Guesswho

I was also at the Sanford open house so maybe I can chime in on a few points if you haven't decided. If you already have then I suppose this could be useful for future applicants that may come across this post in the future. I agree with that Fuji said about there being a very personal vibe at the open house. One of Sanford's unique points in comparison to its peers is the smaller class size, and its benefits really showed. I wasn't even going particularly out of my way to talk to other people and I still felt like I ended up chatting with at least a quarter of the people that were there. The smaller open house also allowed just about everyone to talk to the professors and admitted students that were there one on one if they wanted to do so. The career services panel that they closed with before the happy hour was one of their strongest selling points imo. I always found it strange in browsing through many old posts on the government affairs forum that Sanford students on this site almost always simply referred to Donna alone when talking about Sanford's career services. By comparison every other school's career services office is just referred to as School X's career services on here from what I can tell. The recurring theme that I saw about Donna on here from former Sanford students, and from the ones I met at the open house constantly reiterated the idea that she is a badass and I would verify those claims after seeing her in person. She was very honest in terms of what she and everyone else in the career services offices could and couldn't do to help students out and I really appreciated that considering how open houses are just constantly giving off a vibe similar to a salesman trying to constantly sell you their product. I also give her bonus points for taking lighthearted jabs at some of the other peer schools which was admittedly funny (don't get offended apparently she's good friends with people at other career service offices >.>). If you check your email and find the admitted students website link that you were given, they recorded some of the open house stuff including the career services panel so I would recommend checking that out when you have some free time.

