The next steps to the finish line

SAIS Bologna candidates are understandably getting itchy as they await the outcome of their applications to study here in 2012-13.

Here are the next steps in the process for non-U.S. candidates (U.S. candidates, who are handled by the DC Admissions Office, have already been contacted):

- Faculty and staff on the SAIS Bologna Admissions Committee have been interviewing candidates and reviewing the dossiers. Their work is about over. The committee will meet next week to take its admissions decisions. We hope to communicate those decisions to all candidates by Friday, April 6.

Some important details such as financial aid grants, economics or English language requirements and admission to the International Development concentration may have to wait a few more days. We are aware that some candidates will be facing deadlines from other programs, and we want to make sure they have time to take the best decision.

We are planning two events to answer any questions from admitted candidates and to enable them to know us better:

1. an online Q&A session planned for April 25;
2. Open House at SAIS Bologna on May 3&4.

We'll be circulating more details on these events later.

- There are two separate deadlines for admitted non-U.S. candidates to matriculate:

May 9 for candidates offered financial aid;
May 16 for all other candidates

- The summer online Principles of Economics course for any incoming students who have not satisfied both the introductory micro and introductory macro requirements starts on May 23.

- The deadline for registering for the SAIS Bologna pre-term is July 2. The pre-term session will run this year from August 27 to September 19.

The pre-term session in Washington will run from July 30 to August 25. The deadline for registering for the DC session is June 29.

If you are a candidate awaiting the Admissions Committee's decision, why not use the next few days to make  a mental note of what you've learned during the process? It could end up helping you in the future.

Nelson Graves

Meeting our faculty: Prof. Carbonara

Emanuela Carbonara is teaching Microeconomics in pre-term at SAIS Bologna. Like Francesco Moro, Prof. Carbonara has provided us with her version of a Dewar's profile.

Your degrees?
Laurea (MA), Economics, University of Bologna
M.Phil, Economics, University of Oxford
Ph.D, Economics, Bocconi University, Milan
D.Phil, Economics, University of Oxford

Where have you taught?
Oxford University, University of Bologna, University of Amsterdam, University of Haifa

Anything special about SAIS Bologna?
I would say SAIS Bologna is a special place for many reasons. Let me just mention two. We are a real team: teachers and students working together, in a very friendly environment, for a common goal, supported by outstanding administrative staff. Plus the numerous opportunities to meet politicians, entrepreneurs, diplomats, and discuss with them on a peer to peer basis.

Anything special about Bologna?

Walking around in those medieval little streets, a unique experience. The idea that anything within the city center is walking distance. Bologna is not a huge town but it is so active on the cultural side, much better than many bigger cities.

  

Your favorite book?

Too many to recall them all. Recently, António Lobo Antune’s "The Inquisitor’s Manual" but a book that really left a mark is Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s "The Idiot".

Hobby?

Travelling and photography.

A quote

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." - Galileo Galilei

More first impressions: "So many perspectives to learn from"

Last week Jamie Pleydell-Bouverie, one of our 200 incoming students this year, shared his very first impressions of Bologna.

Jamie arrived in the middle of an August heat wave. Little wonder that the scorching temperatures made an impression on him. He also noted his angst over calculus and the friendliness of his bolognesi hosts.

Today Ana Nadal, another incoming student, shares her early thoughts. Ana is only the third student from the Dominican Republic ever to attend SAIS Bologna. She earned a BA in Economics and International Studies from Manhattanville College in 2010, then worked at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, before starting SAIS Bologna.

Ana sees herself working in the private sector after finishing SAIS, then working as an economist with a multilateral institution before one day serving as an ambassador for her country -- and in her spare time writing pieces as an op-ed columnist.

Here are Ana's own words:



It would not be fair to write about my first impressions of SAIS Bologna without first talking about our host city. It did not take me a long time to realize that Bologna is magical. After a 24-hour flight from Santo Domingo to Milan, I ended up taking the slow train to Bologna just to talk to the Italian friends I had made on my way. In Italy you don’t need to go out of your way to meet people and have a good laugh, even if the most you can do is communicate in broken Italian.

There are some cities that just “have something” -- and Bologna is one of them. Writing this would be much easier if I could articulate what makes Bologna special. But you see, this is the thing with great cities: you can’t simply explain why everyone falls in love with them. Maybe it is the great food, the friendly people, the beautiful scenery or the wine that is present at every gathering. Whatever it is, I could not be happier being here.

