stigMPA

You have plenty of good options, but I can't really help unless I have a better idea of what you want to do with your degree. What are your research interests and professional goals?

I'd be interested to know (without compromising your anonymity) where and at what level you worked. Maxwell alumni are all over DC and every senior administrator of a government agency I have met in the last two or three years displayed an awareness of the school and its reputation if I brought it up - often glowingly. When I was applying to MPA programs most schools had at least one Maxwell graduate on the faculty and even those which didn't have a Maxwell alumnus often acknowledged the quality of the program when I told them I was also considering Maxwell. I can't imagine what else you could want in a brand name. Personal anecdotes aside, I have to wonder what leads you to seriously entertain the idea that the HKS "brand" might be worth double Syracuse's. The Harvard name might help if you intend to eventually leave the policy and public management community, but to say that it could be worth double that of the consistently top-ranked MPA program seems hyperbolic at best - even if you largely discount the validity of the US News rankings. Note the distinction I am making; "double" is an extraordinary strong claim and as such requires extraordinary evidence. If it is even possible to give a value to the "brand" of a program of graduate study, I certainly can't see it in the employment statistics, etc. In a sense this is a bit of a tempest in a teapot. Everything I've read on this board and been told by mentors indicates that any top-tier program will at least get you the proverbial 'foot in the door' - from then on you're mostly judged on performance and experience. I suggest that you think seriously about the real value of a "brand" - however good. Tens of thousands of dollars is a lot of money - especially on a civil servant's wage.

Granted, rankings don't mean everything, but it's not an accident that Maxwell MPA has been ranked #1 for so long. Harvard Kennedy is undoubtedly a great program, but to answer your question is no, Harvard's name is not worth even close to double that of Syracuse. Even if you don't take the US News rankings as gospel the two programs are still roughly equivalent. I'm a bit biased (decided on Maxwell last week), but everything I've seen and heard indiciates that Syracuse is a powerhouse of a program. It's strong in almost every category and has an unbelievable alumni network. It's also a great collaborative environment that seems like it's just about the right size. Plus, you have your degree in hand in a year. The only downside is that you can't get an internship in the summer between years. The Ivy thing might impress your in-laws, but in the development circles you are talking about the Maxwell name is worth as much as any. I doubt you would regret Syracuse.

While this is true at many schools, NYU seems to be uniquely New York-centric. It's been described to me as a feeder for NYC civil service. Of course It's not impossible to take an NYU degree to DC, but I was advised to avoid NYU if I had any reservations about spending a large part of my career in New York. If federal is your goal I would strongly suggest that you to talk to NYU alums working where you you'd like to.

It can be summed up in two simple calculations: 1) Will you make $130k more over the course of your career than if you had a different degree? - and If you are not absolutely certain of #1 - 2) Would you accept a potential loss of up to $130k to have the degree (for whatever reason)? Based on the advice I've had on this board and elsewhere, massive debt doesn't make much sense for those going into government or nonprofit work, but you know more about your own priorities than I do.

It's not as though the only time your school choice matters is when an interviewer is looking over your resume. The quality of alumni networks are important, too. I'm getting the impression, though, that you want to choose Harvard for mostly emotional reasons. While that is legitimate in its own way, you have to put a pricetag on that emotional value and ask serious questions about how good of a match the place really is for you. If it's perfect and will give you the psychological comfort in the search for your dream job, then I say go for it. Otherwise you have other options that would be more than adequate.

I believe you, but unfortunately most of us don't have the confidence to do the DeVry thing or spend 3 years in a library on independent study.

neutral They probably have a policy in place so don't sweat it.

^^^ Apt metaphor.

ITT: Trolls trolling trolls Who ever defended DeVry and University of Phoenix like this? Ever?

The only rule of this process is that there are no rules. Especially this year.

Please read the thread all the way through. The comments I refer to begin on page 3. Basically I was told by a well-informed mentor that GW's MPA program was to be avoided. The user "dagger" had heard similar concerns. I'd go into more detail, but it's all there in the thread.

The beauty of the US higher education system is its size and diversity. We can generalize about best overall but it means very little. Check out rankings or talk to an expert in your discipline and you'll probably be surprised at some of the more prominent names. Specialization, my good man. Specialization.

