mppfall2010

stiles - you convinced me! i'm also in for duke this fall and really excited

taken from my post on a different thread: can anyone else make a case for duke or chicago over the other? in terms of reputation, do you think chicago will open more doors? and with regards to duke's very small class size (~50 students) do you ever feel like this is a negative? while i know chicago is known for being more quant based, does duke's curriculum live up in the eyes of an employer? and can anyone speak to their career services, in terms of getting placed NOT in DC or north carolina post graduation (ie. NYC, Chicago, West Coast)? i also get the feeling duke offers less electives and more core. can anybody speak to that, and whether it's been a good thing or a bad thing? i agree that the sense of personal attention and community at duke was/is outstanding. so much so that for me, you don't really realize that it's something you want out of a grad school until a school like duke offers it to you. and then when you stack that against the cold, hard, and relatively unfriendly atmospheres of some other schools, they don't compare. but how much should that really weigh in? i was hoping our resident sanford guru (stiles) would be able to help out with this one. especially since i know you chose a different school and ended up changing to sanford. but anyone else, too!

i'm in a similar dilemma, though not quite with those funding packages (congratulations!!) can anyone else make a case for duke or chicago over the other? in terms of reputation, do you think chicago will open more doors? and with regards to duke's very small class size (~50 students) do you ever feel like this is a negative? while i know chicago is known for being more quant based, does duke's curriculum live up in the eyes of an employer? and can anyone speak to their career services, in terms of getting placed NOT in DC or north carolina post graduation (ie. NYC, Chicago, West Coast)? i also get the feeling duke offers less electives and more core. can anybody speak to that, and whether it's been a good thing or a bad thing? i agree that the sense of personal attention and community at duke was/is outstanding. so much so that for me, you don't really realize that it's something you want out of a grad school until a school like duke offers it to you. and then when you stack that against the cold, hard, and relatively unfriendly atmospheres of some other schools, they don't compare. but how much should that really weigh in? to the OP: good luck with your decision - i know it's tough to hear this right now amidst all the angst, but it's an excellent decision to have to make! i wouldn't worry too much about funding at one school versus another - your packages are relatively similar and i wouldn't let that be the deciding factor of your happiness. you've clearly done very well for yourself to have gotten full rides at 3 top schools. hopefully if someone can provide answers to the above questions it can help you figuring out duke v. chicago. locationwise: i'm somewhat anti durham, but it is only 2 years and maybe a great place for grad school (cheaper and less distractions but still great connections and reputation).

i think following the money is the soundest advice i've heard. SIPA - while it may interest you most - is likely not worth $130K debt when compared to the free rides. you don't want to be kicking yourself later. trust me - that's a lot of money. having said that, when comparing harris and CMU i think you should compare 1) feeling upon visits (student body, other prospective students - is this a class you want to be around?) 2) career services placement and whether they go the extra mile for you. don't worry too much about DC network versus another... any of those schools are revered enough to be fine 3) course/degree requirements - thesis or not? lots of electives or not? 4) location. of course this is not exhaustive of things to compare but quantitatively i think you're fine at either school. does harris offer you certain electives/concentrations that CMU doesn't? where do you currently live - would you be able to move out to chicago? conversely, would you be able to live one year in pittsburgh and one year in DC? the fact that CMU is also paying for living expenses, well that's just a pretty sweet deal... making a chart helps... reading through these forums help... but ultimately i do think that gut feeling upon visiting is the ticket to knowing your comfort level at a school and gauging if you'll be happy.

@ pea-jay: i'm sure a lot more is going into your baruch-wagner-o'meter than student body, but can i ask why you are leaning away from wagner?

@ s33: WOW these boards are a wealth of information. thanks for posting those! i will be sure to read through them carefully... my questions aren't too specific so i'm sure they have been answered in the past. may i ask - since you are now a grad, and i presume those posts were written while you were still in school and perhaps had a slightly different perspective - if you had to do it again, would you still choose harris over other schools you were debating? what are you doing now, after graduation and do you feel like career services placed you well for internships and your current job? the reason i ask is because i am currently debating between harris (a school i very much want to go) and another comparable school that has excellent placement and career services attention according to current and past students of the program. besides the more quant focus at harris, i can't find too many other differences (at least when relative to my interests). with regards to the DC network - i'm sure the chicago name carries enough clout from here to timbuktu. so that doesn't concern me. do you feel as though classes were very region-specific? (ie. focused on chicago/midwest, etc). for example nyu has a very NYC focus. duke has a very north carolina focus in terms of practical experience. GSPP is a very cali-focused school. but i know harvard (for example) is not. so i'm wondering where chicago lies on the spectrum. and lastly - i am fairly strong in econ (albeit a lot of my undergrad classes were more qualitative than heavy heavy econometrics and quant) and decent in introductory calc and stats. i tend to disparage my quantitative abilities but relatively speaking, when compared to students who have never had an econ class before, never had a stats class before, etc etc - do you think harris would be particularly challenging? do you think the math camp would be necessary to attend (i'm more than willing to attend it if need be - just want to make sure i won't be sitting there idly watching my august slip by...) thanks!

Anyone (current students or even other recent admits) have any thoughts?

Besides some comments about waiting for applications, I haven't heard much recent discussion of the University of Chicago's Harris School. I know a decent amount about it (social policy strength, econ & stat heavy, ivory tower, etc) but can anyone provide any more insight into the program? Such as internship opportunities, research centers, professor-student interaction, job placement, electives? The program doesn't seem to require a masters thesis - how is this perceived after the program? For someone who did not receive funding, is it worth the debt? My inclination is yes, it is - but with how delayed their admissions process was and how unresponsive their office seems to be to emails and questions, I am having trouble justifying it now. Would love a little insight into the program. Especially for those considering going and debating between other schools... why are you considering Chicago over other schools and vice versa? Thanks.

Hi everyone. I wanted to get a thread going on all things NYU Wagner. I was recently admitted to their MPA PNPM program and am really excited about it. I’m not sure if I will be able to attend the Admitted Students Day and so wanted to see if I could get some questions answered by current students. These are just a few questions but really any information about Wagner would be helpful, especially for those of us trying to decide and without means to visit. I appreciate it! 1) How does NYU’s MPA compare to MPP programs such as Harris, HKS, and Duke? In my case, I am more interested in policy analysis rather than running a non-profit or the management part of it, so the fact that NYU is an MPA versus an MPP is actually a detracting factor. I am trying to assess how important this really is. 2) How is the degree structured? Are there a lot of required classes or room for flexibility? 3) How far will the NYU MPA name really take you? Is it as valued as, say, a Harris or HKS MPP degree? Those two have very quantitative focuses that are well respected (from what I perceive). How does NYU stack up? 4) What is the Wagner student body like? Friendly? Independent? How easy is it to meet other people (within Wagner, and within other NYU graduate programs)? A place like NYC can be intimidating – does Wagner have a student community at all? 5) What kind of research opportunities are there for first year students? 6) How valuable is the Capstone experience? Is it a good practicum, comparable to a Master’s Thesis at other schools? 7) What about the possibility of dual degrees? Is this a possibility (specifically, MPA/JD) and what is the process like? Like I said - any perspectives on Wagner would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and best of luck to everyone.