Ana Nadal

Now let me turn to what has impressed me the most: my peers. I feel very lucky being part of such a brilliant class. On my first night, I shared dinner with a restaurant entrepreneur, a former aide on Capitol Hill, an expert on the Balkans, a hedge fund analyst and a former social civilian consultant for Afghanistan. After listening to what my classmates have done, I feel confident saying that we have it all.

Our class is made up of people from a wide variety of backgrounds, who will use their SAIS education to become leaders in their fields. Since I arrived here, stimulating conversation has invariably accompanied the evening wine. There are so many perspectives to learn from. As one of my roommates would say, “It’s a case of mutual admiration.” You cannot help being in awe of my peers’ thrilling experiences.

Diversity is the key. Having a cappuccino can turn into a political economy class just by listening to what people from so many places have to say. This, coupled with their array of interests, enriches the experience. But as diverse as our backgrounds are, there are three common interests: passion for learning, traveling and food. The latter is one good reason to end up in Bologna.

Last year, when I was applying to SAIS, Bologna alumni would spend hours talking to me about how fascinating their experiences had been. I could not quite understand. Two weeks after arriving in this magical city, I’m finally starting to understand why this was the best year of their lives.

Meeting our faculty: Prof. Moro

Our readers sent us some clear messages in our poll in June. One of them was that you want to know more about our faculty. That makes sense: faculty form a pillar supporting SAIS Bologna.

Without students, we would not exist. Nor would we without faculty.

Prof. Moro

There are five professors teaching economics and international relations this pre-term. The first to raise his hand when asked to be the object of a Dewar's-like profile was Francesco Moro.

(Dewar's profile? Anyone know what that is?)

What course are you teaching?
Theories of International Relations

Your degrees?
Laurea (MA), Politics, University of Florence (2003)
MA in International Relations, SAIS (BC04/DC06)
Ph.D in Political Science, University of Florence (2008)

Where have you taught?
I have been teaching at the University of Florence and at the Institute of Military Aeronautical Sciences of the Italian Air Force.

Anything special about SAIS Bologna?
Well, many memories of the year I spent at the Bologna Center. I guess above all it is the friendly environment that surrounds a challenging academic experience. It's good to follow a very demanding course, if everyone seems very enthusiastic about it. Of course, the prospects of osteria afterwards help...

Your favorite book?
Very tough. Recently, Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall". I might even like very much David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest", if only I could finish it...

Hobby?
Several. In this season, riding my bike around Chianti.

A quote
"Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity."

Students' first impressions

Giacomo, Sarita, Amal and Tessa
at the pre-term opening reception

There are no better ambassadors for SAIS Bologna than our students.

You -- our blog readers -- made it clear in your responses to our survey in June that you want to get to see and hear our students more often.

You don't need me, then, to tell you how students enrolled in pre-term are faring now that they have arrived in Bologna.

In this video, Jonas Brown, Ellen Duwe, Ishan Traxl and Niamh O'Sullivan share some of their first impressions with you.



If you are reading this post via email, you can see the video here.

Nelson Graves

A Welcome to SAIS Bologna

Students from the SAIS Bologna class of 2012 have started pre-term and were welcomed to the Center by Director Kenneth Keller at a ceremony on August 29.

For a peek at the students and the ceremony, check out this video:



If you are receiving this blog post through email, click here to see the video.

Tomorrow: Four incoming students give their first impressions of SAIS Bologna.

Amina Abdiuahab

Heat, angst and excitement -- a student's first impressions

Who said SAIS students are all the same?

Jamie Pleydell-Bouverie studied Theology as an undergraduate. SAIS's curriculum, heavy on economics and international relations, was not his bread and butter at Cambridge University. But he's taken the plunge at SAIS in hopes of one day working for an international organization promoting human rights. He has the United Nations, an NGO or the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in mind -- the kinds of organizations where SAIS students find work.

Jamie Pleydell-Bouverie and
Ilektra Tsakalidou
 on the first day of pre-term

(Speaking of being out of the box, some of our readers will remember that the SAIS Bologna Director, Kenneth Keller, is a chemical engineer by education. He teaches a course in science, technology and international relations here. The SAIS curriculum has evolved in many ways since it was founded in the aftermath of World War Two.)


SAIS accepts students from many different backgrounds and nationalities. We feel the diversity strengthens the experience.

