C_Raymond

Hey all - I've been lucky enough to be offered two research fellowships starting Sept. 2021. While money isn't the main concern (ie I don't feel the need to be living lavish or making a ton of money right now) I am wondering if anyone can attest to whether being in the Bay Area is worth a significant pay cut? For reference, I'm a data scientist, and am potentially interested in a PhD, but may also want to go into industry after this fellowship. This cost of living calculator estimates that 60k in SF is roughly equivalent to making 35k in Chicago, which is obviously quite significant. Though maybe others feel that being close to industry, nice climate, outdoor activities, etc. may be worth the haircut. Never lived in either city before so I'm really just trying to get my bearings as to what it'd be like day-to-day in either situation. Work is equally interesting.

One conference publication. Aside from the funding (which is huge, don't get me wrong) I would highly recommend the OII; outside of BKC I'd be hard pressed to think of a more exciting research hub for new media/policy/computational social science.

So far it seems like I fall in that sweet spot where I can get into competitive programs, but not get too much help after that. Undergraduate GPA is 4.03/4.30, strong LOR and PS, relatively unique research, did fine on the GRE (162/162/4.5) but Oxford didn't require that anyway. Ended up at Exeter for my college which is a bit of a shame as they don't have any Canadian specific scholarships. Focusing on OSAP now

Bump. Canadian starting my 1 year MSc in the fall. Haven't had much luck with the University, my college, or 3rd parties. Not sure what I can do at this point though. Any help would be appreciated, especially in light of this pandemic.

I'm going to be starting my MSc in Social Data Science at the OII this fall. I was wondering if any other OII students (MSc, DPhil, SDS, Social Science of the Internet... doesn't matter) have heard back from Oxford, the OII or their college about funding. The department has been pretty tight lipped when I've asked about the process of allocating scholarships/departmental awards. Is there something I'm missing here? I'm interested to hear other's experiences; especially from incoming/present OII students.

Does anyone have resources on how to compare TPP with other policy programs in terms of reputation/ job prospects after graduation/ phd possibilities/ etc...? It looks like a fabulous program that is well aligned with my interests and technical background (and MIT is obviously a top tier school), but I am wondering if I may be better off taking quant electives/concentrations at a more established policy school? I've been accepted to the University of Chicago's MPP so that is the baseline right now.