TROD43

I'm in the same boat. Although, to be honest, I'm more 70/30 towards Berkeley. I think that's where my heart is at. My personal opinion: I attended both admit days and they had very different "feels" to them. Berkeley is a small cohort and their whole thing about being a tight-knit community is real deal. Harvard is about the prestige and the connections. A higher percentage of folks are doing joint degrees, primarily with HBS, and it seems like a lot of them are looking to get into consulting positions. What helped me tilt the scale was determining what I did not want to do and the quality of life I want to lead during what will be two very stressful, but engaging, years of my life. NOT interested in international development, federal level policies or working in DC/running for office YES interested in multidisciplinary research with professors, community-development work, developing strong quantitative skills and sunshine I live in NYC now and Boston would be a bit of a downgrade for me in terms of city attractions. The bay area is a more lateral move.

Thanks for your response! Points well taken. Half of the funding that Wagner is providing is tied to a graduate assistant position doing office work 20hrs/week during the first year, so not something that seems particularly enriching, but greatly lowers my debt. This strikes me as a lot of time that I'm not able to dedicate to research, study for class, and more meaningful internship/practice-based opportunities. It's funding with some strings attached, I guess. For that reason, I'm entertaining the idea, but not really sold on it yet.

I found a similar thread for last year, but wanted to create one for the newly admitted folks who are in the midst of decision making. I have a few programs that I'm exploring, but GSPP (substantial scholarship) and Kennedy (funding pending) have surfaced to the top. As others have in the past, I'm having some trouble deciding between the two. I'm planning on visiting both schools and I've already spoken with students at both as well. I'm specifically curious about the curriculum differences, the quality of the professors, the extracurriculars (policy journals, internships (summer and during the year), other enrichment opportunities?), practice vs research focus, etc. Some additional details: - I'm interested in social policy (women's issues and poverty alleviation) - I'm not interested in working at the federal level or in DC - I'm not interested in international development, but would like to have the ability to go to a school with international recognition since I'm from the Caribbean and it's not a sure thing I'll be staying in the US for the rest of my life. - I have a very good network in NYC of both prestigious research organizations and non-profits, which I could tap back into once I'm done with grad school. - I'm entertaining the idea of a PhD (Anthro or sociology), but not yet sold on the idea. Would like to got a school that doesn't close that door for me. Other offers I have on the table: - SIPA MPA ($0 funding) - Harris MPP (substantial funding) - NYU Wagner (lots of funding, potentially the cheapest option) Phew! OK. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to go about choosing or some of the consideration you are also making in regards to these schools would be great. Congratulations to all!! Very exciting stuff.

Not yet. They told me that it takes a little while (about 2 weeks from date of acceptance notification) .

I got into Wagner with 18K per year and a consideration for a research assistantship which includes additional financial support. I got into Berkeley, HKS, SIPA and Harris, so I will likely decline Wagner over the next week or two.

I haven't heard peep from the schools I applied, aside from Temple. When did you guys hear about your admissions decisions? I'm specifically curious about Alfred and RISD (sculpture). I didn't hear back from them for an interview so I'm getting increasingly nervous.

Word. All good considerations. One of my schools doesn't release funding information until the first week of April. Is it wise to wait until then to start asking? Or is it better to wait until closer to 4/15 because that's when they'll know who's accepted/declined?

Rejected too!! I know I just wrote about being bummed, but now that I have a concrete answer I'm feeling, may I say, EXCITED? WWS was one of my top 3 for sure, and primarily because of the hefty financial aid package, but I did have doubts that the curriculum was aligned with my research interests and values. I earn less than 30K a year so a full ride was mighty attractive. But now that it's not an option, I'm excited to explore the other schools that did offer me admissions and very concretely and realistically pick a school that is the best fit for me. That's exciting!! GET EXCITED PEOPLE!

I know!!! Me too. I thought decisions were going to be sent on Friday. I feel so grateful for the acceptance letters I've received already, but can't help feeling a bit down about not hearing back from WWS. It's my favorite program and would be my only rejection. Such is life!