Jamie describes himself as a keen sportsman -- he played rugby and cricket at Cambridge, and also skied -- and likes drama, both as an actor and a director. You think Jamie will have trouble finding a cricket pitch in Bologna? Think again. The Bologna Cricket Club has been going strong since 1983.

Here are some of Jamie's first impressions:



The last email I picked up before boarding my easyJet flight to Bologna -- whilst grumbling about my measly 20kg baggage allowance -- was from Nelson Graves, asking if I could write a short piece on my “first impressions” of Bologna. I therefore arrived with a heightened self-awareness of my immediate thoughts and hoping that I would instantly be struck by some profound reflections of this wonderful city.

Alas, not.

From the moment I stepped off the plane all I could think about was how hot it was. OK, I am English -- 15 degrees is usually pretty good for a barbecue -- but it is seriously hot in Bologna at the moment. Arriving in jeans wasn’t the brightest of ideas.

It does not take me long, however, to be struck by some slightly less prosaic impressions. Firstly, Bologna is a very friendly city. My taxi driver finds my completely inadequate mastery of even the most basic Italian phrases amusing rather than rude. This is definitely a good sign. In fact, all the Bolognesi I have come across so far seem to be warm, cheerful and very welcoming.

Secondly, there is the city itself. Bologna is extraordinarily beautiful, with stunning red-brick towers and buildings, fabulous piazzas and charming winding backstreets. The Bologna panorama, which some of the best student apartments have terrific view of, is a truly spectacular sight.

Apart from perpetual angst about being behind on my calculus DVDs, I have been nothing but excited and exhilarated about being in Bologna for the coming year. And having met a good number of my fellow SAIS students already, I get the sense that this sentiment is pretty universal.

A DVD apology and other odds & ends

It's Friday -- time to tackle housekeeping matters. I'd rather not start with an apology but am compelled to do so.

DVDs
As everyone knows, SAIS provides each incoming student with DVDs to help them brush up on mathematics. One set has four DVDs with pre-calculus learning modules, while the other has three DVDs with calculus modules. The DVDs complement the SAIS Online Math Tutorial, which is accessed through the Blackboard course website, as John Harrington, dean of Academic Affairs in Washington, explained in an email to all incoming students on May 25.

Some incoming students who applied for admission through Bologna -- all of the non-Americans except a handful -- have received the pre-calculus DVDs but not the calculus cassettes. Yesterday we sent out fresh calculus DVDs to a number of students, and we'll do the same with more on Monday when the Bologna Center reopens (it is closed on Fridays all summer, until mid-August).

A humble bow of apology

If you have received one set and not the other, then you are a victim of the DVD mix-up, which is entirely our fault. If you have not done so already, please send an email to admissions@jhubc.it with "Missing DVDs" in the subject line and your your mailing address in the text, stipulating which DVDs you did not receive, and we'll set things right.

If you have received no DVDs whatsoever, please wait until Tuesday, June 21 to see if they arrive. If they have not arrived by then, please send an email to admissions@jhubc.it explaining.

My apologies for this glitch and my thanks to all of you for your patience and understanding.

VISAS
Students coming to SAIS Bologna this autumn from outside the European Union are busy getting their visas. Requirements vary greatly from one Italian diplomatic mission to another. Some consulates or embassies are very familiar with SAIS, others not.

The letters, which all of the non-U.S. incoming students from outside the EU should have received from us and which are written in Italian, are meant to reassure the diplomatic authorities on a few scores:

• That the student has been admitted to the SAIS Bologna Center, which is recognized by the Italian government;
• That the student will have the emergency medical insurance that is required of foreign students;
• That SAIS Bologna is in close contact with the Foreigners Office of the Bologna police (Questura) and will help the student obtain a permesso di soggiorno if needed;
• That SAIS Bologna has an adequate number of apartments at its disposal and that the student in question will be able to rent one of them;

The letter asks that the authorities consider the letter as a substitute for an apartment rental contract.

In most cases, this letter gives the diplomatic authorities what they need to issue a student visa. If for some reason they read the letter and still balk, please get in touch with us.

If you are a citizen of an EU member state, you do not have to obtain a student visa. (Some might take that for granted, but believe me, it was not that way in my day, when even to cross borders between any two European countries, you had to show your passport.)

SURVEY
We are asking readers of this blog for feedback to help us make it better. Many readers would have received the link to the survey via email. The online survey takes a few minutes to fill out and is anonymous.

If you would like to participate in the survey and have not received the link, please send an email to admissions@jhubc.it, with "Blog Survey" in the subject line, and we'll be happy to send the link to you.

