patricknyc

I've never been to Davis, but I live in New York now so I can comment on that. New York is absolutely amazing - always something to do, great neighborhoods and great restaurants. At the same time, I find it to be kind of exhausting because it's crowded, dirty, and kind of aggressive. I wouldn't trade my experience of living here for anything, but I'm excited to move on in the fall when I go grad school in Minnesota or California. As for NYU specifically, the area around NYU is one of my favorite parts of the city, but unless you're living in NYU housing (and I don't think there's much for grad students), you're probably paying $1,500 or $2,000 per month for your part of the rent with roommates. Commuting to NYU by subway from other parts of the city is really easy since most of the trains pass through the area, so you can definitely live somewhere decent and pay $800 or $900 if you have roommates, though that's still very expensive compared to most places. If you're living alone, you'll be hard pressed to find somewhere for much less than $1,100. Groceries are also more expensive and eating out and going to bars will set you back more here than most other cities. I guess all of this goes to say that New York is very expensive and it might be hard to enjoy it to its fullest while you're living on a grad school budget. If you really want to establish yourself in the Northeast, it might be worth it, but otherwise I think it's a city probably better suited to life between or after school.

Hi All, I applied to MPP programs at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and University of California, Berkeley as well as an MPA program at NYU. I was lucky enough to get into all of them, but am looking at very different funding situations. As thrilled as I was to get into GSPP, I didn't get any funding and the thought of $32,000 in tuition plus high living expenses all being paid for through loans (unless I can find some kind of job) is pretty daunting. On the other hand, I was thrilled to learn yesterday that UMN has offered me full tuition plus a $20,000 stipend in year 1 and a graduate assistantship in year 2. I got a decent scholarship from NYU as well, but I'm not as interested in staying in New York City as I was when I applied. I'm definitely leaning towards Minnesota, but still trying to think through the question of prestige versus cost. My impression is that what I do with my time in graduate school would be more important than the name, and not having to worry about money would open a lot of opportunities for me during those two years. Additionally, I've lived in Minnesota before and would love to live there again. At the same time though, GSPP is top-notch. What are your thoughts? I'm sure a lot of people are facing similar considerations. Thanks!