MIA EARLY BIRD APPLICATIONS IHEID

[taeyeon]

@AAAAAAAA What do you mean by "graduating after two years of undergrad"? I think otherwise your background sounds fine. It helps to be from a different, more practical field and going into humanities since you'll have the perspective of both. Also this whole time I've been working on the assumption that IHEID is a lot like Sciences Po - I have a lot of friends at ScPo who went straight from bachelor's to master's with little more than their summer internships for work experience, and that's perfectly normal. Most of the master's students have only worked for around a year, give or take.

 

@haru_ko You've been there? I'm jealous, I wish I could've went and had a look around campus myself. My motivation letter was just a lot of rambling and now I wish I read through IHEID's Globe before I wrote it!

I'm sure all of you are interested in seeing this: a motivation letter by someone who got accepted to MIA (page 30). Her lifestory sounds incredible, and before any of you get all nervous, I'm sure that this was an exceptional one rather than the norm  Those like @unagi should use this example to their advantage. Next time I'll do waaay more poking around on the site and around the internet before I submit a barely-complete application.

[haru_ko]

Wow @taeyeon, thank you for the motivation letter. It's really well-written and her experiences are amazing (though, of course, there's a sad part to it). I think I went for quite a different direction though. I feel like hers is more about presenting herself as a person and why she's chosen this field. I allocated around half of my motivation letter for this too, but the second part was more about why I chose this particular programme at IHEID but not other schools. 'Cause after all, they ask us to write about "why you wish to study at the institute". I hope this is the right direction to go...

And yes, I go to Geneva really often so I have spent much time at the institution. Most of the time, I go to their amazing library, but other times, I go have lunch with my friends at the cafeteria. I also took the chance to do an accompanied campus tour once. To me, the campus looks nice (after all, it's brand new!), but it's really small, especially if you come from big universities. I have the impression that the institution is particularly popular amongst US students, since I've seen many of them on campus, and also in our campus tour.

Edited November 30, 2015 by haru_ko

[Erminia_LL]

First off, I am very happy this thread is increasingly becoming alive, as I believe that it is quite useful as well as less stressful to go through the waiting game together! 

To go back to what @haru_ko brings up about our SoPs, I personally structured mine in three main parts: my academic background (and how the MIA Programme is its sort of natural continuation), my extra-academic background (again, linking it to the IHEID general philosophy and, specifically, to the MIA Programme), and finally how I'd seize on the Programme to achieve my long-term professional goals. As you can see, my SoP was pretty straight-forward and nothing compared to the motivation letter @taeyeon posted, which is definitely written by a one-of-a-kind candidate that the IHEID rightfully did not miss to admit.

I believe @unagi is right when he/she says that we should stress as thoroughly as possible that we do fit in the program, without necessarily aiming at having 7+ yrs of experience in the UN. The fact that the guy @su_nayana mentioned got rejected perfectly explains what I am saying: as long as you have a decent GPA and a strong motivation, nothing should prevent you from being admitted to an Institute that, yes, it is competitive but, still, it is not unreachable. I have three friends who applied last year, and only of them got in. She had a great GPA, pretty good language skills (both English and French), one semester abroad, and NO work experience at all. We all can make it!

 

[unagi]

22 hours ago, AAAAAAAA said:

Has anyone heard of anything for IHEID applicants with backgrounds unrelated to IR/Economics/policy? I'm a development studies applicant majoring in biomedical sciences and graduating after two years of undergrad, so I'm afraid that I'll be at a significant disadvantage here--both in terms of my major and my age. I have a solid GPA (3.75), with writing experiences (HuffPost, The Hill, etc.), policy research (Boko Haram sent to the US State Dept., INESAD epigenetics, etc.), and some development-focused on-campus non-profit work, so I might have something going for me. Obviously, I have zero post-undergraduate full time work experience. However, with their website, they seem to be a bit more stringent on academic background requirements than many of the US schools I'm applying to.

Hello there! I'm not sure about IHEID specifically but I think generally how it works is that if you are in an unrelated major (which is completely fine, as other majors give you different sets of skills that may be transferrable to development/IR/economics), you need to illustrate WHY there was a change in your career plan. I think if you're sure about where you are headed, you can have an impressive statement about why you chose something so drastically different than your undergrad. With that said, I think you can illustrate your change in career most effectively by getting work/internship/volunteer experience (which you seem to have!). So at the end of the day, it's all about packaging yourself to say how you this program fits you and vice versa.