Welp lets keep going with this exercise I suppose /: A 66% funding offer from SAIS is one that I would strongly consider as it is a very good middle ground between Notre Dame and Harvard. As far as WB hiring goes I (and many others) would argue that SAIS is an even stronger program to attend than HKS. In digging through many old SAIS threads on this site I've seen at least one person claim that SAIS (or at least JHU in general) has the most representation at the WB (although I couldn't find an exact stat to back this up). And they're fairly competitive when it comes to UN hiring as well. Overall if you look at all of their available employment reports you can see multiple WB/UN placements in just about every year. At 66% funding it's still obviously pricier than Keough but the debt would still be manageable regardless of how your WB/UN pursuit works out since SAIS is also strong in other sectors as well. I would definitely recommend bringing SAIS back into consideration at the very least. @TalkPoliticsToMe It appears that you've already made your decision but I just wanted to say that I largely agree with it. Full funding from UNC's MBA is a phenomenal outcome, but if you feel like an MBA isn't necessary for your career goals then it doesn't make since to pursue it in tandem with Duke at half tuition (about 48k if I recall correctly). Soooooo................ Enjoy Ford! @islandsmile18 Looks like you have several awesome options on the table. SAIS is an IR powerhouse so I would imagine that their reputation and alumni base abroad is fairly prevalent. I don't know much about Stanford's program but if it has more of an international bend like you claim then I'm sure if would get you back home as well (but personally I'd be a bit queasier about newer programs but the name is still incredibly strong). It's also true that WWS has more of a domestic bend, but it's been around for so long and commands so much respect that I would imagine that they have a healthy enough alumni base abroad. But I would nevertheless recommend seeing if their website has any breakdown on their international grads. If not I would recommend emailing or calling someone who works there for some data in that regard. At the bare minimum Princeton doesn't lack name brand recognition in Asia based off my my experience but then again the country I'm thinking of is probably different than yours. If you feel confident about Princeton's international presence after doing some more research, then I would suggest picking a program in terms of fit and where you think you would thrive the most since you have full funding from all 3 locations. @acerbicb You have two fantastic offers but it sounds like some outside factors are really hindering you. Honestly if you can defer and guarantee that those full offers will still be there a year from now then honestly I'd say go for it if you think doing so will largely eliminate your debt and also help get your health back in order. While plenty of people do into grad school with a bit of debt on their back, severe health issues could completely derail your entire experience, so that is something you should definitely prioritize shaking off first and foremost before plunging into grad school. With all of that being said, regardless of whether your grad school experience begins this year or not, I would also agree that Heinz sounds like a slightly better choice, but mostly because of the driving thing. Ford also offers policy oriented classes around STATA (and at least one if not both of R and Python). They both have top of the line computer science programs, so I don't think Ford would necessarily be worse in that regard. I would also assume that Heinz is a pinch better at consulting placement because of location, but again I don't think Ford would put you at a disadvantage in that department either. For the sake of picking up statistical/programming software proficiency + consulting placement I truly think that the difference between the two schools is marginal. But if you don't drive then it is true that getting around Ann Arbor would be a bit of a hassle so all else being equal Heinz it is! Welp with that page 1 is done. Onto the start of page 2! I'll stop whenever I run out of juice (or whenever I get hungry) @ke7312 Honestly I couldn't tell you why Heinz unemployed % is so much higher it's peers when it's job placements by and large is mostly comparable to its competition. If you figure out why that's the case and that it wouldn't affect you, then I'd honestly say Heinz would be your best bet. Harris is almost certainly more quant heavy then Heinz, but you can design a fairly rigorous curriculum at Heinz as well through your electives, and the price point at which you would earn the Harris degree simply isn't worth it for most people. And if I recall correctly I do think that Heinz has a policy analysis concentration that may be up your alley. That being said, this is the first time I've seen or heard of anyone bringing up Heinz having a higher than average unemployment % so I'd recommend digging more into that (although you won't find the answer to that in older threads since I've seen no prior mention of it). @kraeblossom I believe I already gave a more extended response to your question in another post that you made, but in case you didn't see it, the TLDR is take the money at Michigan and run (you can fine my extended response under my profile or under your own if you go back to your initial post about the topic). @Thirteen I think this largely boils down to where you want to be. You obtained a great funding offer from Duke that makes it fairly affordable, but if you want to be in Cal then a full ride from UCSD is tough to turn down. I'm not entirely sure what sort of presence Duke has in Cal, but if you do some further research and conclude that they have a pulse there then it certainly becomes more feasible. But I would go with UCSC if Sanford lacks a proper Cal alumni base. Just because UCSD grads seem to be heading int the private sector doesn't mean that you would necessarily have trouble securing public sector employment (unless your're going for super prestigious employment). That being said you brought up being closer to D.C. when talking about Duke, so if you want to be in D.C. then 100% go to Sanford. Sooooo yeah I wouldn't overthink this and just pick based on where you want to be long term. @SketchesOfSpain Heinz actually has several years of employment data, and from what I can see it looks like they do a pretty good job of placing several + students into local PA/Pitt based government jobs every year. They do particularly well in their very own Allegheny county (or at least I think that is their county). Quite frankly I think all 3 schools would secure you employment in the local government sector just fine, so I think it should boil down to where you want to live + which school prepares you for the type of gov work you want to do. While attending school in one location doesn't restrict you to that area employment wise, you'll have a much easier time securing local gov employment in the area where you attend school. Ithica, Pitt, and Austin are 3 vastly different cities located in 3 very different states, so if one speaks to you far more than the other then I would simply head there. If you don't have a preference location wise then pick the one that you feel will give you the best skillset/training for the specific type of work your looking to do in the government. If you're looking at more administrative oriented work then I would assume assume an MPA is a bit better in that regard. If you're looking at more policy analysis/number crunching oriented work then I would guess that Heinz is a bit better in that regard. But these are just hunches in my end, and I would compare their courses to get a better sense at what each one would prepare you for. ANNNNNND the hunger is kicking in. I'll get back to this another time.

