students do seem to bo a close group, opportunities to travel and a nice city (but yeah a bit student abroadish), less issue getting into classes so bitting points are saved, things I didnt like: energy, respurces and environment program offers very few environment courses in bologna, hard for internationals to find internship during summer, most just go back home due to visa restrictions in the US after first year , seemed very european focused with little emphasis on other regions, the student panel was far from impresive, put of 6 students only 2 had jobs, one was international and got a job at home that seemed to be due to his own connections, the other one a pickering fellow, 2 were first yrs, yet the other two had no jobs lined up and IT IS APRIL!!!!!

[123seekay123]

Bologna '12 DC '13 here.

 

Just wanted to throw in a few things.

 

1) If it hasn't changed, your 2nd year funding is based 100% off of your 1st year GPA.  I'm *fairly* sure most of  the students who had 4.0s received full funding in DC.  I had a 3.65ish (A- average, give or take) and received 8k funding for my second year.  Your mileage may vary.

If you don't mind my asking, how difficult is it to get that kind of GPA? Obviously that's dependent on class selection and personal aptitude, but I'm just wondering what the average grades are at JH.

[Revolution]

Tuition at U.S. schools, undergrad and grad, is simply out of control. Median salary has not kept up with tuition hikes, when adjusted for inflation. Of course, certain programs are worth the cost, so each person has to do a careful cost-benefit analysis to figure out whether a school is "worth it."

 

 

After doing some Googling, I stumbled upon an old SAIS Bologna blog, and was disturbed by this post in particular:

 

http://saisbcblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/show-me-the-money/

 

What do you all think of the ideas the author is expressing? I suppose that similar criticisms could be made of most private universities in the U.S.,  but the post still left me a little unsettled.

[MPPgal]

So Revolution where have you decided?

[deadhead47]

@cckrspnl56

I have one more question:

 

Is it possible to choose two concentrations for MAIR?

I'm interested in both Conflict Management and Strategic Studies.

If it's too demanding, I would just pick one, but I was wondering.

[123seekay123]

@cckrspnl56

I have one more question:

 

Is it possible to choose two concentrations for MAIR?

I'm interested in both Conflict Management and Strategic Studies.

If it's too demanding, I would just pick one, but I was wondering.

I was told that it is possible to have more than one concentration, but it's good to plan ahead to make sure that you get all the requirements.

[P.G. Wodehouse]

I accepted my offer of admission to SAIS-Bologna but, due to my location and connectivity issues, haven't been able to attend any of the open houses/webinars. If there is anyone here that is familiar with the logistical aspects of starting grad school in Italy (arranging visas, plane tickets, housing, etc.), I would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

[DupontCircle]

Generally, what are the dates for the pre-term econ courses in DC?

I assume they count towards your GPA or they work as a waiver?

[flyingjellyfish]

I accepted my offer of admission to SAIS-Bologna but, due to my location and connectivity issues, haven't been able to attend any of the open houses/webinars. If there is anyone here that is familiar with the logistical aspects of starting grad school in Italy (arranging visas, plane tickets, housing, etc.), I would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

 

I did attend one of the webinar information sessions Nelson and Amina did back on March 27.  They mentioned that they did tape the session.  Perhaps email Nelson and ask for a copy?  

 

There are also a lot very helpful documents located here that answer the main questions (you should have also received the link in your acceptance letter): http://www.sais-jhu.edu/content/incoming-students-academic-year-2013-14

 

And here's the incoming student guidebook: http://www.jhubc.it/DOCUMENTS/incominginfo.pdf

 

In terms of housing, they have a housing consultant with many years of experience who helps incoming SAIS students secure housing upon arrival.  It sounds quick and easy because they basically have a stock of around 70 apartments that SAIS students move into in august and then vacate at the end of the school year.  Helpful blog post here: http://saisbolognaadmissions.blogspot.com/2012/08/finding-your-apartment-in-bologna.html

 

@DupontCircle - According to the 2013-2014 academic calendar on the SAIS website (http://www.sais-jhu.edu/resources/academic-affairs-registrar/2013-2014-academic-calendar-washington-dc) the D.C. pre-term program dates are: Monday, July 29-Tuesday, August 27, 2013

 

Pre-term courses are Pass/No-Pass and do not count towards the GPA.  

