<p>Simple question, it’s for IR/International Relations field.</p>
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<li><p>If you cannot get into one of the top 10 schools in the country should one even bother going? Is it the degree tht matters, or the reputation and alumni network? I can’t gauge hwo important the school you to is. Is it overstated, or something elitist, or is it true?</p></li>
<li><p>In general, or if you do get into a standard/average/regular, or even a top grad school, is it worth taking out a loan to pay it? Does paying for a school like tufts or gw-elliott pay for itself in terms of potential future career advancements?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If I have to pay for it myself, or if anything other than a top school is deemed worthless, perhaps i can reexamine my life, learn a langauge, travel, etc.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Depends on what you mean by “top 10” - if you mean the FP rankings, I’d expand it to include schools within the top 20. They’re in that list for a reason. Both the degree and the reputation/network matter. The school you go to matters insofar as name recognition/connections/what you do while there are concerned; that said, you can still get a good job if you don’t go to SAIS.</p></li>
<li><p>I’d say yes to both, but then again, I don’t really understand why people take out $120k+ in loans for an IR degree. If you’re really averse to the idea of taking out massive loans, some schools have on-campus jobs that include tuition remission as part of the benefits package. There is, of course, an opportunity cost that comes with that, but in general it’s not a bad idea.</p></li>
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<p>in terms of taking out loans, it depends on what school you’re going to and type of IR work you want to do when you leave. if you’re at a top 10/20 program that has a good track record of placing graduates in high-up/well-paying positions, then the loan can be worth it (but i, too, think taking out $100K in loans for an IR degree is a bit insane). if the school doesn’t have the track record, you can certainly still find work after graduation, but the hit to your wallet may not be worth the cost. also, if you plan on going into NGO work or something similar, you won’t make enough money to pay off such huge loans.</p>
<p>it’s really how you look at it… if you go to the prestige universities, than you’re gold for any job interview. you might not even need any job experience, but an intership would be lovely…</p>
<p>if you go to a regular college or university, it’s really what you make of it and what career goals you have, and how you can execute your plan to achieve your goal.</p>
<p>sometimes i see people getting into popular colleges and not know what they are going to do, or sometimes the work is really hard, so i dont think colleges matter. you can get quality education anywhere</p>
<p>you can pick a college based on what you feel would be a good and comfortable place to live (and party, but that wont be good for studies :x).</p>
<p>if you’re having these questions, then you’re not ready for graduate school just yet. You can think about it and keep working and saving money until you’re ready. For IR, I do imagine that work experience and perhaps some language work do matter in obtaining admissions to terrific IR schools with excellent alumni networks.</p>
<p>If you plan to work for the US government, your school/connections/etc aren’t going to do you any good in getting that first job. Outside of that it may be a different story, but I wouldn’t discount going to a “lesser” school to save money if you have some shining things on your resume.</p>