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Natalie1234567890

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Everything posted by Natalie1234567890

  1. Thanks for the insight. Just wondering what makes you say Heller is more of a cash grab than other grad programs? It does decently in rankings (25 in public policy and 9th for social policy - although the latter may be more of a made-up category). I'm curious how you would compare it to a place like Fels at UPenn or Evans at UWashington or even SUNY Albany in that regard? I also got into some higher ranked programs like UChicago Harris and NYU Wagner, but the costs of those programs are really putting me off plus especially for Chicago the location isn't ideal for me. I agree about the MPP vs. Ed issue it's just that in my case HGSE is such a tempting offer compared to my other options. I do mostly want to do ed but I like the idea of having the option to work in other areas at some point in my life... I'm still waiting to hear from the Kennedy school but I don't know if I will get in, plus it's much more expensive to do 2 years at Harvard vs. 1.
  2. So this is my first time looking at grad cafe forums and by chance I saw yours immediately, which seems fortuitous because I'm in a very similar situation! I'm mostly deciding between HGSE (Ed Policy & Analysis) and Brandeis (Heller) MPP and a dual degree at UPenn in both ed policy (Penn GSE) and MPA (Fels). I applied to way too many places so I'm also admitted to NYU Wagner, Columbia TC, UW (Evans and GSE), Chicago MPP, and a few others. It seems like we have a very similar dilemma on deciding between a public policy degree and a specialized education policy degree. In your case, it sounds like you have no bad options, so no matter what you decide you'll be going somewhere great. Given that you say you're leaning toward duke, I would agree that it would be great to have the general MPP at such a top school that also allows you to specialize in ed (especially since you said it has fantastic ed policy faculty). This is just out of curiosity, but did you get a scholarship at duke? If you didn't, I'm not sure how duke could be a similar price to HGSE, unless you just meant price per year? I have been considering the total price instead of per year. If you're going to pay 50k per year at Duke, I would potentially give a one year program like HGSE more thought because it cuts the price in half, but if you got a scholarship or something feel free to disregard. HGSE is also of course fantastic and super well-respected but it's tricky because an MPP is a broader degree. I don't know as much about Peabody, but I personally didn't apply because I wanted either a 2-year MPP or a 1-year ed policy degree because it didn't seem worth it to me personally to spend two years getting a degree that is more specialized than I preferred, but I know they're a top ed policy school so still a great option. I'd also love if I could bounce my decision off you. I was thinking I preferred an MPP for having more job options and a generally more respected degree, but then since getting into HGSE I'm tempted because it is ranked the #1 in ed policy and education in general, and I don't want to overlook the benefits of having "Harvard" on my resume - I don't want to make prestige the main deciding factor, but I also want to be a realist about the potential for that to help me get jobs in the future plus I'm sure the faculty and resources are amazing. I actually like the fact that HGSE is one year in some ways because it is less living expenses and one less year spent not making (much) money due to being in grad school, but it is also less time to get the experience and education we came in for. Penn is a little more expensive but the cool thing is that I would get two full degrees in two years with the dual program. Other than the cost, my main reservation is that the Fels MPA really doesn't have a great reputation at least compared to other ivies/the other schools I'm considering. They also just rearranged their program and then Covid happened so I feel like things won't be well established and organized. Penn GSE seems solid though and it would be cool to have 2 degrees. I'm starting to lean away from this option a bit though. Brandeis (Heller) is my cheapest option because they gave me a really nice scholarship. It's a two year MPP that seems quite good. They don't have an ed policy concentration but they have "child, youth, and family" and some faculty that focus on education - plus they may have the option to create a custom ed concentration. I've talked to two people who went there and had really positive things to say, one of whom focused on education and told me about profs with interesting research and connections in ed policy. It's also a well-ranked program but not in the same league as HGSE. I'm weighing whether I'd prefer a broader degree at a very good school or a more specialized degree at what is at least in theory the "best" school in that area. Would love your thoughts and I'd be happy to be a sounding board as you consider your options!
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