<p>Ok I am going to come right out and ask…is American a school you must say yes to??? People in the DC area say no…it is my child’s dream school…but she only got 8500 a year so she will graduate with over 50K in debt. She can go to a top state school with no debt, have a semester in DC, and save her money for grad school. How are people paying for this school??? We also have JMU in the equation. Such an opportunity but I can’t sleep.</p>
<p>Do not go to American, it’s not worth the money</p>
<p>Syoung2 why do you say that?</p>
<p>that seems to be the consensus…we are going to go visit again, prestige, location, opportunities, and the selectivity…in the end it will be my child’s decision. Just don’t want it to be a chance we are throwing away</p>
<p>I don’t believe the academics are that good. Look up the average graduate debt</p>
<p>Well, just because the debt is high doesn’t mean the academics aren’t good. One can argue that there is high debt because people feel AU is worth investing in. What makes you say the academics aren’t good? S13 was accepted & we are trying to see if the debt is worth it. </p>
<p>If I look at the 2012 graduation outcomes I see high employment &/or pursuing advanced degrees. <a href=“Error retrieving uploaded document”>Error retrieving uploaded document;
<p>Nervmom, what is your child thinking about for a major? AU is exceptionally strong in International Studies, Pubic Policy and Politics. It has a strong international focus and great access to internships. While the other majors may also be strong, in my mind paying AU tuition for most other majors doesn’t seem worth it. I also struggle with the “value” of this investment but for my D it offered the best access to the best opportunities and experiences. To study International Relations from people who work in the field and in a city like DC makes stretching for the $ a good investment. At least I hope so :)</p>
<p>50k in debt for 4 years or 50k in debt each year? 50k in debt total isn’t that bad in my opinion but that’s just my opinion… </p>
<p>Anyhow, let me just say that if you go to a state school and do the DC semester programs the internship experience will not be the same. As a sophomore I’ve already completed 2 internships and have a government intelligence internship in the summer. What I’m saying is… if your D tries to apply for internships one time around she won’t have the opportunity to get the best opportunities DC offers and build off of the internship experiences to go further. But honestly if AU offers you too little financial aid, I personally wouldn’t decide to come to AU. </p>
<p>It’s good that you’re thinking far ahead about grad school, but make sure that your D makes the right decision for herself because regretting something for 4 years is a bad idea. </p>
<p>Also, for the record, I highly disagree with Syoung2 – academic programs are great here. At least in SIS in my opinion.</p>
<p>Political science major…got accepted to public affairs school. Would be 50k for all 4 years…thanks everyone for your comments… Going to visit monday</p>
<p>We are struggling with the same decision- is attending AU and living in DC worth the extra dollars? We visited campus last spring and my D fell in love with it. She was accepted into the honors program so now is even more excited. While she did get a merit scholarship it wasn’t what was needed to make this an easy decision.</p>
<p>Nervmom -I look forward to hearing about your visit next week, I wish we could go again but live on the west coast. </p>
<p>bk4972b- Thank you for your thoughts on the internships. A couple of the other schools that she was admitted to offer an AU semester but I don’t feel that it would be quite the same. I also fear that if she went for a semester she would greatly regret that she was not able to be there all 4 years.</p>
<p>SIS academics are highly regarded here but I also don’t think it is worth the money at the same time</p>
<p>So just came back from our visit and we loved it. Sadly our financial award letter was misleading and we are not getting anything. We met with fin aid and admissions and can appeal but even admissions said its not worth the debt. Maybe well transfer in two years or do grad school there. Good luck everyone!!!</p>
<p>My d. is a very happy and extremely well-employed and highly paid AU graduate, who graduated in three years, got her masters in the fourth, and in the last two years had a very highly paid internship in her field. And now lives in DC.</p>
<p>And no, I wouldn’t have let her go $50k in debt (I wouldn’t have allowed her to do that for Harvard). If it’s your debt, it is another story.</p>
<p>@Nervmom - what do you mean the financial award letter was misleading??? Did it state that you were getting a certain amount when you’re really not??</p>
<p>Hi I have the same concerns.
