George Washington Elliott School Decisions 2014

[bjorntsui]

Got a nice email from the director of the program though...

[WinterSolstice]

Alrighty, I just called and spoke with admissions. Funding info is not on the admissions letter. Funding award information will apparently be sent out next week.

[CL_Fergus]

Good to know, thanks for the info!

[WinterSolstice]

On the subject of GW funding, does anyone have a sense of how generous they usually are with funding? I know some schools, such as SAIS, are more on the stingy side, but where does GW fit in terms of giving out aid?

[ceid90]

Would love to know how GW is with funding as well. 

 

Is anyone weighing between GW Elliott and AU SIS? Would love to hear thoughts.

[doodle0831]

Accepted last Monday. I am definitely very excited, since GW is one of my top choices and I really wasn't convinced that I would get in this time around. 

 

ceid 90, I am deciding between SIS and Elliott as well. I visited GW in the fall for an open house so I am mildly leaning toward them right now just because I've already gotten to hear their pitch and I've researched their program a bit more, but I will be attending the admitted students days for both so I can get a better idea of which one feels like a better fit. I am still waiting on Georgetown SSP but I think that one is a long shot. 

 

Congrats to everyone accepted and hopefully those who are waiting will find out soon!

[marwanslm]

I got in either. No word on funding.

 

One of the practitioners in D.C. told me that the sequence of reputation goes like this: SAIS and SFS - above the average > GWU - average > AU - below the average. I'm not sure how credible is that.

 

I've also been admitted to UCSD's IR/PS and waitlisted at SIPA. Actually, it’s really hard for me to choose between IR/PS and GWU. IR/PS has a very competitive tuition and well-structured curriculum (esp. quantitative skills training) while GWU's location is so strong. Considering my undergraduate major is language, perhaps I need more HARD skills to find a job. So I'm leaning to UCSD right now. I would love to hear other thoughts

Edited March 24, 2014 by marwanslm

[bjorntsui]

I got in either. No word on funding.

 

One of the practitioners in D.C. told me that the sequence of reputation goes like this: SAIS and SFS - above the average > GWU - average > AU - below the average. I'm not sure how credible is that.

 

I've also been admitted to UCSD's IR/PS and waitlisted at SIPA. Actually, it’s really hard for me to choose between IR/PS and GWU. IR/PS has a very competitive tuition and well-structured curriculum (esp. quantitative skills training) while GWU's location is so strong. Considering my undergraduate major is language, perhaps I need more HARD skills to find a job. So I'm leaning to UCSD right now. I would love to hear other thoughts

 

In terms of sequence of reputation, it parallels roughly with the median GRE scores of the schools, take it as you will. In the end, if you want a government job, it doesn't matter where you went to school.

 

Not sure what kind of job you want but I'm going to choose SAIS over GWU because of SAIS's emphasis on economics and quantitative skills along with a concentration of one's choosing. SAIS also gives refresher courses to prepare for the econ and quant courses for those who don't have a strong background in such subjects. I can only see the upsides in honing one's hard skills. Also you can always do internships in DC during the summer.

[WinterSolstice]

@marwanslm:

I agree with everyone's statements so far that SAIS and SFS are at the top, with GW being a step down, and then AU being half a step or a step down from GW (speaking purely from my impression of what the reputations seem to be, not the value of their educations).

That being said, I agree with @bjorntsui. Government job pay out is not going to be higher coming from SAIS or SFS, and NGOs aren't going to pay significantly more either. Looking at private sector or consulting jobs, while a SAIS degree would probably give better connections, employment statistics from the two schools show the pay out being roughly the same. At the end of the day, even in the private sector, you're not going to be pulling MBA salaries, so if you're in it for the money, an MA in IR probably isn't the way to go anyway. I will say that if the World Bank is your goal, SAIS will almost definitely give a leg up, especially if you're coming from IDEV. Not entirely sure for the other concentrations. But at the end of the day, a lot of the cushy World Bank and think tank jobs often require a PhD, so something to think about.

 

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm trying to decide between GWU and SAIS, with no funding from SAIS. I'm coming to the conclusion that while brand name is important, the further you get from graduation, the more professional experience is going to matter more. So a huge benefit of GW is their professional focus. You mentioned looking for "hard skills" to find a job. If you're focused on a career, I think GW would be a good fit because they stress getting experience and you're able to work/intern during the day. Not to mention the DC connections, which I think is pretty important for this field.

[Ana Pascal]

Has anyone heard about funding yet?

 

I received an email from the Global Comm program director today, talking up the many great aspects of the school... but still nothing regarding scholarships. 

 

///

 

Edit: Two hours later... and I received an email from GW. No funding, unfortunately. Congrats to anyone with better news from Elliott! 

Edited March 24, 2014 by Ana Pascal

[bjorntsui]

Funding info should be out by now.

 

Now it's decision time!

Edited March 24, 2014 by bjorntsui

[JPeds]

No funding here, guess that makes the decision easier!

[xenophonics]

No funding. Still waiting to hear back from a GWU-specific external scholarship, but so far I'm 0 and 4 on funding, and the pattern is starting to get depressing.