I think for the sake of non-profit work you won't be at a major disadvantage in a smaller community like Ann Arbor. I would think that both Harris and Ford are great options for one seeking work int he non-profit sector, so I would recommend going with the one that is cheaper is one program is substantially cheaper than the other. If the costs are similar then I would say it's a matter of what you think is more important. If you think being in a bigger city is imperative to the work that you want to do then go with Harris. If you think having better connections to your professors via smaller class sizes is more important then go with Ford. That being said if you want to keep the door open for a potential Phd then I suppose having a better shot at substantial research opportunities at Ford would be a nice fallback in case you decide to pursue a Phd before working. This isn't to say that you couldn't pursue research at Harris, but as you were implying in your post, I would also agree that getting access to professors and by extension research would be easier at Michigan. So the TLDR would be to pick the program that is substantially cheaper, but if they're similar in cost then nitpick over what you value more between easier access to professors in research vs being in a large city. I would recommend emailing/calling Ford and asking them if they could get you in touch with alumni that are in the non-profit sector. That way you can see whether or not they had any significant trouble securing work in that sector and how difficult (or not) it is to secure that kind of work out of Ann Arbor, although my guess is that it would be perfectly doable.

Well my Micro class got cancelled today so in my boredom (I mean sincere altruism) I'll go through and try and add my two cents where I feel I can. As a disclaimer much like most of you in here I am also someone who will be beginning their program in the fall of 2019 so I'm not claiming to be an expert or anything. Depending on how long this gets I may have to break this up into two separate posts but we'll see. @bac I think deferring for a year sounds like the right call for you in this case. A pregnancy is a huge uncertainty hanging over a families head and so trying to move with that hanging over you sounds like a major hassle, especially given how it seems pretty tough to put one of UT or USC over the other atm. I would definitely agree that raising a family sounds more preferable in a city/state with a lower COL like Austin/Texas, but I think another advantage of deferring is that you'll have a much better sense of where it would be better to raise your family long term after having your child. Plus another year of savings doesn't hurt either. I would sure hope that schools would allow for deferrals for a spouse's pregnancy so I hope that whole process works out for you. @sdb12014 From everything that I've read/heard about, it seems like federal gov work in a place like D.C. is achievable through just about any D.C. based school due to the lcation which allows you to do heavy networking + multiple internships in addition to the robust alumni networks in the area. With that being said, based off of your current offers SAIS is both most well known D.C. program you've been accepted to and the only one that has offered you funding thus far. So as of now I'd go with SAIS unless American comes through with even better funding since fed gov is also doable from there as well. And if American doesn't initially offer you funding that is comparable to SAIS then use the SAIS offer to try and negotiate with them. Even if you get off the MSFS waitlist I still wouldn't advise it unless you received funding on top of it. But even if nothing changes between now and the day of your deposit, a somewhat funded SAIS degree is a phenomenal outcome for someone wanting to do federal government work in D.C. @MPA/MPP Applicant Heinz and Sanford are both great funded offers to have if you want the option to be in D.C. as well since they both have pretty solid alumni networks in that area. Sanford routinely places half or close to half of its grads in D.C. if I'm remembering the numbers correctly while the % is around 25 at Heinz. But Heinz has a larger class size and a more recently created D.C. track so the disparity in alumni presence isn't probably as big as the percentages make it seem. If you're fine with D.C. as an option then Heinz is a completely justifiable choice given the funding. That being said if your heart is truly set on the Bay Area then I think Price makes way too much sense for you given that their funding offer is the same as Heinz + their tuition being lower which helps offset the higher COL. @somewhatslightlydazed Quite frankly your options are so good across the board that it's making it really hard to pick just one lol. In that sense there's technically not an incorrect choice in there either. If SAIS comes back to you with full funding you could certainly justify that pick but otherwise I would pick one of HKS or WWS depending on which one you think is a better choice for your future goals. WWS is less than 3 and a half hours away from DC so I would imagine that they have a solid enough presence in D.C. which might alleviate your concerns a bit. I couldn't find any exact geographical breakdowns online but if you emailed someone from WWS I'm sure they could tell you what % of their grads end up in D.C. Any number above 20-25% would give me confidence in having a healthy alumni network to tap into in the D.C. area. Also although this is just a hunch on my end, I feel as though it would be easier to get to D.C. from WWS than it would be to get to NY from SAIS although both routes are certainly more than possible. Based off of the HKS employment reports for 2016 and 2017 it looks like they also have a very strong alumni group in D.C. as well which is to be expected given their class size and history. So while it would certainly be easier to secure certain connections in D.C. thorough SAIS, ultimately I think WWS and HKS will get you to D.C. all the same. If you have no preference for one over the other then I would advise picking based on whether you prefer the location of one over the other or to simply take WWS fort he larger stipend. But no matter what you end up picking just know that there isn't a bad choice to make. Congrats on all of the amazing offers. @HoboPresident LBJ does have a D.C. track so I do think that it wouldn't be too difficult securing D.C. based employment from there. The brand name argument is a bit tough to dissect however because while there may be some fields or specific programs that penalize you for having two state schools on your resume, I want to say that most wouldn't care. I think for most Phd programs (even top ones) your grades, gre scores, research experience, essays, and overall fit matter much more then the name of the school. And if you want to do your Phd in a field similar to the one you're pursuing now, then I think most of the top programs would recognize that LBJ is a strong program. That being said if you want D.C., a brand name, and a somewhat affordable cost then Cornell might end up being your best compromise. Its base tuition is much lower than many other top programs, and with additional funding it could end up being very affordable for you. They also have a surprisingly strong base in D.C. based off of their employment reports, and you can do a one semester externship in D.C. as well if you want to have several months to network there. I don't know enough about Tufts and its D.C. connections, but I feel like unless its base tuition was fairly low to begin with then it will still be fairly expensive even with 25% funding. @Spurs Keough is still a fairly new program so I really don't know if it has the connections necessary to break into the World Bank or the UN. Harvard could definitely get you to these places, but paying off that debt even on the salaries that those two organizations provide would be quite depressing. Are there any other schools you applied to that can act as a sort of middle ground? If for example you applied to and received funding from SAIS or SIPA then I think either option would be a good middle ground. If you applied to SAIS or SIPA but just didn't receive funding, I would try negotiating with the Keough offer even if it is a bit of a long shot. If there are non WB/UN related jobs that you would also be satisfied with then I would take Keough over HKS but I can definitely understand why it would be hard to turn HKS down. Welp I'm halfway through page one so I'll probably stop here and pick up the rest of it a bit later. Yikes this took longer than I expected but it was still fun comparing and contrasting how everyone evaluates their decisions.

