devdoodle

Hahah wow, I definitely appreciate the honesty and your detailed reply. I kinda seriously wish I had applied to the MPA/ID. My undergrad degree was in economics and I could potentially get even better at STATA etc. but I just liked the feel of the MPP program more and thus ended up applying there. If the Columbia vs HKS financial gap wasnt this WIDE, i honestly wouldve been leaning more towards staying in NYC. But columbia does not offer its own loans and the interest rate for private loans that i've been looking at is 14ish%+. Currently i dont have work authorization and if i dont go to school, I'll just be unemployed for another two years and maybe even beyond that and my husband has insane work hours being a resident right now. and yes, I am a woman. I adore my husband. We've done long distance before marriage and were able to make it. He's very supportive. I know it'll be hard but I feel like if i do end up going to boston, after that I will just move to nyc or wherever he is and i'll just honestly take whatever job I get as long as we're living together. Worst case scenario... what are the chances of hks mpps getting decent private sector jobs? Ugh, I'm stressing big time over here. I mean, JHU SAIS MAIR is also on the table, but I hadn't really thought much about it until now. Fingers crossed I make the right call. Thanks a bunch for your advice! It means a lot. 😃

@HAlumni Hi, thanks SO much for getting back to me. I really appreciate it. I do want to ask - how low do MPP grads' salaries tend to be? Also, I completely get what you're saying but my interest has always been more focused on the development and policy-making side so honestly, I've never been interested in or even considered an MBA. I know that those jobs pay well but I know for sure I will be miserable and I dont want to do that 🤕 I do want to add more context as everyone has very different trajectories/priorities - my husband's on board with paying off my grad school loan since it fits into our long-term plan. He's a physician so the financial aspect seems doable (I do want to pay off as much as I can on my own but not sure what will be possible) but I'm trying to be smart about not racking up unnecessary debt. Plus, being international limits my options for work during this time, so grad school seems like the best way to keep moving forward right now. I've already spent a year doing nothing and another gap year doesn't seem like a great. (This is definitely a factor but not my main reason for pursuing graduate study as I'm genuinely interested in this field and have relevant experience as well). Princeton might be a bit of a stretch, given my low quant scores, and I also don't want another year slipping by without doing something. I'm still weighing everything out, but the debt aspect is a HUGE concern and I completely agree with you about financial independence. I've been quite debt averse since childhood and my partner and I do not have any debt on us right now (very grateful for that). I'd like to keep it that way as much as possible of course. Based on my calculations and after factoring in savings and other sources/finaid, the total debt for the two-year program would be around 85k with a 5-6% interest rate. The employment stats do not look too promising which is seriously stressing me out. I was hoping for more aid/scholarship but I haven't had much luck. If you have any other insights based on my situation, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks again for your input! Also, so sorry for rambling on with my long story and adding in maybe too much detail. I just want to give more background.

Hi all, Need to decide between SIPA MPA (no funding) and HKS ($20,000 per year aid). I hope to work in the international development, maybe some dev consulting, WB development projects, NGOs/orgs working in dev countries on issues like economic growth etc. Since my partner is based in NYC, living costs are significantly reduced for me in NYC. Total direct costs at 66k at HKS (and after aid it would be 46k) vs. 76k at SIPA. HKS has stated living costs incl books, personal, transport etc. to be around 30k. I'm also wondering how good an estimate is that. With HKS, they have a graduate loan system with good fixed interest rates and a loan repayment assistance program as well for those who end up in public service jobs. On the other hand, for SIPA, i would have to borrow a private loan with higher interest rates but I would save on indirect costs. Please share your experiences/advice. Feeling quite lost so would love to hear about your thoughts on these two programs.

Hi all, Have funding decisions been released for MPA admits? 😕 Had deferred my admission last year but they said that they'd consider me for aid this year as well. Long shot though.

Just got an email re funding. 20k per year. Disappointing because that still leaves about 75k per year. congrats to everyone who got in though! 😊

Its here!!! I got in.

When are decisions expected to be released? Fingers crossed!!!

The wait is killing me!! I don't think theres been any change in my portal homepage. I can still see the checklist. Fingers crossed and best of luck to everyone!