gradblues

@sdiaz1924 I can't unfortunately.... I'm working in West Africa right now, it would too expensive to fly back and forth.

Very curious as well!

I am a US citizen but I live between Africa and Europe at the moment and going back to the states is not a feasible option at the moment. I was wondering if anyone here made their decision without visiting the school first and what resources they looked into that could provide similar information to what would happen during these admitted student days. So far, I am considering UCSD, American, UMinnesota, and UWashington. I am really curious about UMinnesota, as there doesn't seem to be a lot of outside information. Anything would be greatly appreciated!

@heikkie I would just call them. I called Sonja from GPS today because I didn't hear back about my financial awards and she updated me immediately.

I was accepted to the Agricultural and Applied Economics program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, but I can't seem to find too much information about the reputation of the terminal MS program. The website is a little outdated on the jobs page, I know PhD graduates from the school and their jobs are not listed. Does anyone know about their program? I received a full ride, but I am not interested in pursuing a Ph.D and it looks like most people who graduate from the MS program go into a Ph.D program or work for agricultural institutions. My background is in economics and international development but I want to take a more policy focus role after graduating since most of my experience is in non-profits providing public goods in Africa. The school doesn't seem to have a large alumni network. I really want to continue working abroad hopefully for a mid-size NGO or the UN.

Program/Schools Applied To: MPP (advanced policy analysis focus) - UCSD, UMichigan, UMinnesota, UWashington, American, MA in Applied Econ- Stockholm School of Economics and University of Illinois Schools Admitted: All! Full-tuition fellowships from UMinnesota and University of Illinois. UWashington (15k stipend), American (50k in tuition), UMich, UCSD, and Stockholm $0 merit aid Undergraduate: UCSC 3.40 GPA, BA in Economics GRE: 157 Verbal/163 Quant/4.0 Analytical Math/Econ Background: Int Micro and Macro, Economic Analysis, Calculus I & II, several other econ electives Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): will be 3 by start Years of Work Experience: 6 month UN agency internship in institutional research. 3-month field experience in agricultural development in rural Tanzania. One year fellowship in Ghana working for an education NGO. Currently in a UN contracted position as a communications consultant. Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc: I thought it was pretty strong. I used my background in international development as the basis for most of my letters and my family background coming from an immigrated Latino family as I think these two are not as well reflected in my transcripts or CV. I am also a community college student. The rest focused on my intentions fro pursuing the degree and my goals moving forward. Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): I had one LOR from a development economist who has worked with several high-profile economists in the field. I was a research assistant for his project in Tanzania. I was a little nervous to ask him as he was never the kindest person to me, but it seems like he did a good job. I had another from the Country Director of the fellowship I did in Ghana, he and I are very close. Another one from a professor, which I was top in his class. Other: My background is international development. Since graduating, I have spent two of my three years working outside of the US. While applying, I had the intention of doing development research, but my time in Ghana kind of switched my intentions. I am very passionate about data analysis, but I think I now want to take a policy approach in improving governance and aid delivery which could involve data analytics and improve M&E systems. Concerns: Michigan was my top school but I cannot afford the 41k of yearly tuition. The schools in the mid-west have fantastic curriculums, but I am worried about the connections that I would be able to make out there especially in international development. I just started my current contracted job which will go until July with possible extension, but I don't know if that is enough time to establish myself as a possible hire for when I graduate in 2019. Other concerns are with the economy; I don't know what the jobs prospects will be like 2019 since the economy is expected to slow down in the next year or so and Trump's budget proposals are very worrying for me especially if I want to pursue a career in international development. My options are: Take on the debt and go to Michigan for the first year and hope for funding in the second (at least 50k in debt). But I don't think this is worth the money Go to either UIUC or UMinnesota basically debt free, but I am worried about what jobs I will get out of it. Most people from the UIUC masters enter their PhD, something I am not interested in, and the rest get very agricultural research focused positions. But I think an Applied Econ degree is more versatile than an MPP. The alumni network at both schools doesn't seem to be very strong in my field. Continue working for another year and possibly defer/ reapply and hope to get more funding at either UCSD, Michigan, or other more prestigious institutions. I will be able to save a lot more money as well. I would be able to establish myself as a professional at the agency I will be working for (if my contract is renewed) and hopefully gain a larger network. My concern is though I don't want to keep bothering my recommenders for more LORs and I would probably have to take the GRE again, and I am worried that under the new presidency I won't get the same funding as I am getting now. Also worried that the longer I wait to do this, the less likely I will go back to school. Any thoughts you guys? Too many options, and it's getting overwhelming.

