suani

MPPgal, How are you computing $20K a year, plus $16K in expenses? From this link: http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/pubs/tf_grad_fall13.pdf, it says that 12-credit hours of course work is about $5,400 a semester so a full academic year, excluding summer school, should be about $11K in tuition. Can you please give me some real insight on what two years at LBJ is going to cost? I didn't take into account living expenses, of course. How much is it to live in Austin, especially near campus? Sorry! Since I am not getting any fellowship money, I need to make sure that I am crunching all of the right numbers and not having any hidden costs in the long run. Thanks!

I wrote the LBJ Admissions Committee and they replied that the funding decisions are final. They always way over award, knowing that close to 1/2 of those offered funding will not accept their offer of admission. As a result, they are not able to revisit the funding decisions. Hopefully, this will help some of you with your decision-making. Good luck!

I agree with uncgrad2009. I think a better question is: Would you rather spend the next 20-30 years after grad school paying off your debt or come out of school debt-free and in a position to take on any job (no matter the pay) you want so you can get to doing what you love, faster? Both are great programs, and after a few years of work experience under your belt, the difference between UMichigan & Johns Hopkins in reputation is going to be inconsequential. Here is some perspective from a funding thread that someone started:

I am in the same boat, notmike. I am blessed in that I got accepted into all of the programs that I applied to but I didn't get $$$ from any of them. Not sure if I want to be $75K in debt after two years of graduate school so I would like to know how others are swinging it.

For those who did not receive any funding from LBJ: Have you asked the question of the Admissions Committee whether secondary funding considerations will be made after April 15, when folks have decided to accept or decline their admission? Or are these decisions final? For example, if someone received $$$ from LBJ but chose to decline their acceptance and funding offer, would that money go back into the pot and awarded to someone else? I was one of those accepted for Fall 2014, but not offered any funding. I will likely still attend because LBJ is affordable compared to some of the other schools, but even a little $$$ will go a long way! I found a similar discussion on this topic from 2008, but times are different now so I was curious if anyone has raised the issue more recently. I would appreciate any information you can offer. Thanks!

It sounds like you are already living in the Seattle area too. Did LBJ give you any $$$?

Did you get any funding, Calatoara?

Since when did American and GWU become Tier 2 schools? Both have been consistently ranked in the top 10 for their public affairs programs. Not all of us can be Harvard or Princeton material, but just because we are not going to those schools, it doesn't mean the others are less than. Depending on the kind of work you want to do, being centrally located in Washington, DC can give you more of an advantage than any Harvard or Princeton degree can. I am sorry to hear about your admissions results, HomeGrown. We have come upon another year of admissions cycles. Hopefully, you haven't given up and will be applying again this year. If yes, good luck!

TimB, I also served in the Peace Corps and have been working for the federal government for 8 years since my return. I would like to add to what Calatoara said. What do you want to do after the Peace Corps and after getting your Masters degree? If you think that you want to work for the federal government at all, I would suggest serving in the Peace Corps be one of the things you finish with before entering into the workforce. One of the perks that Peace Corps gives you after you have completed your service is "noncompetitive eligibility" for a job with the federal government. These days, it is impossible to get a job with the federal government if you don't have Fed status. Most qualified applicants from the outside would not even be considered, despite how much experience they might have for a particular job. Peace Corps gives you that foot in the door that most others would have had to join the military or come in as a low-level intern to get. It is true that Peace Corps is not very hard to get into, but completing the two years of service is not something many can do. My group of volunteers started with 14 people and ended with 5 people completing our service. Physical location, emotional distress, cultural differences, and a myriad of other issues are things that Peace Corps Volunteers face daily so if you can survive all of that after two years, you have accomplished something that not a lot of Americans can do. My two years in the Peace Corps were some of the best times of my life, but it was no easy feat. Just something for you to consider, especially if you don't know yet what you want to do in the long term.

Thanks, MPPgal! On average, do you know how much fellowship money incoming students typically receive? I gather only a few lucky ones receive full tuition, but I wonder what the average fellowship amount is?

Thanks, MPPgal! I will definitely let you know once I make a decision. It looks like they offered you full tuition plus a living stipend. May I ask what your credentials were? I am just curious what kinds of GRE scores, GPA, and work experience folks should have in order to get some financial assistance. I would be attending as a part-time student because I have a full-time job that I need to keep so I don't qualify for any financial assistance. They told me that only about 30% of students receive financial assistance, so I figured it would be a long shot for me anyways. Instead, grad school will be totally out of my own pocket.

Hey there LBJers! How do/did you like the LBJ school? I just got accepted to their MPAff program for Spring 2014 and was curious what current & former students' experiences are/were. I am still waiting to hear back from some DC schools so I have not made up my mind yet.