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I think there is a lot of flexibility outside the core in terms of how theoretical vs. applied you want your degree to be. I think I've probably already talked about this ad nauseum, but the difference between Harris applied classes vs. other schools seems to be that Harris offers more of a wide variety of "tools" classes versus "topics" classes. For example, GPPI offers more topical classes on the specific policy areas that you are focused in, and helps you analyze those problems. Harris offers topics classes too, but probably not as many, and its real strengths are teaching the tools which are applied to more than one type of policy. For example, the most popular classes are program evaluation, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, etc. It's true that unlike other schools Harris does NOT require students to do a practical applied project with an agency or something similar. I also found that an attractive feature of some other schools versus Harris. But hey I might as well plug while I've got the chance -- I'm in the student consulting interest group at Harris, and we are embarking on a few real-life consulting projects right now and are looking for eager new first years next year to do much of the work! It's obviously extracurricular, not class-based, but we have been offered several potential projects and are ambitiously getting together people and resources to work on these in the coming quarters -- perhaps also with a faculty adviser and an outside mentor. So if you're worried about getting practical experience, I better not hear that no first years are signing up next year...

piping in -- last year i was choosing between GPPI and Harris and ended up picking Harris even though GPPI gave me quite a bit more in aid. (you'll find students who went the other way too obviously.) The criticisms you have of Harris vs. GPPI are the same that I had -- more theoretical core at Harris, less connection to DC. That said, Harris's strength is it also offers plenty of applied "tools" classes, whereas it seemed like GPPI offered more "topical" classes--which are great for subject knowledge but gave me a sense that they'd be less useful in the long run -- even if they were more "fun" classes in the short run. I also think Harris has a terrific network, even in DC, and there are plenty of students who go to work there (the GAO is Harris's biggest employer - although I guess that does include the small Chicago office) Plenty of students come from DC to go to school at Harris also - and they are your network as well! I just had one of my colleagues forward my resume to an organization in DC. Obviously, you can't do an internship during the year in DC if you're in Chicago -- but there's great opportunities in Chicago as well. Harris has a very strong focus on poverty, although you're right that it's not necessarily on the international level. But, GPPI is also more focused on social policy than on international development even though it is in washington. anyway, i'm personally very happy with my choice, and I think both are great schools -- good luck with your decision.

There are good number of students who concentrate on environmental policy, and you also have the option of switching from the MPP program to the little-known MSESP (master of science in environmental science and policy) program, which is more science-based. However, the number of courses Harris offers on environmental policy are smaller than you might find for social policy, or that you mind find in comparison to other schools. CEPA, the student organization for environmental policy folks, is a great resource with respect to this, helping students find courses outside of Harris to take, such as Environmental Economics in the econ department or energy sector classes at the business school. So basically, studying environmental policy is a little more work in terms of designing your degree than some other types of policy, and this can be a disadvantage especially if your other option is say, GSPP, where the environmental policy track is much more defined. On the other hand, Harris offers a lot of great "tools" classes rather than topical classes, and many of these tools classes address environmental policy. For example, I'm taking cost-benefit analysis right now, and it deals a lot with measuring environmental impact and weighing the costs against the benefits.

