greendiplomat

While I'm going to avoid the broad-brushtroke arguments of "SAIS is the best" and "SIPA is a cashcow" (especially considering that those claims might be true considering schools as monolithic entities, but SIPA is very strong in international finance and a few other select concentrations), no benefit that SIPA can offer over SAIS is worth an extra 70K in debt. Pack your bags for Bologna.

Wow, in that unlucky 1% (according to the blog), eh? My condolences, and I hope it's good news!

Nowhere in my post did I mention Harvard's name recognition. My point is that HKS, especially with the potential for cross-registration at Fletcher, is considerably stronger in IR and, to a slightly lesser extent, environmental policy, and, especially considering that the funding offers will be equal at the very least, it makes much more sense to go to HKS. In my opinion, it's much better to get a job in Chicago graduating from a school in another city, than it is to get a decent job in a particular sub-field graduating from a school that doesn't have a particularly strong focus in that sub-field.

If that's the case, then go to Berkeley, and then see whether the edge that Berkeley has over Duke is worth the price differential (though I'm guess you would have done that without my typing this!).

Yes, you'll be going into more debt if you go to SIPA, despite the relatively generous funding offer that you got. That being said, you need to be thinking about whether the other programs set you up for the career that you want (i.e. international security policy). While you could take electives in that area at Harris, Maryland, the GW MPP, and the Maxwell MPA, you won't be able to mold your curriculum around (and, more importantly, concentrate in) international security policy at those schools as you will at SIPA. As such, I think that the sticker price of SIPA is marginally higher due to the less aid that you got from it, but thinking in terms of return on investment, I'm sure that the difference in price will pay itself back relatively quickly (again, given the small price difference given the funding that you got, and given that it's the only program out of those that you list that's suited to your career interests).

Curricularly, I think Duke Sanford makes the most sense for you in that it's strong in education and health policy and does have high-quality course offerings in international development . That, when combined with the fact that it's by far the best funding package, I think Duke is the obvious choice. Also, as for the concerns that you list, I'm pretty sure that Duke doesn't have a hard time getting its students internships outside of the immediate NC area, and while Sanford is not as well known as a department/school as some of the other programs that you list, people will generally know that it's a strong program, given that it's at Duke.

I also have similar interests in international environmental policy, so my 2 cents are that, if you're interested in international and environmental policy, especially if you got no aid from UChicago, I think HKS is a no-brainer, given its much stronger curriculum in those two areas (and especially so when you consider the possibility of cross-registering at Tufts/Fletcher).

I agree that we seem to be setting up false dichotomies here. Namely: "SIPA is better for private sector jobs" - As acj777 mentions, SAIS also places very well in the private sector; "SAIS is better for public sector jobs" - While SAIS tends to place better in public sector jobs overall (due to the abundance of opportunities in DC, i.e. federal jobs, think tanks, IMF, World Bank), SIPA tends to place better in similar jobs based in NYC (i.e. the UN); and "SAIS is more quantitative" - SAIS definitely has the more quantitative-/econ-heavy core curriculum, but that's not to say that you can't elect to take similarly rigorous coursework at other schools. Additionally, one of SAIS’ drawbacks is that, since JHU’s main campus is in Baltimore, you can’t cross-register in classes in the university’s graduate-level econ, math, stats, and other departments like you can at Columbia. (For instance, given my career goals, I would benefit more from taking Advanced Micro after an intermediate-level micro course (Micro at SAIS / Econ Analysis I at SIPA) than I would from taking International Trade, so SIPA makes more sense for me than does SAIS. Overall, the lesson here, is that, while these "[school A] is more [Factor X] than [school B]" statements are useful for initial research on the schools, when making the decision about what school to go to, it's more useful to look more specifically into how each school fits your specific goals, for instance, in which specific organizations/firms/industries each school has a larger alumni base, or what specific classes you can take at each school.

Great discussion. All very balanced and insightful pros/cons that I definitely agree with, so instead of echoing some of the other posts, I'm just going to give my quick opinion as somebody also looking into a career in the international climate space. Out of the 4 schools that you've listed, the one that stands out to me as being the strongest in international climate is Fletcher. Apart from the sense that I get that it has the strongest connection to UN agencies out of the bunch (with SAIS a very close second), what sets Fletcher apart is that it’s a program that’s designed to train its students specifically in international diplomacy, as seen by the courses that it offers such as International Environmental Negotiations and Sustainable Development Diplomacy. Moreover, I think its strength in climate policy is clear from the fact that HKS doesn’t have a climate policy course and actually recommends on its International and Global Affairs concentration course rubric for students to take the Fletcher course. I think Fletcher’s one real drawback is its perceived lack of quantitative coursework, but if you want to beef up in that area, you always have electives both within Fletcher, and via cross-registration with HKS or even Tufts’ Econ MA program. At the end of the day, though, all of the choices that you’re faced with are some that I’m sure people would envy even individually, and, as such, I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of them. Congrats on your admissions, and good luck with choosing!

I'd just like to add my 2 cents to the very thorough and insightful responses given above. I applied directly out of undergrad, fully aware that I wanted to go into the environmental space after getting my master's (so you could say that I definitely had more direction than your average straight-out-of-undergrad). Having deferred by a year (this decision was originally due to personal/financial reasons) and having worked in the field for almost a year now, I'm very happy about my decision to take a year off. Looking back at the classes that I was planning on taking during my two years, I'd say about 1/3 of those I wouldn't even consider taking, now that I have more specific career goals. As such, I think that, yes you have a shot at getting in, and no, you probably won't have trouble finding employment after graduation. That said, graduate school is a substantial investment, and I think that, for it to be worth the amount of debt (unless you're well-funded either personally or externally), I think that you'll get more bang for your buck with a stronger sense of what you want to achieve with your degree.

