Fall 2010 - Narrowing them Down

[Dreydenn]

The purpose of this thread is for those of us applying to IR/Policy schools for Fall 2010 to share experiences and thoughts as we try to figure out where we want to go. There is already a Final Decisions thread, which I'm sure I'll post to eventually, but for many of us who won't hear from our first school until March, there is still a lot of considering to do.

Since I'm applying from Beijing and won't have a chance to shoot back to the US to visit schools, I am especially interested in hearing other people's impressions of the various schools in terms of admissions processes, visits, etc. I'm sure there are others who won't be able to visit all of the schools that they've applied to, and I think that sharing our thoughts and impressions about the various schools could be an especially useful resource.

I'm not sure why there seems to be so little activity on this board during this application cycle in comparison the last cycle. I've gone through the archives to look for useful threads, and I'll post a few below in case others feel like reading them. I'm sure that there are a lot more useful threads that I've missed.

HKS IGA article

[Dreydenn]

A few of my own thoughts to kick this off:

I have the best impression of DC schools and Columbia, as I lived and worked in NYC and DC prior to going abroad.

SAIS- I applied to SAIS because of its strong China program, essentially. I have mixed feelings about the mandatory econ track, but I do want to tool up on quant work in grad school so I'm ok with that. SAIS is certainly well-regarded in DC, and I've seen SAIS alumni in positions that I find interesting ranging from academia (with a subsequent PhD, of course) to the Treasury to the Carnegie Council. I also collected an enormous amount of World Bank friends, most of whom seemed to be from SIPA and SAIS with a smattering of others. SAIS people did come across as a bit more conservative on average than, say, SFS people. However, with SAIS' large incoming class, I hear it's easy to find people one get's along with. For me, the positive of SAIS are, located in DC, strong on China, good alumni base, interesting classes, alumni seem to get frequently get good jobs, etc Downsides: Located in DC (I worked there before and wouldn't mind a break, as I very well might end up working there anyway )large incoming class size, not attached to research university (JHU is inconveniently far away) so electives are relatively narrow, etc.

Georgetown MSFS - I lived with two people who went to the Walsh School while I was working in DC. Both were nice, laid back, smart, and interesting, as were most of my other friends who attended. In many ways I liked SFS better than SAIS (smaller class size, perhaps better perceived "fit" based on my interactions with current students), but their lack of dedicated East Asia resources put me off a bit. SFS also prides itself on being very professionally focused, and I hear few people go on to a PhD from SFS (except for Parag Khana). I'd like to keep the PhD option open.

Tufts Fletcher - I toured it and did the interview last summer prior to coming to Beijing. I have to say that I was really impressed with how nice everyone is. I also have family in Boston, so the location is especially great for me. Pluses include flexibility, top notch staff, ability to take courses at Harvard and HKS, great career services (according to my friends), great sense of community (no snarky competitiveness), and people go on to get PhDs with some frequency. Downsides may include lower "brand" recognition outside of the IR field and abroad, though I'm not sure how to evaluate that.

HKS - I have a friend who worked in the administration at HKS for 10 years and waxes lyrical about its strengths. It does seem like a great program, and I had a good experience when I went there to visit, but I've heard a mix of superlative and negative comments from friends. The person I talked to in admissions was extremely helpful and quite nice.

I have very little in the way of personal impressions of SIPA, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard EAS. I didn't apply to GW, but I took a class there when I was working in DC. The professor was great, as are many of GW's adjuncts, but I felt like students were a bit scattershot and many seemed to be straight from undergrad. That was a sample size of one, however.

Anyway, just a few thoughts. I don't know how many others are currently turning similar considerations over in their heads, but I'd love to hear what people are thinking.

And it's something to do for the next month. :-)

Edited February 7, 2010 by Dreydenn

[LeeLeeLove]

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's only mid-February and I am already checking these forums. I think it may be a loooong March for me. I'm applying to six schools, all in the IR/Security Studies/ American Foreign Policy Field.

GPA: 3.52; GRE: M700, V700, W 5.5; Three years internship experience; Fulbright and one other year work experience abroad

Georgetown Walsh: I think this would be my top choice. The campus is beautiful and the students seem the most attractive as well. What can I say? I'm 25 and these things matter to me. Great reputation and some great courses. Seems a stretch for me academically so I'm not holding my breath.

Johns Hopkins SAIS: Another stretch for me, but my second choice. I'm a bit nervous about their econ focus since I've only taken two econ classes and didn't really like them. I've talked to former students who love the school and have nothing but good things to say about the career services there.

American SIS: I think SIS is a little more on my level, but I wouldn't be overly excited about going there. Seems a bit "blah," but maybe I'm wrong?

George Washington Elliott: I'd imagine this is where I'll end up going. I took some summer classes there two years ago and was pleasantly surprised by the caliber of the faculty. My biggest concern would be the other students- I'm under the impression that many of them come straight from undergrad and I don't want to be the grandmother. I got an e-mail from them a few weeks ago suggesting that I apply for a Wolcott Scholarship. Is this a good sign that they think I'm a competitive candidate or did everyone get that e-mail?

