Lonestar99

I think your thought process is on the right track as to the career tradeoffs. columbia is obviously a broader curriculum. personally I think it is better to have classes in economics/budgeting/management. NYC would definitely get you beyond the DC bubble and broaden your perspective, and so would the school, since a smaller fraction are American and/or studying security. if you want to blaze ahead in the security world and never look back, then georgetown may be the better choice. have you asked what the state dept employees think? bottom line, you seem to understand the + and - 'es of the choice, but still have the same tough decision.

since i posted this in the sais poll, same goes for sipa....two years of army rotc, become an officer, join reserves or active duty. (disclaimer: i have no interest in starting a political discussion). http://www.fordham.edu/academics/special_programs/army_rotc/index.asp

Yes, it goes for SAIS, or any of the other schools. I'd call the ROTC office on Monday and see what they have to say. I think you can even join the reserves afterwards instead of active duty and just do the one weekend a month, two weeks a year thing.

without the intention to spark debate, you can join JHU ROTC for two years, become an officer, and they'll cover most of it. http://www.jhu.edu/rotc/

Yes, SAIS definitely for both Fed and Treasury. Sipa for the NY Fed, not as much as for Treasury as SAIS. GW-not well known for economics, so i'd say further down the list. Also,straight econ phd programs are fairly common at both.