Northernlightgradcafe Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 Just got my financial aid info for the Washington programme. No funding, mentioning that their funds are "extremely limited" (whatever that means). Same here, Washington program, no funding. "extremely limited" ........
hedong123 Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 No funding. I can crash with relatives in the DC area and get my total SAIS debt down to only about 80 grand. No thanks. Every current SAIS student that I've talked to has said the same thing: It's not worth it at full price.
jyahyong Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 I got an email about funding for the DC campus. So, I guess it all came in today (in EST). Is it possible to get RA-ships though in DC? or a paid internship?
dimitgr87 Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 Also got admitted into SAIS Bologna! Not IDEV though - not disappointed since I do not consider myself a "development professional" and it would not be my focus. @hedong123 - my financial aid letter said that I should submit the form by March 24th to become eligible for aid. They said that they would come back to me on aid info within two weeks after 3/24. I had not submitted the form because I could not get parents' info - not sure why they need that as we are all adults and hopefully most have also been employed for some time! @greenapplesea - do you happen to know if SAIS has a dual degree arrangement with INSEAD? That would be very interesting.
Sonechka Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 Congrats to all who have been admitted! It's been a nerve-racking day waiting for the results to come in. I've applied and got accepted to SAIS MA (DC). I should be ecstatic but because I did not get any aid I'm now racking my brain about how to pay for this and if I should… Does anyone know what percentage of students pay the full tuition?
hedong123 Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 @Sonechka - I feel the same way. My elation turned into frustration once I realized that I wasn't receiving any aid whatsoever. From a year of reading through thegradcafe I suspect that SAIS's strategy is to accept a large number of applicants and offer very little aid. Their reputation allows this since many students are willing to finance the entire bill. I know many people who have turned down offers from SAIS and SFS to accept offers with significant funding from lower ranked programs. It's the wise move. I have about 25 grand saved and can live with relatives rent-free near DC. But that still leaves me with about 60 grand of future debt. It's truly hard to justify. The salary we could expect to receive coming out of SAIS is 65-70k. Factor in high living costs if you want to live in DC, income tax, student loans, transportation costs, etc. etc. Forget about buying a house anytime soon. But you can plan on paying someone else's mortgage via rent for sure. Ahhh I'm just bummed out. Wish I could find a way to justify it. Maybe I'll keep saving and apply again next year.. :-(
Sonechka Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Hedong123, you are right. You are. But it's SAIS. I've wanted to study there for years. I sat through a seminar/presentation a couple of years ago at my work given by a SAIS professor. It was amazing. Intelligent, interesting, fun. Perhaps, not all classes are like that, but even still… Terribly difficult decision
dpgu800 Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Hey all you SAIS admits! Congrats!!! Just wanted to drop off a tiny bit of info I got from a SAIS professor last fall about funding. Apparently, SAIS has been having some financial problems for the last few years, and the professor told me that the school decided to give out small number of high portion funding (I'm guessing that means more than 50%) to a fewer number of "highly qualified" applicants, instead of spreading funding out among a larger number of people. I'm posting this b/c I'm seeing a lot of people who got little to no funding......... hopefully you guys are all able to find other sources of funding...
hedong123 Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 @ Sonechka - I feel the same way. It's also been a dream of mine for years to study at SAIS and I worked very very hard to get in. I have a feeling that if I attend the open house in April, suddenly all of the debt will feel worth it. There's definitely something inspirational about walking around on Massachusetts Ave, being among those who are living my dream. It really made me feel alive if that makes any sense. I don't want to give up my current occupation, but let's just say I'm not the typical applicant. I got a 3.20 gpa from a poorly ranked college, had a couple of Ds on my undergraduate transcript and my current job is of a more blue-collar nature. I did, however, spend years preparing to apply and demonstrated a genuine passion for international affairs. Now I'm one step closer to my ultimate goal. This will be one of the hardest decisions of my life. On the bright side, we have plenty of time to decide!
Santino Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Also in at DC campus, also with no funding. I'll pass.
ohmyohme Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Were any of you rejected from IDev and still planning on accepting for another concentration?
CityofSand Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 SAIS offered me conditional admission with the contingency being that I take Macro E., a condition which I have already fulfilled. This mix-up may be related to one of my transcripts having been misplaced for the first month after applications closed. At the same time I was notified about my missing undergrad transcript, I was also asked to please send my high school transcript. An easy mistake on their part but still kind of funny at the time.
Dancer Girl Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Does anyone know the employability stats for SAIS? What percentage of the graduating IDev class gets placed ?
bjorntsui Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) Obviously there are flaws to the statistics (not to mention it uses pie charts) so take it with a discerning eye: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/career-services/employment-outcomes http://www.sais-jhu.edu/resources/sais-employment-outcomes Edited March 15, 2014 by bjorntsui
Dancer Girl Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Obviously there are flaws to the statistics (not to mention it uses pie charts) so take it with a discerning eye: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/career-services/employment-outcomes http://www.sais-jhu.edu/resources/sais-employment-outcomes Thanks! I've looked at these..I was actually hoping for some info from someone who s attending the program or has already graduated from it..
hedong123 Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Thanks! I've looked at these..I was actually hoping for some info from someone who s attending the program or has already graduated from it.. Same. I'd like more info regarding this as well. Any current or former SAIS students want to chime in on this? The 2013 SAIS employment outcome report appears to be very promising. It shows a $71,000 median starting salary for those entering the private sector, $62,000 for public. If these figures can be trusted I could justify the $55k-$60k student loan debt that I'd have to take out. Are those figures realistic?
