Grad Schools Schmad Schools

Well, you all may or may not be aware that (quite on a whim) I applied to 4 grad schools back in January. I have officially heard back from all of them, and although I didn't apply to nearly as many as some of you out there (11, Steve?), I figured I'd go ahead and post the results as well so y'all can know what I'm up to. All of the programs were International Affairs Somethingorother.

I was accepted at American University and George Washington University (w/ a scholarship!).

And...I was waitlisted at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University.

I accepted GW's offer and decided to defer until Fall 2009 (to give me another year to earn some dinero). When all of a sudden......JH took me off their waitlist and accepted me! And gave me a week to decide what to do! The fact that I didn't get their info packet until the day before the deadline didn't impress me either :)

All things considered, I decided to stick with GW instead of going with the more prestigious JH. Crazy? JH would be two years of insanely intense schooling and would cost me, well, ick...too much -- tuition-wise and burning-myself-out-wise. After talking with some mentors/professors, I figure the prestige would only be worth it if I want to get a PhD and teach. GW has a good enough name for a future public servant, I can cover a good chunk of the tuition with my scholarship and savings, and I can go part time while working or do some distance learning.....it's much more flexible.

Them's my thoughts. Thanks for listening. It feels good to write it all down......I'm feeling better about my decision every minute! Glad that stress is over (unless Georgetown decides to grant me admission in late August. Ay. I think my head would explode).