jduds

I'd follow the money. The drop off in name recognition between Columbia and KSG in policy circles is likely negligible. And likely not worth $20k, and if the money is renewable, not worth $40k. And while NY is expensive, you have a lot of great internship opportunities. And if you don't want money to be part of your decision. Go to the place that gives you the best opportunity/preparation for your future career. Also, according to these rankings Columbia is #5. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms. ... 685&page=1 Take from that what you will.

I think younglions point is that for someone going into public service, it's unreasonable to think that you'll make enough money to justify monthly loan payments of $1000+. vannik, I think you're an engineer. So it's reasonable to think that you can make $100K+ a year. Taking out $100K+ in loans is not unreasonable if you're going to a top-tier business, medical, or law school since your expected salary upon graduate will likely end up being about 10-15% of your loan payment (that's the recommended amount). But if you're going into public service, taking out $100K in loan is just not as reasonable. The payments will be about 25-30% of your expected income, and while you can spread the timeline of your payments, the fact that you do have to pay such a huge loan, for such a long time will likely affect what kind of job you take, where you end up living, and even how many kids you plan to have. At the end of the day, it's an individual choice. And while it might not make sense for one person, for someone else it might be worth it.

From the career stats, it looks like people do go to federal agencies in DC. So the reputation has to be somewhat decent. http://bush.tamu.edu/careerservices/employment/

You might want to call or email the departments about career stats/salary info.

I think this depends. If you plan on returning home after you finish SIPA, or if you plan on launching a career outside of the US, I think the Columbia brand will carry you further. However, if you plan on staying in the US, I think you'll be fine either way. Also, in terms of starting a private sector career, both Georgetown and Columbia would work to get you into the private sector - assuming you work in the US. I remember reading on a comment on some forum about how there were more MSFS alumni on Wall Street than Georgetown MBAs. Take from that what you will. Also, I'd advise that you take a close at SIPA's MIA requirements. While I think SIPA probably offers a greater array of courses than MSFS, depending on what you concentrate in, you might have a lot of core requirements to fulfill, and not that much time for elective courses. Good luck.

I've been putting together a potential first-year schedule for the schools I'm considering. I put one together for Columbia, and while you can take 6 classes per term, you'll likely spend a significant amount of time taking core courses, for either the MIA core (assuming you're MIA), or your concentration. I haven't really looked that deeply into Fletcher, but I definitely think you'll have more curricular flexibility there despite the limit on how many classes you can take.

Student loan repayment calculators: http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml -------- Good luck!

Cornell07, could you please expound on this? What gave you the impression that SAIS is only for those interested in the World Bank or finance? And do you think it's too econ-centric. Thanks.

Pizzatime is right. Cost of attendance include all expenses, tuition, room, board, insurance, etc. The school should have an estimated student budget, I would use that as your guide for what you cost of attendance should be. Good luck.

Have you tried calling or emailing the two "dream" schools to find out what you can do to make your application more competitive? Because it would suck to defer a year, just to have the same results next year. I think a big question is what exactly would you do during your deferral year, if you'll do something that either makes you some money so that you can defray some of the costs of grad school, or that makes you a more compelling candidate, I think deferring may be a reasonable idea. If you're not doing anything substantive, it's probably better to go to school. Good luck with your decision!

Honestly, you're being really weird about this. Who cares if people know whether you got in or you got rejected? At the end of the day, are you living your life for those people or are you living it for yourself? Also, positive and negative notifications come in all shapes and sizes - big envelopes, small envelopes, etc. That is all . . .

If this was Harvard Law, Harvard Med, or the HBS, this is a pretty easy yes. For the Kennedy School, I'm really not sure. It seems like you'll have to take out quite a bit of debt either way, but is the Harvard name/alumni base worth the additional $20k a year? Personally, I don't think so. I think in public policy circles, SIPA probably is of similar repute, and has the same robust alumni base. I think either way, you'll make out alright. Good luck with your decision!

