A.T.

Agree on everything everyone is saying about debt. Consider your ROI. Grad school is what you make of it. Lots of places have great alumni and DC connections. You need to make the program work for what you want to get out of policy school. That's my attitude. That said, if you really, really want a name, buy the name, and brag about it everywhere. I didn't go to admitted student day, I did visits on my own. But DC at LBJ is totally different than their 2-year track. It's like an apprenticeship. One LBJ professor told me directly to not do DC. I need time in the ivory tower, so I didn't mind that advice. See what they say at admitted student days, but I got a weird vibe when I mentioned DC track.

There’s old advice out there that you should go to a school in the state where you want to work. But I think that applies more to MBA or law than policy degrees. You can build a network anywhere after graduation. What matters is what you accomplish during the program.

I agree with this. SFS is a great grooming ground for area specialists and the foreign service. From what I've heard.

Had phone conversations with professors at SAIS, LBJ, and Harris. They were super willing to talk about their work, and one exception, a guy who was rude. Harris: Unclear about $$ for research assistantships, it sounds like those decisions will be made post-deadline. I doubt it's connected to admissions though. The two professors I spoke with seemed open to taking on staff, but noncommittal. TA-ships exist, but you have to connect with non-Harris undergrad faculty for that. LBJ: Spoke to three professors. I really connected with one. He gave me a soft offer for a research assistant position at his center. He can't make the formal offer until after I matriculate, but this bodes well. I would be doing the 2 year LBJ program, so he liked that ability to commit. There's also the option to work in the summer, if I don't intern. SAIS: Spoke to two professors. One was rude, but I guess that's his style. With SAIS, it sounds easier to get a research position for year two than year one. I can't imagine it would be impossible to get one first semester. I'm torn on SAIS. I love the school, but I'm not sure it has the amount of things I want to get out of grad school, like a non-IR course in policy economics. And of course, no money. I asked a LBJ professor about switching to DC for a bigger award, and he said it's not worth it. Only a few faculty teach DC, the research is all in TX. The track sounds like Northeastern, just a long internship to get work experience. I have that already. Today, I'm leaning more LBJ. Every day I like the idea of Austin more and more. This professor sounded like he had loads of leeway to work on things we are mutually interested in. If it all falls through, I guess I can bartend at a honky-tonk. This was a lot to do all at once this week, but it helped relieve my anxiety about options.

I suppose this is all another opportunity to use applied probabilities and statistics...

No money from SAIS. I’m reevaluating my options, planning to ask all three to re-review me on financial aid. Has anyone had any luck with this? I guess it gets easier to get a revised aid offer, the closer we get to deadline? The LBJ decisions went out really early. Does anyone know the range of their grants/waiver/stipend financial aid? Do they go up to just full tuition (including out of state waiver) or do they have tuition+? I’m also creatively thinking about faculty at Harris and SAIS I may want to work with. Sometimes they have pots of money, but usually for research assistants. It could help make the decision for me, especially if I really connect with a professor.