While I obviously respect anybody's decision to choose Ford over Harris, since this post is on the record I'd like to correct it in some respects. I guess it sort of upsets me because it gives an impression of Harris that I find inaccurate, especially the parts about the student body and the effort we put into recruiting and making prospectives feel welcome. I participated heavily in the recruiting events and so did quite a few of my friends, going out of our way and spending hours of our time to help people make their decisions--especially, for example, on Friday, when we didn't have classes yet spent the whole day on campus anyway. While there some criticisms of Harris that are legitimate, others are wrong or presented in a misleading way, and I don't want other people to read this thread and have it inform their decisions in the wrong way. Yes, the building is unattractive, and it's the worst part of Harris. Also Hyde Park does have some "bad" areas, but it's also home to some of the most affluent people in Chicago -- (the Obamas, anyone?). Whoever told you most MPPs live on the North side is dead wrong. I'd say about 1/4 to 1/3. Most people live in Hyde Park. I, however, do live downtown, but that was because my fiance needed access to the North side. Getting to live in downtown Chicago is, however, a plus for most people. Chicago is a beautiful city and it's a great place to study policy (see previous posts). Did you attend the pub night Thursday or the dinner Friday? I went to both, and there were a LOT of current students there chatting up the prospectives. Thursday wasn't an "official" recruiting day, so it's very possible the students didn't realize or didn't notice you were an admitted student -- if they didn't recognize you, they probably thought you were a student from one of the other schools sitting in on classes. I and many students I witnessed DID go out of our ways to meet the prospective students, provide information and "show them a good time" - even driving people back to their hotels after events, etc. I don't think you gave the UC a fair chance given that you didn't stay for Friday, during which you would have gotten the most interaction with current students as well as the most "programming". Thursday was more of a wander-around type of day. On Friday, everyone was eager and excited to talk to the prospective students -- especially considering nobody has classes on Friday yet came to Harris anyway JUST to talk to all of you. Hmm. Ford students bad-mouthing Harris. Interesting. We Harris students were given instructions not to bad-mouth any other schools during the admitted student weekend. For any comparison between two schools, there will be students who turned down one and went to the other. Also -- does it worry you at all that people who are worried about passing calculus are choosing Ford? It's true we don't have faculty advisers, but that doesn't mean there aren't people you can see if you have questions. The Dean of Students and the assistant dean know all of us by name, and they are very accessible. Not to mention you'll find professors in the areas you are interested in, who would be better advisers in all likelihood than ones assigned by the school. I haven't had a problem not having a faculty adviser. If you do a thesis you WILL have a thesis adviser. Just FYI - Harris has 4, not including Harris alumni relations. Anyway, so you didn't really give Harris a fair chance. That's OK if you were planning to choose Ford anyway. I just wanted to offer a rebuttal in case anyone else out there might be informing their decisions based on these posts.

Absolutely! I think the largest policy concentration we have is domestic social policy, and indeed there's a large portion of faculty members who concentrate on domestic social policy -- labor, employment, housing, welfare, poverty, workforce training, etc. Most are economists. I think of the MPP schools you could go to, Harris will best prepare you for a PhD (especially in economics) or for academic research, as the coursework is generally more academic (versus applied) as and more academically rigorous than in other schools, as I've emphasized earlier in this thread. Particularly for your economics interest, I think Chicago is a great place because there is such a focus on micro and the micro approach to human behavior. Plus, or UC's economics department is top-notch, and you can take a great number of classes there too for Harris credit. Professors vary tremendously in their openness. There are some who seem very involved with the students, even to the point of showing up to parties and bar nights. Others avoid students at all costs and pretend not to notice them in the hallways! In general, MPPs cannot TA policy classes. However, there are opportunities to TA at the College. Several students are RAs for faculty. I think there are fewer opportunities for TA/RA-ships at UC than at other schools, partly because the population of PhD students (not at Harris necessarily, but at other departments too, like Poli Sci, IR, Econ, Stats) is so huge, and they are more than enough to meet the demand for TAs and RAs. (U of C has one of the biggest grad student to college student ratios that I know of) Very easy. Many people do this. It's just like registering for a Harris class. I believe you can only take 5-6 classes outside of Harris. While they say this, from my conversations with admissions, it seems that this is very very rare and very unlikely to occur. I don't know what the criteria are exactly, however. You might want to ask Maggie.

Core classes are very large because they comprise the entire class, or nearly all of it except for those who waive out - about 80-120 people. My core stats is a little smaller (30ish) because I am in the math-heavy track and fewer people opt for that. After your first two quarters, you will start taking electives which are generally a lot smaller and depends on how popular the class is. I'm taking cost-benefit analysis this quarter, for example, which has almost 70 people because everyone wants to take the class. I would say most Harris electives, however, have been 5 and 30 people. You also have the option of taking classes outside of Harris of course, and those can be very large, but that is up to you.

Hey Shani, Just to give you my two cents: If you are interested in international policy and you have a full scholarship to SIPA, I would say absolutely go there. I don't believe Harris is as strong as some of the other schools when it comes to international policy. CIR is good (another school within u of chicago) for international relations, but Harris itself has very few professors focusing on international in comparison to those who focus on domestic, and several of the good ones are leaving next year. In addition, international relations is very academic at Chicago (more of a prep for a PhD) in comparison to some other schools which are more practical and have strong terminal master's programs. I think SIPA would be a very good choice for you.

Admittedly the faculty are not as engaged with the community as I had expected. I think this is a classic University of Chicago ivory tower-esque culture thing, and I don't know how it compares to other schools. Many of the faculty do research on Chicago-area issues from a several thousand-foot view but don't necessarily engage with policy on the ground. It's up to students -- often accomplished through part-time jobs and internships, volunteering, or through student groups and other student initiatives. As for faculty-student relationships, it varies tremendously. One disadvantage of Harris is the larger class sizes in the first year. This makes it more difficult to cultivate one-on-one relationships with professors for the first part of your Harris experience. One of the stats professors is well known for meeting students for drinks to discuss policy (and also hosted a bar party after exams last week); another professor frequently shows up at student outings and parties; some are actively engaged in student organizations' activities, donating expertise, time and resources. But there are definitely professors who seem to appear to have no desire to know the MPPs or participate in Harris life. Hope this helps!

