After having completed the admitted student's day at George Washington this weekend I get the feeling I am one of many people asking myself GW or Georgetown. Here are some factors I've been thinking about:
1) Name: Georgetown is unquestionably the most respected name both in DC and especially beyond, but GW is highly respected in the city. Furthermore, if one is wanting to work in policy elsewhere in the U.S., say at state level, perhaps it is less necessary to have a policy degree from a top school.
2) Network: it seems like they are both strong. GW's might be larger, and Georgetown's might be more awesome. Not sure which wins.
3) Cost: Back of the envelope calculation of credits for an MPP times cost per credit shows that GW's MPP is $53,600 and Georgetown's is $80,640. (I have $10k at GPPI, which I guess brings that down to $60,640.)
4) Experience: GW's is much more workable for a working professional who wants to have the flexibility to keep their current job, or have the flexibility to take on a new one at any time without having to worry about a full-time or part time designation GW's location will also make it a lot more logistically easy to intern or work around town and make it to class, not to mention making it for random lunchtime speakers and networking opportunities.
Before the GW event I was heavily leaning toward GPPI, but now I'm thinking about how valuable the flexibility and location of GW's program are.
Any current students go to GPPI and wish they had gone to GW? Vice versa?
How are other admitted students feeling about the decision?