Already 58 people have responded to the survey. There is a critical mass of opinion emerging that will help us shape this blog and tailor it to readers' needs. Thank you for your comments, suggestions and criticism.

By the way, in the summer we will share with readers a summary of the results of the survey along with some readership statistics. Transparency is our watchword.

PRE-TERM
A reminder that the deadline for registering for pre-term in Bologna is July 5. For more information, click here. Pre-term starts on August 29 and runs until September 26.

If you are interested in attending pre-term at SAIS Washington (July 25-August 23), the deadline for registering is Friday, June 24 -- one week from today. For more information, click here.

It is not recommended that students in Bologna pre-term take two economics courses or an economics course and a core course. That would end up being a whopping amount of work. Remember, these are full-term courses squeezed into 4 weeks. However, survival Italian would be an option -- and I would recommend that all students who do not know Italian learn some while they are here. It makes the experience more meaningful.

HOUSING
Some incoming students have asked if they can be in touch with Salvatore, our housing consultant, before he starts showing apartments on August 18. Alas, he is not available. It will be a level playing field from August 18, and he will have enough apartments so that there is no reason to panic. As we've already said, finding an apartment is just about the easiest thing of all thanks to Salvatore's help.

ADMISSIONS PACKET
We've also been asked if we will be sending out paper versions of the admissions letter and other admissions materials that admitted students received. I'm afraid not -- we are trying to go almost entirely digital. (Yes, I'd love for the math DVDs to be online, and for us to have a completely digitalized application system -- dreams that may come true next year.)

If you need a paper version, we will leave it to you to print it out your end. If you need an original copy of your admissions letter or some other document in its original form, drop us a line. But even the most bureaucratic of authorities are moving away from paper, although we realize not all.

Next week we'll show you another award-winning piece of academic work and an exam that was taken by students of a popular core course.

Nelson Graves

P.S. I almost forgot. Yes, there is no quiz this week. The feedback on the survey suggests that the weekly quiz has done its part in building readership loyalty but that it's time to think of other approaches. Of course if someone wants to propose a quiz question, we would be delighted to consider it.

Think about your future career -- now

SAIS is first and foremost an academic experience. And career choices are never far from students' minds.

Those of you coming to pre-term in Bologna will have a chance to get on track academically, find an apartment and start bonding with classmates. You will also get a dose of career guidance.

All first-year students are required to attend a professional development mini-course that sets the foundation for any search for internships or jobs. Those coming to pre-term are encouraged to take the course before Fall classes start; others take it early in the first semester.

The course has 5 modules that last a total of about 8 hours. It covers a lot of ground: career research; self-assessment; writing résumés, CVs and cover letters; networking, and interviewing.

The professional development course is run by Career Services and is required of students in both Bologna and Washington.

Career Services provides students with career management skills. The office conducts skills workshops; organizes career discussion panels; plans trips, and provides information on professions, internships and jobs. Some readers may remember earlier posts on internships and jobs, career trips and the types of careers that our graduates choose.

Career Services maintains an online database called SAISWorks that helps put students who are looking for internships or jobs in touch with prospective employers. It lists jobs and internships, allows students to upload CVs and other documents, provides employer profiles and maintains an event calendar. For many students, it is the go-to job site.

Here are some of the internships that SAIS Bologna students, leveraging SAISWorks, have landed for this coming summer:

• Kaiser Associates, South Africa
• Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brussels
• International Trade Centre, Geneva
• Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome
• Stimson Center, Washington, DC
• AJ Kearney (USA), Washington, DC
• UNDP, Fiji
• US China Energy Cooperation Program (ECP), Beijing
• Control Risks, Bombay/New Delhi
• Fundacion ETHOS, Mexico City
• Millennium Challenge Corporation, Mongolia
• JP Morgan, London

Next week we hope to offer a video capturing some students telling us what they will be doing this summer. The variety of experiences is as diverse as the student body.

Nelson Graves

Incoming students: Ignore this at your peril

Now that we have your attention....

Two important points are worth our emphasizing as you prepare to start you studies at SAIS Bologna in the autumn.

1. Every student has to have passed both basic microeconomics and basic macroeconomics BEFORE they can start any course work at SAIS. Many students have already met this requirement. But some have not.

SAIS offers an online course over the summer which allows students to satisfy this requirement if they have not already. However, registration for this course, which starts on May 25, is now closed, so it is no longer an option if you have not already registered.

