Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID) - Fall 2016

[Grad888]

Research freak, I moved to Geneva with my husband and we got a family apartment (CHF 2500 per month) at Picciotto and sublet the second small bedroom. It's pretty tough to find accommodation as a couple, so apply everywhere and take whatever you can get!

Hi Kay-p, I live at Picciotto and there is no rodent problem at all!

To ajm2016: I have heard that in the past, consultancy firms used to love recruiting from IHEID, but the job market has gotten so bad, that there just aren't any jobs around. So not sure if it'd be better at another school, but you will have to be very proactive at the Institute.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Grad888

[ilmk92]

8 minutes ago, Grad888 said:

Research freak, I moved to Geneva with my husband and we got a family apartment (CHF 2500 per month) at Picciotto and sublet the second small bedroom. It's pretty tough to find accommodation as a couple, so apply everywhere and take whatever you can get!

Hi Kay-p, I live at Picciotto and there is no rodent problem at all!

To ajm2016: I have heard that in the past, consultancy firms used to love recruiting from IHEID, but the job market has gotten so bad, that there just aren't any jobs around. So not sure if it'd be better at another school, but you will have to be very proactive at the Institute.

Hey Grad888, I was wondering if you could lend insights into how students finance their studies in IHEID? Are there a lot of private/external fellowships we can apply for besides the IHEID scholarships? Also, is it relatively easy to find a part-time job opportunities to help offset living costs there? 

[Lolothefirecat]

Hi everyone! I just got admitted to the Political Science/IR MA program and I have a couple questions that I'd love some help with:)

First: Does anyone know how difficult it would be for my fiancé to move to Geneva with me? He is a teacher (basically all subjects up to high school level) and has U.S. citizenship. 

Second: We have two large dogs...how impossible will it be to find housing? And do you have any recommendations for areas that would be best to live in considering this? Leaving them in the United States isn't an option, so I figure I better get to work finding accommodation!

Lastly, not sure if this is the place for it, but I wouldn't mind having roommates! Just have to like dogs and be relatively laid back and we'd get along great! 

 

[kotsa]

Hi guys,

Has anyone else noticed that Carlton and Rothschild residences says they are fully booked for academic year 2016/2017.

Anyways, congrats to all those who got in today. I think y'all should start applying to the other student residences whiles you are waiting for IHEID to open applications to theirs. 

Best.

[researchfreak]

7 hours ago, ajm2016 said:

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.

 

There is an "admitted students" webinar on Thursday specifically on the topic of career opportunities and internships. If you can, sign up for it and perhaps you can get some useful information there?

[researchfreak]

6 hours ago, Grad888 said:

Research freak, I moved to Geneva with my husband and we got a family apartment (CHF 2500 per month) at Picciotto and sublet the second small bedroom. It's pretty tough to find accommodation as a couple, so apply everywhere and take whatever you can get!

Oh great! I saw they had the larger couples apartments and family apartments for CHF 2500, though that is a little too expensive for us right now. I suppose subletting a bedroom could offset some of the cost, but I'd rather not if possible. Have had roommates all throughout my undergrad, and am now used to the comfort of just living with my SO. I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for the CHF 1600-1700 couples apartment. It just seems so nice to be able to move into Picciotto and have it furnished and all and not have to go apartment hunting and furniture shopping the second you arrive.

But in the mean time, I'll put in as many applications as possible. Do you know where else would be good places to apply for housing as a couple?

Thank you so much!

Edited March 22, 2016 by researchfreak

[ajm2016]

7 hours ago, researchfreak said:

There is an "admitted students" webinar on Thursday specifically on the topic of career opportunities and internships. If you can, sign up for it and perhaps you can get some useful information there?

Hey @researchfreak, can you send me the link for this? I can't seem to find it..

[Grad888]

Hi ilmk92, finding paid work is pretty tough. Having said that, I found work on my second day in Geneva.  I teach German (my native language) at a private language school. If your native language is German, French or English (and with English you need a CELTA or TOEFL teaching certificate), you can contact the language schools here. Otherwise there are some jobs at the uni and I know people worked during the winter holidays there. Some also offer private tutoring. There are also some paid internships, but they are VERY hard to get. In terms of scholarships, I think that depends on where you are from. I haven't heard of anyone getting a scholarship once they got here, but I also don't know anything.