I got into SIS with a scholarship but UCSD is a little less expensive since I live in California. I am really interested in international relations but can’t decide between the two since I heard that UCSDs IR program was pretty good too. If I plan on going to grad school what would be the better choice?</p>
<p>Chompchomp - according to all I have read the smallest, least expensive undergrad school is best if you plan on going to grad school.</p>
<p>Chompchomp - As a native Californian myself, I have many friends come out of UCI, Cal, and UCSD IR and most of them are unemployed or working in completely unrelated jobs in public policy. As someone who did a personal visit to UCSD’s IR school and from my friend’s experiences, UCSD’s IR school is VERY conservative.</p>
<p>Just my perspective. UCSD IR is a great school as well and I know the in-state tuition will likely help you. If you pay huge costs to come to SIS then I would pick the in-state tuition as well. Your choice really.</p>
<p>There’s about a $6,000 difference in the tuition and the atmosphere at American seems really different from the schools in CA. I think I would be happy in both places so it comes down to a really difficult decision between the two. Is there a huge difference between the IR programs?</p>
<p>Chompchomp,
Don’t just look at the tuition–look at the tuition+fees+room+board and compare them apples to apples. American has VERY high dorm fees. Crazy high. The meal plan is pricey, too, and freshman have to have at least the 150 block. You may find that when you compare T/F/R/B one school to the other, you’re looking at more like a $10K difference.</p>
<p>Other things like books and supplies will be pretty much the same.</p>
<p>Then you have to figure your transportation costs. Flying to D.C. just once in August and home in May will cost you enough–but you’ll need somewhere to go for winter break and spring break. Realistically, you might need three round-trip tickets from home to D.C. Will your parents ever want to visit you? Again, all that adds up. </p>
<p>Also, as a Californian, you’ll need some things for the weather if you come to D.C. It’s not the Yukon, but you do need a winter coat and warm, waterproof shoes. Maybe you have these things already, maybe not.</p>
<p>Chompchomp - I agree with Deskpotato because simply coming to DC means uprooting everything you have. Factor in paying for plane tickets during Winter Break and summer (if you don’t choose to intern in DC during the summer), housing (4k-5k), and other additional costs.</p>
<p>Focus of the school
Well, like I said, I found the IR program at UCSD very conservative. Furthermore, if you take a look at the name of UCSD’s IR school… it is literally called “School of International Relations and Pacific Studies”. Lots of emphasis being placed on the Pacific Studies. Take a look at the various tracks at UCSD and many of their IR courses are oriented towards China, Japan, and Korea and stress their Korea-Pacific program. For me, this was the big draw in going to UCSD because I focus on North Korea but I know that I am a minority. Admittedly, SIS does not stress East Asia as more professors gravitate towards the Middle East/Latin America or in international development/security studies. </p>
<p>Size of the school
UCSD IR offers less classes and this is largely because SIS gives students flexibility. Not only is SIS the largest school of international relations by number of students, it also has the largest amount of faculty (I think 140 or something like that). Plus, nearly half of the UCSD IR profs are not tenure line positioned within the university. </p>
<p>Research methods
UCSD offers its research methods course within their Poli Sci program for a semester which is slightly problematic because Poli Sci research methods teach you how to conduct research in social science from a public policy perspective. AU offers it as a year long course specifically focusing on student’s needs to conduct their own student research. </p>
<p>If you go to UCSD, you’re in a program, not a school
UCSD’s Bachelor’s of Arts in International Studies is a program. The actual school that is recognized by APSIA is the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. Look at 90% of the courses you take under their program… they are in separate schools. At UCSD, you are a minority studying IR in other schools under econ, sociology, anthropology, poli sci, etc. At AU, most of your classes within the program requirements will be in SIS. Here is the program for UCSD: [International</a> Studies](<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/INTL.html]International”>International Studies)</p>
<p>On the other hand, at AU SIS is nearly 25% of the university. To see how much social science is emphasized at AU, international relations and political science majors encompass 44% of the entire university. </p>
<p>I chose AU not only because of its location (DC, 20,000-40,000 internships in IR - think tanks, NGOs, non-profit, government), size (largest school in IR in students and faculty), professors (140+, very strong i.e. Robert Pastor, Amitav Acharya, ISA Pres., Fanta Aw NAFSA Pres., Louis Goodman, Akbar Ahmed, Quansheng Zhao, etc), range of classes, great career services and internship experience (top 10 career services by Princeton Review, #1 in percentage of students, 84%, participating in internships before graduation, US News), social science focus (#1 most politically active school Princeton Review 2010, 2012), and prestige (#10 undergrad, #8 grad by TRIP survey, Foreign Affairs) but also simply because **California’s universities do not offer a Bachelor’s IR school ** recognized by APSIA (Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, UCSD IR/PS is a grad IR school as stated earlier). </p>
<p>I hope this gives you some perspective. What you should ask yourself is… Are you serious about international relations? I have friends who come out of USC, UCLA, UCSD, Claremont McKenna IR and many of them work in public policy (absolute BS), are unemployed, or are going to school for a higher degree because of low job prospects in California. Here in DC, the competition is cutthroat b/c people are always talking about security clearance, pathways internship programs, etc. However, because of high job turnover rates, there is a bustling job market. </p>
<p>DC is a cosmopolitan, international place. Of 10k total students at AU, 1,300 are international students. Clearly, if you look at the numbers, another aspect you want to take into account is… Do you want to go to a large school (29,000 students) or a medium size school (10,000 students)?</p>
<p>My take: If you’re serious about international relations and want to go to a medium sized school that literally is called the “School of International Service”, choose AU. If you’re not so sure about international relations and want to go to school close to home and want to experience college life in California, go to UCSD.</p>