TravelBug

1 more thing to add: I'm from Chicago so on one hand I already have a social network (it would not be "where fun goes to die"), and my parents are there. On the other hand, I get bored easily with cities, and I like living in new places.

^^ I should clarify a lot of things: Background: BSB in Finance from a Big Ten 2 years working experience at a very large/prestigious bank in New York (leaving to go to grad school) State Department internship at the US Embassy in Turkey Working for a think tank in Turkey this summer Future: So I said ambassador...that was part of my freak out because yes, I know it's a huuuge stretch. I learned in my time at the embassy that I do not want to be a bureaucrat and work my way up; the lifestyle is not 100% for me, and all of the Foreign Service officers seemed semi-depressed with their lives when I was there. With the Foreign Service out, that leaves either becoming an expert in the field or becoming bff with the future President. Of the two, option 1 seems the more likely . I honestly would like to develop/shape US foreign policy. I haven't decided whether I want to focus on Economic Policy (background in Finance), or focus regionally on Turkey and the EU (my family is French, so I have a pretty big connection to Europe). For that, I would need a PhD, but then again, I always second guess myself, so I would say that I'm 80% sure I want a PhD. I don't like bureaucracy, and I don't do well with really strict rules. I also love to travel, and love living abroad. What I want is a true education. I am concerned that Georgetown is more the name, and that Georgetown grads are a dime a dozen in DC. However, I can't downplay that they have an awesome alumni network (which they wouldn't stop stressing in their open house) and that they are located in DC. On the flip side, I think that Chicago is a brilliant research institution, but I am concerned that I will pigeonhole myself into an academic career, and that I won't have exposure to the political world. I also should say that I am concerned with the philosophy of a "professional" masters at Georgetown because I don't think that you can make a diplomat. You are born a diplomat or you are not. They can mold you to some extent, but there has to be a minimum to start with. Given that I have experience in the professional world (happy hours are an education in their own right), and have been told many times that I am a born networker (not to sound snobby or anything...), I feel that I would be going there for the name and the location, not necessarily the education. So the question is, is the name and location worth the extra 80k or so + the opportunity cost of U of C?

Schools and Cost of Tuition Georgetown MSFS, no money, 45k per year + living expenses, 2 year program University of Chicago, 1/3 of tuition covered, 30k + living expenses total, 1 year program LSE/Sciences Po dual degree, 30k per year + living expenses Help please what do I do?! I want to be on a track to work high up in the state department one say and put myself in line to get an ambassadorship (yes, I know that's thinking far ahead). Georgetown's program is amazing, but it is so horribly expensive. I also want to keep my options open to be a diplomat but able to go into a phd program and into academics if I so desire, Georgetown is a "professional" masters. I'm concerned that it tracks people into mid level careers in the state department honestly. I also asked about their private sector placements (I have two years banking experience) and whether their grads are placed on the same pay track as an MBA in companies and they said no. But it's a DC location and I might be able to get a 65k FLAS scholarship for studying Turkish my second year...what do I do?!