(Aside from all this application)

Guys, anyone else sick of "selling" themselves in their personal statement? I constantly go through these cyclical emotions: one moment, I'm so sure I won't get in; the next, I think I'm the perfect candidate; then I think so what if I don't get in.....It's absolutely driving me mad. And a frustrating bit about this whole process is the part about having to advertise yourself so schools pick you. Naturally, I am not good at talking about myself so I find the whole personal statement section so draining and am worried that I might undersell myself. UGH! At least, all of this will be over soon!!!

Edited December 1, 2015 by unagi

[unagi]

@taeyeon thank you for sharing that link! 

[shirley_xie]

I am the applicant for MIA early admission! I saw there was a "condition" mark below my application status! It might be applied for those who didn't finish their undergraduate study...but somehow gave me hope and motive power to boost up my GPA this semester! Yup...in terms of the field of study..Someone told me her friend was get accepted into MIA program with science background!!

 

[taeyeon]

Also pretty happy to see us all becoming more chatty too  It's become a habit of mine lately to check the application follow-up page everyday and this forum, alongside all my emails.

@haru_ko I also leaned towards why I want to study at the Graduate Institute/Geneva as well in my motivation letter. After all it's the only school I'm even applying to right now, what with my lack of work experience. And I understand @unagi's frustration with having to constantly sell yourself too. But the funny thing is we'll have to constantly ~sell~ ourselves to a lot of people in our lifetime, whether it's employers, acquaintances, friends, family... I like to think this is good practice for the future, hah.

@shirley_xie I've also noticed the "Conditions" field and I think you're probably right about those who are about to graduate. I even looked at the page code out of curiosity and noticed there's a few hidden fields, like up to 4 conditions, extra conditions by the Application Committee, housing application field and whatnot. Wonder if I'll ever get to have those fields visible for me! 

[El pichichi]

 The first  notifications will be available for those who applied for the first round starting December 16th 2015.

Edited December 1, 2015 by El pichichi

[Erminia_LL]

1 hour ago, El pichichi said:

The first  notifications will be available for those who applied for the first round starting December 16th 2015.

 

Wait, what? The website says mid-January.

[su_nayana]

Hi! Yay! I am so glad this thread has become active!!

That motivation letter was pretty amazing although obviously, unless you are someone who has happened to go through similar life experiences, it isn't possible to have a letter of motivation that is as moving as hers. The good part is that if we do make it through we get to meet people from such diverse backgrounds (I hope I make it!!!)

I also thought my letter was great initially however after looking at my application repeatedly, I suddenly feel as if it's the worst motivation letter ever written haha. I guess applications like this tend to make us all second guess ourselves. @shirley_xie all the best for your last semester! :)

 

 

[shirley_xie]

@su_nayana  Thank you!!! The same to you!!!

@taeyeon You have a curious mind!!! But I bet I will do the same thing like you if I know the function of page code....I try to follow the way you did just now, and see the same things as well!!!! I think you are from Korea!! Gam sa ham ni da!!! Good luck for your application!!! 

[pubpol101]

17 hours ago, El pichichi said:

 The first  notifications will be available for those who applied for the first round starting December 16th 2015.

Is this the official word from IHEID? Where did you hear about this information? Their website says mid-January, but there seems to have been conflicting word on this on the forum. Some have even said (not sure if this is verified) that previous years have had their decisions deferred beyond IHEID's stated notification timeline, so any word verified with your source on them pushing their notifications ahead instead of behind the original timeline would be particularly interesting.

[pubpol101]

20 hours ago, El pichichi said:

 The first  notifications will be available for those who applied for the first round starting December 16th 2015.

I just contacted IHEID. They said that notifications will be mid January, and not in December.

[taeyeon]

Yeah, isn't December 16 last year's date? Though I'm really crossing my fingers for some sort of response before the mid-January deadline, cause how IHEID expects students to get an offer on/around January 15 and already pay a pre-registration fee of one grand by January 30th is beyond me...

@shirley_xie Hehe I'm actually not Korean, just a K-pop enthusiast. But good luck to yours too! And everyone else's as well 

[shirley_xie]

@taeyeon I think I really need to learn more in terms of international studies!!! Actually I am not either International Relations or International Studies student, but suddenly come out with the courage to apply in this discipline.... From the tone you write, the profile pic, account name you set, I really thought you are literally a Korean girl!!! yup...one more thing want to elaborate, I saw a comment tab appeared in the application form, maybe now it is time for the committee to make the final desicions

[haru_ko]

49 minutes ago, shirley_xie said:

@taeyeon I think I really need to learn more in terms of international studies!!! Actually I am not either International Relations or International Studies student, but suddenly come out with the courage to apply in this discipline.... From the tone you write, the profile pic, account name you set, I really thought you are literally a Korean girl!!! yup...one more thing want to elaborate, I saw a comment tab appeared in the application form, maybe now it is time for the committee to make the final desicions

@shirley_xie What and Where are you currently studying then? I assume you are Chinese?