Lolothefirecat, it would probably be easier if your partner was already your husband, as Switzerland doesn't recognise partnerships outside of marriage to my knowledge. But if you can show that you are just about to get married, that might also count. For your dogs, maybe look in France? They seem to have larger houses than here in Geneva.

researchfreak, I know Cité has some couples studios. They are tiny but also a lot cheaper than Picciotto.

[NicolasM]

15 hours ago, Lolothefirecat said:

Hi everyone! I just got admitted to the Political Science/IR MA program and I have a couple questions that I'd love some help with:)

First: Does anyone know how difficult it would be for my fiancé to move to Geneva with me? He is a teacher (basically all subjects up to high school level) and has U.S. citizenship. 

Second: We have two large dogs...how impossible will it be to find housing? And do you have any recommendations for areas that would be best to live in considering this? Leaving them in the United States isn't an option, so I figure I better get to work finding accommodation!

Lastly, not sure if this is the place for it, but I wouldn't mind having roommates! Just have to like dogs and be relatively laid back and we'd get along great! 

 

Hi there! First of all congratulation to all of you! I have followed this thread for some time now and I firmly intended to join the discussion in case I got admitted, so here I am now

@Lolothefirecat: Nice to e-meet someone who is also going to be in the International Relations/Political Science programme! I hope some more will join the discussion so that we already now each other a little bit before we start the semester

I think finding housing with two large dogs (what breeds are they? I love dogs ) might be difficult in Geneva (I already did my undergraduate studies in Geneva and had trouble finding a studio for myself). As suggested by Grad888, finding housing in the border area in France might be the best solution for you.

I think the biggest hurdle to overcome for your fiancé will be to find an appropriate job, since requirements for non-EU-citizens wishing to work in Switzerland have become stricter with the free movement of workers between Switzerland and the EU. I can't really give you tips in this regard, unfortunately, since I do not know enough about the subject.

However, I'm sure you and your fiancé will find a way

[taeyeon]

Hey everyone, and congrats to all those who finally received their admissions! I'm with @kotsa on applying to all possible residences while you can. Worst case scenario is that you get accepted into all of them and have to pick and choose your favorite!  Weirdly enough, I just saw that fully booked notice on RUI and am wondering when they're gonna send out their residence decisions... 

[Kay_p]

6 hours ago, taeyeon said:

Hey everyone, and congrats to all those who finally received their admissions! I'm with @kotsa on applying to all possible residences while you can. Worst case scenario is that you get accepted into all of them and have to pick and choose your favorite!  Weirdly enough, I just saw that fully booked notice on RUI and am wondering when they're gonna send out their residence decisions... 

Thanks for your advice! Did you guys start applying to student residences right after paying your pre-registration fee? 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but CIte seems to require UNIGE registration so I'm not sure if I can apply now (I just paid my pre-registration fee and my status didn't change to "confirmed" yet.)  

By the way, from your display name I'm assuming you're Korean? I'm from Korea as well! Nice to meet you

 

 

One more question here:

When applying to Cite, what do they exactly mean by "proof of help from parents?" 

Cite requires applicants to present a proof that they will have financial support throughout their residency (unless they are financially independent) and I'm supposed to present a proof that my parents will be paying my rent...Do they mean financial documents (e.g. bank account, tax certificate) that show my parents are financially capable? Any ideas? 

 

[Kay_p]

23 hours ago, Grad888 said:

Hi Kay-p, I live at Picciotto and there is no rodent problem at all!

Oh God that's good to know. Thank you!

Picciotto looks really nice and its rent also seems pretty reasonable (especially given the living cost of Geneva) Also, I don't like the idea of commuting to school (I've always lived near campus and the farthest I've got was three-minute walk from campus) AND according to what you said, it's rodent-free! Sounds so perfect.

So now I'm really praying to get a room at Picciotto. I wonder how competitive it would be. Fingers crossed xx

[kotsa]

@taeyeon I contacted them and they sent me a mail saying they'll release the decisions in June (which I think will not favor some us who need visas to enter Switzerland).

