MD guy

Yeah I mentioned this already above,

I think it is safe to say that you were an outstanding applicant to SIPA. Congratulations. But my point was, realistically, people shouldn't expect this sort of thing to happen to you, much as you did not expect it yourself. I don't think it's unfair to say some level of debt is expected for many MPP/MPA students in this day and age of ridiculous tuition..

Interesting, thanks for the perspective! Was your application outstanding in a certain way in comparison to the typical SIPA applicant? I guess I don't hang out with enough top tier people who can secure full-tuition grants from elite schools like SIPA heh heh, hence my impression that a very highly reputed school is hard to attract good money from.

Depends on the school. Berkeley has lots of TAships available but apparently they're competitive. Same with Michigan. I think in general the larger the school's undergrad college, the more opportunities there are going to be, but competition is always a problem. Add in picky professors and scheduling issues, I wouldn't bank on getting an assistantship for financial aid, but it's certainly available and possible. Also it's almost impossible to not take on any debt unless 1) you go to WWS or 2) have family money to pay. The point is to get as little as possible and be reasonable with expectations, as well as keeping an open mind for less high reputation schools that might give more money.

AFAIK, recruiting and networking for that needs to be done nice and early. It's not like those people will look at any HBS resume that flies their way, no sir. Once you're a couple years out I think many of those doors close, especially if OP has been working in the MPP world. Perhaps senior level policy people can get another in and transition to consulting, but the finance door is a hard one to break open again randomly mid-career.

NY winters these past two years were nowhere near "horrid." You're right, you shouldn't be considering UChicago if you thought the past couple of winters were bad haha

Usually, "program managers" get there by working and doing very well in the program prior to getting promoted

Moving into higher level positions usually requires work experience and connections. Gov't job promotions are always a formula consisting of degree level and experience level. I don't believe certifications would get you much, but if your employer thinks otherwise then obviously different. You already have two of the standard degrees, I don't see the need for a certification.

I think he means that he has enough money to fund the MA but not enough to bankroll a full top-tier MBA

Thinking emergency medicine but I won't have to decide for another 3 years. But most probably EM

Sounds like the answer is work experience since you need it for the MBA anyway. You haven't seen enough yet. Either way, I don't think INSEAD is the answer, "top" as it may be. Top American MBA would open doors worldwide but an unknown top global program closes many doors in America (slight exaggeration).

Deferring to my international friend, obviously. If you want to work in the USA, stick with a business school that Americans know.

Wtf is even INSEAD? Sounds like a scam university. I know it's not, but I also doubt any public service/business dual degree is worth it. They serve two entirely different purposes and people should decide before enrolling in a master's degree what they want to do with their lives, not after racking up debt and spending unnecessary years of a life in school.

I will be doing a one of those dual degree programs, finishing both in 5 years instead of 6 separately. But my medical school does not have a suitable MPP program so I will go elsewhere. My medical school is top-notch but the associated policy program is bleh in health care. In reality, many physicians are already involved in health policy (but not enough IMO). What's concerning is that these are people with generally no policy training at all...but I can help it in my case so I will actually go pick up some skills. You mean by the time I finish training as a physician? The main parts of the ACA will likely be done rolling out by the time I finish training in like 6 years, yes, but it will continue to be relevant for all physicians going forward. Programs can always (and should) be tweaked, Medicare/Medicaid innovations at CMS will continue, and state/local agencies are still incentivized to make changes for the better. In any case, even my current involvement already as a student is not limited to the ACA. Opportunities are abound

I'm doing this because I know I won't want to practice medicine forever and would like to take leadership roles in health policy. Not interested in public health so much as public policy so I'm going to do an MPP rather than an MPH. With the ongoing Affordable Care Act implementation efforts in coming years, there will be much need for competent physician input on how to structure/run programs and make improvements. Gotta get a degree now while I'm still in school because medical training afterwards won't give me any time to do so. But I won't be applying to MPP for two years haha so technically I'm just a regular med student heh heh