MA_SAIS_2014_accepted Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 Hello everyone! Congrats to everyone accepted! I got accepted to the Bologna Campus (no tuition, but i assume it's all worth it?). I did not get accepted for IDEV however. Somebody else who will look for another concentration as well? What about the general international relations concentration? Or would a region be a good idea as well? Doubting at the moment which to choose. I like the World Bank a lot as employer, but it's still a vague idea of mine. Somebody who also has to take the english pre-term program? I got 104 on the TOEFL... Regards,
MA_SAIS_2014_accepted Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 Were any of you rejected from IDev and still planning on accepting for another concentration? Yes, I am! Still thinking about which one to take.... IDEV is not easy to be accepted to. I'm 22, I have only three months of internship experience, so I understand. Which one will you take?
dimitgr87 Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 @MA_SAIS_2014 Hello everyone! Congrats to everyone accepted! I got accepted to the Bologna Campus (no tuition, but i assume it's all worth it?). I did not get accepted for IDEV however. Somebody else who will look for another concentration as well? What about the general international relations concentration? Or would a region be a good idea as well? Doubting at the moment which to choose. I like the World Bank a lot as employer, but it's still a vague idea of mine. Somebody who also has to take the english pre-term program? I got 104 on the TOEFL... Regards, Same exact situation. Bologna is the only place that offers European Studies and it is really good. Given that I have a European background and interest it will probably be my choice. However, the IR general is also really good - it is after all what the school specializes in. It all depends on what you want to do - given your IDEV selection and World Bank (and the like) aspirations, however non-concrete, it seems like a regional specialization might make sense. From what I've heard the LatAm and Caribbean specialization at SAIS is phenomenal. The European Studies one is great as well (Prof. Erik Jones is amazing). Re English: your TOEFL score shuold be in the middle 50th percentile of the incoming class so you shouldn't feel too worried about it. Chances are that the Bologna campus will have quite a few international students who will be studying at an English-speaking school for the first time so I would not worry too much about the exam's competitiveness or difficulty.
ohmyohme Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 Yes, I am! Still thinking about which one to take.... IDEV is not easy to be accepted to. I'm 22, I have only three months of internship experience, so I understand. Which one will you take? Congrats! Where else did you apply? You are definitely accepting at JH with another concentration? I'm still thinking but I'm not really interested in general IR/foreign policy fields so I'm probably going to accept somewhere else (GU). Yeah, I hear most people accepted to IDev have many years of experience... and my three years in ID (1 in LatinAm and 2 in East Asia) weren't enough
MA_SAIS_2014_accepted Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 Congrats! Where else did you apply? You are definitely accepting at JH with another concentration? I'm still thinking but I'm not really interested in general IR/foreign policy fields so I'm probably going to accept somewhere else (GU). Yeah, I hear most people accepted to IDev have many years of experience... and my three years in ID (1 in LatinAm and 2 in East Asia) weren't enough IHEID in Geneva, I was not accepted! GWU and College of Europe still pending. GWU i will never do, as I am accepted to SAIS, no idea if College of Europe can equal to SAIS? I think i will go for SAIS, yes that's a shame! already three years! I come straight from grad school (law degree).
SoutheastSeas Posted March 17, 2014 Posted March 17, 2014 Hi All! Congratulations to everyone! I also got into SIAS Bologna - didn't apply for IDEV, though looking back I should have! But it is SAIS after all! No funding either :/ Also admitted to Georgetown GHD program and Tufts Fletcher - none with funding Would you all choose SAIS non-IDEV over the other two?
GameTheory Posted March 18, 2014 Posted March 18, 2014 Still absolutely flabbergasted that I got in - especially with €10k and with my background!
Bunsen Honeydew Posted March 23, 2014 Author Posted March 23, 2014 I have been emailing with the Asst. Registrar who is responsible for Veteran's Affairs at SAIS. According to him, if you have 100% Post-9/11 GI, are not active duty, and will be attending a Full-time Master's programs, you are eligible for Yellow Ribbon Funds. The amount is $4k, which is matched by the VA, for a total of $8k. All you have to do to receive the funds is turn in your certificate of eligibility the VA sends you when you apply to use your GI Bill.
time_traveller Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Congrats to everyone admitted. Is there anyone who is offered conditional admission on completion of any Principles of Economics course? and What about SAIS online course? They offer this online course but I am not sure how the online course works? Do I need to fear for this course? It seems a bit stressfull to get over this condition before enrolling or maybe there is no need to be anxious ? Does anyone have an idea about this?
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