HAlumni

First, "developed work" is very different than what it seems. For a real job in a development institution, you will be competing mostly with PhDs in economics or people with masters degrees but very high level quantitative skills, like statistics, experience doing randomized control trials, Stata, R, Python, micro and macroeconomics, etc. And you'll have to demonstrate really specific skills, like advanced Excel, fluency in at least 3 languages, and specifically the willingness to move and work in some remote developing country, etc. Neither the Harvard MPP or Columbia is notorious for developing those quant skills at an advanced level, unless you make a priority to make your own specialization in those courses. Point being to get a job in development. There are operational and administrative stuff you could find, but you'll realize that you didn't have to go to an elite school for that, but your competition will have elite credentials, nonetheless. Thus, the reason why many end up with low paying jobs in NGOs, etc.... The point of the MBA is that you would be "miserable" a few years, but then you can have access to high level managerial positions in development institutions with no problem at all, because in reality, you enter development through quantitative skills but end up with a job that's practically management anyway, because you'll be managing teams and hiring the quant specialists. Unless you take the development economics research route, but that's mostly for the PhDs or the highly quantitative skilled masters degrees, like the HKS MPA/ID. OK, so my response now will take into account more personal important variables that I did not address before. Sorry if I'm too honest and direct. In my experience, once the master degree starts in August, by Thanksgiving most people already broke up with their boyfriends/girlfriends back home and have new partners after spending so much time with their new classmates. In addition, most of the people I know that entered the master's degree already being married, eventually got divorced because their lives and perspectives changed so much, and SPECIALLY JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES OR STATES, made it impossible to maintain the marriage, UNLESS they lived together throughout the master's degree and were not at a distance, during the master's or afterwards. Of those who got divorced, some got remarried, eventually, but not all. Now, with a grandma's tone and perspective, I'd say the root of your decision is not about schools or money. It's about keeping your marriage. Grandma always says, don't leave your spouse alone in another place for so much time. Even if you get too see each other constantly between NYC and Boston. Also, even though your husband is on board with helping with paying for school, the truth is that men tend to rescent you if they pay for your things and the relationship changes. Also, if something were to happen, you might be stuck with paying that amount of money on your own (life can change in many ways without expecting it). In conclusion, I'd say wisdom is required here. Not calculations about tuition. I'd stay with your husband and go to school in the same city. Your job prospects will be the same as HKS, but you can focus on finding a job in NYC. Otherwise, moving to DC or another country for work might compromise your relationship, as I have already seen it happen to so many people. Maybe it's not the answer you want to hear, but believe me, lots of women who advance in their careers would die to have a husband and not still be struggling to find a partner when they're reaching into their 30's, 40's-50's, no matter how successful they are. (Sorry, I'm assuming you are a woman. If not, what I'm saying here still applies). MPP salaries will probably be around $35,000-$70,000. Then take out taxes to really have an idea. Those who have higher salaries (above $100,000) is because they went into the private sector. Thus, my whole point of the MBA to begin with. Anyway, in your case relationship and family >>>>> than HKS. And yes, you need to be working or studying and cannot afford to do nothing because that will make your job prospects even worse in general. The job market is hard, specially now that jobs can and will be replaced by automation. You need to be in continuous progress and can't afford to do nothing if you want to work eventually. OK, good luck! Hope love wins, but you're free to do whatever you want. Just make sure you know the possible unintended consequences and remember that grandmas are usually, almost always right. ❤️