Yes! I just heard back today.

Did anyone here back about funding? Did it come with the official acceptance letter?

I am considering it. They offered me about 50k in funding, but the cost of living there is outrageous, and I am not too sure about the program anymore...

I am accepted "provisionally" as well, but for their MPP program.

@parkjun888 So far none of the schools I have applied to would even reach triple digits in debt, but this is also assuming I make at least 11k in part-time work a year and I use my savings of about 8k. I don't know how anyone could take on 100k of debt and not even consider trying to work while in the program, to minimize debt. A couple of the schools are very close to the 100k mark, but these universities have offered enough grant and fellowship money to cover over half of the total cost. If I chose to go to a school in-state in California, tuition for the program is only 21k a year. So far, I would be looking at about 40-50k of debt, but I am still seeking other ways to reduce that. For one school, I called the admissions team, and I was able to increase my merit aid offer to more than double. Every program is different, and I think that your comment is an overstatement. I thought too when applying for my master's that there is no way that I would ever be able to afford it, but this application season proved me wrong. I was under the impression I would have to take out a minimum of 60k, and now I am sitting here with offers from decent universities with funding and even one program that is fully funded. There is still hope. But on the topic of realistic debt. Does anyone expect to take out more than 50k?

@TheArtofApplying Thank you for the advice! I think you also commented on my "Am I competitive" post as well. I was able to obtain a 3-month contract for the position, which I will take up and make the decision for grad school when the time comes in mid-April. I know everyone says to go to school where you want to live, the problem is that I probably want to live outside of the country, so does location of the school matter in this case? Is it worth the debt? I have been accepted to the University of Minnesota, American University, the University of Washington for their MPP programs and Illinois for their Ag and Applied Econ program. According to Linkedin not many of them are working abroad. And how does the financial aid appeal work? Would I show to American University for example (who only offered 20k of merit aid for the two years) that I have been accepted with a larger sum of money? The University of Washington reduced my tuition by almost half, plus a monthly stipend.

@mapiau What do you think of UCSD's career services? I was looking their student internships, and I see that people are getting really amazing opportunities working for IPA, UNHCR, Foreign Policy Research Institute, and so much more. I also see that they have specialized career counselors based on the type of work opportunities. Have you had any direct experience with them? Do you think UCSD lacks DC connections? I know it is not the MIA program, but it seems like the MPP program has very similar classes.

Hey, thank you. I'm not looking to do research at all. I would love to have research skills but I am more interested in project management and policy. The applied research skills I am interested in gaining is more so to evaluate projects and performance and implementation. I am currently working in the field now for over a year, but in a rather remote part of Africa, that I don't have much opportunity to network, and though my organization is well-known in the US, it is not as well-known abroad. By international organization, I mean like organizations such as Oxfam, UN agencies, ODI, Red Cross, Marie Stopes etc. I haven't decided which field specifically in international development I want to pursue.

I am looking for any advice! I have recently been accepted to several mid-tier MPP programs with some, but it is not a substantial amount of funding. I would need to borrow about 30k in loans. Just today though Urbana-Champaign offered me a full ride to their Agricultural and Applied Economics Master's program. I also just received a contracted position at an NGO as a communications consultant. I don't know which option is best for me. I am interested in working for international organizations in a research/ managerial role, though I am starting to really like policy and program communications. Below are some of my concerns about the UIUC program and grad school in general: I am not interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in the future I want to work in an international organization or large nonprofit in a policy/research related role. I think I can be a research analyst, but I'm definitely more interested in the policy/ operation side of projects. I would like to do less econ research and more applied research on how to improve public projects (in the country or abroad). I am not entirely sure what field I want to work in within policy, but most of my experience this far has been working in Africa I am not really interested in agriculture I don't have a strong research background. I have a BA in econ, but since graduating, most of my roles have been in policy research and communications related to international development I am unsure of the job prospects with a UIUC degree if I want to work in DC or abroad compared to the MPP degree at American University or UCSD I am scared of the jobs prospects under a Trump presidency Any advice?