Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID) - Fall 2016

[taeyeon]

@AAAAAAAA Woah, you're a rare one then! But there are several of us here from Asia as well, so I don't think it's the location factor. One of the female-only residences advised me to apply to the shared rooms alongside the single rooms, because the latter is where all the competition is. I think you likely got the room because you went for the shared option! 

Edited February 23, 2016 by taeyeon

[Mangrovia]

On 22 febbraio 2016 at 9:28 PM, Mangrovia said:

Heads-up for you all guys:  just noticed that GISA's website is currently under construction, and they might come up with a brand new site in a couple of days!  

Promise kept. They updated the website, here is the link: http://mygisa.ch. Plus, they created the IHEID 2016 Facebook Group, which you can join here.

[Magaaa]

Hello everyone, 

I have been looking at this threat for a while and decided to finally join! I have been accepted to the MIA program. 

Congratulations to all of you!

[RoyaleGVA]

23 hours ago, Mangrovia said:

Promise kept. They updated the website, here is the link: http://mygisa.ch. Plus, they created the IHEID 2016 Facebook Group, which you can join here.

Thanks for sharing the link @Mangrovia 

10 hours ago, Magaaa said:

Hello everyone, 

I have been looking at this threat for a while and decided to finally join! I have been accepted to the MIA program. 

Congratulations to all of you!

@MagaaaThank you and congratulations to you as well  Welcome to this thread!

[Grad888]

Hey guys, I'm a current student at IHEID and thought I'd see if any of you have any questions. I remember being super curious and really wishing there was someone to help, so here I am! Finding accommodation in Geneva is very difficult! But no one has ever needed to sleep under a bridge, so that's good!

Regarding housing: Picciotto (the Institute's housing) is super nice! Most apartments are shared (between 2, 3 or 4 people). There are some studios and some couples apartments. Then there are also family apartments. The ones on the higher floors are more expensive because the view is BEAUTIFUL from high up! And yes, it is very very close to the Institute. In my opinion (I live here), it's the best student accommodation. So if you can afford it and you get a room, take it. In terms of being close to restaurants etc.: Geneva is very small and very expensive! So you can either travel to restaurants very easily, or - more likely - never eat out at all..

Many of us will also be subletting rooms before the start of next semester. I know I will be trying to find someone to sublease my room (in a family apartment) for the first three weeks in September. So there will most likely be rooms you can base yourselves in before the semester starts and find accommodation from here.

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

[kotsa]

@Magaaa much thanx n congratulations to u as well. U also welcome to this thread.

@Grad888 my first concern is will the rooms be available by the time we ( those of us supposed to enroll in the 3 week French and Maths course) arrive in Geneva? Cos from the websites of the various housing options, the rent contract begins in September and since we have to be Geneva roughly by the second or third week in August, I was just wondering. 

Much thanx n safe.

[Magaaa]

Hello, 

@Grad888, I was offered a room in the IHEID housing but I don't know with how many people I will be sharing the appartment with. Is there a way for me to find out? Also, more generally, how do you like your experience at the Graduate Institute? Do you recommend it?  

[Grad888]

10 hours ago, kotsa said:

@Magaaa much thanx n congratulations to u as well. U also welcome to this thread.

@Grad888 my first concern is will the rooms be available by the time we ( those of us supposed to enroll in the 3 week French and Maths course) arrive in Geneva? Cos from the websites of the various housing options, the rent contract begins in September and since we have to be Geneva roughly by the second or third week in August, I was just wondering. 

Much thanx n safe.

Hello @kotsa, lots of people will be subletting their rooms over the summer holidays, so I imagine you will be able to find a place for that time. But yes, it is annoying that there is this gap between when the French course starts and when you get a room..

 

4 hours ago, Magaaa said:

Hello, 

@Grad888, I was offered a room in the IHEID housing but I don't know with how many people I will be sharing the appartment with. Is there a way for me to find out? Also, more generally, how do you like your experience at the Graduate Institute? Do you recommend it?  

Hello @Magaaa, you can send an email to the housing administration and ask them. It's possible that they're not sure yet, as they are still allocating apartments, but they're usually pretty good at replying.