@Kay_p, With the Cite application, after selecting UniGe, at the faculty section you'll find IHEID there. I think your admission attestation should suffice as that's what I used. With the proof of help from parents I have no idea about it. I uploaded my scholarship letter. I hope I've been of a lil help though.

Safe.

[researchfreak]

16 hours ago, ajm2016 said:

Hey @researchfreak, can you send me the link for this? I can't seem to find it..

For sure! http://graduateinstitute.ch/admittedwebinars

[Mangrovia]

Guys, did any of you take part in the webinar yesterday, and feel like sharing with those who couldn't join the chat?

[pubpol101]

Has anyone had any luck renegotiating financial aid? Does anyone know if this is even possible? I've received a full tuition scholarship from a public policy school in the United States, but IHEID would be my top choice if it were more affordable.

[ilmk92]

15 hours ago, AAAAAAAA said:

Has anyone had any luck renegotiating financial aid? Does anyone know if this is even possible? I've received a full tuition scholarship from a public policy school in the United States, but IHEID would be my top choice if it were more affordable.

I would contact them to see if you can provide new types of documentation that might change the evaluation of your financial situation. Who knows, maybe they can at least place you in the waiting list? 

Congratulations on all your acceptances btw, full funding from a U.S school sounds so amazing!

[ilmk92]

I have a quick question for anyone who confirmed their decision to attend. I just did that a moment ago, and this is what shows up. Is this normal? How am I supposed to find out when they will officially acknowledge my confirmation? 

[Mangrovia]

12 minutes ago, ilmk92 said:

I have a quick question for anyone who confirmed their decision to attend. I just did that a moment ago, and this is what shows up. Is this normal? How am I supposed to find out when they will officially acknowledge my confirmation? 

Hey @ilmk92, congrats on your admission! It is totally normal. The status of your application will change from Admitted to Confirmed once IHEID receives your pre-application fee of CHF 1000.

[ilmk92]

39 minutes ago, Mangrovia said:

Hey @ilmk92, congrats on your admission! It is totally normal. The status of your application will change from Admitted to Confirmed once IHEID receives your pre-application fee of CHF 1000.

Congrats to you as well! Another question, do I need to wait until my status changes to "Confirmed" in order to apply for student accomodation? And if so, how long will IHEID take to confirm my registration? 

[pubpol101]

1 hour ago, ilmk92 said:

do I need to wait until my status changes to "Confirmed" in order to apply for student accomodation?

For the early application cycle, I was able to apply for accommodation before I confirmed my enrollment--I myself haven't confirmed or paid the preregistration fee yet.

Edited March 26, 2016 by AAAAAAAA

[LauraLyCe]

Hi everyone!
I was accepted for the International Law LLM, but still have not received any news on the scholarhip, anyone having that same issue?

[XMGL]

Hello and congratulations on your admission! Thats odd... I think the majority of us got the admission and financial aid decision at the same time. Maybe you sould send the admission office an email asking them about this. By the way they are closed for public easter holiday until Monday, and they will probably get back to you by Tuesday.

As to renegotiating financial aid, I sent them and email asking them of a possiblity for reevaluation and they shut me down by telling me they had already defined a list of candidates to be on the waiting list for financial aid....maybe we can keep on insisting......

[Independence]

On ‎18‎-‎01‎-‎2016 at 1:01 PM, ARadiata said:

Hello everyone! I am so glad to have found this topic. Congratulations to all of you. 

I have been admitted to the MA International Relations/Political Science programme with a full scholarship. The institute is one of my top choices but I was hoping we were given the option to make a decision by April rather than by the end of this month. :/

Anyway, I was wondering if any of you have received communication from the Institute regarding accommodation at their Student House? I checked the forums and people from last year had received information about it around this time...so just want to check on that. I feel like I am missing out on emails as I found out about the scholarship by randomly checking the follow-up section. Usually, they send emails about these things. 

Thank you!

Hello Everyone!!! Congratulations):) I have received admission for Development Studies. But the university has denied my scholarship. Can anyone suggest few scholarships for Indian students. Thank you in advance

[mxdc]

Hello everyone! I got my acceptance letter last week but I still have not received the instructions on how to apply for housing. Did you guys already get yours o will they send them tomorrow as it says on the website? 

Also, do you know if the university has a gym?

 

Thanks in advance!