 

PS: I'm happy to help, but a quick Google search can quickly answer a lot of questions  

 

[DupontCircle]

Appreciate it jelly. I'm on a 3g phone in Burkina Faso; grad cafe is about as fancy a website as my bandwidth can handle. 

[flyingjellyfish]

Appreciate it jelly. I'm on a 3g phone in Burkina Faso; grad cafe is about as fancy a website as my bandwidth can handle. 

 

Oh makes sense now!  You're welcome, glad I could help!

[deadhead47]

Info sessions - recordings

 

March 27: https://connect.johnshopkins.edu/p7e7h536i1i/

 

March 28: https://connect.johnshopkins.edu/p2ie1vxt8il/

[KevinDosi]

I'm curious of how you all feel about your decisions a year later. I'm trying to decide between SAIS Bologna and GWU, and am leaning toward the latter because of the price difference. For those who attended, are you happy with your decision? Same question for those who went elsewhere.

[WinterSolstice]

I'm curious of how you all feel about your decisions a year later. I'm trying to decide between SAIS Bologna and GWU, and am leaning toward the latter because of the price difference. For those who attended, are you happy with your decision? Same question for those who went elsewhere.

 

Hi @KevinDosi. I was actually in same spot a couple of weeks ago in struggling with my decision. I ultimately opted to put in my deposit to SAIS. If you want, I'd be happy to talk you through my decision-making thought process.

[MPPgal]

I am very happy with my decision, I managed to go to an amazing school for free, can do an internship in the US and have made great contacts plus my professors are really knowledgable about Lat Am. Take the money and go to GWU!

[Dancer Girl]

Hi @KevinDosi. I was actually in same spot a couple of weeks ago in struggling with my decision. I ultimately opted to put in my deposit to SAIS. If you want, I'd be happy to talk you through my decision-making thought process.

I've also accepted my offer at SAIS Bologna ... Ive spoken to a couple of current students/alumni and they've been really helpful.....I've been accepted to the IDEV but I'm required to take the intermediate Microeconomics waiver exam before fall. The SAIS website gives a rough idea of the syllabus and the exam, however, I'd like to know more about the waiver exam.... Is anyone else going to be taking it? If yes, how are you preparing for it?

Edited May 1, 2014 by Dancer Girl

[Bunsen Honeydew]

I won't be taking the waiver test, but I have been studying to catch up my economics baseline before we start the term.  

 

To review basic concepts- I'd suggest Khan Academy ...Macro- https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics  Micro- https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/microeconomics

 

For more advanced stuff- there are full courses here: http://www.saylor.org/courses/#Economics

ITunes U has a good class on finance theory: https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/finance-theory-i/id630698158?mt=10

 

Hope this helps.

[WinterSolstice]

I've also accepted my offer at SAIS Bologna ... Ive spoken to a couple of current students/alumni and they've been really helpful.....I've been accepted to the IDEV but I'm required to take the intermediate Microeconomics waiver exam before fall. The SAIS website gives a rough idea of the syllabus and the exam, however, I'd like to know more about the waiver exam.... Is anyone else going to be taking it? If yes, how are you preparing for it?

 

Exciting! And like you, I do plan on taking the Micro waiver exam. I took both Micro and Macro in undergrad, and I still have all my notes, homework, and tests from the classes. So I'm going to review all of those. @Bunsen Honeydew linked to some really great resources as well. I'm lucky in the sense I have quite a bit of time to prepare, but I'm nervous about taking the waiver exam. I really do not want to do micro and macro in pre-term. I hear it's hell to do both.