I'd say you keep working, get involved in more community and leadership activities and initiatives, improve your profile overall in the next 2-3 years and apply with at least 15 years of work experience - but make that experience count. Meaning you will have lived unique different life experiences, thus your essays should be completely new, rich with a tangible personal and professional growth. Do some traveling. Do something completely different. Go to Somalia, to Haiti, or somewhere for research and publications, for example.... But with a genuine curiosity and intentions for contributing to something difficult and for the benefit of others. Get out of your confort zone and explore different leadership positions, countries, life experiences, etc, that will actually make your application more robust and diverse, because you actually will apply like a different person. But you can't fake it. You have to live it. Furthermore, what does "Journalism and Public/ Community Service" even mean? That might be a reason, in terms of if they can't actually understand what you do, what you have accomplished professionally, what's your goal, what's your life plan, your dreams, etc Also, in the mean time, try to apply to short term fellowships or scholarships at different universities or institutions. You'll find plenty of online resources on fellowships and scholarships for short term studies or executive education, like for 1-2 weeks. Try to do at least 1 per year. Even if you have to pay some part. The MC MPA I know all have UNIQUE life stories that if you know them you never forget them. No one is average. They all have very specific and unique life experiences that are unforgettable. That should be your focus: sending an application that they will never forget because of how unique you are. Thus, put yourself in new personal and professional endeavors. Start a business, volunteer in something so unique, write a blog they can read online, try to get some kind of prize for for some unique contribution, put yourself in life transforming situations - professional, personal, academic, spiritual, emotional, mental, or a bit of everything. So when you reach 15 years of work experience, in fact you won't even recognize yourself. Change careers, expand careers, or just change things up a bit. The point is to make the admissions committee read your essays and NEVER FORGET your name and life story. That's how HKS works. They look for unique people with demonstrated leadership capabilities, efforts and results. Live in a couple of different countries for the next few years, or something. Just change your life up to different experiences. Not only for the application, but for yourself. Also, make people notice you, your work and contributions. Cultivate new high level relationships that will be willing to write real recommendations for you because they admire and trust you. Don't apply again until YOU KNOW that you have changed substantially and have a completely different application to send. Also, look for other mid career master degrees in other universities, like Princeton, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, etc... There are many mid career degrees. Just try the best as possible to get a scholarship. DO NOT GO INTO DEBT. IT'S NOT WORTH IT. Any questions, go ahead... Good luck!

Pick the one most aligned with the best job market opportunities of what you want to work on. Most people would pick Harvard just for the name, but unfortunately the MPP from HKS doesn't really have a great reputation, so there really is no advantage. Unless it was the MPA/ID program, which is very well respected. Princeton is better than the HKS MPP, in terms of reputation and job market. Also, they'd give you more money. That's a winner.

I think that both are low-paying job markets which don't justify getting into such high loans. If it was an MBA, my answer would be go for it because your expected income will cover the loans just fine. But MPP or MPA, either Harvard Kennedy School or Columbia, will give you a hard time with loan repayment, because your expected salary will be low. Since you got into both Harvard and Columbia, why not try to improve your application and get a full scholarship at Princeton? You could use that money instead to invest, buy a house or something. Life really is different and better if you are financially independent of those predatory loans, which you can never get rid of.

I already answered to a similar question here: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/167056-international-applicant-desperate-for-advice-uchicago-or-georgetown-or-rutgers-or-lse/?do=findComment&comment=1058963138 Sincerely, if you're planning on working in Latin America on health and gender policy you're going to be screwed trying to pay for the cost of the MPP even if it's from Harvard. I know that the Harvard name seems so prestigious and tempting, but it is not if you'll be working low-paying jobs, that won't really put a premium on your salary because of the Harvard name. Columbia would be just as prestigious and you will earn the same salary. Also, to go into that amount of debt for the Harvard Kennedy School, I think only the MPA/ID program might be a bit worth it if planning to make a career in consulting, banking, or the usual World Bank, etc. But as I mentioned in the other post, getting a staff job in the multilateral institutions is quite hard and most people don't make it and just work a few years as short term contracts, which don't pay well nor are stable, and you'll be in anguish with that amount of debt. Columbia is a prestigious name with the same opportunities as a Harvard MPP. I know MPPs from HKS and their job opportunities are not too great, unless you go into the private sector, develop a robust career, and then maybe you can work on your low-paying passion. But very few actually make it to the high-paying private sector to begin with. You'd have to be very well connected and most likely already have an Ivy league college degree. International students have it harder, and the HKS MPP is not STEM, so you'll only have 1 year to work in the US, before requiring an official working visa, which limits your opportunities to make more money than going back home. US student loans are vicious. You can never get rid of them, and if you only pay the minimum, you will never get out of that debt. Ever. I also know people from Columbia who make it to the World Bank just fine, for example (though they are really good and have great talent for networking). So, I really don't see a tangible, much less financial advantage, for going into debt for an HKS MPP versus Columbia with a half scholarship. Believe me. You don't want US$64,000 of additional debt, in addition to what you will owe your parents, with what the HKS MPP job market has to offer. Columbia will offer the same, it's a prestigious university, but you will have peace of mind, which is priceless. I'd say go to Columbia, or improve your application and try to get full scholarship at Princeton. Congrats on Columbia. It's a prestigious university. You will love New York and the opportunities you'll have at your disposal. 👌