If you need to take either basic micro or basic macro this summer, you should look for a similar university-level course elsewhere. There are such courses offered online and at universities around the world. If this is the tack you need to take, please be sure to clear the curriculum with Amina Abdiuahab before committing to the course.

Remember: if you have not satisfied this economics requirement by the time classes begin, you will not be able to commence your studies. This is no joke: in the past students have been sent back home at the outset of the academic year for failing to meet this requirement.

The same holds true for pre-term: if you want to take part in pre-term, either in Washington or Bologna, you have to meet the micro/macro requirement beforehand.

One thing that continues to flummox some students: the micro and macro courses that are offered during pre-term are at the intermediary level. In order to take them, a student has to have already satisfied the basic micro and macro requirement.

2. Every student has to show proof of an undergraduate degree before starting any course work.

As hard as it is to believe, this is another requirement that has tripped up some incoming students.

The way to show such proof is to obtain from your undergraduate institution either an official final transcript that confirms you received your degree, or bring your original diploma from that institution.

Please keep in  mind that we do not accept copies of a transcript or of a diploma for this requirement. Please obtain the original.

We hope this nuts-and-bolts blog post will prevent awkward scenes come the autumn. Forewarned is forearmed. (Now who said that?...)

Nelson Graves

Tackling your questions

We are receiving a lot of very pertinent, and in some cases very detailed, questions about SAIS Bologna. This is entirely normal as candidates who have accepted their offer of admission turn their sights to their academic year in this city.

Before I tackle any of the questions, let me point readers to two very useful guides. (And before I do that, let me repeat what some of you have heard me say before: There is no such thing as a stupid question. Only stupid answers.)



- Guidebook for Incoming Students: This booklet, which has been updated for 2011-12, addresses a host of questions, from health insurance to toiletries to housing. It has answers for many of the questions we are hearing.





- Guide to living in Bologna: Although this document has not yet been updated for the next academic year, much of its information is timeless. It touches on English-speaking doctors, places of worship, transport (or transportation, as Americans say), food shopping and metric conversions.



Here are some of the topics that are concerning incoming students the most:

Pre-term: Here is the updated pre-term program for SAIS Bologna. More information can be found here. It is true that most Bologna Center students come to pre-term. It is a good way to build a solid academic foundation before classes begin on October 3. Students who attend have first pick of available apartments, can take advantage of the usually sunny weather in September and start to develop bonds with classmates. But you are not required to come. And students who do not come still have special learning experiences in Bologna.

The choice of pre-term subjects depends entirely on the student. Some want to focus on English or Italian. Others tackle microeconomics or macroeconomics, both of which are taught at the intermediate level in pre-term. This year, two of the core courses -- "Theory of International Relations" and "Comparative National Systems" -- are also being taught.

A word of caution: it is not a good idea to try to bite off more than one can chew in mid-term. These mini-courses pack a full semester's work into four weeks. Survival Italian can be mixed with any of the economics or core courses. But other combinations could prove too time-consuming and are probably to be avoided. If in doubt, drop a note to admissions@jhubc.it.

Core requirements: All SAIS students must past written exams in two of four core courses. The exception is European Studies concentrators: they take three European Studies comprehensive exams.

You can see the syllabi of the core courses and past exams here. Remember, you do not have to take the core course to try your hand at the examination. A student can prepare for a core examination by studying on their own, or by auditing or enrolling for credit in a core course.

One important thing: we do not recommend that students concentrate on taking core or required economics courses in Bologna so they can take higher level courses in Washington. That would prevent you from benefiting fully from SAIS Bologna, which offers a large number of unique courses taught by outstanding faculty. Take advantage of that.

Housing: We had a post about this last month. Our consultant -- you may have seen him in last week's quiz -- has a pocketful of keys and will be available from August 18. Contact him when you get to Bologna, and he can help you find an apartment and even roommates. If you want to look on your own, you are free to do that as well.

Banking: I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of bank options here. Suffice it to say that years ago almost all European banks were nationalized and it could be very cumbersome opening an account. Those days are over. A piece of advice: you will not necessarily want to close down your current bank account before coming to Bologna. It might be useful having that account and even the credit or debit card that you currently have, if you have one.

Other issues drawing attention are visas and health issues. We'll tackle those later this week.

Nelson Graves

Connections

Before I tackle some of the questions we are hearing the most from admitted candidates, a word on connecting.

