What's challenging about applying to SAIS Bologna?

We have the results of our latest poll. But first a few reminders.

• If you are having difficulties uploading documents to the online application system, please send us an email at admissions@jhubc.it and we'll help you out.
• The online system will not shut down at midnight February 1. But if you are not able to complete your application by midnight your time, please send us an email at admissions@jhubc.it explaining.
• Our mailing address for transcripts and other hard copies is:

                 Johns Hopkins SAIS Bologna Center
                 via Belmeloro, 11
                 40126 Bologna
                 Italy

• Financial aid forms with supporting documents should be emailed to finaidbologna@collaborate.johnshopkins.edu.

Now for the results of the poll. The question was: What have you found most challenging in applying to SAIS Bologna?

Here is the breakdown of answers:

Statement of purpose	27%
Analytical essay	25%
Managing the financial commitment	22%
Lining up referees to write letters of recommendation	9%
Comparing SAIS Bologna to other schools	5%
English-language requirement	5%
Understanding the application process	3%
Understanding the academic requirements	3%
Dealing with the Admissions team	2%

We are not surprised the statement of purpose and the analytical essay are the biggest challenges. They form a core section of any candidacy, and applicants do well to pay close attention to these elements.

We hope our posts on the analytical essay and the statement of purpose have been helpful. They have been far and away the most popular posts since we launched this journal 14 months ago.

Managing the financial commitment is a key challenge, too. This is the way it should be. As we have written before here, graduate school is a major investment for anyone, and it's important to weigh the costs and the benefits, both of which can be significant. We think the benefits of a SAIS education are very significant, and our more than 6,500 alumni around the world would attest to that.

Finally, we are certainly glad that the Admissions team did not pose the biggest challenge!

Nelson Graves

Poll: What have you found most challenging about applying?

While many of you are in the home stretch of your application, we thought it would be a good time to take your pulse.

This morning we have posted a poll asking: "What have you found most challenging in applying to SAIS Bologna?"

Here are the possible answers:

- Analytical essay
- Comparing SAIS Bologna to other schools
- Statement of purpose
- Managing the financial commitment
- Dealing with the Admissions team
- Understanding the application process
- Understanding the academic requirements
- Lining up referees to write letters of reference
- English-language requirement

You can choose more than one answer. The poll is entirely anonymous. To vote, simply tick a box or boxes in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

It should take only a few seconds. An excuse to take a time-out from your application.

Nelson Graves

FAQs: the weeks ahead for applicants to SAIS Bologna

February 1: Candidates who want to study at SAIS Bologna in the 2012-13 academic year and who do not have U.S. citizenship face that looming deadline to apply.

No wonder then that we are receiving many questions about our procedures and what happens after a dossier is submitted. To make things simple we've identified the most common questions, and we think all candidates will benefit from seeing our answers.

Before we dive into the FAQs, we'd like to remind you that on Monday, January 16 at noon Italian time (1100 GMT) we'll hold our final online information session before the application deadline. Please send us a note at admissions@jhubc.it if you'd like to participate in the session.

Q: I have gathered my application documents. Where should I send them?
A: If you are a non-U.S. citizen and you wish to spend your first year at SAIS Bologna, please send any hard copy material to:

Johns Hopkins SAIS Bologna Center 
via Belmeloro, 11
40126 Bologna
Italy 

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have chosen BO/DC (U.S. citizen or permanent resident) as their campus choice should mail hard copy materials to the SAIS DC Admissions Office.

Q: I mailed my materials to the SAIS Bologna Admissions Office. When will you acknowledge receipt of my documents? 
A: We are starting to review the application packages. It's difficult for us to email each one of you to confirm your documents have arrived. You'll hear from us if parts of your application are missing.

Q: Am I required to convert my overall undergraduate grade into a GPA?
A: No. You are not expected to provide us with a grade point average of your undergraduate degree if you studied in a country that does not use GPAs. But we do ask that you provide a guide to your university's grading system. Sometimes such a guide is on the back of your transcript. If it is not, you can click on this link to select the country where you studied and a guide to your country's grading system.

Q: The grading system for the country I studied in isn't available on the website you have provided. 
A: In this case, please ask the Registrar's Office of your university to give a guide to their grading system.

Q: I feel the grading scale provided on the website is somewhat incorrect.
A: If you feel your grades aren't being translated properly, please ask your university's Registrar's Office to provide a more comprehensive guide.

Q: Could you give some tips on the statement of purpose?
A: Sure. Please take a look at this post we published some weeks ago. You'll find tips from current students on how they wrote their statement of aims.

Q: Could you give some tips on the analytical essay. 
A: No problem -- here's another post. You'll find some words of advice from a student and the essay she submitted in the past.

Q: Can I go over the word limit in the statement of aims or the analytical essay?
A: Part of the challenge is to convey your thoughts and views while adhering to the word limit. It's best that you stick to the 600-word guideline. If you exceed the limit, cut the essay back.

Q: Should I choose a concentration now? What happens if I change my mind? 
A: In the application form we ask you to indicate a concentration that you'd be interested in pursuing. We also ask you to indicate your second choice. These are not binding. You'll have a chance to change your mind and switch to a different concentration once you get here.

