nellolikejello

Coming from:
Big 4 - Transfer pricing consulting (~4.5 years of experience)
Undergrad - Big 10 state school (Mid-Atlantic)
Deciding between: 
Harris (UChicago) MPP: $15k / year
Heinz (Carnegie Mellon) MSPPM-DA: 65% (~$32k / year)
SIPA (Columbia): $16k / year
Career goals / interests: 
I have lived in the NYC metro area for most of my adult life. As a result, I am somewhat jaded by the NYC lifestyle and, in many ways, looking forward to a change of scenery (which only knocks down SIPA even further). I don't necessarily have a single career track that I'm locked into (as I think that would be somewhat unrealistic to assume). However, I am very interested in applying data science and statistical modeling to *urban* problems, especially as it relates to transportation, housing, crime and data privacy. Some organizations that come to mind are Palantir, Labs41, and Civis Analytics to name a few. In this respect, I am very intrigued by UChicago's Urban Labs as this seems like a natural fit. At the same time, I am conscious that the Data Analytics track at CMU would offer a much wider range of coursework and would likely provide me with a more rigorous training in computer programming and data science skills than the Harris MPP offers (note that I originally applied to CAPP program, but was instead admitted to MPP). Also - let's not forget that the COL for a city like Pittsburgh is going to be demonstrably less than Chicago. Honestly, Columbia only enters the conversation because of its brand (hard not to seriously consider an Ivy League when you went to a state school for undergrad) and its connections to NYC jobs market.
How I'm leaning:
Currently, I am leading towards Harris (over Heinz). I first came across the Harris admissions team at a grad school fair in NYC and I can honestly say that I was very impressed with the level of detail they provided (stats on employment outcomes, job satisfaction, etc.). Additionally, I had a conversation with a soon-to-be former student at the CAPP program who was extremely helpful in terms of providing information and attesting to her high degree of satisfaction with the program in general. She came from a similar corporate background as myself and was interestingly enough pretty dismissive of the Heinz program (recognizing this is only one datapoint but still a datapoint). I am planning on attending both admit days for Harris and Heinz. It works out that I can attend Harris Thurs/Fri and Heinz on Sat. I have a strong suspicion that I am going to walk away from Harris ASD feeling even more inclined to committing. At the end of the day, the data science and computer skills I want to obtain are not limited to any one program. As any data scientist will tell you, with the right amount of hustle these skills can be self-taught. Sure, the Heinz MSPPM is a STEM-designated degree, but I am not looking for an OPT as I am a US citizen so this is less of a pull factor. I am also hesitant of getting a degree that has such an unwieldy name as "MSPPM-DA"; seems like a lot of unnecessary lettering to explain to future employers. Additionally, I see that many Heinz MSPPM-DA grads end up working in government consulting as "data analysts". As someone who's worked in Big 4 consulting, I can tell you that these jobs are not as sexy as they sound. Basically, I am trying to avoid ending up in a job where I'm paid an OK salary to make PowerPoint slide decks all day. Furthermore, I think my decision will be much easier if I receive an additional funding offer from Harris via the reconsideration process that better approximates what Heinz is offering.
I realize now that I've mostly used the above space to convince myself of one option. Consider it a "partial dilemma" then.