<p>I'm currently on the waiting list at SIPA, but it remains my top choice for an MA. Are any of you people who've been accepted going? If so, I'd be really interested to hear your impressions. I'm tempted to try and go anyway, though I'll be going to the SAIS one here in DC and it might be tough to swing a few days off of work.</p>
<p>Mikko, I just declined SIPA (and I hope the forces of good give the spot to you) but I would love to hear your impressions of SAIS. I am going to KSG and don't think I could swing additional days off from work to go to DC. Thanks!</p>
<p>OK, went to SAIS yesterday.</p>
<p>Overall, I was really impressed. I have been leaning more and more towards Columbia, but at this point, it'll be a tough call if they offer me a place. The Econ requirements were emphasized, which seem to offer grads plenty of options in various fields. I don't think any of the other schools have a such serious econ base. As I don't want to get pigeonholed, and don't have much a background in quantitative analysis, this appeals to me quite a bit. The language req's seem more rigorous than most other schools as well. Career services seems another strength - overall I get the impression that you get plenty of assistance in career placement, as well as a large, spread out, and well-connected alumni network that is usually willing to help. </p>
<p>To compare: I get the impression that Columbia is much larger, more impersonal. Granted, maybe their tone changes once you're admitted, but since I'm spending all of this money, I appreciate all of the attention that SAIS seems to give its students. </p>
<p>With that said, it seems like certain regional/functional studies are better (and receive more funding) than others, so I guess it depends on which program you're looking at and whether or not you want to live in DC.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>Mikko, I want to know if I missed out an any nice SAIS swag by not visiting. The language and econ requirements were a big draw for me, actually, as I kind of like the idea of someone holding my feet to the fire with regard to getting important skills. I'll be getting language training with the program I chose, but I'll have to carve out space for quant work.</p>
<p>Mikko, thanks for the insight. Question: did you feel like there were folks who were starting off with a weaker quant background? what about support for people like me who want a quant background but do not yet have it?</p>
<p>Also, did it feel like the econ orientation was macro-level (trade/monetary policy) with not much in terms of skill set creation/tools?</p>
<p>Any impressions of the Southeast Asia program?</p>
<p>Lady - yeah, I definitely got the impression there were plenty of people with no background in econ (like me!) or people that haven't studied it in 7 years. The program seems tailored so that you can ease back into it through an online Summer course and pre-term in August. Like AfricanStudies said, they hold your feet to the fire somewhat, but seem to give you plenty of support if you're not a numbers person. To me, this aspect of SAIS is one of the most compelling. they also seem to have plenty of insane upper level courses for people who were econ majors.</p>
<p>I can't speak about the Southeast Asia program specifically, though one person on the current student panel was in that field and had interned in Vietnam or something over the summer. You could probably email the department to get the contact info for current students.</p>
<p>AfricaStudies: for swag - not too much. A pretty good breakfast spread in the morning and decent sandwiches at lunch though! which program did you decide on?</p>
<p>So did anyone make it to Columbia's open house? I'm guessing the waitlist people will start hearing back soon, any insight would be nice.</p>
<p>I was at the Columbia Open House. The "feel" of Columbia was very apparent from the beginning: big, impersonal, and a bit negative/elitist (New York-ish, basically). The morning sessions were quite disappointing. They made everyone sit through a few hours of professors pontificating about the importance of each concentration they headed. While the professors seemed intelligent and experienced, (most of them) came off as elitist and distant. They almost seemed to be competing with each other, too — more than several of them mentioned that his/her concentration was "the most" important aspect of international affairs. A handful of the professors were great, though, so it wasn't all bad news (I'm thinking of Esther Fuchs and the EPD head). However, the whole program seemed disorganized and ad hoc. Not a good start.</p>
<p>The afternoon sessions, however, were fantastic, and really saved the day. I sat in on a lecture by Esther Fuchs (it wasn't a real class, just a lecture), and found her to be warm, interesting, and intelligent. She encouraged discussion and all-in-all sounded very passionate about her subject matter (urban policy).</p>
<p>I also went to a student panel, and must admit I was very impressed by the students who sat on it (moreso than those on the SAIS student panel, who came off as a bit more immature and inarticulate in comparison). They had great insight on what it was like to be a student at Columbia — basically, they said that all the resources were there, but it was up to you to go after them. A lot of them also seemed to have come to SIPA in order to get a strong econ background. The panel was more international than not (in fact, I think only one guy out of six was from the US), which I found to somewhat reflect the makeup of the SIPA student body. From the stats alone, SIPA has the most international students (50% to SAIS's 40% to Fletcher's 33% or so), and it was very apparent from the Open House. A lot of the international students cited both Columbia having the strongest reputation abroad compared to the other top schools as well as living in NYC as the two biggest draws. So that probably explains why international students seem to be more attracted to SIPA than SAIS or Fletcher.</p>
<p>Also, I've heard that SIPA admissions places a far greater emphasis on work/international experience than even SAIS or Fletcher, and I definitely felt that. SAIS and Fletcher seemed to have a few more students straight from undergrad or with only one or two years experience. They weren't any less impressive — I'm sure they were academic superstars — but there was a slightly noticeable difference in the student body makeup between schools.</p>
<p>I did not attend it, but I heard that the alumni panel was equally impressive. I did, however, hear that career services/financial aid session was a bit of a disappointment. They basically repeated the students' sentiments — if you know what you want, you can easily get it at Columbia. If you don't, then you might be at a bit of a loss.</p>
<p>One fellow prospective student I met said she spoke with a professor about how disappointed she was by various parts of the Open House. The professor said, "Don't let the packaging fool you — once you dig deeper, SIPA is really an amazing place." I think this might be wise advice. While the administration is important to a grad program, the Open House really was predominantly reflective of the ADMINISTRATION, not of the strength of student or professors (aside from a few of the department heads). People bash SIPA a lot while still maintaining that it is a fantastic/top program, so there must be reasons why that is. From what I gleaned from the Open House, this comes from the students and curriculum. Whether that makes up for a less-than-stellar administration or career services, I don't know.</p>
<p>That said, I'm still totally undecided between SIPA and SAIS. I'm debating getting an extension past the Monday deadline at this point.</p>
<p>Decidedfactor,</p>
<p>Thanks for your insights comparing SIPA and SAIS. So which school did you finally choose and why? One year later, I find myself in the same predicament of choosing between these two stellar schools. Your insight would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>Hey, I don’t have a whole lot of insight here, but I have a good friend at SIPA. It’s a massive amount of work but she likes it. She had no econ experience and she was fine. There’s also a crash course to catch non-math oriented up.</p>