Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If kid is interested in international studies (for undergrad), how would you compare Johns Hopkins vs Georgetown school of foreign service? In terms of the student experience, prestige, internship opportunities, social life, sense of community, etc? Would appreciate any feedback on these two programs/schools.

Student experience is what the student makes of it.
Prestige = Hopkins in every way
Internships = tied
Social Life = tied - up to the student - both city based
Sense of Community= Hopkins is much more school spirited and many more (non political) student activities.
I would pick Hopkins. The school is amazing and your kid will have a certified path to success.

Georgetown has a great community feel and the area around the universities dramatically favors Georgetown. Also easier to do internships during the semesters in DC at think tanks and on the Hill.

Anonymous wrote:You apply to the schools and THEY determine which ones you can choose from not the other way around.

There is the question of whether to apply ED to Hopkins.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cohort at Hopkins will be small. It’s a dominantly STEM school with strong but relatively small humanities/social sci programs. That will feel different and also mean the pool of future connections/network is smaller.

Hopkins: 78 IR majors/yr
GT: 350

First of all, it’s GU; GT is Georgia Tech.

Second, your 350 number reflects all of SFS. There are several majors, spanning from international health to international politics. So it’s wrong to just call them “IR majors.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SAIS grad isn’t that useful after Georgetown SFS undergrad, which in itself is pretty much a Master’s degree.

Except for the jobs in this space that require an actual master’s, which are many.

I’ve been in the space for 15 years. I did the MA portion of a political science PhD program. I would suggest something that approximates that coursework (there are terminal MAs attached to those departments) as opposed to more security studies classes, which will be repetitive.

Is it possible that the student would change their mind about majors? If all the other factors are really equal for your kid, then go with the school with the overall stronger academic reputation.

Anonymous wrote:The cohort at Hopkins will be small. It’s a dominantly STEM school with strong but relatively small humanities/social sci programs. That will feel different and also mean the pool of future connections/network is smaller.

Hopkins: 78 IR majors/yr
GT: 350

The cohort at Hopkins will be small. It’s a dominantly STEM school with strong but relatively small humanities/social sci programs. That will feel different and also mean the pool of future connections/network is smaller.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If kid is interested in international studies (for undergrad), how would you compare Johns Hopkins vs Georgetown school of foreign service? In terms of the student experience, prestige, internship opportunities, social life, sense of community, etc? Would appreciate any feedback on these two programs/schools.

Student experience is what the student makes of it.
Prestige = Hopkins in every way
Internships = tied
Social Life = tied - up to the student - both city based
Sense of Community= Hopkins is much more school spirited and many more (non political) student activities.
I would pick Hopkins. The school is amazing and your kid will have a certified path to success.

In the IR world Hopkins is not more prestigious than Georgetown. They are both incredibly strong but Georgetown is often considered to have the best IR program around.

I'm one of the PPs who said Georgetown a million times over. I'm not a huge fan of the actual education at SAIS (and full disclosure, I taught there as an adjunct.) It's a great credential and network, but for a thorough IR undergrad education, Georgetown is the better school.

However the ED factor might sway me. Hopkins itself is a great school and I'm personally convinced that using ED strategically to lock down a good school is the way to go for undergrad admissions. I understand that the university leadership is trying to use the new DC campus (which they don't call a campus but is intended to function as such) to anchor the entire school - not just SAIS and the law school which have always been in DC - more fully in the world of Washington, which could be good for undergrad opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:If kid is interested in international studies (for undergrad), how would you compare Johns Hopkins vs Georgetown school of foreign service? In terms of the student experience, prestige, internship opportunities, social life, sense of community, etc? Would appreciate any feedback on these two programs/schools.

Student experience is what the student makes of it.
Prestige = Hopkins in every way
Internships = tied
Social Life = tied - up to the student - both city based
Sense of Community= Hopkins is much more school spirited and many more (non political) student activities.
I would pick Hopkins. The school is amazing and your kid will have a certified path to success.

Anonymous wrote:SAIS grad isn’t that useful after Georgetown SFS undergrad, which in itself is pretty much a Master’s degree.

Except for the jobs in this space that require an actual master’s, which are many.

SAIS grad isn’t that useful after Georgetown SFS undergrad, which in itself is pretty much a Master’s degree.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. My question is driven by possible option of ed2 to Hopkins. Or maybe they just wait for rd georgetown decision? Kid prefers georgetown (but admittedly we know less about hopkins). I was pondering the potential benefit of hopkins ed2 acceptance rates and if I should encourage my kid to lean into that opportunity if program and community is strong.

They are both strong. Agree with others though that if forced to pick, I would say Georgetown undergrad and SAIS grad.

Georgetown hands down. The DC connections can’t be beat.

You apply to the schools and THEY determine which ones you can choose from not the other way around.