It's a bit tougher to answer this question definitively without knowing what your career goals are, but I feel as though Michigan can get you to most places that Harvard can. Unless there's something that only HKS can do for you that Ford can't then I see no reason to turn down guaranteed full funding from Ford. The only other circumstances that would make me potentially consider waiting a year is if you had a well paying job currently that would let you save substantially for HKS + Ford letting you defer for a year in case HKS doesn't come through with any sort of decent funding. But barring these specific circumstances I would 100% recommend taking the money at Ford and running. It's a phenomenal program in its own right located in a great community that will also ensure that you aren't drowning in debt when it's all said and done. Prestige is a very tough thing to quantify as its value varies from one individual to the next, but the weight off of one's shoulders that comes from being debt free is priceless for just about anybody.

Accidentally posted this in the 2018 thread since that was the most recent one that was active for some reason but it looks like decisions are out for the regular round. In but with no mention of funding. Didn’t get my initial concentration pick either but was allowed to go with anything else. I’m glad they didn’t place their open house on April 5th like almost every other program but April 10th is a fairly awkward day to have it as well for most people Good luck to everyone else

In at SAIS but no mention of funding. Not sure if that comes in later or if this means no funding but either way I’m still probably heading to Sanford barring some miraculous amount of funding so good luck to everyone else.

