SAIS Applications and Fellowships

[Bunsen Honeydew]

No need to worry, introductory economics courses are super-easy.  I took both micro and macro before applying last winter and they were not difficult.  From what I understand, the 'principles' course is just a blending of the two.  I highly suggest going to Khan Academy and watching all the micro and macro videos.  He goes over just about every concept you will get in an introductory level course.  www.khanacademy.com 

[jct329]

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.  

 

Wait, I thought it was 2k matched by VA for a total of 4k.  Or are you talking about combined over both years?

[jct329]

I received no funding from SAIS, but I have 100% GI Bill.  I'm trying to figure out how exactly I should look at it.  UCSD offered me full tuition plus a stipend which would be great (especially combined w/ the BAH I'll get from the GI Bill).  Part of me is still really wanting to go to SAIS and kind of look at it as if I have ~24k in funding per year from the GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon program.  It's a really tough decision.  IRPS is an interesting program and San Diego seems like an awesome place to live, but I worry about networking, job placement, etc. being so far from DC.  There is also the not insignificant prestige difference.

[time_traveller]

No need to worry, introductory economics courses are super-easy.  I took both micro and macro before applying last winter and they were not difficult.  From what I understand, the 'principles' course is just a blending of the two.  I highly suggest going to Khan Academy and watching all the micro and macro videos.  He goes over just about every concept you will get in an introductory level course.  www.khanacademy.com 

Thank you so much for your response. I actually know the structure of the course. I took both of them in my undergraduate education. However, I got below than B- from Microeconomics so I need to take again and get B- or better. I am curious about the SAIS online course particularly and how difficult it is.

[GameTheory]

Thank you so much for your response. I actually know the structure of the course. I took both of them in my undergraduate education. However, I got below than B- from Microeconomics so I need to take again and get B- or better. I am curious about the SAIS online course particularly and how difficult it is.

 

I'm wondering about the online course too! Hearing very mixed reactions to it. Someone even told me that people lose their offer because of failing the course, but I can't really imagine how that can happen. Even if you have zero econ background, if you put the suggested hours into it (they mention ten I think) it should be doable right? Maybe even some more. Maybe I'm just freaking out though. Also very much possible. Would like to hear experiences about the online course though! On the other hand, if you don't get through the online course, you'll probably have a hard time at SAIS in general. 

Edited March 27, 2014 by elllieannn

[Santino]

I received no funding from SAIS, but I have 100% GI Bill.  I'm trying to figure out how exactly I should look at it.  UCSD offered me full tuition plus a stipend which would be great (especially combined w/ the BAH I'll get from the GI Bill).  Part of me is still really wanting to go to SAIS and kind of look at it as if I have ~24k in funding per year from the GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon program.  It's a really tough decision.  IRPS is an interesting program and San Diego seems like an awesome place to live, but I worry about networking, job placement, etc. being so far from DC.  There is also the not insignificant prestige difference.

How much will the difference be financially then for the two years? If not huge, I'd probably be leaning toward SAIS if I were you for the reasons you mention.

[Bunsen Honeydew]

The guy from the registrar's office made it seem like SAIS contributed $4k.  From that I'm not sure if he's including the VA matching or not.  Yeah the GI Bill contributes ~24k + 1800/mnth stipend + 1000/yr for books + yellow ribbon ($4-8k???).  So essentially if you don't get aid, you're looking at covering the $16k/yr tuition and then any additional expenses.  I would guess that it would end up costing $35-40k over the two years depending on the location. Depending on where you want to work, that may or may not be a sizable debt to overcome.  Private sector, no issues, you can pay that off in a few years.  Gov't work its going to take a bit longer.   

[Katrun]

Is anyone going to admitted student day in DC?

[hedong123]

Oh yea! I'll be there

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Anyone else made the decision on attending Bologna? 

[Ruella76]

Not yet, although I'm leaning that way...I'll be attending the Open House in Bologna on Friday to get a better idea. Will anyone else be there?

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Can't make it- working in another country and can't travel right now.  I'd be interested to hear how it goes.  

[Katrun]

I'll be at the admitted student day in DC next week. I have decided to go to SAIS bologna! So excited.

[hedong123]

How is everyone dressing for the admitted student day? Is business casual ok?

[Ruella76]

Hi everyone,

 

I attended the SAIS Bologna Open House last Friday and wanted to post a message outlining my thoughts and impressions. I thought this might be helpful for those of you who were accepted to Bologna for the first year but won't have the chance to visit Bologna or SAIS before having to make a decision.

 

My impression was very positive overall. We started in the morning with a couple rounds of panel discussions with professors of economics, international relations (those who teach the more introductory courses), history, European studies, American foreign policy, as well as the language program director. These are some of the 'core' professors at Bologna who have been there for many years, and tend to be very accessible and interested in having close relationships with their students. Later in the day during lunch and at happy hour (located at the bar that's inside the Bologna center) I noticed that both admissions and these professors seem to know all of the current students by name--a testament to how small and intimate the program is (200 students). Several current students also told me that the BC has two or three main types of professors, the 'core' ones who tend to be more academic and personable, the 'outer core' who are quite involved with the BC but sometimes teach at the University of Bologna as well, and the 'practitioners'--visiting professors who spend the week working at various international institutions in Europe and fly in for the end of the week to teach classes at the BC on Friday and Saturday. The practitioners are a bit more touch and go in their teaching ability but tend to be more practical in their approach, and often give more specific and in-depth courses. All of the current students I talked to gave positive reviews on academics, saying that great courses and professors can be found across the board, and literally no one complained about any absolutely terrible courses. Even those who don't like economics very much in an econ-heavy program admitted that they are able to get through the material ok as long as they put in the effort.

 

Career services got slightly more mixed reviews. However, my overall impression was that with career services and indeed, any MA in IR program in general, you get exactly what you put into it. Some students complained that they thought career services hadn't been doing enough for them in terms of helping them find summer internships. But as soon as you arrive in Bologna career services is very aggressive about making sure you get in contact with them and meet with them to discuss your short- and long-term goals, and within the first month everyone is required to go through a series of sessions on networking, interviewing, resume writing, etc. After that, the bulk of their efforts revolve around reaching out to alumni and putting students in touch with alumni in their area of interest. They organize four career trips throughout the year to London, Brussels, and Geneva and while space is limited they do try to make sure that everyone gets to go on at least one. Most students seem to have summer internships lined up already. However, this did seem to vary a bit by concentration, as some concentrations have additional career services and networking events of their own (PM me if you want more details on this).

 

I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that the social scene and quality of life in Bologna are very high. Bologna is beautiful, with so much history, good food, and a relatively low cost of living. Everyone seems very happy, raves about the city and the close connections they've formed with their classmates. While they're excited about moving on to DC next year, they also seem to regret that the atmosphere in Bologna is unique and won't be the same at SAIS DC. My conclusion about the whole SAIS BC/DC thing (corroborated by current students) is that by attending both you get the best of both worlds. In Bologna you get a smaller and more intimate experience, in a quieter city where it's easier to concentrate on academics and form close connections with your classmates and professors. In DC you have (obviously) all that DC has to offer in terms of internships, networking, and IR events, but students are pulled in all different directions by everything going on around them. It's this combination of two different campuses and the way they complement each other that has sold SAIS for me.

 

I learned a LOT at the Open House and could go on forever! But these were the main highlights. Feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Ruella76

[Bunsen Honeydew]

This is great stuff.  Thanks for the review.