In terms of how I'm liking it all: the academic side of the Institute is great, the lecturers are very knowledgable and the courses are generally structured well. However, if you're like me and come from a place where lecturers are very approachable, you might find the transition a bit difficult. Depending on you programme (I am in MIA), there really isn't much contact between you and the professor. But I gather than is somewhat different in the disciplinary programmes. On the other hand, the administrative side of the Institute is quite frustrating. I sometimes get the feeling that they really don't want to help you. But after you've settled in, you shouldn't need them too much anymore, so it's not much of a problem.

I remember reading that some of you are excited to become fluent in French: most people here find it very difficult to practise their French, seeing as most classes are in English and most students speak English to each other. So if you want to really learn French, you will still have to put a lot of effort into it.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll happily try and answer them.

[Magaaa]

@Grad888 Thanks a lot for your insights. I am also going to be in the MIA program so everything you say applies to me! I'm still waiting to hear from other schools too and everything you say helps! 

Are you all pretty set on the graduate institute or still waiting for other responses ? 

[reddog]

@Grad888 I feel a bit like a fraud, posting here when I haven't been admitted yet (regular cycle), but I did want to ask you some questions about the workshops!  How are they structured (all practical trainings or also theoretical knowledge?)? How long do they take (a day, a week? one intensive period or divided over the semester?) Are they open to students from other disciplines, or even from other universities? Do they take place in your first or your second year? Apologies for the many questions, I'd be grateful for your answer

 

 

On 17-2-2016 at 8:07 AM, ARadiata said:

I did check out a few of the 'female-only' residences but the religious bend of some of these places and the regulations are a little off-putting. But considering that we don't have many options I will apply to them nevertheless.  

Let me guess, St. Pierre?

[taeyeon]

Hey guys - just wondering if any of you have heard back from residences yet? Yesterday I emailed RUI asking when I will hear back about their decision, only to get a response saying they never received my application!  So I sent it again through email rather than online. If any of you guys also applied through the web page and haven't heard back yet, I suggest writing an email! Kind of frustrating to realize I've lost nearly 3 weeks waiting on nothing...

[ARadiata]

16 hours ago, taeyeon said:

Hey guys - just wondering if any of you have heard back from residences yet? Yesterday I emailed RUI asking when I will hear back about their decision, only to get a response saying they never received my application!  So I sent it again through email rather than online. If any of you guys also applied through the web page and haven't heard back yet, I suggest writing an email! Kind of frustrating to realize I've lost nearly 3 weeks waiting on nothing...

I have heard back from a few. All of them have asked me to wait till June/July to apply. As that is when they will know if they have any space available. One of them even requires an in-person interview to be considered for residence. 

But thanks for this. I just wrote to RUI. Did you get in touch with them through their online contact form? 

On 3/2/2016 at 6:48 PM, reddog said:

@Grad888 I feel a bit like a fraud, posting here when I haven't been admitted yet (regular cycle), but I did want to ask you some questions about the workshops!  How are they structured (all practical trainings or also theoretical knowledge?)? How long do they take (a day, a week? one intensive period or divided over the semester?) Are they open to students from other disciplines, or even from other universities? Do they take place in your first or your second year? Apologies for the many questions, I'd be grateful for your answer

 

 

Let me guess, St. Pierre?

Yes. The rules on timings makes me feel like I am going back to boarding school. But frankly, I'll be happy to get a decent bed anywhere at this moment. 

[hbkhan]

Hello guys! I applied to IHEID (regular admission) for Masters International Economics and am waiting for their positive response inshaAllah. I also got into World Trade Institute's Masters in International Law and Economics programme. I am wondering if any of you know anything about it so that I can weigh the pros and cons of both institutes and make my decision. Would be a big help. thanks!

[Mangrovia]

Has anyone applied to Centre St-Boniface yet?

[RoyaleGVA]

1 hour ago, Mangrovia said:

Has anyone applied to Centre St-Boniface yet?

Hi @Mangrovia

I have applied for Centre St.Boniface :) 

Edited March 5, 2016 by RoyaleGVA
-

[Mangrovia]

17 minutes ago, RoyaleGVA said:

Hi @Mangrovia

I have applied for Centre St.Boniface :) 

Thank you, @RoyaleGVA. Did you get any feedback?

