economixed_policy

Thank you CakeTea for your advice and suggestions - much appreciated. I actually don't have savings (although I should given my salary) due to wider financial circumstances. I take your point about working: I have applied for a community resident position and am waiting to hear back from that. I am conscious about how difficult it is to get a free ride at the masters level and which is why I really don't want to let this go because I know I might regret it. I also know if I defer now in the hope of saving some money I probably won't be offered the same level of funding (they've said they can't guarantee funding and I would be reconsidered). I have asked my cosigner to see what banks are willing to offer me in loans. I think if all that works out then I might go ahead with it. Thanks again!

Hi I'm considering Chicago Harris' offer for full tuition both years for the MPP. I am an international student with over 6 years of work experience. I'd need to take bank loans of 25k/ year to finance living costs and health insurance etc (I don't have a stipend). That means 50k in debt for the two years. Once I arrange a U.S. cosigner, I'm still left wondering if that kind of debt is worth taking given that if I don't get a job / sponsorship to work in the US (I'm interested in international organisations as a first choice or consulting second) then I would have to return to my home country where salaries would make servicing this debt in USD pretty challenging. I'm not even sure - despite looking at bank offerings - how much the monthly payment would be, but I imagine at least $500 / month. Any thoughts if this is worth doing? I have a Masters in Economics from a top UK school and am interested in the Harris MPP to further develop my quant skills that I think would make me competitive for WB / international deveopment type positions in DC or elsewhere in the world. Any thoughts welcome. Thanks!

I received it as an update to my offer of admission. I received an email to log in to my account to view the merit based award. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Yes I am but no idea when

I just logged in to check after I saw your post. Yes, mine has also changed to 21 April.

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions. Yes, when I set out applying HKS was my top choice and still would be if I was offered any funding to make it work. I think HKS deserves a premium but I don't think a 150k one is something I can afford. I don't have a family but I'd rather not get that deep in to debt in USD which would probably take me a very long time to repay. I suppose in a world where practicalities don't matter I would choose HKS. But the reality is they do. Getting into HKS has been an achievement and I'm proud of it. But im not sure if drowning in debt would make me happier. So essentially I'm looking for a balance between a quality education, a strong brand, minimise debt. Given my offers, that to me sounds like Chicago.

Thank you everyone for your advice and counsel. I read each comment and I think I can safely say that each had an impact on my thinking and on decision making. After having spoken to people in and out of programs, I think I'm going to go with Chicago Harris. Yes it won't have access to DC networking but I think in the longer-term the rigour of quant training and the University's reputation both within the US and globally will provide a strong foundation to build on. Georgetown offered much of the same, but on the balance (given that I will have to borrow to fund any living costs) it doesn't make sense to choose Georgetown over Chicago when I have to pay more for the former. @paxi I would have loved to go to HKS but I don't expect the funding situation to be any better next year - unless I win the lottery! So I don't see much point in deferring and delaying everything by a year. Thank you everyone for weighing in on this and good luck with your own decisions.

Now Georgetown has upped their offer to $30k, while Chicago's is full tuition ($44k). Of course HKS was my first choice but at a full cost of $150k (including living health etc costs) it seems totally unaffordable. I'm not American, but I'm interested in part time work/internships with an international organisation. I just thought being in DC would give an edge over being in Chicago. But yes I am conscious the Chicago brand/training is stronger.

Thank you that is a very useful perspective; and, in fact, echoed what a university professor just said to me as well about Chicago being well placed to get a policy job in DC. I guess the biggest draw for Georgetown was the DC location. But if the program is not well known on a global scale that might be a short term way of looking at this as ultimately id like my degree to be seen favourably globally. I'll try ringing HKS on Monday if you think that would be helpful - although I'm not too optimistic on it. Thank you very much to you and others who commented! I truly appreciate it.

Thank you. To be more specific, while Chicago is full tuition, I'd still need to borrow for living, health etc costs. Under my current funding situation this would mean total borrowing over two years of: 1) Chicago $50k 2) Georgetown $80k So I take it you're saying that the $30k in additional debt (if I can manage it after finding a US cosigner) would be worth it for being in DC?

Im having a hard time deciding between Chicago Harris with full tuition and Georgetown McCourt with $30k. Anyone who can shed some comparative light on the programs and the opportunities they provide would be very helpful to me. I don't have any savings so would have to borrow for living costs (and remaining tuition for Georgetown). I expect this to mean total debt over the two years of 1) Chicago $50k; and 2) Georgetoen $80k. My career plans are to work in an international organisation IMF/WB. I realise that DC presents a significant advantage for this but I'm not sure if the cost premium justifies it in my case. I've also posted this in "decisions, decisions". My thanks for advice/comments here or via direct message.

Thank you Crisisdiplomacy - that is very helpful and exactly the sort of point of view I was looking for. To be honest, it is how I have been looking at it too but leaning towards Chicago mainly due to funding - as I said since I'd have to borrow all of what I need. The difficulty for me has been that putting a price on the DC given that I have never lived there. It seems to me from what you have said (which reflects the views of most people I have spoken to) that DC is the place to be.

Hi all, I have been wavering on a decision for quite a few weeks now. I think I'm almost there but I would welcome thoughts/comments on my situation: I have over 5 years of work experience and a graduate degree already. I applied for Public Policy programs and was accepted at: HKS ($0); Berkeley ($0); Chicago Harris (full tuition); Georgetown ($20k) Funding is my biggest concern so clearly Chicago comes out top. My only concern is, given my career interests in international policy/development, being in DC I realise presents a significant advantage (even though I'm an international student I understand it is possible to work for international organisations) in terms of part time work/networking the usual stuff. So I'm really confused about what to do. Does going to Georgetown MPP over Chicago's at twice the cost make sense? Any thoughts/suggestions would be very very welcome. Feel free to post here or direct message me. Huge thanks.

Alex - I would be interested to know which way you're leaning and how you perceive the two programs. I'm trying to decide between them as well and it would be good to get your perspective. Based on your research how do you rank them on different criteria.