I've heard that as well. With this in mind, I think you just need to decide what it is you want to do. It sounds like you are willing to take on debt to do a dual degree where one of the degrees would likely prove less useful throughout your entire career. It's fine to have a JD, do biglaw and then move out of it as it's a common path, but planning on doing law for a couple years and then leaving doesn't justify the time or money spent at any law school. It's 3 years of your life, not anything to kid about. But then again I don't know anything about int'l arbitration. Just doesn't seem like it's reasonable to expect people with dual degrees (LLM aside). As a confirmed prospective dual degree applicant, I've found that those with double degrees tend to tell you it's necessary; it's hard to go to sleep knowing you wasted your life. It's the opinions of people who are working in your desired field/positions who do not possess multiple degrees who are more likely do give you better advice IMO. And yeah with a good JD your debt tolerance changes but there's still a cap...biglaw is 160k, 100k take home first year and unless you are at a T6, the chances at biglaw can be quite low. In particular, Georgetown is a T14 but blows at biglaw placement. If you want biglaw you really need to focus on the T6. Hope your GPA is up to snuff

-shrug- Alright then. My suspicion is still that the attorneys in question could've done without the IR degree. It seems they are riding off of their high-powered attorney positions to get other gigs. Even though MPA folks know that the JD is not a 1-for-1 replacement, many organizations think a lawyer with experience can more than substitute for a policy graduate. Instead of splurging money on SAIS, I would just focus on doing LSAT to get into a T6 law school. You could do all the wonderfully fun and prestigious IR stuff from there just as well.

Nah. Contrary to popular belief driven mostly by sensationalist media, any medical field for a physician can make back 6 figure loans easily.

As an MD candidate I would upvote this three times if possible

Only someone with intimate knowledge of Canada could help you with whether UT would be a smart idea for staying in Canada. It's very hard to believe that SAIS would be looked down upon or close doors anywhere unless the culture in that area is "local or go home." Finances aren't an issue...I think it's a real loss to turn it down unless Canada doesn't like US schools for some weird Canadian reason.

Why are you in SAIS then? If you want to do big arbitration work, the answer is to be an attorney...I'm not sure I see the value that SAIS would really give you. But then again I don't know too much about SAIS in particular. Just doesn't seem like MPP-type gives the right sorts of skills.

Ditch the JD. Why do you want it? See the other thread in the forum about why the JD is a bad fit for most people interested in policy. The JD would bring your very manageable debt load and balloon it to ridiculousness, forcing you to explore the private biglaw sector, which most MPP-oriented people would not like. I would also not advocate working part-time the first semester. There's a transition time wherever you go, and you want to make friends the first semester anyway. Starting with the spring you'll have a much better idea how well you can handle things. But obviously deferring to the SAIS ppl here

The vast vast majority of top programs allow their students to do whatever dual degrees they want to, especially professional degrees. For the other participating school, well, you're a cash cow so why wouldn't they want you as long as you're not too far off the path? Source: I am a prospective MD/MPP applicant. My med school does not care at all where I go for the degree but are supporting my application 100%. The MPP schools I've reached out too, it seems, can't wait to take my money.

Decide what you want to do. The JD is not a flexible degree, despite what people like to say about it. It locks you into being a lawyer. Even attorneys doing "policy work" are limited to a finite set of tasks like writing legislation (snore), writing regulations (snore), or serving as counsel (less of a snore, depending on the dept/agency/person you're counseling). When you go to TLS (top-law-schools.com), you will get the same answer. The MPP won't help you make bank, but you will actually learn to analyze and craft public policy. Leave the writing of actual legislation to the chumps. If you want to be at the forefront of making or implementing public policy, save the money and go for the MPP. Uh...not really. Hooks don't count for much in JD admissions. If your numbers are a match for Gtown (the lowest of the T14), no hooks are going to bump you up to HLS. A "bump" in this case would move you up to Penn/Mich or maybe Columbia. But Columbia focuses on biglaw (80% of 2Ls are summering) and that is definitely not what you want. Advice: go to MPP school and see where you are after the first summer. There is no need to plan now. You will likely find this thread hilarious after a year when you realize that if you 1) don't want biglaw, 2) are considering only for income purposes, and 3) you don't actually want to do what typical lawyers do, then the JD could be a million dollar mistake (counting opportunity costs)

I'm sure you saw this by now but this belongs in the HKS thread