It sounds like you're about Rice, and you give really compelling and practical reasons for your choice. If you've been in Chicago all your life, you're probably right to think it's time to try something else. And I'm sure the cost of living in Chicago is higher than it is in Houston, so you'll get more bang for your bucks. Good luck, I'm sure you'll make a good choice!

To to give an idea about prices close to NYU. My good friend lives in the Village, about two blocks from the NYU campus. He pays about $1500 for a studio.

Rose - I'm not sure about merit aid, but SIPA does offer fellowships for the second year. Here are two posts that kind of explore the second year fellowship issue: http://themorningsidepost.com/2008/08/5 ... very-time/ http://themorningsidepost.com/2008/08/i ... d-at-sipa/

So does going to Harvard matter? That seems to be the "at least $50K question." At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself that. If you plan to pursue a career abroad, I would argue it will carry a whole lot more weight than any other school Even schools with the same prestige in the States, don't really carry the same cachet abroad - if you talk about Yale, Stanford, MIT, or Princeton, you tend to get blank stares. So is that worth $50k+? I think you need to ask yourself that. If you took out the name Harvard, would it still be worth it to attend the Kennedy School. Would the academic rigor, research opportunities, internship opportunities be worth the additional cost? Normally, I'm of the belief that you shouldn't let money factor into academic decisions. But when you start talking about 100k+ in loans, I think you have to at least consider it. I know people who have taken out that much money to fund graduate school. An old boss took over 100k to get his MBA from NYU, but then he got a job on Wall Street, and was able to pay it off in about 2 years. I mean Obama likely took out that much to go to HLS. And while I think the decision may be prudent if you're getting a law degree or an MBA, if you're getting into public policy, I'm not sure if the additional loans are worth it. I personally didn't apply to HKS. Mainly, because the application was a beast, and some of my friends suggested the academic rigor may be slightly dubious. But I'm in a similar position. SIPA was my number one choice going into this process, I got in, but with no money. And I don't think it's worth it to take out almost six figures in loans to go to Columbia, although their course catalog looks amazing, and you can cross-register at the grad school, the business school, and the law school. I haven't completely excluded it, but it's definitely dropped down the list. At the end of the day, this is a very personal decision. I'm not sure how much having 80k+ in loans will measurably change your choices and decisions in future. I'm sure there has to be a calculator that can tell you how much your monthly payments will likely be. But having that much debt will likely impact some of your choices about what kind of job to take, where to live, and probably more important family choices as well. That being said, if you go there to visit, and you feel in your gut that it just fits, then you should consider going for it.

Science Po is a steal. At current exchange rates, the total estimated cost (tuition, living expenses, etc) is $20,600. That's half the tuition at SIPA. Incredible. LSE is still super expensive, even with the better exchange rate. And Students at Hertie are fully funded. Wow. Incredible. Is anyone considering applying to this? Besides the fact, it'll be much cheaper, it'd be a pretty awesome opportunity.

I'm in the mid-Atlantic (East Coast), and I got my package today. Small envelope with a March 25 postmark date. It included the admissions letter, including a notice of which track I was admitted into. A letter from the track. And financial aid information. Hope that helps.

Elliott has a very extensive (and informative) career profile: http://www.gwu.edu/~elliott/gscd/data/

Chinatown Bus: http://www.staticleap.com/chinatownbus/

Finally heard back. Got in. No money, like almost everyone else.

I don't think better words could have been said. It's hard to put a price on your dreams. If you think going to HKS puts you in the best place to make those dreams a reality then do what you have to do. If you don't then you know what you should do. At the end of the day, it's about putting yourself in the best position to do what you feel your mind and spirit compel you to do.

I envy the people who heard like 3 weeks ago. I wonder how many 3% percenters there are? I know Columbia graduates a huge class. They probably have like 2000+ applications a year, so I'd say there are about 60/70 of us.

Mine application has been complete since late January, and I'm among the 3% group. I actually called the office today, and asked about notifications. The person I spoke too said I should have heard something, then put me on hold, and told me that things are still being finalized, and that I should keep on checking for the email, and that hopefully it should come in the next few days. So I guess FSIA is right that the decisions have been made, they just have to do whatever it is they do before releasing them.

Im still waiting to hear back . . .