There are many ways to learn about SAIS. The days of the bulky course catalog are just about over -- although if you ask politely, we might be able to find you one. Most everything has gone digital.

SAIS Bologna and SAIS DC have their own websites. Both SAIS and SAIS Admissions have Facebook pages. The main page is called The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and the Admissions page is Johns Hopkins SAIS Admissions.

You can also find SAIS on Twitter, Linkedin, iTunes and YouTube.

Current SAIS Bologna students have created a Facebook group for admitted candidates. If you would like to join, go here and make a request. It's a great forum for discussing the issues you consider most important.

There is, of course, this blog. And there is old-fashioned email. If you have a question that is not answered elsewhere, please send an email to me, Amina Abdiuahab or SAIS Bologna Admissions.

On to the questions.

Where can I get information on pre-term?

This will give you the rundown on pre-term in Bologna. Did you know that one can participate in pre-term in Washington and then come to Bologna for pre-term here? For information on the Washington pre-term, which runs from July 25 to August 23, click here.

When should I arrive in Bologna?

If you are participating in pre-term, you have to be here in time for pre-term classes, which start on August 29. Salvatore starts helping students find apartments on August 18. My advice would be to get here between August 18 and 25 so that you can find an apartment and start settling in. It will allow you to focus fully on your studies once pre-term begins. It may be a mini-term, but they pack a lot of teaching and study in to those 4 weeks.

If I'm not participating in pre-term, when should I arrive?

Fall semester classes start on October 3. Would I recommend rolling into Bologna on the evening of October 2? Let's put it this way: it's no secret that Salvatore's stable of apartments will dwindle as students settle in during late August and September. September is a wonderful month to be in Europe -- it's generally sunny and dry. The earlier you come, the more likely it is you will have settled down by the time classes start, ensuring a smooth start to your studies. You catch my drift.

What about housing? How hard is it to find an apartment?

Of all of the challenges you will face as a SAIS student -- and there are a few -- housing in Bologna is for most students one of the easiest. If you take advantage of Salvatore's services, he all but tucks you in once you've arrived here. Get in touch with Salvatore after you arrive, and the rest is normally smooth as silk.

Do I have to take the concentration that I marked as my first choice on my application?

No. You are free to choose your concentration after you start your studies. The one exception is International Development. To do that concentration, you have to be admitted as part of the admissions process.

But if you chose another concentration, you are not bound by that selection. Keep in mind that you will have to satisfy the academic requirements of a concentration (either functional or geographic), plus the requirements for international economics. And don't forget the language proficiency requirement. So you can't wait until the last semester to make a choice.

How difficult is it to get a visa?

Most students get their visas after submitting to a non-lethal dose of bureaucracy. There are exceptions because different countries have different hurdles. The key here is to get on it early. Non-U.S. applicants will receive a letter from the SAIS Bologna Admissions after they matriculate; the letter asks authorities from the student's country to issue a 12-month visa starting August 2011. Students who thereafter have difficult obtaining a 12-month visa should contact our office. For more information, click here.

U.S. candidates coordinate through Erin Cameron in the SAIS DC Admissions Office. For more information, click here.

Tomorrow is Open House in Bologna. We hope to post some video of the event tomorrow evening for those who cannot come. We did a post on the DC Open House last month.

Nelson Graves

A roof over your head

Today we'll take up another burning issue: housing.

Where do students live? Does SAIS Bologna have dormitory rooms?

Bologna Center students live in apartments. There are no dormitories at the Center. We've got a great building that was renovated only a few years ago. But we don't ask that you live in the library stacks or on a classroom table.

How do students find apartments?

We have a consultant who has many years of experience helping students find apartments. (Quiz players: maybe a hint for the future.) Starting in mid-August, he will have several dozen apartments to show students. He handles matters with landlords and generally collects the monthly rent for the landlord. That alone is a huge service.

This year the consultant will be available starting on August 18. If you want to find an apartment before that date, you can find some contacts on page 37 of the Guidebook for Incoming Students.

Students who want to take advantage of the housing service should sign up for an appointment immediately upon arriving in Bologna. He will take groups of students on apartment tours twice a day -- once in the morning, a second time in the afternoon -- visiting as many as 80 apartments a day. Try that on your own, without a consultant.

Most students find something in a day or two. As the apartments are fully furnished -- many have sheets and towels, too -- one can often move in right away.

How does one find roommates?

