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Just as an update for all future readers. I have chosen SAIS as I had to submit my deposit today to retain the scholarship. @kd7432 Hmm, well frankly I'm not sure. I didn't apply to any of those schools because they didn't seem to have what I'm looking for. It seems to me that Georgetown MSFS is king when looking at area studies (I really don't know about McCourt). Since you're looking to do a PhD as well, have you tried to see which program would give you the opportunity to prepare best? On a personal level, I wouldn't want to live in Michigan or North Carolina, so I'd most likely choose McCourt... but only you can really know if it's the best decision for you, I suppose.

Thanks for the heads up! I have taken real analysis, but I'll probably take it again since I got a B. I think you've got a good point about the recommendations. Does anyone know whether TAships or RAships are available at SAIS? I had an inkling that the IDEV course would get me more attention from faculty.. But obviously this post is all about me questioning my decision. During undergrad I was terrible at forming relationships with professors, so I am sort of hoping by choosing IDEV I'd have a more structured environment where I could build a good reputation and recommendation letters. My fear at SIPA is that it is so big that I'd not know where to start. Any suggestions? Again, thank you all for being sp helpful

Thank you @Ben414 and @mapiau for your responses. I think it's really hard for me to gauge how rigorous the IDEV econ courses at SAIS are. I've heard SAIS isn't as difficult as its reputation might suggest... But when I hear that it generally comes from someone trying to convince a prospective student that they need not be afraid of the required economics coursework. Blattman said on his blog any of the programs could be geared to be highly quantitative but at the time he went the MPA/ID was the standard bearer. But you're right, standalone the MPA at SIPA doesn't seem to be as highly touted. I have pretty much all the math coursework I could need (though a couple B's were littered in there, so I may retake Real Analysis at some point for an A). Right now, I'm leaning towards SAIS. I'd love it if there were any former IDEV students that could attest to (or tell me I'm an idiot) the rigor of rhe econ coursework. Deadline for fellowship recips is the 20th!

Hello GCers, I have to decide within the next two days, so I'd appreciate some fast advice! Here's my situation: after a patchy undergrad degree where I bounced around majors and ended up with a ~3.6, I have been working in development in South America for 3 years. I want to study my PhD in economics focusing on the Pacific Pumas phenomenon (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru) and how public debt plays a role in economic growth/stability. Up until today, I was pretty much set on going to SAIS in the IDEV program, where I have a scholarship that means I will only have to take out loans of about 35k. I think that SAIS's Latin American Studies program also seems very strong and well-funded, plus SAIS is known for its economic rigor especially within the IDEV program. However, SIPA reconsidered my financial aid and bumped my scholarship up from half to full-tuition. But over the course of two years, my debt will still probably be about the same as at SAIS. The advantages I see at SIPA are that I could take economics courses outside the MPA program(?) which I'm not sure is an advantage or not.. and it seems there are more tenured faculty, which means maybe I might have a better chance at an RAship? It's always a bit discouraging to see when people on TGC say not to go to these programs if aiming for a PhD, but these programs seem much more highly regarded than a terminal MS in economics without funding from X Ivy league school. And since I have the funding, I'd like to have a try at the Chris Blattman route and wanted to know which school you all think will be better for my shot at a PhD.