SAIS Bologna

[Dancer Girl]

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.

Thanks! I'll look through these

[Dancer Girl]

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.

I'm a little confused here. I thought everyone was either supposed to take pre term classes or the waiver exam? I know iDEV requires only micro as a prerequisite? But ya, I hear ya, I don't want to take the pre-term course too...I don't think I can spend any more money :/

@wintersolstice- what concentration were you admitted to? And why are you deferring?

[WinterSolstice]

I'm a little confused here. I thought everyone was either supposed to take pre term classes or the waiver exam? I know iDEV requires only micro as a prerequisite? But ya, I hear ya, I don't want to take the pre-term course too...I don't think I can spend any more money :/

@wintersolstice- what concentration were you admitted to? And why are you deferring?

 

Yes, but if you don't pass the waiver, then you have to take the class. Which is why I'm a bit apprehensive about taking the waiver exam. Everyone regardless of concentration has required econ courses. Taking them earlier (in pre-term for example) means you free up class slots for other courses. Which is why people are strongly encouraged to do pre-terms and waiver exams, etc. 

 

And I was admitted to International Law and Organizations, but I may end up switching to a regional concentration instead. I was granted a deferment in light of a professional opportunity. The extra time to save money and apply to outside fellowships is a bonus though.

[Dancer Girl]

@wintersolstice- that's great, good luck !

I understand that but from what I know, taking waiver exams for non pre-requisite classes means that we would have to replace them with advanced level Econ classes. I'm not sure if I want to do that right away...Although I did Econ as my undergraduate degree, I'm worried about the waiver exam too... I'd emailed SAIS iDEV asking if they had any materials/sample questions for the waiver exam. They said they didn't ... I would love to hear from any current students who have appeared for these exams...

[WinterSolstice]

@wintersolstice- that's great, good luck !

I understand that but from what I know, taking waiver exams for non pre-requisite classes means that we would have to replace them with advanced level Econ classes. I'm not sure if I want to do that right away...Although I did Econ as my undergraduate degree, I'm worried about the waiver exam too... I'd emailed SAIS iDEV asking if they had any materials/sample questions for the waiver exam. They said they didn't ... I would love to hear from any current students who have appeared for these exams...

 

Ah, yes, that is true. But I guess my general take on it was that I would rather spend those courses adding to my general scope of knowledge as opposed to taking classes I had already taken in college. 2 years is a pretty short timeframe, so I would rather put in the time for higher level courses to learn quantitative skills that would make me more competitive career-wise. Because while it's true that everyone has to take a certain number of econ courses, I know I do want to take a higher level course at some point. Taking it as an elective outside of the econ requirements means it's another class from, say, my concentration, that I won't be able to take. Or maybe I'm being a little too fatalistic.

 

But in terms of the exam, I wouldn't sell yourself short. If you did econ in undergrad, I can't imagine the exam giving you too much difficulty. Not to mention you were accepted into the IDEV program, which is more competitive, so the school itself obviously feels that it isn't anything you can't handle!

[gomer]

@wintersolstice- that's great, good luck !

I understand that but from what I know, taking waiver exams for non pre-requisite classes means that we would have to replace them with advanced level Econ classes. I'm not sure if I want to do that right away...Although I did Econ as my undergraduate degree, I'm worried about the waiver exam too... I'd emailed SAIS iDEV asking if they had any materials/sample questions for the waiver exam. They said they didn't ... I would love to hear from any current students who have appeared for these exams...

I'm a current SAIS student and I took the statistics waiver exam last summer. It's a web-based, open note, open book exam. The questions are pretty challenging and require you to apply concepts and do calculations. You can't really study for the tests, but having the subject fresh in your mind helps, so if you took that course years ago then I suggest skimming through a textbook on the subject. Be sure to have one or two good textbooks, a prep or outline book (Shaum's Outline of Statistics was a big help for the stats exam) and plenty of scratch paper and a calculator on hand when you take the exam. 

[WinterSolstice]

I'm a current SAIS student and I took the statistics waiver exam last summer. It's a web-based, open note, open book exam. The questions are pretty challenging and require you to apply concepts and do calculations. You can't really study for the tests, but having the subject fresh in your mind helps, so if you took that course years ago then I suggest skimming through a textbook on the subject. Be sure to have one or two good textbooks, a prep or outline book (Shaum's Outline of Statistics was a big help for the stats exam) and plenty of scratch paper and a calculator on hand when you take the exam. 

 

Thanks for the info! Just one quick question, if you don't mind. How are the questions timed? Are you given a certain amount of time for the exam as a whole, each individual question, or can you go completely at your own pace?

[Dancer Girl]

Ah, yes, that is true. But I guess my general take on it was that I would rather spend those courses adding to my general scope of knowledge as opposed to taking classes I had already taken in college. 2 years is a pretty short timeframe, so I would rather put in the time for higher level courses to learn quantitative skills that would make me more competitive career-wise. Because while it's true that everyone has to take a certain number of econ courses, I know I do want to take a higher level course at some point. Taking it as an elective outside of the econ requirements means it's another class from, say, my concentration, that I won't be able to take. Or maybe I'm being a little too fatalistic.

 

But in terms of the exam, I wouldn't sell yourself short. If you did econ in undergrad, I can't imagine the exam giving you too much difficulty. Not to mention you were accepted into the IDEV program, which is more competitive, so the school itself obviously feels that it isn't anything you can't handle!

Yes, I quite agree. It wouldn't make sense to repeat the subjects that I've already done in undergrad. That being said, I think I'd focus on the Micro waiver first (which is a requirement), and I can probably think of taking some of the other waiver exams once I'm done with Micro. It's been almost two years since I left college, and I need to revise quite a bit, hence the worry! But thanks for the kind words..I hope you're right!

[Dancer Girl]

I'm a current SAIS student and I took the statistics waiver exam last summer. It's a web-based, open note, open book exam. The questions are pretty challenging and require you to apply concepts and do calculations. You can't really study for the tests, but having the subject fresh in your mind helps, so if you took that course years ago then I suggest skimming through a textbook on the subject. Be sure to have one or two good textbooks, a prep or outline book (Shaum's Outline of Statistics was a big help for the stats exam) and plenty of scratch paper and a calculator on hand when you take the exam.

Thanks! Those are some helpful hints!

[gomer]

Thanks for the info! Just one quick question, if you don't mind. How are the questions timed? Are you given a certain amount of time for the exam as a whole, each individual question, or can you go completely at your own pace?

If I remember correctly it is two hours and you can jump from question to question, spending as much or as little time as you want on each question.