This gif is also quite fitting given the news that broke today about Aunt Becky paying a ton of money to get her kids into USC But also Michigan plz announce your results I have a Micro exam tomorrow and I can't bring myself to study for it with my constant email refreshing.

Thank you so much. I knew I remembered seeing that bit about scholarships being renewable somewhere on their site but I couldn't remember where and thought I was starting to lose my sanity. And thank you for the information about the open house dates as well. Considering that the first one is just a few weeks away I'm surprised that they didn't mention it in the letter but it's a small gripe. Also it sucks that GU and GW are having their dinners on the same night although I only applied to GU. I'm hoping one school makes the decision much easier for you in the coming weeks so that it's easier for you to commit to one dinner over the other.

In with 15000 for the first year. Is the scholarship renewable for the second year or is it safe to assume that this isn't the case since they only listed funding for fall 2019 and spring 2020 in my case. Also does anyone know what date their open house is if it hasn't happened already. I'm really hoping it isn't the first weekend of April which almost every program seems to place their open houses on to torture us all.

Much like you I was super pumped about getting funding from Sanford yesterday and like you I am also sweating bullets about not getting a call from Harris today >.< When I got my apps wrapped up I felt like Harris was my best bet given that they seem to be more lenient towards those with little to no work experience but now that I have the offer from Duke I don't really care that much if I get dinged everywhere else. But Harris has seen their class size go up quite a bit in recent years so I'd also like to think that they simply couldn't get calls out to each and every accepted student today. So I wouldn't lose all hope yet.

@usernamesmakemeanxious Based off of this page https://sanford.duke.edu/admissions/master-public-policy/cost-attendance it appeared to be about 94,000 last year. So I'm assuming it'll go up to somewhere around 95-96k for next year.

In my excitement it appears that I misread the funding amount at 16k total when it was 16k per year which brings me up to 40k with the TA/Research gig. Best reading comprehension gaff I've had in my life. I suppose I'll be seeing some of you at the open house in April.

Just heard back from Duke. I'm in with 16,000 + a TA Spot that I believe would be worth 8,000 over two years but I need to double check that. This is the first school I heard back from so I"m super thrilled! Good luck to everyone else!

The answer of whether or not a score is too low seems to depend on the background of the applicant. I think the consensus is that scores matter more when an applicant has little to no work experience and less so when they have at least a few years under their belt. If you're coming straight out of undergrad then I do think those scores may hold you back, but if you've been working then you still have a shot. Although in both scenarios lower gre scores can hurt one's chances at decent funding so that's something else worth considering. If you're coming straight out of undergrad then I think retaking it or working for a few years would be wise.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with your profile, are you applying for 2019 admission? If so I'm not sure if you have time to take the gre and getting your scores in on time unless you're taking it tomorrow and Duke is lenient with the scores coming in after the deadline. If you're looking at 2020 then I think you're looking good. I wouldn't assume a gre score however. While I do think most people can score in the ballpark of 320 or better with the right prep, trying to predict a high score will just put more pressure on you and set you up for disappointment on the off chance that you don't reach it. In the first place I don't think a 164+ on both sections is necessary for Duke although a higher score never hurts. I would also recommend applying to more schools since applying to just one can always be risky business even though I think you have a competitive profile for Duke. I would recommend applying to other schools like CMU Heinz that offer scholarships to people that did an amerocorps stint just for the sake of negotiating your funding.

I'm not entirely sure if there's a definitive answer to this question myself, although the most common answer you'll see is honesty out of fear of being caught lying or seeming scared and uncertain. Some people think marking down several other peer schools makes it seem like you're less likely to attend said school which would hurt one's chances. For others they feel better about checking down their programs if it isn't a gigantic number which makes it seem like they've really thought out their plan whereas someone that applied to 20 programs might feel queasy about checking down all the schools since it would look like said applicant has no idea what they want out of the degree. And for some the thought process behind it is a race thing where they might feel less comfortable answering the question if they're white/asian but I don't want to derail this thread with an affirmative action debate so I'll just leave it at that. In theory there wouldn't be a real way for a school to know if you're being truthful or not, but if you plan on negotiating using offers from other schools then not being honest could hurt (if they remember/go back to which schools you did or didn't select). Basically what I'm trying to say is that there isn't really a definitive answer to this question. I think it's just a matter of how comfortable you are disclosing certain information and how you think certain characteristics of you and your application ultimately influences that information (the colleges that you do or do not select).