On the contrary, I've been advised to steer clear of GW. It's come up a few times on GradCafe, too: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15586

I found the "brutally honest" approach most useful early in my process, so I hope you won't mind if I give you the same. My immediate impressions: * Your list is very ambitious for someone without work experience and an unremarkable GRE. * Criminal Justice isn't a quantitatively rigorous discipline. You could struggle to deal with the Econ/Finance elements you will encounter in an MPA program. * You still have a lot to learn about the whole process. It's a game and you need to learn to sell yourself more effectively. Some questions I would need answered to say more about your chances: * People who matriculate to Harvard, NYU, and Berkley et al are generally very strong applicants. Good grades are assumed - what else distinguishes you? * What is the tier and type of your undergrad college? How difficult was your undergrad major? * What are the two organizations you are affiliated with? Do they intersect with your professional goals? * How well known are your LoR writers in the field? I saw a thread on GradCafe that asked how many letter writers had Wikipedia pages. At the very least 2 of 3 should be professors of yours and with GRE numbers like those you list the LoRs probably need to be stunning. * What drew you to MPA? < most important by far From the information you have given I would think you would struggle to get into most (if not all) of those programs. They are all highly ranked and draw great applicants. In short, I think you need to lower your sights. Check out http://naspaa.org/ for a list of other accredited MPA programs. All applicants have weakpoints (in your case the GRE score), but what worries me most about your application package is the lack of anything that pops out at me. What makes you special? If I were on a committee I'd be tempted to see your life story as a guy who wants to be a police officer who applied to grad school on a whim when the economy got rough. PS - I'd be interested in how you came up with that list. Those programs are all well regarded but have little else in common. Before I can recommend other schools I need to know where your academic interests lie.

I was just about to say the same exact thing.

All programs are different and have their own quirks. If memory serves George Mason is rolling admission, though, right?

I sent letters to the two or three faculty members I was interviewed by or spoke with primarily. Also, anyone else who took particular interest in answering my questions, etc. Some do more, some do less.

If you ask me, biking doesn't make much sense in Syracuse. Remember that there will be a great deal of snow for months on end. Even in Summer and Spring the sidewalks and roads are often in rough shape from the months of snow, ice, and heavy plowing. Far from ideal if you are a cyclist.

Do it immediately - it's not too late. They know you are probably very busy, so unless it is super late I can't imagine anyone would notice or care.

You're fortunate to have two great options with funding. Something like this will probably come down to the faculty you want to work with and the students/alumni you observe on a visit. If the decision were mine I'd be inclined to think that four years is a long time to work on a master's degree. But that's just me.

There are more than three MPP programs in the country; the comparisons to American and Georgetown were not mine. In fact if you look back at my first post in this thread I said GW has a strength in its location. For you (having spent a decade in DC) this is probably a great advantage. Others not geographically tied to the beltway could attend better ranked schools for the same costs or less. This was the main thrust of what my advisor told me. That may be true in your experience, but my advisor showed a clear preference. Not defensive, just sayin'. Hear hear.

I was only passing along something that I was told by a very trusted advisor. He never steered me wrong in the past so I thought it might be useful to some people on these boards. If you don't appreciate my contributions you're welcome to that opinion, but I don't see a point in topics like "GW strengths/weaknesses" if users are discouraged from posting weaknesses. Was his "10k worse" reckoning hyperbolic? Maybe. But the fact remains that he said one could get a better education for the money elsewhere. Citing the US News Rankings tie doesn't refute that; it's just another point of information among many. That's the purpose of these boards, isn't it - to share information? I'm certainly not suggesting anyone rule out GW - in fact I went out of my way to point out that his comments might have been specific to my case. That said, I'm sorry but you're delusional if you think "no one in DC cares" where you went to school. It's true that in most cases it probably won't matter, but intangibles like alumni networks could mean the difference between a good job and a dream job - especially in an economy like this.

This depends on a few things, but if you don't mind walking a little (and/or living around undergrads) you should be fine without a car. The east neighborhood area of the hill is within easy walking distance of campus.

Unless DC is a major draw for you my gut reaction would be Hopkins. Back when I was making my shortlist I looked into Hopkins and was hugely impressed.