(Current Harris student here.) All Harris admits are being contacted by current MPP students as well -- it's possible they just haven't gotten to you yet I think the big advantage Harris has over Ford is its relationship with the Chicago area. If you look at the Harris school's board of trustees, they are all very influential people in the Chicago and the Midwest - leaders and directors of foundations, large nonprofits, public-private initiatives, social entrepreneurs, private sector business leaders involved in civic life, etc. And Harris does a very good job cultivating and maintaining these types of relationships through the mentorship program as well as a "leadership in chicago" class/fellowship. Chicago in general is also a much more happening place than Ann Arbor, in my opinion, when it comes to policy - especially in areas such as urban development, education policy, environmental policy, housing and welfare/labor policy, and immigration. It's a perfect laboratory if you are interested in being engaged with the community and working on real state and local issues. Chicago also actually has offices for national agencies like the Government Accountability Office (our largest employer!), Dept of Health and Human Services, etc. Harris is definitely less advantageous if you are more interested in national policy such as defense/security -- but so, I believe, is Ford.

Regarding specific tracks: Harris does not require you to declare a concentration or policy focus, which means designing your degree is all up to you. You choose the electives you want to take. With health policy, Harris does offer a certificate program in health policy and management, which I know students have found very advantageous. Harris IS strongest, in my opinion, in social policy, and if you take a look at the faculty, a large part of the faculty focus on welfare, labor economics, education policy, poverty, etc. International development is also a strong suit, with a large number of students focusing on that. However, I do not think that Harris's relationships with development organizations are as strong as you would find at WWS or Kennedy -- but this is simply my own perception, and you might want to find out more from someone with that concentration.

Answering most people's questions in one post: AM program: I believe you do take 9 credits, and because credits cost the same your total tuition would be half of what it costs for the MPP program. Econ/Political Theory background: Helps but is NOT necessary. Many students have backgrounds such as English, Religion, Philosophy, etc. - many people with liberal arts backgrounds who have never had any of this training. I think about 2/3 of the 2010 class is in the less math-intensive statistics/econometrics track. If you DO have an econ or political theory background you can waive out of core courses - up to 2 econ core courses and up to 2 political theory core courses. This leaves you the chance to take many more electives! If you are in the one-year program you can't waive out of as many core courses - they want you to have a certain number, but I am not sure how many that is. Cost of Living: Again, it depends on your lifestyle. I live on just over $1K a month. Others live on much more - even double that. My rent is $550 but I have a roommate. Studios in Hyde Park are obtainable from about $600 to 900; 1-beds are obtainable from $900. If you are willing to room with other grad students you can rent for $500-600. Check out http://marketplace.uchicago.edu/categor ... apartments International Student Jobs: It's always hard to be an international student - but especially studying public policy where so many people work in the government sector. On the other hand Chicago's advantage is that it has good relationships with private sector firms as well - such as in consulting, investing (usually investing in the public sector), ratings, and banking (focus on economic development). (Deloitte Consulting, Navigant Consulting, State Farm (investment arm), Fitch, Standard & Poor's, and ShoreBank are a few companies that frequently hire Harris students). I really do believe that it does a better job focusing on these jobs than many other schools that focus much more on government and nonprofit, which will often not hire international students or sponsor visas. I hope this helps!

Congrats to all who got in! Looks like some of you got great funding, which is amazing considering the shakiness of U of C's endowment (down more than 30 percent). Regarding the AM program: You take mostly the same classes, but you are exempt from a few. The problem with the 1-year is that you don't really take much in the way of electives, unless you have an economics background. You take mostly core classes and one maybe 2-3 others. I am honestly not sure how it is regarded in the policy world; I know it doesn't give you a chance to get an internship which is really important for us MPPs. You essentially have to start looking for work before you've really done much at Harris! And to the person who got 21K: 21K is a very very good funding offer, and I doubt you would have to take out 35K in loans each year. I only got funded 17K - I needed to cover 17K in tuition, and honestly I only need another 10-12 K to live on! In my view you'd only need another 25-30K. The Chicago area is not very expensive. 1K a month is plenty. But I guess that depends on your standard of living- and if you have a family.

