ratatat

Thanks so much for your advice! I attended some virtual events for Evans as well and from what I've heard, GSI positions are very competitive there. I have meetings set up with a current student and an admissions officer to get a better sense of the funding situation. It's hard for me to give up the idea of relocating to the West Coast, but at the end of the day I need to choose whichever program will offer the best career prospects.

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on this forum for a while and figured I'd post as decision day is approaching (yikes!) and I'm still torn. I'm interested in environmental policy and am deciding between UM SEAS (EPP specialization) and the UW Evans MPA (Environmental Policy and Management). I received a one-time $15k fellowship from UMich and unfortunately nothing from UW, but I do have some savings that will slightly lessen the load debt-wise. Including the fellowship, tuition and fees would be ~$8500 cheaper for the entire UMich program. I'm fresh out of undergrad, so honestly I was just happy to receive admission offers from my top choices. When I was applying, my heart was with UW–I've always dreamed of living in the Pacific Northwest, and the program seems to have excellent faculty and a great reputation in public policy, as well as strong connections to local government. The location is a huge pull for me; I've heard nice things about Ann Arbor, but it's hard to resist the idea of living in a larger city so close to the mountains. But I do have some misgivings about the curriculum being too prescriptive during the first year and not being able to delve into sustainability until year 2. However, I was pretty impressed by the faculty and flexible curriculum at the SEAS Virtual Accepted Students' events. Their Environmental Justice curriculum seems interesting, and liked that there's flexibility to take classes with the Ford School as well. Their emphasis on social sciences also aligns strongly with my interests. I'm also a bit surprised that this forum doesn't seem to mention UW too often, considering their high ranking in environmental policy. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding the relative reputations and employment prospects of the two schools? If anyone is in a similar boat, or has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them!