VeryCheesey

Hi! My question is fairly straightforward. How common is it for students pursuing MPPs to change to PhD during their masters?

Joining U-M for Master of Public Policy. I'm very excited!

Hi guys! Can anyone update about their experience at the Spring Preview? Really struggling here.

Hi guys! I know I said that I will probably not attend this program, but now it looks like the best option I have wrt the cost-benefit analysis I have been doing for the last week. Any of you have anything negative to say about the program? I can't find much on the cons list, except that the COL in Geneva is through the roof, and might upset my finances.

Hi! I am looking to study at IHEID in the coming fall. While the tuition is negligible, I am concerned about the living expense during the program - the website quotes a minimum expense of over CHF 1800 per month, which is much higher than any of the other European cities. Now I understand that Switzerland is expected to be expensive to stay in. Does living away from the university help the costs? Do you have suggestions to bring down costs while living in Switzerland? Any information, even anecdotal, is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi @mapiau, thanks for your detailed response. From what I understand the quarter system is extremely hectic. Does this imply that it would be impossible to take up RA/TA positions to receive funding from the university?

Hi @mapiau Few questions: Can you tell me how "real" the curriculum is? What I mean is, how much of the class hours are actually spent looking at real-world policy issues? The MPP at GPS is a very new program - Can you still give some reasons to take it up? As an international student, I feel that the F-1 visa OPT of 1 year for public policy and international relations is very short, and I am not sure how the school links you to international careers. Do you have any information? Thanks for your help!

Hi, Just received my financial aid package. The wording is very confusing, so I am going to drop a note to the assistant Dean and see what the value of the award actually is.

Hi! I am deep in the conundrum most of us must be facing/have faced - the reputation/cost trade-off. I was admitted to the MPP programs at Ford School of Public Policy at UMich with $30k tuition waiver (1/3rd of the tuition), and to the Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota with in-state tuition + $20k (I am an international student, so in-state tuition is a godsend). So my problem is this - Even with the funding, I will rack up a debt of about $60k if I decide to attend Ford (provided I don't land a campus job in the coming semesters). However, the program's reputation is much better than the Humphrey MPP, both within the US and internationally. It also aligns with my interest, gives me the flexibility I desire from the curriculum, and has a wide variety of courses and research I am interested in. At Humphrey, on the other hand, I will have a much smaller debt ($15-20k), but the program is less to my liking, though not so bad as to be rejected entirely. The number of courses offered is fewer, too. My question, thus, is this - Is the Ford MPP actually worth the extra cost I will put into it? Especially since my other alternative brings to cost to a third of the estimate? Thanks!

Hahaha, it sure makes sense. As a spectator with nothing as stake wrt HKS, this thread is super entertaining. Keep it coming, guys!

Yes, the curriculum is amazing. However, I did find it to be a little more theoretical than elsewhere, and I dunno how that falls in the grand scheme of things. I applied for the MDEV. I was very excited to see the courses and structuring of the program, but a current student from my country does not seem very please with it now that she's there. I'll probably talk to her again and update this thread.

Hey! I am very interested in this information too. Can we agree to share anything we find here? Thanks!

Hi @wakandaforever and @Edpol93, can you share your notes after the event on this forum? I am an international student in no position to visit either today's event or the campus visits, so it'll be great to have some insight.

They probably anticipated your WWS admit!

Hey! Sorry to hear that. Do you mind sharing why it was your top priority, though? It'll be great to get some perspective.