Edited March 24, 2014 by xenophonics

[WinterSolstice]

@xenophobics. No funding either, from any of the schools I applied to. Kind of surprised to be honest (at least regarding Elliott). Makes the decision between SAIS and GWU pretty interesting, because while I could see myself paying full freight for an institution as respected as Johns Hopkins, somewhat less certain regarding GW.

[United1878]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. Applied to the ITIP program at ESIA as well. Just got the email about funding. Makes it a difficult choice now..

[Santino]

Happily surprised with a decent sized fellowship, but not going to be enough to sway me. Hopefully that $ will go one of your guys' way.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Santino

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Received a fellowship email last night for $30k over two years ($15k/yr)

[marwanslm]

In terms of sequence of reputation, it parallels roughly with the median GRE scores of the schools, take it as you will. In the end, if you want a government job, it doesn't matter where you went to school.

 

Not sure what kind of job you want but I'm going to choose SAIS over GWU because of SAIS's emphasis on economics and quantitative skills along with a concentration of one's choosing. SAIS also gives refresher courses to prepare for the econ and quant courses for those who don't have a strong background in such subjects. I can only see the upsides in honing one's hard skills. Also you can always do internships in DC during the summer.

 

 

@marwanslm:

I agree with everyone's statements so far that SAIS and SFS are at the top, with GW being a step down, and then AU being half a step or a step down from GW (speaking purely from my impression of what the reputations seem to be, not the value of their educations).

That being said, I agree with @bjorntsui. Government job pay out is not going to be higher coming from SAIS or SFS, and NGOs aren't going to pay significantly more either. Looking at private sector or consulting jobs, while a SAIS degree would probably give better connections, employment statistics from the two schools show the pay out being roughly the same. At the end of the day, even in the private sector, you're not going to be pulling MBA salaries, so if you're in it for the money, an MA in IR probably isn't the way to go anyway. I will say that if the World Bank is your goal, SAIS will almost definitely give a leg up, especially if you're coming from IDEV. Not entirely sure for the other concentrations. But at the end of the day, a lot of the cushy World Bank and think tank jobs often require a PhD, so something to think about.

 

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm trying to decide between GWU and SAIS, with no funding from SAIS. I'm coming to the conclusion that while brand name is important, the further you get from graduation, the more professional experience is going to matter more. So a huge benefit of GW is their professional focus. You mentioned looking for "hard skills" to find a job. If you're focused on a career, I think GW would be a good fit because they stress getting experience and you're able to work/intern during the day. Not to mention the DC connections, which I think is pretty important for this field.

Thank you both for your analysis. There are really a lot of things to think about. Actually, I’m choosing between UCSD’s IR/PS (not SAIS) and GWU’s Elliott School. I guess the preconditions may have changed. Anyway, I won’t make the final decision until I receive the funding information from both schools. I’m just wondering how IR/PS’s reputation is like at D.C.

 

Just recieved 20k fellowship over two years...can't say I'm happy or not.

Edited March 25, 2014 by marwanslm

[xenophonics]

Has anyone heard anything about the Wolcott Fellowship yet?

[Bunsen Honeydew]

I got a letter a couple days ago- will likely be declining though. 

[ceid90]

Has anyone tried contacting the financial aid office for funding reconsideration? I can't get to a rep on the phone for some reason (keeps hanging up on me) and email turnover is slow right now.

[xenophonics]

@Bunsen Honeydew: Hmmm. I'm not sure what to make of the fact that I haven't heard anything, then. Thanks for the info. I guess you're going to SAIS, then? Congrats!

 

@ceid90: I sent an email last Monday asking about it, and the wording of the email was (in my opinion) a little ambiguous:

 

"If you wish to appeal our fellowship decision, you may email us requesting reconsideration after April 15, when extra funds may become available."

 

I can't decide if it means "email us... after April 15" or if it just means that, whenever we email them, they won't reconsider until after the 15th. I emailed them last Wednesday asking to be reconsidered, but I haven't heard back yet, so the jury's still out on the interpretation.

[Bunsen Honeydew]

@xenophonics-  Thanks, and  yes I have decided to attend SAIS.  With the GI Bill and scholarships from both universities, the financial aspect played much less of a role than I envisioned.  I sent my notice of decline to the Wolcott Foundation today- so hopefully they will be selecting someone else to receive it.  The letter I got said there were 70-something applicants but didn't say how many offers were made. 

[marwanslm]

I've finally decided to go to Elliott School. My program is MAIA. Anyone with me?

[xenophonics]

Has anyone else heard back about funding reconsideration? I got an email last night upping my offer to $20,000 over two years, and I have until Tuesday to accept. I want to, but I've technically already committed to a job offer; the issue is that they're a government contractor and they haven't yet actually won the contract I'd be working on, so they don't know if they'll actually hire anyone yet. I'm going to have to email them and see if they know something yet and just haven't gotten around to sharing.

 

I may just defer (which, thankfully, doesn't seem to be as big a deal at Elliott as it can be elsewhere), wait to see if the job materializes, and then head to GW a year later. I know I'd have to give up the in-house fellowship, but it'd give me time to apply to scholarships whose deadlines I missed this season, at least.