Hey guys, as a harris student I feel a bit embarrassed about this delay. I think it is because we happened to have a few people leave recently and those left must be swamped. (One on maternity, another for law school). To the person who pmed me asking me to help - unfortunately it is my spring break and I am not in Chicago! So unfortunately I cannot ask them myself, or I would pop in. I don't know what else to say except good luck, and please be a bit patient. The admissions people are human.

Good luck everyone!

It might be that they just want to see how fluent you are in English. This is a big worry for admissions, because international students often have nice TOEFL scores and great essays -- but that's because they've been able to prepare - or in some cases even have others help them write their essay.

Add to weaknesses: unstructured recruiting/career services Add to strengths: great alums?

March 12 I'm not absolutely sure, but I would guesstimate around 26-27. There is a contingent of younger students (straight from undergrad to two years of work experience) but also plenty of older students. Most of my friends are around 25-30. There's also some 40 year-olds, and even a few 50+! From what I saw from other schools, Harris is a bit older than schools like GPPI, Ford, LBJ, etc. but similar to HKS or WWS in age. Are you referring to the MSESP program? (Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy)? Unlike a lot of schools, Harris is very generalist - you are not required to declare a track and many classes are very general -program eval, analysis of microeconomic data, cost-benefit analysis, etc. The folks I know in MSESP have to heavily design their own curriculum. There isn't an easy set track, and you have to take a lot of classes outside of Harris (usually in the Physical Sciences as well as the B-School). Harris itself only offers a few environment/energy policy courses. It's sort of all about how you want to shape your degree.

Have to admit that most graduates of Harris stay in the Chicago area - some do go to DC, but I'm sure not as many as the schools on the east coast. In general, job prospects are not great this year, with those who locked in job offers after internships being the only ones stress-free. I'm sure you'll find that at most other schools. Absolutely! Most of us aren't getting Ph.D.s. Career services is quite strong, I feel, in comparison to other schools, with strong connections to alumni, mentorship opportunities, and actual on-campus recruiting. (This last part seems rarer at other schools, where employers might come for info sessions but might not conduct interviews.) They recommend you do not take a part-time job in the first quarter, but most students do by the second quarter and almost all second year students that I've talked to have a part-time job, often working for whoever they did their internship with in the summer. Good question. In general, the curriculum is probably "libertarian" with respect to economics - and "conservative" with respect to international relations. Friedman is not the only influence - after all the poli sci department is the home of political realism! We spend a lot of time talking about how cash transfers are better than food stamps, how regulation leads to regulatory capture, how foreign aid is self-interested and doesn't work, etc. Sometimes it gets to you - for a while I actually began to think that encouraging kids to stay in school was a bad idea, because they are self-optimizers and if they choose to drop out it must be because they do better after dropping out than if they stay in school. This, from my stats class. On the other hand, most profs (with some exceptions) are not necessarily as conservative as what they teach - they want you to consider the theory but don't necessarily believe it's true in real life. It can depend on who you take. On the other hand, most profs do overtly support Obama, for obvious reasons. (Side note: I'm in a leadership class in which we bring in prominent leaders in Chicago to speak every week, but this year almost half our list canceled because they are all in DC working for Obama, including Valerie Jarrett and Arne Duncan.) Our dean made anti-Palin jokes repeatedly during the fall quarter. And the students are, like at most schools, liberal in general, but there are a number who are drawn to Harris because of its more conservative reputation. I was choosing between Georgetown, Berkeley and U of C. I ruled out Berkeley because they gave no aid. I struggled with the decision between GPPI and Harris. In the end I chose Harris because I felt that I would get a better education overall and because I felt the school seemed to have closer ties to alumni and regional employers. I am not necessarily interested in working in DC, so the Georgetown location was not a huge draw for me when it came to future employment considerations - only for the excitement/quality of life consideration. Unfortunately I don't think anyone in my class is doing the MPP/JD. So I can't tell you more, sorry! Last year, I got the e-mail on March 12! Good luck!