The only concentration that is capped is International Development (IDEV), and it has a separate selection process. Preference is given to students who come from developing countries or have lived or worked in a developing country.

If you are interested in IDEV, you should indicate it as your first concentration choice. It tends to be very popular, and students who indicate it as a second choice are generally not considered for it.

Q: When will I be interviewed?
A: Interviews will be held in February and March. We will announce dates and locations shortly after the deadline.

Q: How will I be interviewed?  
A: You'll be able to interview in person, on the phone or via Skype. There's no advantage or disadvantage in the format.

Q: How is the interview conducted?
A: Last year we published a post in which we asked Prof. Erik Jones to tell us what an applicant should expect of an interview. You can watch the video here.

Q: What happens after the interview?
A: Your dossier will be evaluted by the Admissions Committee. The Committee's decisions, including financial aid packages, will be communicated to candidates in early April.

If you feel there's something we left out, please post a comment or send us an email at admissions@jhubc.it. We'll be happy to address your questions.

Amina Abdiuahab

All you needed to know about applying to SAIS Bologna

One of our main duties is to spell out clearly how to complete an application for admission to SAIS Bologna.

We have written a series of posts in the past year on various components of the application. Many of our readers have seen these. Today I'd like to pull the various strands together into one post to make it easy for prospective candidates to find what they need.

Before we list the topics and provide links to them, a word on one important aspect of the application.

All applicants to SAIS -- whether they want to study in Bologna, Washington or Nanjing -- use the same online application form. It can be reached by clicking here.

At one point in the application, candidates are asked which campus they would prefer to start at. Non-U.S. nationals who want to start the M.A. program in Bologna should click this option:

Likewise, candidates for the MIPP, Bologna Diploma or MAIA degree should click on the Bologna option and indicate whether or not they are U.S. citizens.

Note: U.S. citizens who have another nationality, ie those with dual nationality, can choose either US. citizen or non-U.S. citizen. Keep in mind that U.S. and non-U.S. applicants to SAIS Bologna face different application procedures: different deadlines, different fees and a different approach to the GRE/GMAT standardized tests.

If anyone has any questions about which office will handle their application, what deadline they face or what they need to submit, drop an email to admissions@jhubc.it.

Now, links to posts on components of an application:

the CV
the statement of purpose
the analytical essay
letters of recommendation
English proficiency (and also here)
GREs/GMATs (and also here)

Again, any questions? Write to admissions@jhubc.it.

Nelson Graves

The Analytical Essay

Applicants to SAIS are asked to submit an analytical essay as part of their dossier.

I can hear our sharpest readers ask: "But did you require that last year?" The answer: SAIS DC did but SAIS Bologna did not.

This year Bologna and DC have aligned many requirements as part of a single, online application. All M.A. applicants are asked to submit an essay that discusses "an issue of national or international importance and its concern to you." The length limit is 600 words.

This kind of essay is as new to Bologna Admissions as it is to our applicants. Who better to tell us how to do it than a current student who has gone through the experience?

Sarah Ralston is a first-year M.A. student at SAIS DC. Before I let you have a glance at the essay that she submitted, consider some of the things she did before she started SAIS:

Sarah Ralston

After she graduated from university (Johns Hopkins), she worked for the U.N. Development Fund for Women in Mexico City. Then, from Washington she helped to support an Iraqi refugee family of three as they navigated the complexities of the U.S. social welfare system. She then started work for the U.S. Treasury Department, first in the International Affairs Department, then in the Financial Management Service.

In the analytical essay that she submitted as part of her application, she discussed an aspect of her work at Treasury. You might admire her grasp of the subject matter. Note also how she mixes her personal experience with the subject.

She packs a lot of information into a mere 572 words. If you're having trouble keeping to 600, get out the editorial scalpel or start over.

Recently we asked Irena Peresa and Sebastian Alexander Ernst to write about the statement of purpose. Here is what Sarah told us when we asked her about the analytical essay:

When it came time for me to write the analytical essay for my SAIS application, I had difficulty narrowing down potential topics. There was no shortage of timely and interesting subjects in the field of international relations to choose from. But I wanted to identify a policy-relevant issue that wouldn’t be too far removed from the themes contained elsewhere in my application.

After much deliberation, I committed to writing about the use of financial inclusion as a tool for development. Aware of the word limit, I took a broad approach to the topic. As is often the case for me, getting the first draft down on paper was the hardest part of the process. I went through several revisions and asked for feedback from two different readers, mostly to ensure that my points were clearly stated without jargon or superfluous detail.

Eventually, my essay became a brief policy summary about the pros and cons of expanding financial inclusion to achieve broader economic development. I also tried to convey to the admissions committee why I thought the issue of financial inclusion was relevant for today’s policy makers, and how the topic related to my own interests and experiences.

When it comes to picking your topic, rest assured that it’s hard to go wrong. If you’re looking for inspiration, try flipping through a recent issue of The Economist.

Don’t feel pressured to reach any earth shattering conclusions. You don’t need to write a 600-word masterpiece. You’re simply using the essay to show the admissions committee that you’re comfortable writing about issues in international affairs. Pick a topic that’s meaningful for you, and if you manage to help the reader understand your connection to the issue, even better.

Nelson Graves