Many students find their roommates when they go on the apartment visits. I did when I found my apartment -- through the same consultant -- in the autumn of 1981. And I've never regretted it. Indeed, most SAIS students live with other SAIS students.

Where are the apartments?

Most are located within a 10-30 minute walk under the Bologna porticos -- and less on a bike, a common form of transport in the city. (My wife and I have shrunken our carbon footprint by getting rid of our car and doing everything on bike, foot, bus or train. Not a problem.) Some apartments are outside the city walls and might require a 5-15 minute bus trip.

How many people generally live together?

Most apartments have two to six single bedrooms with a common kitchen and bathroom(s). All students can have their own bedroom. The average apartment accommodates three students. Some prefer single apartments; they are available, but -- surprise! -- they cost more.

How much do the apartments cost?

Prices will vary according to size, location, quality of furniture and whether the apartment has been recently renovated. If you choose to share an apartment with one to five roommates, your monthly rent will probably be between 450 and 600 euros, including utilities. If you want to live in a single apartment, count on 600-1,000 per month, excluding utilities.

The average student pays about 450 euros in rent. Some less, some more.

What about utilities?

Sometimes they are included in the rent. If not, then you will be asked to pay a monthly deposit of 100 euros toward utility costs, based on projected costs. At the end of the academic year, when the lease expires, exact utility costs will be calculated. If you have paid too much during the year, you will be reimbursed. And you'll owe more if you kept the iron on too long or ran the washing machine too much.

What is in the apartments?

They come furnished. That means they have living room furniture and beds, usually single but sometimes 1-1/2-sized beds. They will also have washing machines, dishes, pots, pans, an iron and blankets. Some apartments may have sheets, towels and/or other linens.

How long do the leases last?

For the academic year. You start paying when you move in and stop when the school year ends. Try getting that kind of deal from a big city landlord.

If I don't come to pre-term, will any apartments be left for me?

If you are not taking a pre-term course and arrive in September, try to arrive one week before orientation to get settled and organized. We will try to have an adequate number of apartments available for all incoming students. But as we say where I come from in Buffalo, New York: First come, first served.

I'm sure I have not answered anywhere near all of the questions on housing. For more information, consult the Guidebook for Incoming Students, pages 36-40.

Nelson Graves

Trying to answer your main questions

Email is a great thing, right?

My inbox and that of Amina are full of questions from admitted candidates. These are important questions, and we need to be clear in our answers. Email is an easy punching bag, but it's also a good way to gauge what the our readers' main concerns are.

(I'm sure you've asked yourself: How did we exist without email? How about existing without the fax -- as I did in my first job after SAIS.)

This week we will try to answer some of the questions we are receiving most frequently from candidates who have been admitted to SAIS Bologna. The beauty of a blog -- even one as modest as ours -- is to be able to address the concerns of a wide community, something email cannot easily do.

So what are the main concerns? They clearly are financial aid, pre-term, housing and visas.

For many candidates, financial aid is the most pressing issue because they have to make ends meet before matriculating. Feel free to read our earlier post on financial aid. In it you'll see links to a number of useful web pages and documents.

You'll also note I make the point in that post that financing a quality education is in many ways an investment, and a sound one. While to some it may seem a leap of faith, it's an investment in your future that will pay off over time.

A last point on financial aid: as we said in a post earlier this month, at the moment we have distributed in awards all of the money available to us for scholarships for candidates who applied through Bologna Admissions. Later in the spring, when we know which admitted candidates will be attending SAIS, if sufficient money is returned to us we may be able to make additional grants, as we have in the past. But it is not something to count on.

We intend to tackle housing in a post later this week. Salvatore, who has helped students find apartments for more than three decades, will not be available until later this week, so we ask readers to wait a few more days. Amina will take up visa issues tomorrow.

PRE-TERM

First, let me try to clear up a matter that causes some confusion -- the economics requirements.

All students need to have taken introductory courses in both microeconomics and macroeconomics BEFORE starting their course work at SAIS. Many candidates will have satisfied this requirement during their undergraduate studies. For those who have not, SAIS offers an online course. For more information on this, click here. Anyone who has not yet met this requirement will be receiving an email from Amina later this week.

All students also have to pass intermediate micro and macro to graduate. In pre-term, which this year starts on August 29 in Bologna, intensive courses in both intermediate micro and macro are offered. Students who take these courses generally want to accelerate their learning.

