Preston Anderson

I would mostly agree with the above with the exception of a few nuances: - Even if you were to work in NYC, I still wouldn't go to NYU. Doesn't match up to Walsh or SAIS. - Unless you have a really strong connection to San Diego, I wouldn't even think about going to UCSD. Doesn't have the brand name. You're trying to brand yourself as a professional. UCSD is not it. - If you want to be a diplomat, I would go to Walsh, maybe SAIS. - So it comes to down to Elliot, Walsh, and SAIS -- but actually really Walsh vs. SAIS since Elliot is a wanna-be Walsh. - Although SAIS is more STEM-focused, I don't really see the benefit if you are looking to become a diplomat. You get a good foundation of economics at both Walsh and SAIS, but SAIS is a bit too theoretical with its STEM emphasis. Unless you are looking to do quantitative research, I wouldn't go to SAIS. Part of the reason is, you have lots of room to customize your own program at Georgetown. I had to choose between Harvard, Princeton, SAIS, and Georgetown and ultimately chose Georgetown for the location, brand, alumni network, and especially the fact that I could basically craft my own international finance degree. But that's just me. I did an internship at the World Bank before going to an economic consulting firm in D.C. I now work in private equity in London, so, for me, Georgetown helped me get to both economic consulting and private equity in the finance world. I'll probably go back to the public sector sometime in the future, except this time I have an understanding of the private sector. Hope that helps. Fun fact: Went to Oxford for undergrad. I know a thing or two about branding:)