x26558

Current first year at Harris. Can answer any questions for those interested. Also accepted to Batten, CIPA, Colorado, and McCourt in the last admissions so can speak to that experience and why I chose Harris.

@ehallwyo Similar situation. Presently its between CIPA, Harris, and Batten-- in that order. CIPA funding is not an issue, they seem very generous. Worried about program reputation and location (not the weather, I'm from the north and don't mind it) otherwise I'm a fan. Harris is expensive and the heavy quant/MPP route is not exactly what I want, but think the Chicago network would be strong and you could carve your own path. Batten worries me for being fairly new and the possibility of getting stuck in the south if not in DC, otherwise I like a lot of the strategic plans on their site and leadership emphasis.

Schools Applied To: John Glenn, Trachtenberg, Evans, CU Denver, Batten, CIPA, McCourt, Harris (and if I'd made the decision sooner, would have included HKS -_-) Schools Admitted To: Batten ($$), McCourt ($), CIPA ($$$$), Harris ($$$; submitted scholarship reconsideration for extra 10k) Schools Rejected From: Trachtenberg Still Waiting: John Glenn, Evans, CU Denver (that weird extra writing requirement may prevent me from bothering to finish the application altogether) Undergraduate Institution: "Public Ivy" Undergraduate GPA: 3.3 Undergraduate Major: U.S History w/Thesis GRE Quantitative/Verbal/AW Scores: 155/163/4.5 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 8 Years of Work Experience: 7 Describe Relevant Work Experience: Military officer, short deployment overseas, some time in an elite corporate sales position Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Fairly strong across the board Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Very strong, all commanding officers with one being a general Other: In a real quandary with my decision. Harris, CIPA, and Batten were my top three choices going in. Additionally, I'm not entirely clear of my career path which is admittedly a big reason I even decided to apply. Taking that into account, my calculus is as such: least amount of debt + school reputation for career flexibility/network strength + program flexibility, allowing for a potential pivot to PhD or augmented JD. Harris is costly even with some GI Bill and if they raise my overall scholarship to 30k (from 20k). The heavy quant curriculum/MPP designation makes me fearful of being pigeonholed into a number crunching analyst type of role-- which I DO NOT want. On the flip side, it is Chicago, so I almost feel that by name alone it might be foolish to turn down. The CIPA and Batten program reputations specifically is a little concerning just based on USNWR rankings, which are suspect to begin with. CIPA has been wonderful throughout the process, pride themselves on flexibility and additional opportunity, plus they really want me. I still worry about career opportunities from out in Ithaca. Batten probably offers the best experience, but its reputation is also not well established, and I think neither is UVA's outside the Mid-Atlantic. Bottom line, I'm leaning 1. CIPA 1a. Harris (pending more funding) 2. Batten... if you read this far, any thoughts?