Coming soon: day of reckoning

Candidates next week will learn the outcome of their applications to SAIS.

Some will be offered admission. Others will not. In both cases it's a time of reckoning.

Those who are accepted will need to mull their options before taking a decision. Our Admissions Offices in Bologna and DC stand ready to answer any questions; numerous events will be offered to admitted candidates to help them take the right decisions.

It's an important moment for those who are not offered admission. Reactions can range from rage to denial. In the end, as noted here and here, it can be a learning experience. As some readers will have heard me say, it's not the destination that counts but the getting there. Graduate school can be one step on the way to one's destination, but it need not be the only path.

(Note that MIPP candidates who applied through SAIS DC will hear later in March whether they were admitted or not.)

So what are the next steps for those who are admitted?

First, candidates should read their acceptance letters very carefully. They are chock full of information, including the campus to which a candidate is admitted. This is especially important for those candidates who on their applications indicated they would be willing to start in either Bologna or DC. All admitted candidates will be offered a spot on one campus or the other, and not to both.

Letters to non-U.S. candidates admitted to Bologna will include details of any financial aid and terms of condition for admission. They will also provide links to a great deal of information on the SAIS website.

Here are some key dates on the calendar:

MARCH & APRIL: Admitted candidates will be invited to online information sessions hosted by both SAIS Bologna and SAIS DC. SAIS Dean Vali Nasr will participate in one of the sessions on April 3.

Dean Vali Nasr

APRIL 15: Admitted candidates will be invited to a day-long Open House at SAIS Bologna. This is a chance to get to know current students, faculty and staff, and to visit the city of Bologna. While all admitted candidates are invited, we understand that most cannot come because of the distance.

Admitted candidates who live in the United States will be invited to the SAIS DC Open House on April 10 in Washington. They will also be invited to a reception with SAIS Bologna alumni, hosted by Bologna Center Director Kenneth Keller, set for the evening of April 11 at SAIS DC.

APRIL 20: Deadline for admitted candidates who have been offered financial aid or who did not request aid to accept the admissions offer.

MAY 1: Deadline for admitted candidates who have not been granted aid to accept the admissions offer.

MID-MAY (date to be determined): Deadline for registering for the online Principles of Economics course. Enrolled students must have passed introductory courses in both micro and macro before being able to start their studies at SAIS; the online course runs in the summer and is specially tailored to these students' needs.

LATE MAY: Closed Facebook group formed for incoming class.

AUGUST 12: SAIS Bologna's housing service begins. Many students take advantage of our housing consultant to line up accommodation and roommates.

AUG 21-SEPT 17: Pre-term in Bologna.

SEPT 18-20: Orientation and registration; all students must be present at school by September 18.

SEPT 23: First day of fall semester classes.

Questions? Send an email to admissions@jhubc.it.

Nelson Graves

Dual degrees: Extending your horizons

SAIS has dual-degree agreements that can extend students' academic horizons and prepare them for a host of careers. The agreements allow a student to obtain twin graduate degrees from SAIS and other leading universities in a shorter period of time than would normally be required. Marc Pickering is pursuing dual degrees with the INSEAD business school and SAIS. He arrived in Bologna at mid-term after a year at INSEAD and writes about his transition below.

When I flew in to Bologna in mid-January, a snowstorm was raging and the city was covered in snow. Most students were finishing up their last exams and heading out to exotic destinations for winter break. I gave myself a couple of weeks to discover the city, learn some Italian at a local language school and prepare for waiver exams in economics. From the get-go, the SAIS Bologna community -- students, faculty, administration -- brought me in to the fold.

Marc Pickering

My experience at the Bologna Center has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s been almost two months since I arrived in Bologna, and overall it has been an uplifting experience. I was nervous about starting midway in the academic year and a quarter of the way through the MA program. Many of my MBA peers were beginning new jobs or jumping back into their career following our intense, year-long MBA class. I had set out on a different course: more school.

As far as I know, from my MBA graduating class of 500 people, I am the only one who decided to pursue another degree.

I decided to do an MA after my studies at INSEAD because of my interest in the relationship between the policy world and the business world, and how government impacts business. Pairing a business degree with a policy degree made a lot of sense, and the idea had been in the back of my mind for some time. In the end, SAIS alumni and current SAIS/INSEAD dual degree students helped me decide that the program was right for me. They highlighted the complementary aspects of the degrees and shared their own motivations for pursuing the dual degrees.

The INSEAD/SAIS MA/MBA is a relatively new partnership. While more and more people are taking advantage of it, it’s not as established as some other programs linking U.S. business schools and international relations programs. I believe I am the first MA/MBA to go from INSEAD to the SAIS Bologna Center, which is quite a privilege. I hope other students take up the mantle.

SAIS Bologna shares many similarities with INSEAD: the academic standard is very high, the professors are outstanding, the student body is extremely diverse -- not to mention good socializing. SAIS is a bit more academic, so I’m finding I have my head down in books a lot more than at INSEAD, where there is a lot more emphasis on group work.

Bologna is a beautiful city. I've been living out of two suitcases for a little over a year, in France and then Singapore -- great places to live. But Bologna is in a league of its own: the people, the culture, the history and the food. It’s an extremely rich and authentic place. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with the city, but there you have it. It’s going to be very hard to leave Bologna in May.

I've already had a few fun trips in Europe -- to Brussels (for a SAIS Career Trek), Vienna (for the Austrian Ball, also with SAIS) and to Switzerland for a ski weekend -- as I am acutely aware I have only a few more months to take advantage of the great traveling one can do from Bologna!

I’m now beginning to prepare for my midterms and firming up my plans for a summer internship.

I’d love to help answer questions if any SAIS or INSEAD student wants to talk about the dual-degree program or anything else.

Do you have a question for Marc? You can send it to admissions@jhubc.it or write a comment at the end of this post.