jurysi

I can't help with your direct comparison, but I also have Batten on my short list of schools. As you mentioned it is a new program, so you are taking a bit of a risk or leap of faith, especially if you have an established option such as Price. However, there are many things that are attractive about Batten. In addition to what you mentioned, they seem to be establishing very strong relationships with schools around UVa's campus, including the Curry School of Education. You would be able to take electives at Curry which would help focus your MPP on your interests. Regarding Math, Batten offers the Math Camp, which is ungraded and before the official start of your first year. I think it's a week long, and is designed to introduce students to the math they will encounter during the program, or to provide a refresher to those who may already have coursework in stats/econ. Everything I've heard suggests it's an excellent primer for their MPP. After that, you can supplement the core stats/econ coursework with courses in the Econ department if you wish. There are of course many other things you could consider (MPA or MPP), location during and after graduation, internship opportunities, professional network, etc. Batten's newness also means it is relatively difficult to find info on it, but I would recommend reaching out to Howard in admissions if you haven't yet, as he is excellent at responding to applicant's concerns/questions. Hopefully this helps you in your decision. I'm going through a similar process right now, so I have some idea what you're feeling! Good luck!