Hello everyone!
I have a dilemma. To make a long story short, I’ve been admitted to both Johns Hopkins University - SAIS (Bologna campus) and Josef Korbel at the University of Denver.
SAIS has always been my dream school (so I’d LOVE to go there) but unfortunately I won’t receive any financial aid. I’m not a US citizen so I can’t get any federal assistance. This means that I will have to take out a massive loan to afford that school.
On the other hand, I will be able to attend Josef Korbel tuition-free (as a visiting student), and actually study in the States next year. I’m pretty conflicted here.
Should I go where it’s cheaper, or basically go into debt to attend a more prestigious school? Any thoughts/advice? Thanks.
You’re talking about a graduate degree program, right?
Masters or PhD?
The forum you’re in focuses on college (undergraduate) admissions and search.
Generally, strong PhD programs in the USA are fully funded. The university pays tuition plus a stipend for living expenses. Masters degree costs in the USA sometimes are covered by employers.
I don’t know what kind of return on investment you expect from one of these programs. For all I know, European employers are busting down the doors to hire SAIS graduates at phenomenal salary rates. If that is not the case, I’d be inclined to take the Denver deal. Korbel seems to be a well respected school for IR. The Colorado Rocky Mountain front range is a nice enough place to live (with dry sunny weather and plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation) … although Denver might be a big adjustment if you’re used to life in Europe.
Oh, I haven’t realized I posted in the undergraduate section. Is there a way to move it the graduate section?
Yes, I’m talking about a graduate program. Masters to be exact.
I’ve been to Denver before and I liked it, so I don’t think the adjustment there will be a challenge. Besides the fact that I won’t be paying for tuition, Denver is very tempting because I will get the full experience of studying overseas. That’s something I won’t be able to get at SAIS. What kind of reputation does the U of Denver have? I honestly don’t know much about it.
The Rocky Mountain West has very few outstanding private colleges and universities. UD would be one of the best for hundreds of miles around. It’s probably the best private research university in Colorado, and one of the best in CO or any of the immediately surrounding states. It wouldn’t generally be recognized among the top ~50 national universities in the USA, but then, IR may be its strongest program.
Foreign Policy magazine regularly ranks IR programs. In 2014 it ranked UD #11 among Master’s degree programs (between Stanford and UChicago). That’s pretty high, considering the competition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Ivory_Tower
Thank you 
I have until May to make a decision, so I guess I’ll take my time and think about this. Thank you for the info.
The SAIS program at Johns Hopkins is very well regarded among people in the international field. SAIS is rated #2 by Foreign Policy. I know several SAIS graduates and they are gainfully employed–one at the IMF and another at the World Bank. The folks I know were at the DC campus of SAIS. Are students from the Bologna campus able to take courses at the DC campus? I know that students at the DC campus go to Bologna. My son-in-law graduated from SAIS and felt it was a positive educational experience. He’s now in a doctoral program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
BTW–you are in the right place–while the College Confidential website focuses primarily on undergraduate admissions and selection issues, this particular forum is on graduate school–it’s definitely not as active as the undergraduate forums.
Yes, students who start at the Bologna campus usually spend their second year in DC.
My situation is a little different because, after spending one year at the Bologna campus, I will get the MA in International Affairs from SAIS. This is because I’ve applied to a double-degree program.
I’m a first-year graduate student now. If I spend my second year at SAIS, I’ll get a MA from SAIS along with a MA from my home university. So I won’t get to study at their DC campus. Do you think that a degree from SAIS Bologna will be viewed differently than a degree from SAIS DC?
On the other hand, I won’t get a degree from the University of Denver, as I will study there as an exchange student. I’ll get to take their course, network, attend their events, etc. but I’ll be enrolling in a non-degree exchange program.
(I deleted your other thread; it had no replies, and duplicated this one.)
Generally, I say “follow the money.” However, your situation is different because you are doing a special program; you will only be spending one year at JHU’s Bologna campus and will get an MA from there. I don’t know exactly how much JHU’s tuition is, but I’m betting that it’s around $40K and if you have to borrow for living expenses, that’s probably an extra $20K. So that’s $60K in debt for one year. I don’t think that’s too bad, especially since I think master’s degree holders in IR can expect to make around that much in their early career. That is assuming that you don’t have mega-debt from undergrad or from your current MA program, though. I think an MA from SAIS might open a lot of doors, too.
The UD program is simply an exchange program, so you don’t get an extra MA. However, you DO get the study abroad/exchange experience, which might be what you’re really going for. Besides, it’s free to you.
So I suppose it really depends on what’s most important to you. Do you want the MA from SAIS to open some doors in IR? Or do you want to experience a year-long study abroad in Denver?
Thanks for your response and for deleting the other thread.
JHU’s tuition is around 30K Euros (at least for their Bologna campus). Luckily, I won’t have to pay for living expenses because I am a Bologna native. So in case I’ll have to take out a loan, I will just need it to cover tuition.
That’s a tough decision to make. Spending a year overseas at the U of Denver sounds like a unique life experience. But, what’s really drawing me into going to SAIS is the fact that I’ll get an American Masters degree. Since I plan on working abroad after graduation, an American degree itself might just be what I need. I’m not sure how an Italian Masters degree is viewed, let’s say, in the United States. Do you know anything about that?
Not in IR, where people might be more familiar with international master’s. In my field, there are only a handful of overseas universities where the graduate degree is regarded as highly as a top American graduate degree; those universities are primarily in the UK, and there aren’t any that I can think of in Italy. I would think that if you want to work in the U.S. after graduation, a SAIS degree will probably get you a leg up especially if you also did your undergrad it Italy (or Europe).
So it sounds like the SAIS degree may have the potential to get you your long-term goals more easily. And if you want to work abroad anyway, then the year at UDenver loses it’s appeal - unless Denver has a lot of IR agencies that you can network your way into, which I’m betting it doesn’t.
Both good choices - I’d go with JHU. But Denver is great too.
I’d go with SAIS/JHU if your goal is to work in IR. It’s a top school in that field and degree from there can offer you many opportunities.
Hello everyone! Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.
A little update - SAIS is granting me a deferral, so I can still go to the U of Denver and enroll at SAIS the year after (along with applying for financial aid). Also, after coming back from Denver, I plan on transferring those credits towards my Italian degree and graduate before starting my year at SAIS. That way, I will switch to the regular 2-years MA program (instead of the double-degree program I originally applied to) and spend the first year at the Bologna Center and the second year at the DC campus.
I believe this is the best decision- I will get the best from both programs (Denver & SAIS) and get a full degree from Hopkins. The double-degree program I applied to didn’t require to choose a concentration and was honestly too research-oriented for me, while the 2-years MA allows me to concentrate on a specific geographical area or topic I’m passionate about.