I'm a prospective applicant for both of these schools, but I'm not going for the environmental policy track at either institution so I'll try to break my advice down into several key questions that you should be asking yourself since based off of what you posted, both of these schools seem fairly evenly matched given the relatively small gap in cost of attendance. Employment prospects: I'm sure you've already looked into this yourself, but you should be asking yourself whether or not there's any noticeable difference in the employment outcomes as it pertains to environmental policy/management at these schools. If I recall correctly Columbia has quite the extensive archive of the employment prospects of all of their programs broken down by specialty/concentration that goes back several years. CIPA's info in that regard isn't nearly as extensive but they do mention some of the titles and positions that students in their program have gotten in the form of both full-time work and internships here (https://www.human.cornell.edu/cipa/academics/curriculum/concentrations/environmental). They also have a list of their internship and employment placements, but it's harder to tell which concentrations snagged which jobs from those two pages, so I would highly recommend calling their career services office, and seeing if they can give you more details as to where their environmental policy students both in terms of the job itself + the location. If they can't do that much, then see if they can refer you to any current students or graduates who took or are currently taking classes as part of the environmental policy track. You could do all of this with SIPA's career services as well, but honestly their employment information is so comprehensive that I don't think it's entirely necessary. Where do you want to work: If you want to/expect to end up in NY/DC then I don't think going to Cornell puts you at a major disadvantage since they have plenty of grads in both of those areas, even if Columbia has more grads in each area. If you're looking beyond those areas for employment however, then Columbia provides you with a more substantial advantage since it's safe to assume that their network is considerably deeper once you leave the NY/DC area. How confident (or not) are you in your work experience and skill set: You mentioned that Columbia's program is one year versus the two year program at CIPA. At the end of the day, whether or not it would be smart of you to go with the one year mpa depends on how confident you are in your prior work experience and current skill set, since I would imagine that a one year mpa would rely more on the students prior knowledge and experience. If you aren't feeling super great about your prior knowledge and experience then that's one substantial advantage that Cornell's two year program gives you in the form of an extra year to develop your overall skill set + an additional year to network and pick up work experience. If you're unsure about how or whether or not you can accurately evaluate your current expertise and work experience then this is where getting in touch with a grad from one or both of these programs is crucial since they'll be more likely to be completely honest with you in terms of evaluating your chances in a 1 year vs 2 year program. That's pretty much all I have to add in terms of key questions off the top of my head, but I'll certainly come back to this if I can think of something else. At least from my perspective, taking on an extra 13k to attend one schools is justifiable (although you'll get a wide variety of opinions on this from person to person). An extra 13k has considerably different meaning attached to it depending on how debt averse you are. Knowing the average salary of the fields you are interested in should help you answer how debt averse you should be in this case. So yeah I didn't really give you an answer or recommendation for either program, but it's tough for me to give one without knowing the answer to the questions that I gave above. Answering these questions for yourself however should help considerably in making the decision easier for you. Either way I would say that you have two good options on the table so you shouldn't lose too much sleep either way regardless of which decision you make.

