MsFutureDiplomat Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Hey everyone Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. I have gotten great advice in different parts of this forum, so I thought I would ask this question of you all and hope for the best. A little about me- I'm American. I work in Eastern Europe, was considering a career in international development but now I'm not so sure. I went through phases of wanting to work for OSI and GMF. I am especially interested in development banking in the former USSR. With that said, my dream is to become a political consultant (it would be a possibility in Georgia, but it's not the most lucrative career here). Basically I have no set idea of what I want to do, but it would be nice to help build civil society in this part of the world while becoming more financially comfortable. I plan to figure it out in grad school and get the tools to do well in a variety of positions. Now my question!!! I was fortunate enough to be admitted to my top choice programs:Fletcher MALD and SAIS (Eastern Europe concentration - in bologna). Financial aid at both is exactly equal. Unexpectedly, I was also admitted to Yale, with no funding. It will be $40k more expensive in total than the others. The reason I mention this is that money is a big concern for me. I have on,y saved enough to cover my living expenses. The rest will be loan debt. So what I'm asking is, what would you do if you were me? If you're a current student at any of these 3, especially if you had to make this hard choice, your input is extremely valuable. I just have no one "in real life" to discuss this with.... Thanks for reading if you made it this far best of luck in your decisions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZebraFinch Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 If I were you, I'd go for SAIS, as you will get financial aid and get to focus on Eastern Europe (as that's what you seem to want to do and SAIS is very good with the econ stuff). But either way, my belief is always minimize debt. You got into great schools so you don't have to worry about, say, avoiding debt but going somewhere worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsFutureDiplomat Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 If I were you, I'd go for SAIS, as you will get financial aid and get to focus on Eastern Europe (as that's what you seem to want to do and SAIS is very good with the econ stuff). But either way, my belief is always minimize debt. You got into great schools so you don't have to worry about, say, avoiding debt but going somewhere worse. Thanks for your advice. I am leaning towards SAIS too. It's just hard to turn down the others :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombaygunner Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 $40k is a lot! SAIS is an amazing program + you'll spend a year in Europe and have better access to classes of interest + you already have your desired concentration. I would go to SAIS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsFutureDiplomat Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 $40k is a lot! SAIS is an amazing program + you'll spend a year in Europe and have better access to classes of interest + you already have your desired concentration. I would go to SAIS. right - thank you for your advice and best of luck in your decision! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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