RobinL

I am currently around $70,000 in debt, but with an interest rate of <.5%. As such, I am not that "scared" of the high debt I have accrued already, but I certainly would not go anywhere if I need to borrow more than $10-20,000. I have taken funding into account while applying (as such, HKS was quickly off the table) since I am actively pursuing a career in public service. If you are not, you may feel free to take some more risks, but be careful. Speaking from nothing but personal opinion I find MBA to not be "that much more qualified" than many other masters (quant-MPP, Econ, engineering). I would assume the ease of finding a job in the private sector with an MPP relies upon the focus of that specific MPP, simply put.

I completed my application on January 17th (for some reason I thought it wise to not send it until my third and final recommender was done) and got my acceptance e-mail on Feb 8. I have only applied to four grad schools total (MPP/MPA/MPA/Econ) and would love to go to Syracuse, but to me it all boils down to how much funding I get, as I am not willing to put myself in huge debt for it. Good luck to everyone, hope to see you there.