Rummy

I have offers to study the Masters in Development Practice at Sciences Po, Paris and the MSc in Comparative Social Policy at Oxford. I'd like to work with an international organisation (UN, World Bank, WTO etc.) or a reputed international non-profit on completion of the program. I hold a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from a b-school that is ranked among the top three in India. I also have over 7 years of experience, mostly in the development sector, in India. Given my current profile, I have been able to get job offers from international organisations and international non-profits to work in their India offices. However, I am keen on working in other parts of the world too - I am particularly interested in Asia; however, this is an area where my profile is sorely lacking and I believe that an international degree will allow me to have a more international career. The Sciences Po MDP is a one year programme targeted at people with 3 to 7 years of work experience.I think it is well suited to my profile. However, my understanding is that Sciences Po doesn't have the kind of reputation that Oxford has in international development circles. Is this true? I'm concerned that the Oxford course is targeted at fresh graduates and is more academic than professional in nature - which means, a lot of the students take up the course because they are interested in continuing on to a PhD in the area, rather than taking up a job. Given my background and my goals for doing a programme at this stage, which would be a better option for me? P.S: In terms of cost, there isn't much different between both. Oxford would end up being a bit cheaper, but not so much cheaper to justify choosing it over Sciences Po. Also, I am equally happy to live in either Oxford or in Paris.

3. GPPI

1. Princeton WWS 2. HKS

For me, personally, it's simply not worth it. I already hold an MBA from India - and from the most prestigious business school that the country has to offer. I worked in consulting with one of the Big Four for close to four years, and have had offers from the more boutique consulting firms too. But I don't want to work in the private sector anymore. I want to work in an international organization for a couple of years (World Bank, ADB, UN etc.) and eventually work directly with my government as a consultant, ideally in the education sector. So taking on 100K plus of debt would mean that I HAVE to live in the US and earn a dollar salary to pay off the debt. Which pretty much undermines the point of doing an MPP for me. There is no way I can immediately come back to India and work, because I won't be able to pay my debt on a rupee salary. Unless I take up an offer from the private sector - which again is pointless because I already am in that place right now. Which is why its Princeton or nothing for me. I don't mind taking on a small loan which I can pay off without too much stress even if I am working in India. And given all of this, Princeton is the most attractive to me because of its generous funding. I wouldn't even be considering an MPP if it meant a 100k debt.

Thanks! I think I shall be listing HKS, WWS and Gergetown as my top 3 preferences

What? Come on! Nobody has anything to say in response???

I am looking at pursuing a MPP/MPA next year. I am currently applying for a scholarship, and the scholarship application form needs me to list out my preferred top 3 schools and programs (the application is routed through them, so they will first send in my application to these schools). I’d appreciate advice and inputs on which program is the best fit for my background and requirements. I am from India, and hold a bachelor’s degree in commerce and an MBA – both from India. My MBA is from one of the top 3 b-schools in India and is fairly well recognized internationally also.However, my GPA is very low – 2.44. Post MBA, I worked for 3.5 years with the consulting arm of a Big Four firm, in their development consulting division. I worked on projects in education, healthcare, infrastructure and energy. I then quit to start up my own website, selling GMAT coaching material –during this time, I also worked part-time as a Teaching Assistant for one term in my old b-school, for a Public Systems course. After 1.5 years of this, I very recently joined a small non-profit which works in the public health space in India. I’ve also recently been accepted into the University of London International Programs for their Post Graduate Diplomain Policy Studies. This is their distance learning program, and I hope to complete the diploma by October next year. If, however, I do get admitted int oone of the US schools of my choice, I intend to discontinue the diploma and just show the courses I have already completed as Individual Professional Courses. The purpose of a US MPA/MPP for me is to get into a UN agency, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank or other international development organizations. I have no interest in pursuing a career in the private sector or in academia. Taking my background and future career plans into consideration, which school and program would you recommend for me? Another factor is that since my MBA and work experience has involved significant quant work, I am now more interested in courses which are not quant heavy. Given all of this, my choices are: - Harvard KSG: MPP/MPA2 - Princeton WWS: MPA - Columbia SIPA: MPA/ MPA in Development PRactice - Georgetown: MPP - Syracuse University Maxwell School: MPA - SAIS: MAIR IDEV Among these, I'm not sure if SIPA, SAIS and Maxwell are right for me because my understanding is that they are quant heavy. So given my background, and what I want to do, which three programs would you recommend I shortlist in my application?