Interviews: the home stretch

Interviews have started and more are planned: we are in the home stretch of the application process.

By the end of this week, all non-American applicants to SAIS Bologna either will have been interviewed or will know when and where their interview will take place.

If by the end of the week you have not been contacted, please get in touch with us (admissions@jhubc.it) as soon as possible so we can arrange your interview. There is still time.

We are very fortunate to be able to interview all candidates. It allows us to get to know you better and gives you a chance to convince us that SAIS Bologna is right for you. For me, it is one of the best aspects of working at SAIS Bologna.

(Please remember that we interview candidates with non-U.S. passports who want to come to Bologna. U.S. citizens who want to study in Bologna apply through the DC Admissions Office and are not interviewed.)

At the risk of repeating myself because we've written about interviews quite a few times already, here are a few things to remember:

• Use the interview to explain why you want to come to SAIS Bologna and why SAIS Bologna would benefit from having you among its students. Hopefully your motivation to attend goes beyond the program's reputation.
• Find a chance to explain how SAIS fits into your career plans. You may not know what you want to do after graduate school -- don't worry, that is quite common (and was certainly my case when I attended SAIS). But you should be able to discuss why studying international relations and economics makes sense for you and how it might help you live the life you want to lead. How does SAIS Bologna relate to your values?
• Think of questions you have about SAIS that cannot be answered by our website (or this online journal). Surely there are things you would like to know -- you just need to think hard and dig below the surface.

We will finish the interviews in the next three weeks; then the Admissions Committee will meet.

The admissions decisions will be communicated via email and the ApplyYourself online application system in early April. Candidates who are admitted will have until early May to commit themselves; we will communicate the dates for decisions later.

Admitted candidates living near Washington, DC, will be invited to a day-long Open House at SAIS DC in mid-April and also to a reception with SAIS Bologna alumni the same week.

All admitted candidates will be invited to the SAIS Bologna Open House on May 3 & 4.

We are considering holding an online session with admitted students to tackle the many questions that invariably arise. Do you think such a session would be useful?

Nelson Graves