New application deadline: get started

SAIS Bologna's new application deadline is January 7, 2013. It may appear to be a long way away. In some respects it is. Winter seems a lifetime away now that it's full summer. However, in "application terms" the time between now and the deadline is not as extended as you might think.

While the application process is fairly straightforward, it could take you some time to gather all the required documents together.

Before you start your application be sure you understand our program. There are several ways in which you can get information. There is our website, this journal and of course Nelson and me in the Admissions Office. You can reach us by email, Skype (jhubc.admissions), on the more traditional telephone +39 051 29 17 811 (ask to speak to Admissions) and at number 11 of Via Belmeloro.

In the fall we'll hold a few recruiting events. We'll be at the APSIA fairs, we'll hold information sessions, online and in person, and there will be an Open Day in early December. More activities are in the works --we'll tell you more later in the summer.

How can you get started with your application? 

If you're a non-native English speaker (click here for the definition), you can start by looking into TOEFL, IELTS and the Cambridge Proficiency in English scores. These tests are not difficult for those whose English language skills are strong. Nonetheless, they require some preparation. Knowing how these tests are structured will help you get a good score.

Whether or not English is your mother-tongue, we recommend you look into standardized tests, such as the GRE and the GMAT. They're not a requirement for application, but a good score can help your candidacy.

Start thinking about your statement of purpose and analytical essay. Jot down some ideas. Your reasons for applying and your topic of interest may change in the meantime, but this is a useful exercise because you start thinking about why SAIS is right for you and you are right for SAIS. Click here to view past posts on the statement of purpose and here for the analytical essay.

As you discover why you want to come to SAIS, be sure to keep your referees in the loop. If you tell them why you're applying, it will be easier for them to write a letter supporting you. Here is an expert's view on letters of reference.

Last but by no means least, start looking at how your finances might work out. You know you can apply for financial help from SAIS Bologna. However, you should look into alternative sources to be sure you'll have sufficient funds to attend our program. Some institutions that provide funding have early deadlines. Keep on top of the game to seize every opportunity available.

Have any questions? You know where to find us.


Amina Abdiuahab

Now I have the tools to find the answers

Today we turn the podium over the Edna Kallon. Edna, from Sierra Leone, was at SAIS Bologna in 2010-11 and graduated in Washington last May. Prior to starting her SAIS experience she worked for three years in a best-practices research firm in the United States, at Save the Children Sweden-Denmark in Bangladesh and at the United Nations for Iraq. 

We asked Edna to tell us about her SAIS experience, the challenges and what’s waiting for her now that she’s completed her degree. 

I vividly remember arriving at the door of SAIS Bologna two years ago.

Edna at Commencement in Bologna

My decision to go back to school was a result of sitting in several meetings thinking to myself: “I need to get further education because I don’t understand what’s being talked about, the terms being used and some things definitely do not sound right or applicable when looking at a country like Iraq!”

It was a moment of sobering self-awareness; the moment when I realized I was not as knowledgeable as I thought I was. To be honest, in the meetings with all those people, I felt “dumb.” Luckily for me, I strongly believe in change and that I can learn and apply my way to a needed change.

When I started at SAIS I was challenged to my core academically and psychologically. I had to get the hang of how the concept of supply and demand can be applied to almost anything. In addition, I was trying to get comfortable with economists’ tendency of simplifying everything.

My academic background is psychology and art history and my job with the UN was more practical than conceptual. Hence, I accepted and was very comfortable with complexity.

At SAIS, I learned to take a complex issue, simplify it to its bare bones and then start adding in the complexity again. It’s quite a fascinating way of understanding why things work the way they do and the various factors that come into play. I call the two years at SAIS “understanding systems”, be it political, economics, business or social. I really liked the “no-nonsense” teachers taught me.

My micro and macro-economics teacher, prof. Akin, told me one day that if I need to sit in the library for hours reviewing a concept until I got it right, to do so. My development cooperation teacher, prof. Hartmann, looked me right in the eyes and told me that I was having some trouble with some economic concepts after reading a paper I wrote for the class. My war and conflict resolution in Africa teacher, prof. Kühne, following a bad presentation, warned the class that the following presentations had to be significantly better.

I single out these three teachers because they believed and told me that learning is a personal experience that I had to embrace with full commitment, that good constructive criticism is necessary to improve and that presentations have to be worth the time of people listening to them. These are lessons I carry with me in a lot that I will be doing in life.

I entered into SAIS starting with Bologna and came out with what I wanted and a whole lot more. That state of wanting to know did not disappear but now I have the tools to find the answers.

I realized that I love to know whether what people and organizations are saying and doing are relevant or make sense.

With this realization in mind, I started working with the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank Group following graduation.

SAIS did not change me but made me more convinced and aware of my desire to know whether what's being said and done matter and makes sense. I strive to be really good at what I do and hold organizations accountable: SAIS has definitely contributed!

Edna


Amina Abdiuahab