[taeyeon]

@shirley_xie Nah, my username/photo is of Taeyeon from Girls' Generation  Maybe if we make it to IHEID my real nationality will be revealed, haha! 

Did anyone else's uploaded materials disappear from the follow-up section? All I see now are the "Correspondence/Comment/Recommendations" sections. All these subtle changes... 

[Erminia_LL]

7 minutes ago, taeyeon said:

@shirley_xie Nah, my username/photo is of Taeyeon from Girls' Generation  Maybe if we make it to IHEID my real nationality will be revealed, haha! 

Did anyone else's uploaded materials disappear from the follow-up section? All I see now are the "Correspondence/Comment/Recommendations" sections. All these subtle changes... 

Same thing happened here. Somewhat it made me hope that the final decision is approaching, but I am sure they will keep their word and send us notifications by mid-January rather than in a couple of weeks! ;)

[haru_ko]

2 hours ago, Erminia_LL said:

Same thing happened here. Somewhat it made me hope that the final decision is approaching, but I am sure they will keep their word and send us notifications by mid-January rather than in a couple of weeks! ;)

hmm I lean towards believing them about the mid-January notification of decisions. But reading threads from last year, it does seem like they sent out decisions much earlier than this..

[shirley_xie]

hi..@haru_ko, you are right!!! I am Chinese...your perception is totally correct!!! But I am now staying in ASEAN region!

 

[shirley_xie]

@taeyeon yup!!!! definitely!! It is interesting to guess someone's nationality from the way they talk, they dress!

[El pichichi]

If you are not longer seeing a list of submitted documents to IHEID, it simply means that your application has been already reviewed and a decision has been reached. I insist that first notifications will be out from Mid December to Mid January.( source sure) lol

[Erminia_LL]

4 hours ago, El pichichi said:

If you are not longer seeing a list of submitted documents to IHEID, it simply means that your application has been already reviewed and a decision has been reached. I insist that first notifications will be out from Mid December to Mid January.( source sure) lol

I believe I am speaking on behalf of every single applicant following this thread: Could you please be more specific and tell us how do you know all these things (both the notification period - earlier than expected - and this last thing about the admission decision? The fact that the Committee might have already decided whether I am in or not definitely freaks me out. Thanks! 

[Erminia_LL]

23 hours ago, taeyeon said:

Yeah, isn't December 16 last year's date? Though I'm really crossing my fingers for some sort of response before the mid-January deadline, cause how IHEID expects students to get an offer on/around January 15 and already pay a pre-registration fee of one grand by January 30th is beyond me...

Where did you read about this deadline for the pre-registration fee? On GISA website, they say this deadline is around mid-April. I mean, they mention that it refers to those who apply by mid-January (and yes, it refers to two years ago, too, but I am pretty sure these sort of things do not change over the years), yet it should still be valid for students applying by mid-November, as the scholarship notification is supposed to be delivered in March. How can you pay your pre-registration fee if you don't know whether you got the scholarship? Personally, I can't afford the living costs without it, and I am not ready at all to cough up CHF 1,000 without knowing my destiny. It would be kinda reckless, wouldn't it?

Edited December 4, 2015 by Erminia_LL

[taeyeon]

1 hour ago, Erminia_LL said:

Where did you read about this deadline for the pre-registration fee? On GISA website, they say this deadline is around mid-April. I mean, they mention that it refers to those who apply by mid-January (and yes, it refers to two years ago, too, but I am pretty sure these sort of things do not change over the years), yet it should still be valid for students applying by mid-November, as the scholarship notification is supposed to be delivered in March. How can you pay your pre-registration fee if you don't know whether you got the scholarship? Personally, I can't afford the living costs without it, and I am not ready at all to cough up CHF 1,000 without knowing my destiny. It would be kinda reckless, wouldn't it?

It's on the General Conditions as found on the Applications 2016-2017 page, aka that document we should've all read thoroughly before submitting our application  This was not the case last year for sure, because I downloaded the 2015-2016 during the summer and assumed it would mostly be the same. A few days before I submitted my app though, I found this year's version and noticed the requirement for pre-registration fees. And yes, I do agree it would be reckless... hopefully this won't be as strict a requirement for students who applied for a scholarship? Who knows.

And I'd like to know @El pichichi's sources too. I do feel both excited and anxious wondering what my decision could be, and honestly if it's a rejection I just want to get it over with already, haha! If not... well, that's a completely different story.