arguseyed

I sent in my acceptance letter my email last week and still haven't heard back on the next steps. Has anyone else heard back from the Admissions Office?

Congrats on all your admits! I also got an admit from Boston University for the same program. I believe its a relatively new one, so I am not really considering it although the course structure looks quite good. I am most likely going to CMU over SIPA and GPPI. The cost of living was a fairly important factor to rule out SIPA. I did not get any funding from them and although their financial aid is aimed at 2nd year students, its still very uncertain. I also read that not as many second year students get financial aid as they claim on their website. I felt CMU would give me a better education and job opportunities over GPPI and it did take a while to get over the location factor. I am from India and have a consulting background with a brief stint at a microfinance start up in India. I plan to take up international policy and economic development. Maybe you could go through the course cirriculum and see what works best for you. Another thing that I did was to check the job opportunities available for international students post graduation. What's your background? Good luck for your decision!

Thanks. I really appreciate your taking time to respond. What is the class intake for MSPPM and what is the percentage of international students?

Thanks for the response. I won't be able to go and visit the universities, but I am trying to contact current students to understand the best fit. What kind of roles do MSPPM graduates get hired for? I saw a few IT companies on the placement list, do they hire for technical roles?

I need to decide between Columbia (MIA) - no funding, Heinz (MSPPM)-8k per semester and GPPI (10k/year). Columbia was my top choice because of the brand name and coursework, however the no funding and higher living expenses in NYC make me apprehensive. Their financial aid is focused towards second years, so I may get something then. I'm not so sure about the job opportunities at Heinz because of its location. Also, I'm not sure how much role its technology focus will play, since I don't have a technical background. I'm an international student from India so federal or non-profit jobs are not an option for me. I'm not considering Duke, University of Washington for their location and NYU for their lack of funding. Can somebody give me some perspective that will make my decision easier?hINE

I need to decide between Columbia (MIA) - no funding, Heinz (MSPPM)-8k per semester and GPPI (10k/year). Columbia was my top choice because of the brand name and coursework, however the no funding and higher living expenses in NYC make me apprehensive. Their financial aid is focused towards second years, so I may get something then. I'm not so sure about the job opportunities at Heinz because of its location. Also, I'm not sure how much role its technology focus will play, since I don't have a technical background. I'm an international student from India so federal or non-profit jobs are not an option for me. I'm not considering Duke, University of Washington for their location and NYU for their lack of funding. Can somebody give me some perspective that will make my decision easier?