I should point out that a pre-term is also offered in Washington, from July 25-August 23, so just ahead of Bologna. For more information on the Washington pre-term, click here. Students headed to SAIS Bologna can participate in both the Washington and the Bologna pre-terms, or in either, but neither is required.

The Bologna pre-term has been expanded this year. It includes, as usual, courses in Italian and, for some non-native English speakers, intensive English. This year, SAIS Bologna is also offering two of the four "core" courses: Theories of International Relations and Comparative National Systems. Registration for pre-term is from May 15 to July 5.

On core courses: to graduate, M.A. candidates must pass written exams in two of four core areas (except students in European Studies, who take three European Studies comprehensive exams). In addition to the two core courses taught during pre-term, there are core offerings during the academic year in America and the World since 1945 and Evolution of the International System. All four of the core courses are taught in both Bologna and Washington.

For more information on SAIS's core requirements, click here.

You'll note in this information sheet that some combinations of courses during pre-term are possible but that other combinations are discouraged. This is because pre-term courses are intensive by nature -- basically a term's work in four weeks -- and some of the combinations would discourage all but the most masochistic of students.

I have not begun to provide all of the information on pre-term. The information sheet is much more detailed. I might add, however, that for many students pre-term is a great way to start off their SAIS experience. It allows one to get a solid academic start. A student becomes more familiar with SAIS and Bologna. One can settle down early and get to know roommates.

And September is a wonderful month to be in Bologna.

Tomorrow: Visas

Nelson Graves

Getting a solid start

It's dry, sunny and comfortably warm. You're more likely to take your dinner outside than in. The bolognesi have returned from summer holidays. The city's pulse picks up.

It's pre-term at SAIS Bologna.

The Bologna Center's academic calendar traces that of European universities, which generally start their school years in October. Historically the late start relative to the U.S. system stemmed from the need for students to help with the harvest before beginning class.

Bologna intra muros

But the corridors of SAIS Bologna begin to fill in late August when most incoming students come to Bologna to get some work under their belts before the full Fall term begins.

I don't know the origins of pre-term, but it existed when I attended the Bologna Center 30 years ago. I showed up on a hot August afternoon, had a picnic lunch with my girlfriend in Giardino San Leonardo next to the Center and then went with Salvatore La Ferlita to find what would end up being my home for the next nine months -- an apartment in a tidy brick building just outside one of the city's medieval gates.

(Salvatore, as some of our readers know, still finds apartments for our students. When I returned to the Center this fall after nearly three decades as a foreign correspondent, I could not remember the address of the flat I had lived in. "Via Brevantani," Salvatore quickly remembered.)

Pre-term in Bologna lasts four to five weeks, depending on one's choice of subjects, and offers courses in Italian, intensive English, microeconomics and macroeconomics. Here's a mini-scoop for those hoping to come here for the next academic year: pre-term is tentatively scheduled to start on August 25 and end on September 27. Subject to change.

About four out of five students enroll in at least one of the pre-term courses:

- Microeconomics (intermediate level)
- Macroeconomics (intermediate level)
- Intensive Advanced English
- Intensive Italian
- Survival Italian

First, a word on economics. The pre-term courses are at the intermediate level and not geared to someone who has had no economics. Students with no background in micro- or macro- are required to take and pass the SAIS Online Principles of Economics course or an equivalent course outside of SAIS before taking the intermediate level courses.

Also, the intermediate pre-term economics classes do not carry credit towards the 16 courses required for the M.A. degree, but they satisfy the respective economic theory requirements.

Intensive Advanced English is geared towards those who, despite having a sound basis in the language, want to increase their fluency in writing, listening and speaking.

Intensive Italian provides a foundation for students new to the language. I'm living proof that after some 100 hours, a student can go out and take full advantage of life in Italy. Who knows, you might end up back in Italy years later and still be able to make yourself understood.

Survival Italian is reserved for students taking a pre-term economics course and involves about 40 hours of classes.

For more detailed information on pre-term, click here. Keep in mind that the schedule was for the last pre-term, not the coming one.

Beyond allowing students to get their feet on the ground academically, pre-term is a chance to get to know the other students and to settle down in Bologna. Many students spend weekends exploring Bologna or nearby destinations such as Florence, Venice or Cinque Terre.

In my case, my roommates and I set up house, I had a good laugh in Mili's intensive Italian class while getting a solid grounding in the language and my girlfriend of the time became my fiancée (and later my wife -- she still is).

A lot can happen in pre-term.

Tomorrow: democratic development

Nelson Graves