[RoyaleGVA]

@Mangrovia I received this message:

 " Thank you for your request.

   We will contact you back at the next availability.

   Sincerely Yours

   CSTB Team

NB: Copy of your information attached". ( Followed by the documents that I had uploaded )

Apart from this, I have not received any kind of information from their side...What about you, did you get any information?

[Mangrovia]

5 hours ago, RoyaleGVA said:

@Mangrovia I received this message:

 " Thank you for your request.

   We will contact you back at the next availability.

   Sincerely Yours

   CSTB Team

NB: Copy of your information attached". ( Followed by the documents that I had uploaded )

Apart from this, I have not received any kind of information from their side...What about you, did you get any information?

I haven't applied yet actually, but I plan on doing it next week!

[taeyeon]

CSTB's recommendation letter requirement is really throwing me off tbh. It just feels funny asking my parents to recommend me, their child, to live somewhere... 

Meanwhile guys, I contacted the IHEID Housing Administration to inquire about Picciotto residence. They stated that they give preference to non-scholarship students, as the scholarship students are already receiving a form of aid from the school. So while I'll try applying again, I won't hold out any hopes for it. I wish this was clearer back then  Anyhow, I asked for the deadlines and it seems they updated their page here! Hope this will be useful to all the newly admitted students who will be joining us on this thread next week.

Edited March 10, 2016 by taeyeon

[Magaaa]

@taeyeon That's interesting! I thought they gave priority to students with scholarships too! Now, it makes more sense  

Are any of you going to the welcoming day? 

[Mangrovia]

On 10 marzo 2016 at 3:56 PM, Magaaa said:

@taeyeon That's interesting! I thought they gave priority to students with scholarships too! Now, it makes more sense  

Are any of you going to the welcoming day? 

I was planning to, but I just found out that my brother is gonna graduate on April 5th and he naturally has priority over the Admitted Student Day. 

What about you guys?

[researchfreak]

Regular admissions is out! Very happy to say that both my SO (MDev) and I were accepted (MIA)! We were both refused for scholarships though, but I expected as much since our government provide pretty good deals on student loans and aid. 

This is such a relief! IHEID was our absolute top choice, and we were very nervous about both of us needing to get admitted. Now the hunt for housing begins! From the discussion here and IHEID's website, I see that academic results, scholarship application, and location when you were admitted is what is considered. I think we have a decent shot since we are currently living in Los Angeles and did not get any other financial assitance. Does anyone know if couples apartments are more difficult or easier to get?

Edited March 22, 2016 by researchfreak

[XMGL]

Hello everyone and congratulations for being admitted!! I was also admitted to the institute but they refused my scholarship application... and its a bittersweet feeling since this probably means I wont be able to attend the institute. Does anyone know if scholarship decisions are final? Do you know of other scholarships you can apply to with the admissions letter like the Erasmus Mundus? I would really appreciate some advice. Thanks in advance 

 

[Kay_p]

Hey guys!

I was accepted to MIA today and am so thrilled to join you guys here!

(It literally took me hours to process the fact that I'll be in Geneva in a couple of months. Like...WHOA. THIS IS SO UNREAL!) 

 

Since I'm already set on choosing IHEID, I thought maybe I should start thinking about my housing. I think I'll apply for the Picciotto student residence first. 

So...does anyone know which type of room is the least competitive? I think my chances are not too bad, given that I currently live in Seoul and didn't get scholarship from IHEID. Rooms at the Picciotto look great and their price is pretty reasonable, so I would go for any options at the Picciotto. 

 

Also...this question might sound stupid (but I'm absolutely serious): do you guys know if the student residence has any rodent/pest issues? 

Maybe rodent issues are only in some big cities in the U.S., but my $1200/mo room back in college had mice and they made my life totally miserable. The struggle was real. Before putting in my application, I just wanted to make sure it doesn't have any rodent issues. 

 

 

[ajm2016]

Hey, I've just been admitted into the MDev but have ome question regarding career opportunities. Would be great if someone can help out!

Do consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, Bain really recruit at IHEID? I could only find one student (Class of 2005) who works at McKinsey. I want to work in consulting so this is important... Don't see too many private sector consulting firms there.