MC25

It’s that time of year, all. Excitement, dilemma, and a hint of ambiguity regarding what our decisions will bring us. I’m a Private Equity Associate in NYC and am doing an IR masters degree instead of the traditional MBA. Did my undergrad at a top Ivy. I was initially deciding between Harvard Kennedy and Georgetown MSFS. I committed to MSFS. My PE firm is sponsoring my degree. Here are my application outcomes: Financial Aid: - Georgetown MSFS: 80% scholarship (but my employer will pay as noted) - Harvard Kennedy: still waiting (but my employer will pay as noted) - Princeton SPIA: 100% scholarship - Yale Jackson: 100% scholarship Goals: After graduation, I’ll go back to my PE firm for a couple of years, then go to a development bank, and then start my own emerging markets PE firm. At some point down the line, I may run for office. Rationale: Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown are the best brand names in government / IR. Out of these three, Georgetown seems like the most represented in the development finance space (SAIS is good too but doesn’t have the brand name that Georgetown has). I’ll go to Georgetown and leverage their alumni base to get into a development bank. I anticipate I’ll also meet significantly more people at Georgetown than Harvard who are interested in specifically IR. Harvard seems to attract more of a domestic policy crowd; the IR crowd is much smaller. I can use these connections at Georgetown later when tapping people to help me launch my EM PE shop. And I want to open it in DC. I already know plenty of successful people in high finance and business, but I don’t know many people who have niche interests in IR. Think of a firm full of Harvard College PE professionals + Georgetown MSFS IR people. Also, the Georgetown curriculum is well rounded and provides an opportunity to sharpen both my quantitative as well as qualitative skills. I already have the basic accounting / finance skills so am seeking to develop a broad IR knowledge base and then specialize specifically in international finance (the Global Finance track). In terms of public office, Harvard has a an edge over Georgetown but both have plenty of alumni in both Congress and the Senate. Who knows, maybe I can just buy an ambassadorship. So basically it comes down to the size of the Georgetown IR alumni, DC location, and the type of people I want to meet.