policywonk12

That's great to hear. Congrats on Harris!

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@nadine! @Mr. Jameson I finalized Berkeley MDP! Sent my SIR. What about you guys?

Hi Manvika, the good thing about both programs is that they're STEM. Job opportunities from both are more or less the same - Yale's smaller class size makes interactions with career services team easier but Columbia trumps in terms of its location and networking events (GSAS doesn't have its own placement committee, btw). Columbia Econ also has a marginally better reputation among employers - mainly because of its proximity to DevConsulting firms like NERA, FTI, Analysis Group, Abt Associates etc. and the UN. The duration of the program should also be considered - Yale is hardly a year whereas Columbia's a full 2 years. If you're someone who's keen on graduating sooner to not lose even a year in the job market, the IDE is ideal. As you mentioned, Yale tuition is cheaper and New Haven being a college city will also have a lower cost of living. I'd personally recommend attending Yale - even if your aim is to work in NYC, students (especially with 2+ years of work ex) generally don't find it too hard to seek employment there. All the best!

Hi all, thought of posting my dilemma as per Karam's format: Coming from: New Delhi, India. Been working as an RA across different field research studies for 2.75 years. Deciding between: MA in International Economics and International Development (I-DEV) - SAIS JHU - 30% tuition waiver. MA in Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences (QMSS) - Columbia GSAS - no aid. Master's in Development Practice (MDP) - UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources - 10% waiver with possibly more fee remissions by working as RA/TA. Other factors: I-DEV at SAIS: Pros - Economics-intensive coursework; being in Washington DC = proximity to a multilateral and other research organizations + networking opportunities Con - Might be better suited to domestic students or those interested in security studies/IR/foreign policy, as opposed to I-DEV jobs QMSS at Columbia: Pros - Coursework is applied statistics and data science with a thesis component along with a practicum in data analysis; sector-agnostic transferable skills; supposedly a stepping stone to PhDs; Location; 3-year STEM OPT Cons - Only 9 months long so too hectic to accommodate learning new skills and maintaining a high GPA (while also job hunting and writing a thesis); works out to be unreasonably expensive; probably not very well-known to employers; high cost of living MDP at Cal: Pros - Many research centers for those interested in Development Economics, access to stellar faculty, flexibility of cross-registering in other grad schools at the university; flexibility of choosing between a capstone and a thesis in the second year; 3-year STEM OPT Cons - Not as many I-DEV jobs as on the east coast, not as well-known as the GSPP MPP since the program started only in 2012-13; living costs almost as high as NYC, possibly How I'm leaning: Probably ruling out Columbia since it's nearly impossible to graduate without taking on a high amount of debt. Would ideally like to attend Berkeley for the pros mentioned above but unsure if it's worth staying away from the east coast where the jobs availability is unquestionably higher for those in I-DEV. Would love to know your opinions, thank you!

Same! Are you heading to Goldman MPP or for the MDP?

I diidd! Mad respect for TS for taking on the men who tried to bring her down, and now also kind of like her songs...

I'm interested in a PhD at some point later, too, but the Berkeley MDP seemed strictly a professional master's program to me. How does an MDP fulfill the requirements for a PhD in Econ/Poli Sci if one hasn't majored in either of them during undergrad?

Yes, I'd like to know, too! I've also got into the Columbia QMSS so I've the option to pursue a dual degree but with no funding from SIPA, that would be hard. Not sure if the ROI on the dual degree would be THAT high with zero aid when I could easily complete the QMSS in a year and cross-register for SIPA coursework, too

Got the rejection email 20 minutes back, but also relieved to hear from them, at last.

Hi guys, I received my admit from the Columbia MA QMSS (Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences) yesterday, and had already received my SIPA MPA-DP early decision in December. As I understand, dual degrees can be super hectic and very expensive. Going for a MA QMSS/MPA-DP dual degree will mean completing both within 5 semesters (Starting with 3 with SIPA, followed by 2 with QMSS). What are the pros and cons of dual degrees, especially at a place like Columbia?

That's what I thought, too! And hopefully, that could've been in the blog post (which still hasn't been published).

Does anyone have an idea about the time slot when these decisions are released? Morning, afternoon or evening EST?

That makes sense, thank you! What schools have you applied to?