I would assume that HKS fits better for your goals unless Oxford has a multitude of courses that are centered around U.S. policy. Regardless I would still argue that an mpp/mpa doesn't really move the needle for you (or anybody really) in terms of trying to both get into law school as well as securing specific positions. At the end of the day an mpp is for policy work while a jd is for legal work. If you're simply worried that you don't have enough of a public service background then I think you're underselling yourself since TFA is a very well known 2 year public service stint. If you absolutely insist on getting an masters degree from a well known university, then I would recommend compromising a bit and expanding your list of schools beyond Harvard and Oxford. Many of Kennedy's peer schools would be much cheaper for you to attend while still giving you the same level of education and development. Off the top of my head Duke Sanford's mpp gives at least $28,000 to TFA admits, and really you'd be competitive for much more than even that with a decent gpa and a good gre score. So I would say to expand your list to other well known programs around these parts, (Duke Sanford, CMU Heinz, Chicago Harris, Georgetown McCourt/SFS, Johns Hopkins Sais, Columbia SIPA, Michigan Ford etc etc etc) take the offer from the school that gives you the best funding, and simply try your best to take relevant coursework while networking and interning/working within the legal sphere as closely as you can. At the end of the day things like academia are way to difficult to plan around since it's only mostly accessible to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Chicago grads (and even at those schools you need to kill it in terms of grades, writing ability etc). Your most realistic goals from what you are working at either the state of federal level, but working specifically at the DOJ can be tough straight of of law school, although it's more doable if you bide your time and you keep trying to make it in during your big law stint. A lot of law and prelaw students seem to get really hung up on the idea of working just for the DOJ when they think of fedgov work, when in reality they should also be considering other departments and agencies as well since they're less competitive and also have interesting work in some cases. If you expand your periphery beyond the DOJ, then I would say that fedgov work is very doable for you coming from a T14 law school. Again don't let me stop you from swinging for the fences, but always have several more realistic backups in mind. And make sure to keep debt in mind as well if you aren't planning on staying on the private sector side of things long term. Unless you get heavy funding from both your masters and jd programs, you will be staring down at a TON of debt that even a solid 120-160k salary as a fed attorney would have a tough time paying off. The debt is honestly the main reason why I would recommend skipping the masters and going straight to law school unless you have a financial safety net lying elsewhere. That's also why I would recommend taking a scholarship offer from a law school in the 4-15 range as opposed to the HYS trio since they don't really do the whole merit scholarship thing. Even if that does make the already difficult prospect of getting into academia even more challenging, avoiding 200k+ in debt is well worth it.

Is there any particular reason as to why you want to pursue a masters degree before law school beyond the notion that it would help out your chances of getting into a good law school? I did quite a bit of research into law once upon a time before deciding to back out, but from my understanding of law school admissions, there isn't much that matters to top law schools beyond a high lsat and gpa. The only non lsat/gpa aspect that really moves the needle is whether or not an applicant is a urm. If you have a good reason for wanting to pursue a masters prior to law school, then I would simply recommend picking the cheaper option in order to keep your debt down unless you're coming from a good financial background. I would also recommend having some backup legal careers in mind in addition to what you listed. Obtaining a position as a law partner, federal judge, or a law professor is extremely competitive and far from a guarantee even at the best law schools. This is because there's relatively few positions in each of those industries to begin with, in addition to the fact that a law school's primary value is in it's ability to help you secure that initial job out of law school. Unfortunately obtaining any one of those positions is relatively impossible straight out of law school, so even the network and prestige of a school like Yale can't really help you out there aside from helping you land into a big firm/clerk position which is a necessity (or close to it) for at least two of the positions that you listed. I'm not telling you that you should give up on those careers, but that you should also have some fallback options in mind as well. A much more obtainable career coming out of a top law school for example would be a position at a large company (think Fortune 500) following a 2-5ish year stint at a big law firm. That is an example of a common outcome for associates that pursue big law. If that type of outcome is one that you can live with, then by all means roll the dice at a well known law school and shoot your shot. But I will say one more time that you should not pursue a masters if the main reason you are doing so it because you think it will help out your chances of being admitted. Investing that time into studying for the LSAT would be your best bet. But I believe I've read posts in the past both on here and reddit about jd/mpp dual degree students, so I would dig around some more and fine some past anecdotes from those individuals and whether or not they thought it was ultimately worth it.