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Figured someone should start a Heinz thread for this year.

Yes! I myself did this-- I leveraged my Heinz offer to get more money out of Harris. I don't know if they've already done this, but Admissions will send out a form when they're doing negotiations and you can list your other offers, personal circumstances, etc. Would also add that there are a looot of opportunities to make side $$$. I know a lot of people who do paid research, TAships, grading, etc. 15K is reasonable, but if you have other offers, it's worth asking. They don't have as much money as Heinz, but they'll try and make it work for you.
 
 Yes! Harris admissions doesn't know as much about the CS side of things so sometimes they're not sure what to say lol.
There are a bunch of people more focused on the software/data engineering route in my class. For example, my coursework this year has included Big Data Application Architecture (CS), Web Development (CS) and Discrete Math (CS) (I got too tired for Algorithms this term) so far, as well as some policy classes like Climate Policy (Harris). But I also have classmates who have taken things like iOS Development, Math for Machine Learning, and more advanced classes in the statistics program.

Give it a day or so... They sometimes send out a 2nd email

Hey, it looks like DSPP funding letters came out alongside the offers, similar to MPP.

Both my decision and funding letters were just posted to my portal, but that was for MPP, so maybe DSPP funding will come out later? Also, my funding only listed information for the first two semesters, and Georgetown's site says that offers are decided on a year-to-year basis and aren't necessarily renewable. Does anyone have more information about that? They gave me a good offer for the first year, but I wouldn't want to accept it and then find out they're not offering me anything for the second year.

I would be surprised if the turnaround time was that quick (I think last year their early deadline was Oct 1?), but I'm hopeful! I feel like closer to Thanksgiving would be more likely.

I would be surprised if the turnaround time was that quick (I think last year their early deadline was Oct 1?), but I'm hopeful! I feel like closer to Thanksgiving would be more likely.

Applying to MSCAPP next week. Good luck to everyone on all your apps! Just an FYI for early applicants, on the resume webinar today, the Harris Admissions team indicated that their goal is to get admissions decisions out before Thanksgiving.

Hey-- I am a current MSCAPP student. First off, if you are looking for a program that is more geared towards a non-academic career, then MSCAPP and MSPPM-DA are far better choices than QMSS and MACSS. In fact programs like MACSS, MAPSS, QMSS, are marketed as PhD "prep" programs. 
I think if you'd like broader training and flexibility in policy studies, but also interested in spatial analysis, I think that MSCAPP and MSPPM-DA are pretty superior to those other programs. But, if you are looking for a more focused program in urban planning then I don't think those are the programs for you. 

Really appreciate your thoughts here! I'm going to take a look at some data sci programs and see if there are any that have a social/public focus. Thanks!

Hey there,
I'm curious about y'alls thoughts on degrees like Columbia's QMSS and UChicago's MACSS as compared to programs like UChicago MSCAPP,  and CMU Heinz MSPPM-DA. The classes seem to be really similar between both sets of programs, but I'm getting the sense that QMSS and MACSS are more suited towards people looking to go on to PHDs, does that resonate with current/former students? I'm hoping to attend a program that sets me up to be a practitioner immediately after, and don't intend on pursuing a PHD.
It also seems like the MSCAPP and MSPPM-DA can be encompass more city planning courses (demand modeling, spatial analysis) which is interesting to me. I was considering programs like Upenn MUSA and Northeastern/NYU Urban Informatics, but I'd rather attend a program that contains those planning elements as well as some more research/quant-heavy coursework.
Any thoughts? Mainly, do you all agree that QMSS and MACSS are better suited for those looking for a PHD eventually? Thank you in advance