NYU’s A3SR (Applied Social Sciences Research), Georgetown’s MS-DSPP (data science in public policy), CMU’s MS-PPM DA and UPenn’s MS Social Policy Data Analytics are few other examples. And it is mentioned on their websites whether or not they’re STEM

Hello, hive mind! I wanted to know the pros and cons of going for a lesser known STEM program (UC Berkeley Master's in Development Practice) v/s a better known non-STEM MPP/MPA (e.g. SAIS, Harris, SIPA, etc.). I'm not eligible for most scholarships, and the chances of receiving financial aid from either school are quite slim. STEM OPT is useful for international students who could potentially accelerate their career by working with reputed organisations in the States for a few years - and help in paying off education loans a lot sooner (compared to working in my home country post-Master's). However, in terms of placements and getting a foot-in-the-door at the very least, a better known program will likely open doors for more number of opportunities. Both degrees are useful in terms of offering the flexibility to customize the degree as per one's desirable focus area. Aptitude for STEM coursework is also not an issue, even though I'm a Business and Liberal Arts major.Welcoming guidance from anyone and everyone who has an opinion on this choice!My background: have 2+ years experience in field research with multilaterals + US university-affiliated DevEcon research firms in a third world country - mostly in the area of poverty reduction. I wish to continue working in organizations and nonprofits but as an early career professional, I'm sector-agnostic at this point. By that, I mean that while I'd ideally like to proceed with my work in international development, I'm also open to switching to other focus areas (e.g. gender, energy) if my interests match Thank you in advance!

Hello, hive mind! I wanted to know the pros and cons of going for a lesser known STEM program (UC Berkeley Master's in Development Practice) v/s a better known non-STEM MPP/MPA (e.g. Harris, SIPA, etc.). I'm not eligible for most scholarships, and the chances of receiving financial aid from either school are quite slim. STEM OPT is useful for international students who could potentially accelerate their career by working with reputed organisations in the States for a few years - and help in paying off education loans a lot sooner (compared to working in my home country post-Master's). However, in terms of placements and getting a foot-in-the-door at the very least, a better known program will likely open doors for more number of opportunities. Both degrees are useful in terms of offering the flexibility to customize the degree as per one's desirable focus area. Aptitude for STEM coursework is also not an issue, even though I'm a Business and Liberal Arts major. Welcoming guidance from anyone and everyone who has an opinion on this choice! My background: have 2+ years experience in field research with multilaterals + US university-affiliated DevEcon research firms in a third world country - mostly in the area of poverty reduction. I wish to continue working in organizations and nonprofits but as an early career professional, I'm sector-agnostic at this point. By that, I mean that while I'd ideally like to proceed with my work in international development, I'm also open to switching to other focus areas (e.g. gender, energy) if my interests match Thank you in advance!

The class size of I-DEV is 25 people, with near equal representation from developing countries. Since students have to do a year-long capstone in their second year, the chances of those getting converted to job offers is quite high. SAIS' proximity to headquarters of many well-known think tanks (they share a wall and a canteen with Brookings!) and multilaterals (being in the city centre) is far more advantageous than Georgetown's, which is on the city outskirts. Many SAIS alums I know are well-placed at Carnegie, J-PAL/EPoD, the World Bank etc. in both operations as well as research. Their Econ coursework is quite highly valued by students and from what I've been told, they also invest more in professional development of students. The entire program team is very hands-on with the career services team. So, when it comes to I-DEV, I'd say SAIS certainly trumps Georgetown

Thank you so much! My favourite non-STEM program would be the Princeton MPA (who doesn't like a full-ride?) because they've South Asian centric coursework and have close ties with the multilateral I'm working with, currently. And my favourite STEM would be the MDP because of its flexibility+small class size/location, though the coursework in UPenn MSSP-DA is also fairly impressive, as are their research opportunities. Haven't gotten into Princeton and UPenn but keeping my fingers crossed ?

The general practice is listing all other offers and financial aid you’ve received from other universities. They’re clearly well-endowed and there’s a good chance that they might increase the scholarship by a few more thousands.

I also got in with $16K for the first year. Hardly a notch higher than Harris’ $15K/year. Time to renegotiate (sigh)

Does everyone get their temporary iD immediately after logging in with the SIS ID? Can't access the FinAid page even after following the steps in their PDF

Thanks for checking and clarifying!

No, but that's the only focus area I applied to. I'd spoken to the I-DEV Dean in December in an Admissions Event, and all candidates are offered the track of their choice - though they do have the liberty to switch tracks once they're on campus.

Same! Got in for MA I-DEV! Congrats and all the best to everyone else