<p>bk4972b, next time please put some effort into your response. Just kidding. You make a excellent case for AU. You almost make me feel better about all the money we are about to spend to send my D there next year. We are full pay but believe me it is far from easy for us to afford. I try to remember that it is a investment and the value proposition it represents when compared to the lesser expensive alternatives, is significant. That said, I would not suggest taking on any significant debt to attend. The burden of loans simply is not worth it.</p>
<p>" Is there a huge difference between the IR programs?"</p>
<p>In a word, yes. Find out how many California students have in-term internships related to IR? Which campuses organize their academic schedule to make that possible and a priority?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/top_ten_international_relations_undergraduate_programs?page=0,9[/url]”>http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/top_ten_international_relations_undergraduate_programs?page=0,9</a></p>
<h1>3 on that list is in California…</h1>
<p>And only #s 5, 9, and 10 are in D.C.
So it does seem possible to have a well-regarded program outside D.C.</p>
<p>(Harvard doesn’t even have an international studies/international service/international affairs major. The link is to the Gov department. Which, BTW, is where the Dean of SIS got his undergrad degree. Then he got his graduate degree from Berkeley.)</p>
<p>So we filed a financial appeal and got an impersonal response back from financial aid, addressed to “Dear Student”, looked like a form…regardless no additional money so we have decided to not to take on the debt…we will have to take on the advantages and opportunities in grad school. Good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>DeskPotato - Wow you’re right. I totally forgot about Stanford likely because I think it’s in a league of its own comparable to Columbia/Harvard IR or Georgetown’s MSFS program. </p>
<p>So… it won’t let me edit my post so let me say UCs and similar colleges in the Claremont college system, USC, etc, within California do not have designated IR schools.</p>