zerolife

do schools give out grants or financial aid that you don't have to pay back at the graduate level (I mean excluding merit-based scholarships)? I received a large chunk for undergrad (and I believe most if not all were need-based rather than merit-based since they really had no reason to give me merit based with my stats). However for grad, even through my school is working on my financial aid package, I have already received a preliminary estimate which has only loans and work study. I did receive a half off merit-based scholarship but it's from the program, and not the financial aid office.

@Juli I probably won't get a chance to visit the campus till end of May and by then, it would be too late to regret choosing CMU so I'm planning to just go there August. I highly doubt I will regret choosing CMU anyway. However, please let us know your experience from your campus visit ... I'm very interested. Also, I don't think you need to worry too much about your lack of CS background, especially since you are taking a program from the Public Policy School. Lol I think I should be worried since my program falls under the Information Systems School. @tortoise My current work is related to internet investigation where I discovered my interest in international cyber crime enforcement & policy, especially in regard to China since I always wanted to do some China related work.

as the previous poster mentioned, which program is a better fit for you and which location do you like better? Syracuse iSchool is pretty good on a lot of the programs they are offering (I think their are couple first ranked ones) and you do get 75% off and free living. You might get pretty close to McGill money-wise

wow my first reaction was get the best grad degree you can and then skip country. I see people talking about 90k a year but I highly doubt you (or any one in the US) are going to make anything close to that number anytime soon (likely never), especially with a degree in Education. I wonder how you got yourself into this debt in the first place. I've gone to the most expensive college in the US (GW) and I really don't know anyone who has borrowed anything close to your number since most students nowaday receive at least some financial aid (unless your family is super-rich in which case you don't have to worry about paying back yourself anyway). I really don't have any really good ideas for you. I think if I were in your shoes I would see if I can get a significant break from the lender (if they are smart they would do it knowing your situation). If not, I would seriously consider moving somewhere else or file bankrupcy. I know it's not morally the best thing to do but the same can be said for the lenders allowing you to take that big of a loan and not giving you some type of break so you can actually have a chance to pay back.

I think a lot of programs value professional experience more or at least the same as academic credential. I would apply next year. Meanwhile make some money through a job or paid internship, while at the same time study to retake the GRE. From what I heard, a high GRE/GMAT can actually replace a low GPA at many schools...

@gurf GW admins are all a bunch of a**hole. I was an undergrad at Elliott (International Affairs). Unless you are really into the location or their Science & Technology Policy program (I don't think anyone else offers that), go somewhere else

probably will accept offer for the Information Security Policy & Management policy. Anyone else joing the program or Heinz School? Anyone also part of the 6% minority group of student coming from a liberal arts / social science background like me? If you are a current student or alumni, have you thought about a career abroad, like in East Asia?

did you just receive the offer letter from School B? If so I think March 19th is a very short time expect you to respond. Most people probably need more time to dig deeper about the program or do a campus visit. I would definitiv ask for an extension and mention that you want to use the time to visit their campus. > Is it shady to accept school B's offer, and then change my decision if school A accepts me? I've done that for undergrad. I regretted later that I accepted the offer. Wrote a letter explaining my reason and they even refunded me the deposit.

... that's CMU Heinz School Information Security Policy & Management program I understand I'm comparing apple to orange here. My interest is actually in information assurance policy so in this regard, CMU clearly wins. However, my goal is to actually move to China after graduation and I know SAIS has a strong alumni network there. I know CMU is overall a highly ranked school but does anyone know the reputation of the Heinz School, and their international alumni network? Thanks in advance