Tufts Fletcher and Columbia SIPA: I have no idea why I applied to these schools. I realized too late that it would be a mistake to leave D.C. to do my M.A. My friends are in D.C. and I feel like the networking opportunities alone make it worthwhile to stay in the DisCo. I applied to Fletcher and SIPA anyway since I'd already asked for letters from my recommenders and felt guilty about wasting their time.

I am seriously already stressed out about hearing back and will probably be slipping through the phases of dementia by the time this thing is over.

[thombo]

LeeLee - I think we are in very very similar positions. I applied to four of the 6 you did (Gtown, SAIS, Tufts, and GW) and my order of priorities is very similar. One difference is that if it comes down to Fletcher or GW, I think I'll be going to Fletcher, despite my desire to stay in DC. I've met several people who have gone through the Fletcher program (some recent grads, others longer out of school and further along in their career). I bring up the issue of being outside of DC with them and universally they say that they had the same concern, but that it was misplaced. They insist that Fletcher works very hard to place students and grads and position them for internships and jobs. I'd say that the difference in reputation outweighs the drawback of Boston vs DC. That said, if you, like me, have friends and networks already in DC, there are other reasons to want to stay in DC.

In any case, best of luck. it seems you are competitive for all the programs you've applied to.

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's only mid-February and I am already checking these forums. I think it may be a loooong March for me. I'm applying to six schools, all in the IR/Security Studies/ American Foreign Policy Field.

GPA: 3.52; GRE: M700, V700, W 5.5; Three years internship experience; Fulbright and one other year work experience abroad

Georgetown Walsh: I think this would be my top choice. The campus is beautiful and the students seem the most attractive as well. What can I say? I'm 25 and these things matter to me. Great reputation and some great courses. Seems a stretch for me academically so I'm not holding my breath.

Johns Hopkins SAIS: Another stretch for me, but my second choice. I'm a bit nervous about their econ focus since I've only taken two econ classes and didn't really like them. I've talked to former students who love the school and have nothing but good things to say about the career services there.

American SIS: I think SIS is a little more on my level, but I wouldn't be overly excited about going there. Seems a bit "blah," but maybe I'm wrong?

George Washington Elliott: I'd imagine this is where I'll end up going. I took some summer classes there two years ago and was pleasantly surprised by the caliber of the faculty. My biggest concern would be the other students- I'm under the impression that many of them come straight from undergrad and I don't want to be the grandmother. I got an e-mail from them a few weeks ago suggesting that I apply for a Wolcott Scholarship. Is this a good sign that they think I'm a competitive candidate or did everyone get that e-mail?

Tufts Fletcher and Columbia SIPA: I have no idea why I applied to these schools. I realized too late that it would be a mistake to leave D.C. to do my M.A. My friends are in D.C. and I feel like the networking opportunities alone make it worthwhile to stay in the DisCo. I applied to Fletcher and SIPA anyway since I'd already asked for letters from my recommenders and felt guilty about wasting their time.

I am seriously already stressed out about hearing back and will probably be slipping through the phases of dementia by the time this thing is over.

[LeeLeeLove]

LeeLee - I think we are in very very similar positions. I applied to four of the 6 you did (Gtown, SAIS, Tufts, and GW) and my order of priorities is very similar. One difference is that if it comes down to Fletcher or GW, I think I'll be going to Fletcher, despite my desire to stay in DC. I've met several people who have gone through the Fletcher program (some recent grads, others longer out of school and further along in their career). I bring up the issue of being outside of DC with them and universally they say that they had the same concern, but that it was misplaced. They insist that Fletcher works very hard to place students and grads and position them for internships and jobs. I'd say that the difference in reputation outweighs the drawback of Boston vs DC. That said, if you, like me, have friends and networks already in DC, there are other reasons to want to stay in DC.

In any case, best of luck. it seems you are competitive for all the programs you've applied to.

Thanks for the vote of support! What were the other two schools you applied to? I think you're right about Fletcher-- that the reputation would make up for the location (in comparison to GW, anyway). If you don't mind me asking. what does your resume look like? I'm pretty insecure about my GPA and I think my SOP was a dud. It's so hard to judge which schools are realistic, and which are out of my league. There isn't much of a second tier for IR, it seems...

[thombo]

I actually only applied to the four I mentioned - so no safeties, but none that I wouldn't jump at attending. Since graduating I have 1 year working abroad and 2.5 years working in international gov't affairs for a consulting company. As for numbers: 3.7 GPA and 710Q 650V. At Gtown, I applied specifically for the Int'l Business & Commerce concentration, looking to go into trade policy and trade capacity building.

Thanks for the vote of support! What were the other two schools you applied to? I think you're right about Fletcher-- that the reputation would make up for the location (in comparison to GW, anyway). If you don't mind me asking. what does your resume look like? I'm pretty insecure about my GPA and I think my SOP was a dud. It's so hard to judge which schools are realistic, and which are out of my league. There isn't much of a second tier for IR, it seems...