GU MSFS vs American SIS vs NYU GSAS

[ursusinopinatus]

I'm currently very torn about which school I should attend. I got a full tuition waver at NYU GSAS, an assistantship plus nearly full tuition waver at American SIS, and a (relatively) small scholarship at Georgetown, and I have absolutely no idea where I should go. (Of note: I have an external scholarship worth $25k USD per year, but I would still need to go into debt to pay for a part of GU's tuition and living expenses.)

Additionally, I can barely find any information regarding one of the programs, the MA in International Relations from GSAS. Nobody on these forums seems to have applied this year and it is almost never mentioned when comparing schools for international affairs. I applied there because it seemed like a good fit, and since I'd like to work at the UN but I never really liked SIPA. But now I'm also worried it may be seen as the second-best program in New York, after Columbia's.

Could anyone help me making this decision, maybe give me some pros and cons? Is Georgetown really all that great? Does anyone know anything about the MA in International Relations from NYU GSAS?

Thanks!

[irapplicant1776]

Looks like we're in the exact same situation.  

I've been emailing FSOs (my career goal) asking for advice and American alumni (some of which are FSOs) to ask them how they liked the program. Every single AU alum I've talked to has only had good things to say about the program, from their classes to their career prospects. Additionally, all the FSOs I've talked to (who studied at many different universities) have told me that university prestige does not matter in the public sector. They did mention that it can open up doors in the private sector, if that's what you're interested in. Also worth noting is that AU has had more Presidential Management Fellows (fast track to the federal govt) than any other school in the country for the past two years. 

In your situation, having that $25k scholarship does change things a bit. How much debt would you actually need to get into? You'll need to decide what the marginal cost worth paying to go into a more prestigious program is for you, consider which program is the best fit in terms of your career goals, and your tolerance for debt. 

For me, unless I get the Pickering, talking to people in the sector I want to work in and talking to AU alumni has convinced me that SIS is the right choice. I think, once I graduate and start working - whether as an FSO or in some other capacity - I'll be so happy to not have to pay off student loans, and start saving.

As far as NYU goes, sorry, no idea!

Edited March 20, 2016 by irapplicant1776

[ursusinopinatus]

@irapplicant1776

It does, in fact, seem like we're on the same boat. My goal is also to become a career diplomat (though I'm not from the US), so I called a couple of friends who are already in the Mexican diplomatic service and they told me the same thing you were told about university prestige. They did have specially nice things to say about GWU, though I'm still waiting to hear about funding from there.

I estimate that, for Georgetown, I would need to borrow about $30k per year. It's definitely less than other people borrow, but since I'm an international student, I have less funding options available and I would almost certainly need to compete for government loans and other scholarships (and needless to say, there's a possibility I wouldn't be granted enough funding). I'd also like to not have to worry about paying loans after graduating!

However, I'm still trying to find more information about NYU. I'll try and contact alumni during the next week and see what I can find out. In the meantime, I hope someone else on this forum knows anything about the program.

And thank you for your reply! Talking to other people about real life career prospects is helping me break away from this sort of bubble I've been living in where Georgetown seems to be the best school that has ever existed.

Edit: just saw your reply on the Georgetown thread. It seems we even got the same amount of funding! I typed $20k on that thread out of emotion, but it's about $18.5k.

Edited March 20, 2016 by ursusinopinatus

[irapplicant1776]

No problem! Yeah, Georgetown and SAIS are certainly the most talked about on this board (and for good reason - they're amazing schools). But for the the kind of work we want to do, I think if you have a chance to go to another great school that will get you where you want to be, paying little or no money for tuition, you should take it. $60,000 is no joke, especially when you would (presumably) be earning a salary in pesos. 

Bueno, si acabamos en el mismo sitio, que nos conozcamos!