b00ts

I'm still going in the fall. I know that everyone is perceiving many of my comments as negative, but I was just trying to be honest about what I learned at On the MaPP for the benefit of those who weren't able to attend. All institutions are a mixed bag. The Harris School seemed strong enough for me in the ones that matter. Good luck with your decisions. See you in September!

I have to say I came away feeling very mixed about the program after On the MaPP. In some ways, it's the perfect program for me, and in some ways it is a nightmare. I talked to numerous current students (both first and second years) and administrators. The Good: 1. The program is highly quantitative, but multiple tracks exist for people of different backgrounds and aptitudes. 2. Opportunities for paid research exist. 3. Working part-time is common and recommended. 4. It is expected and recommended to take classes in other UChicago schools (business, social work, etc.). 5. Free beer every other Thursday! The Bad: 1. UChicago is really research oriented, so your interaction outside of class with professors will probably be pretty limited. 2. Apparently most of the professors who did international policy stuff have departed in the last few months (not because of some dramatic episode, just a freaky coincidence), so the stuff there may be lacking. The Ugly: 1. Very few of the current second year students (graduating in two months) have jobs lined up yet, and some alumni on the alumni panel admitted that some of their friends had struggled to become employed afterward, particularly those with not much relevant work experience going into the program. 2. The career services woman, Lydia Lazar, seemed completely insane. During her presentation, a few students walked in 5-10 minutes late and she made some pretty rude sounding comments about how she always starts on time because she "respects YOUR time." She presented data about expected earnings for graduates but said that their data set was limited to people who reported their earnings, so who knows how accurate it even was. A few current students told me that Career Services is pretty unhelpful, but I have found that to be true at all institutions of higher education. 3. One prospective student asked Maggie in a question-and-answer session what the admission rate for Harris was, but she refused to say anything other than "it's competitive." A current student told me that for his year, the admit rate was about 70%...not exactly what I would call competitive. Basically, I would love to come to Harris, but going into $126,000 of debt for it (I received no funding), particularly with the not-so-great seeming job prospects afterward seems like a REALLY BAD IDEA.