I'd just like to chime in and say that, yes, SIPA has a good amount of students going into consulting, and I think this can be attributed to the presence of a good number of firms that recruit on campus (partially due to having a strong undergraduate program and business school), the availability of private-sector-friendly concentrations/coursework, and the location in New York. Apart from the obvious task of looking up past classes' employers (there's usually a link to some sort of factsheet in the prospective students pages), I think the presence of some sort of consulting club/organization at the school is telling that the school has a good number of students each year that want to get into consulting.

Since that's super strange and since admissions responses are relatively time-sensitive, I'd just go ahead and call them, explaining the situation.

Fletcher is a great school and program, as we'd discussed earlier in that its graduates seem to be getting very respectable jobs. Congratulations again on your admission, and enjoy Tufts for everything that it offers!

Next time, you should or quote it, rather than the link to the article out of context, especially considering how well-balanced the original post was (i.e. that while the numbers that SIPA provides are inflated, he believes that the benefits of the SIPA degree "far outweight its costs")... full original post below: And, while I'm at it, my response/thoughts on emoleys' original post:

I agree that SIPA's offerings outweigh its costs, but ouch. Thanks for the clarification, though I'm hoping that that article is selection bias in play (i.e. the individuals that felt the most burnt by the process are most likely to feel compelled to write about SIPA financial aid). All of the 2nd-year SIPA students with whom I've worked (either in class or in internships) all had TA/RA positions (though I'm assuming this is also selection bias in play, since those were the students that were driven enough to have internships during the school year). The one piece of advice that they all gave me was that, since the TAs/RAs are selected by the professors / department staff, it helps to do well in the classes that offer TA positions and to get to know the above faculty/staff. I guess moral of the story is: (1) 2nd-year SIPA financial aid isn't as generous as they make it out to be; but (2) you have a good shot at getting in on some of the funds if you have above a 3.2 and are generally involved with things outside the classroom as well as in. But, given the recent endowment that you mentioned, maybe I should just give my spot to a wait-lister and reapply again! Haha.

First of all, congratulations. I think you should put this problem in perspective, since it really is an enviable set of options to have, however stressful the decision may be. I stand by my opinions in expressing that SIPA seems like the stronger of the two programs in terms of reputation, alumni base, proximity to potential employers, availability of internships, etc. Also note that 70% of SIPA 2nd-years get funding, of which the median award is 21K. This said, a 30K/year offer is a hard one to turn down. I'd say attend both admitted students' days, ask sharp questions about coursework, career prospects, etc., and then decide whether the perceived benefits of SIPA outweigh the loans. Let me know if you have any other questions, but if not, see you on April 12!

While emoley's post is indeed helpful in seeing how many fellowships are out there, I don't agree that getting a fellowship in general is necessarily hard. According to this page, 70% of 2nd-years get funding, with the median award being $21,000. So, ignoring the interest that accrues on your first-year loans, that's roughly equivalent to a 10K/year award, which seems relatively standard for its peer institutions. What SIPA's administration doesn't get is that incoming students don't like gambling on how much loans they're going to graduate with and often end up choosing other programs. It's really a shame, considering how strong a program it is otherwise... Aside from the finances that I've written about above, I think that SIPA would be a great fit for you. The EPD capstone workshops are 2 semesters long and involve the teams traveling to the project site (obviously in a developing country, since the concentration is in economic and political development). That, in combination with the rigorous theoretical work that you can take both at SIPA and at other departments makes the EPD concentration particularly appealing for those that want to get into that field.

I completely agree with s33, with the caveat that while most don't get fellowships their first year, the vast majority do their second year, of which the median award is 21K. As such, this would bring your Harris award more or less similar to the expected award at SIPA. You should definitely base your decision on which school offers the better fit in terms of your academic interests. Aside from domestic/international, where do your academic and professional interests lie?

I'll agree with YLSnHKS that Fletcher seems like the best fit given your interests, and I wouldn't sell yourself short just yet (i.e. until you actually hear the decision). I haven't really looked into the other schools on your list, so I can't say for sure. That being said, I think there are a few schools on your list where, while they'd provide good general public policy training, I question whether you'd be able to take many classes that are directly relevant to your intended career path. As such, be sure to take a general look at the specific courses that you're looking into, and even maybe put together a course plan for your 2 years there to get a sense of what kind of education you can get there.

Do you mind providing more information on what your background and career goals are? Also, should we tentatively add Fletcher as #5 on your list so that we can consider all of them?

If this did indeed happen, I'm sure they're going through and double-checking for similar errors. Worth looking into to be extra sure, but I wouldn't get my hopes too high up.

I know this is easier said than done, but as indicated in a blog post shared by a previous member, I wouldn't read too much into the timing of your response.

I'd just call them if that's the case. Waiting won't help, and at this time of year, I'm sure it'll take them days to respond to emails.

At least 5 years, since I remember learning that word for the SATs and then considered rephrasing it when I realized what I'd typed. I guess some of this stuff isn't just for test day, huh?

Congrats! They apparently admit a handful of college seniors every year, so I'm sure it's not a mistake. I was one of those last year (until I deferred to work for a year), so feel free to PM me if you want any advice (though there's obviously no need if you're certain that going immediately to grad school is the overhwelmingly best choice).