Yes, I am still thinking about a PhD but not immediately following the MPP program. One thing about Harris is it is much more theoretical, "scholarly" and academically rigorous than other MPP programs. This can be either good or bad. I find it good if you are planning to pursue a PhD - it has a great reputation in academia (this is what my undergraduate profs told me - assured me that Harris was a better school in this regard than HKS, a school I was bummed I did not get into). The negative side is that there is less "practical" work - sometimes leaving us students losing sight of what we're here to accomplish. (We recently put on a sketch comedy show to raise money for a conference fund, and one of the punch lines was - what does all this math homework have to do with saving the world!?) Another fact to consider is that if you plan to enter a PhD program directly after the MPP, it can be very difficult to do at Harris because there are somewhat limited opportunities to do research or get published in your first year. You might think, oh, I can use my thesis as my writing sample - but then remember you won't finish your thesis until much later in the school year and you'll be applying in the fall. Also, all first-year students must take the core, and these classes can be large - which means limited ability to develop relationships with faculty. Of course,this depends on your background. If you have a strong econ and poli sci background, there are opportunities to opt out of the core classes and take other classes in which you're doing more research and working closer with faculty. I dont know if this is similar to other schools - it's possible that you can start doing research earlier elsewhere, but I'm not sure. For me, I knew I wasn't going to be able to put together a competitive application after only one year here. So I plan to wait. Plus I decided I'd love to work for a while first!

Georgetown's acceptance rate is actually around 50%. You might be fooled by the fact that there are 20 spots for every 100 applicants, but that does not suggest a 20% acceptance rate.

Yes, I got half tuition, and my impression is that the vast majority of students have aid, including a few of my friends with full aid and stipend. That said, Harris has a lot less money this year because of the market -- I was talking to our admissions director and she said aid would be guaranteed for current students at last year's levels but for those entering in fall 2009 it will definitely be tougher. I did not have a formal quantitative background (journalism and poli sci major in undergrad) but have always been a naturally quantitative person. I think the quant courses are actually very challenging, and this isn't hype. You have the option of taking a less quantitative track and a more quantitative track. I'm on the more math-heavy course. The folks in this track have backgrounds in things like microfinance, economic analysis, banking, etc., and trust me, it is challenging for all of us--even a few students who already had MBAs or masters in economics. I don't see *anybody* getting through classes easily, and we all rely on each other to work together on things like problem sets. I know that most schools say they are quant heavy but I really doubt you can get more quant heavy than the university of Chicago. This is not always a good thing, but it sounds like what you are looking for. As an econ major you won't be required to take Micro I or II, and you can take more interesting classes in public finance, program evaluation, etc. I live downtown in the loop, and many students do live up north. But I'd say 2/3 live in Hyde Park.Hope that helps!

Hey all, I used this forum when I was applying to schools and it was a great help to me last year. Now that I am at the Harris School (University of Chicago) as a first year MPP student, I'd be happy to answer anybody's questions about the school (or even just being an MPP student). In general I am happy with my choice but I am not drinking the Kool-Aid by any means -- I'll give you as honest an answer as I can. Good luck!

University of Chicago, MPP

Ok yay, I've decided finally. Talk about 11th hour. THIS IS WHERE I'M GOING TO ATTEND: University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy OTHER SCHOOLS I CONSIDERED: Georgetown Public Policy Institute; University of California - Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy WHY I CHOSE MY NEW SCHOOL: Berkeley was a no-go because it was too far away and more expensive than the other options (no funding). I was quite torn about Georgetown after visiting, because I liked it a lot, they offered me more money, I thought I might enjoy a new experience in DC, etc. But in the end, these advantages of Chicago won out: 1) Location -- I live in Chicago now, love it here, and want to stay in Chicago after graduation. Although a change of scenery would have been pleasant, too, my boyfriend is at Northwestern and I have many friends in the city. Also, cost of living is low in comparison to the other options. 2) Private sector opportunities -- Chicago seems to have more on-campus recruiting, MBA-style. More firms visit Chicago than Georgetown. Some of them listed the Harris School in their MBA sections. I want to go into the private sector after graduation, doing public sector consulting, so this is important for me. 3) Academic approach and research-oriented professors -- for some people this might be a downside, but I would really like to keep open the option of a PhD in the future. (I was considering applying to PhD programs this time around but realized it was a long shot.) 4) Strong school over all -- Chicago's poli sci, econ, law and business schools are top notch, and there are opportunities for taking electives there, plus joint degree possibilities (not seriously considering a joint degree, but who knows). Also, UC alums are very loyal to the school = great networking! 5) Internship opps -- I was worried that in Chicago there might not be as many internship opportunities as in DC. This is probably true, but the ratio of internship seekers to internships is probably similar. There are a lot of opportunities for work on affordable housing, immigration, and environment-related work too, as Chicago continues to position itself as a green city, like the Chicago Climate Exchange, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, etc. There were also some complications with me about Georgetown that made things a little harder. But after pondering all weekend I decided even without the complications I would still pick Chicago.

are you replying to Georgetown? the folks there said they are very flexible about the deadline, as long as you e-mail them to let them know it's coming.