[McCourt 2018]

1 hour ago, wms9768 said:

Congrats to both of you @taftumas and @2018Hopeful ! 

Does anyone know if McCourt notifies you if you don't receive aid?  My acceptance made no mention either way, so I figured it was a no-go, but I'm going to follow up with them tomorrow.

 

@taftumasIf I was in your shoes I would lean strongly towards Georgetown though it would give me some pause. For me, I know the money would make a huge difference (according to GT's COA estimates receiving 30k in funding would leave me 90k in debt).  One thing that could be a deal breaker would be if I had any significant debt from undergrad.  However, in this case I think the name brand and network of Georgetown will do a lot for you, particularly if you want to work internationally.  Even more so it appears to me  that a huge part of landing a job in International Development is based on who you know.  The number one way to develop these relationships is through internships, and DC will provide a lot more opportunities than Indiana.   

It does like like Notre Dame does some cool things to offset the distance from DC, might be worth looking at their statistics on employment placement and seeing if it aligns with your goals.

 

Thanks for the quick reply! The reasoning you gave is exactly what is giving me pause to choose Georgetown wholeheartedly. Thankfully, I don't have student debt from undergrad, but I'm not exactly fond of having to go in debt for grad school either. And yes, name brand and network certainly add so much more to the "whole package" than the curriculum itself.

I wish the Notre Dame program were a bit older, it only started Fall 2016, so they haven't even had a graduating class yet that I can reference for employment placement. From what admissions has told me, ND's new program is working off the framework of their Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, MA in International Peace Studies program, who have alumni who work in roles such as Human Rights Officers. I am hopeful that the new ND MGA program is more quant/analytical focused, but it doesn't appear to be as strong as ND's MIDP program that has been around for a few years now. 

[McCourt 2018]

I've also received an acceptance for the MIDP Program this morning, with $30K/year in funding - so excited!!

I will be deciding between a full ride at Notre Dame for the new MGA program (with a concentration in Sustainable Development) and GT's MIDP, but I am currently leaning towards Georgetown. I plan to go into International Development and am looking for a program that will give me strong quantitative/analysis skills as well as a solid start in the International Development field, in other words, a job immediately after graduation. Any thoughts on this decision would be greatly appreciated!

[McCourt 2018]

On 3/6/2018 at 4:39 AM, naturalish said:

I did a little digging on the website, and it seems  that "scholarships awarded for the first year of study are renewable at the same amount for the second year of study contingent on satisfactory academic progress."

(The placement of that disclaimer could suggest this applies only to partner scholarships, though the wording makes that seem unlikely.)

According to an email with a McCourt faculty member: "The fine print is as follows: the second year is conditional on academic performance during the first year of at least a 3.0 GPA. In the past 5 years, not a single MIDP student has lost funding for the second year."