Kb6, just read all the posts on this thread. this was incredibly helpful. i am hoping you will be able to answer my questions too.
I am (luckily) faced with making a decision amongst a few top schools, the gist of which is as follows:
Harvard MPP - no funding - will cost $75k/year (incl living)
Tufts MALD - 32k annual waiver - will cost 30k/year (incl living)
Carnegie Mellon MSPPM - 29k annual waiver - will cost 28k/year (incl living)
Duke MPP - 10k annual waiver - will cost 49k/year (incl living) - i am yet to hear from them regarding a revised funding offer
SAIS MA (IDEV) - 30k annual waiver - will cost 33k/ year (incl living)
I would be utterly grateful if you (and others on this forum) could please:
1. tell me which one out of my offers you guys would advise me to go to, keeping in mind the prestige of the school and job prospects.
2. tell me if you feel whether my chances of employment and earnings for entry level jobs in multilateral development organizations or research institutes would be significantly higher if I were to graduate from Harvard. Essentially, would this income differential justify the additional initial investment for Harvard (assuming i can foot the entire bill for HKS)?
3. Is SAIS the top school in the DC area? How does the MPP offered by the McCourt School at Georgetown compare this program with the MA program offered by SAIS, in terms of placements of graduates, quantitative rigor of coursework and research opportunities available to students.
4. I am told that SAIS isa feeder for the World Bank (which is where I would like to end up after graduating). Could you tell me what percentage of students at SAIS end up with jobs at the WB, and how many of t hem land consultancies while studying at SAIS?
