nogone

I know the LBJ School at UT Austin offers a dual MPAff/MPH three year degree. It's a decent and respected program that is still inexpensive, and they can be rather generous with funding. In terms of application, the MPH is probably going to open a lot of doors for you, so I wouldn't count it out just yet.

I'd just start over with a whole new draft. Try something different. You've got this approach out of your system, now try something more professional, less emotional, and less story like. Your writing has a lot of superfluous stuff in it, so I'd work on cleaning that up. Every sentence is important and should stand on its own. As far as content, spend more time on where you're going rather than where you've been, and be as specific as you can. I get that you may not have intended it to sound like you view your law school experience was a mistake, but it really does read like that.

I don't think it's necessary to paint your law school time as wasted. Too many words are spent apologizing for having a law degree, when really that is an asset. A law degree and a policy degree work well together, and I think a law degree will open more doors for in policy practice than the other way around. I think you can be much more succinct and professional - This is what I've done, this is what I want to do, and this is why your school is the right one for me. Additionally, I'd rather not see a big old quote starting out. Use your own words to draw the reader in.

Seriously? Have you met anyone that supports this? I know people with that kind of loan burden. It sucks. Really really really sucks.

That's a house with a crappy interest rate!

Make some money. It will come in handy very soon!

Hey! I attended the open house at LBJ yesterday, so if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer what I can.

I just got back from the LBJ admitted students open house yesterday, so I can answer a few questions about that. As far as internships, they actually seem to be split pretty evenly between Texas, DC, and abroad. They gave us statistics for the 2010 graduating class, and 39% were actually working in DC 6 months out, and we were also told that they have a large and active DC alumni group. . I was told that almost 25% of the students offered admission this year are international students. They also gave the impression of being very quant heavy, though I'm not sure how they stand compared to other schools in that area. The work on campus thing seems like a reality, with most of the current students I spoke with working part time, either on campus as research assistants or with relevant outside organizations.

Oh, and walk the three mile loop around town lake between mopac and lamar. Especially right now.

Austin is pretty multifaceted, so whatever your looking for in you can likely find (with the exception of an ocean!) There's a lot of old hippy country austin still hanging around, and there's a lot of new-austin-for-california-transplants-fancyland. Also, good food. If I could send visitors to one place, it would be here on a sunday afternoon. If you like it, there's a good chance you'll like austin! http://www.yelp.com/biz/ginnys-little-longhorn-saloon-austin

I wonder if they are more willing to give money to out of state students? Did any texas residents get funding? I'm already living in Austin, and no money for me, though I really wasn't expecting any. I'm just happy I was admitted as I'm sorely lacking any relevant experience!

] It's going to be pretty tight, but I think you can do it. You'll probably want a roommate. Expect to pay around $400 for a shared rent situation. I had a friend that was working with about that much last year, and things were definitely tight for him financially.

How much would you be paying at CMU? And what are you wanting to do ultimately? Personally, I'd follow the money

I think the waitlisting is a newer thing within the last few years, so finding any information might be difficult. Did they give you any information as to how many people are waitlisted with you? If not, I'd ask.

That's a pretty high price to pay for a Masters. A portion of that will be (I think!) beyond the normal Stafford Loans which I think are capped at around $16500 a year for graduate students, so you're getting into risky risky territory as far as repayment goes. I say this as someone with a little more life experience than someone right out of undergrad. I have seen friends lives literally derailed by massive student loans. Loans are not something to be taken light heatedly or absentmindedly. Wanting to do something badly for two years is not enough of a reason to saddle yourself with insurmountable debt for 20 or 30 years. Even law school has been a risky bet in the last few years as far as loan repayment in light of the current job market. I would think really really hard about my future before I took out anything more than 20k for a masters.