I already responded to a similar question here: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/167056-international-applicant-desperate-for-advice-uchicago-or-georgetown-or-rutgers-or-lse/?do=findComment&comment=1058963138 However, if you are American, your situation is different and easier. Nonetheless, when you say that money is not an issue, it's because you have sufficient cash to pay all by yourself or that you're planning on applying to loans? Given your topics of interest, most likely the job opportunities are low-paying jobs, for which the cost of those universities will not be a return on investment at all. Unless you plan out a career path, that may not be your passion for a few years, but you can focus on professional and financial stability, to further ahead work on what you actually want. Also, if you're going to be paying for everything, you're better off choosing the more prestigious names, independent of the location. In which case, I'd say Columbia has the best brand, which in turn will open more prestigious job opportunities and connections. And NYC gives you the chance to network at a high level, specially in the private sector (like I was recommending on the other post), with higher paying jobs and opportunities. Afterwards you can work in DC, but make sure you're financially stable first. Have you looked for external scholarship sources?

USA. Prioritize STEM visa and the least amount of debt. DO NOT GO INTO DEPT for a degree in the development space, nor use your own money. The labor market is very poor and salaries are bad. You'll be miserable. Specially when you go back to your country if you still have debt in the US. Or work in unstable low-paying government jobs. Chicago and Georgetown will probably have the best connections to work in Washington DC, most likely trying to get a short term contract with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, etc. But that is practically slave labor with low salary and being overworked. And trying to get a staff position is very hard, unless very well connected, great interpersonal skills and obviously high level analytical skills (Stata, R, Python, etc)... Unless you focus on more operational work, but still need those skills to have a better chance to standout. Because development work ultimately is a bunch of economists fighting each other, trying to research and publish. Best advice I can give you is to immediately try to enter the private sector, like banking or consulting in the corporate world in the US, for a few years, and then enter the development jobs with better credentials, more authority and getting a real job, not contractor, will be easier, with a higher salary and future opportunities. If you don't have the money, I'd ask to postpone your acceptance for next year while you figure out more scholarship sources, work and save, etc. The truth: the ROI in the development space for an international candidate is low, because the multilateral institutions favor WHITE WESTERN men with Ivy league COLLEGE degrees to be able to get staff positions and you'll be competing with economists PhDs as well. Also, there's a lot of elitism, nepotism and not necessarily merit based. Perhaps Georgetown will have more immediate connections because of proximity to DC, but Chicago has a much better reputation in technical rigor. Another thing is to make the best relationships possible with the professors for recommendations or even to work with them for a while to gain reputation. Professor Chris Blattman is in Chicago and they have created a very reputable economic development faculty and programs. Also, prioritize speaking fluently at least 3 essential languages to have an advantage. You have time to learn, so there's no excuses. Sorry, long post. I don't sugar coat things. You need the real truth. I have more advice to give, so ask away.... You want a real ROI? Get an MBA, and you'll have better jobs, salary and the rest of your life to easily enter the development space anywhere at high managerial levels. But if you really want policy right away, improve your application and try to get Princeton full scholarship or HKS with more scholarship opportunities (only MPA/ID is really worth it (even they get screwed and remain poor), unless you are really good in economics and data analysis already - other HKS programs might be useful. Otherwise, I'd go for Chicago, even though the development path is hard and no long term ROI, unless very strategic with your career choices. It really depends on your abilities to navigate the job market in development, which really favors people with PhDs. You might not see it now, but eventually adulthood teaches you that money and savings will be indispensable in life at some point. And you have a small window of opportunity during a few years to develop a solid career path. And your first job after graduate school might be the most influential thing for your professional career and long term financial life. Maybe go to Chicago and apply to an MBA to various schools once there for a double degree opportunity. How about that? You'll probably get it and finish both degrees in 3 years, with a broad range of high value opportunities for the job market. All the best, peace ✌️