piquant777

Thanks for the thoughts! It wasn't meant to be comprehensive obviously, and is definitely east-coast biased as that was my geographical focus when I applied. Feel free to comment though so others can have additional suggestions when they read. I don't consider UP to be specifically a development degree as it is a specialty degree, and covers both domestic and international. Same with MPH, masters in education/teaching, and other things that can be done internationally but aren't international development programs per se.

Throughout a couple of application seasons now, I have asked and been asked many questions about going to graduate school for people in the field of international development. The range of choices is so wide (MPA? MIA? MPA-ID? PhD? MBA? JD? MPH?) and the application process can be quite opaque. Now that I've finally finished my first year (at Princeton WWS), I thought I'd write up a quick FAQ for posterity's sake and pass it along to those still thinking about the process. Feel free to share/comment. http://beccazsky.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/graduate-school-for-international-development/

Econpp, if you're still making a decision, feel free to PM me. Would be happy to talk to you about HKS vs. WWS, and connect you with urban policy students here. I think you pretty much got it right in terms of your pros/cons list. I will say though that having used the Harvard alum network (Crimson Compass), barely anyone replies to you and those who do will not go out on a limb to help you, since there are so many people in the network. The WWS network, people literally are giving out jobs to each other right and left (not really an exaggeration), and empirical evidence suggests you'll get a reply from 99% of alums within days or even hours. HKS is probably more practitioner-oriented and a bit less rigorous academically. What do you want to do afterwards? If it's public service, $50k is a lot of debt and the career services + full funding (you should also count the guaranteed WWS funding for summer internships, language courses over the summer and even a lot of free meals/speaker events/dinners...these all add up to a lot!) will set you up well here. If you're going to go into private sector afterwards, then HKS may well be a better cultural fit and the $50k won't be as big of an issue.

Just a note that one of the main things WWS tends to look for in its admissions process is a commitment to public service. Therefore, even if you have lots of work experience, it would be particularly unadvisable to put all your eggs in one basket if you don't have a demonstrated history of work experience in public service (i.e. the NGO and government sectors). Of course this can include the whole package too (extensive volunteer or extracurricular experience, internships, etc.). I'm not sure if your jobs were public sector, but just wanted to throw that out there as food for thought. SAIS is a great school and though I fully understand the debt issue, admissions to WWS is ~10% and giving up a sure thing seems like a risky endeavor for even the most qualified of candidates. You may try looking into external scholarships if you don't want to go through the whole admissions process all over again.

Also having applied from abroad, I understand the draw of the Harvard name and the appeal of the HKS program. I think you can't go wrong with either decision, and agree with other posters that it kind of depends on what sort of career path you might want to pursue. WWS is not the best place for those who want to go into the private sector after graduation, for example (the stipend is explicitly to allow graduates to pursue public service). If you are dedicated to public service however, you will meet a lot of like-minded students, faculty and administrators at WWS that will help you immensely in your career. The final thing I will say is just a financial note. Did HKS provide you with a full scholarship and stipend? Because living expenses can be quite expensive. I got a full scholarship from a couple other schools I was considering, but Princeton's $20+k stipend on top of full tuition is hard to beat. You are actually earning money while getting a Masters, which is pretty incredible. If you had to pay for living expenses in Boston (one of the most expensive housing markets in the country) out of pocket, you will still be in some $30-50k of debt after two years. Not to mention summer funding, which HKS may not guarantee for internships (but WWS does, including extra money for language study). For some, especially from developing countries or those wanting to go into not-so-high paying government/NGO work, that's a lot of money to sacrifice even with a full tuition scholarship. Hope this helps! And go to the welcome weekends if you can!

I was accepted to Jackson last year with a fellowship and strongly considered it. I think you have a good grasp of the pros and cons. It is a very small program but they make good use of Yale University's resources as a whole and you can tap into interesting classes at the business and law schools since the second year is (I believe still) all electives. You can take courses with visiting fellows like David Brooks and Stanley McChrystal, who have real-world connections that can help you. Career services may not be the most well-established or connected alum-wise, but at least they will know you really well and always have time for you since the class is so small. I would also say that Jim Levinsohn has completely redesigned the program starting last year and is making an effort to make it more practitioner-based, though obviously it is still probably the most academic of the bunch you are choosing from (though this is good for a potential future PhD). New Haven is a great little town with lots of cool foodie spots. Just have to be safe and use common sense (get your wife some pepper spray). Out of your other choices I would probably only consider SAIS and Fletcher depending on what you want to do, but $ is also a huge factor. Feel free to PM if you'd like to talk more.

I know, right? Just a funny coincidence! Ha, ha. But seriously, I don't know of a single person here who is a WWS or even Princeton legacy (other than the SINSI scholars, who are chosen their junior year from Princeton undergrad).

Hey everyone, also a current MPA here. Fenderpete and I will be helping Admissions answer questions for admits after decisions come out, but happy to do so here too and help people think about their upcoming decisions in advance! I want to second everything he said, and also add a note about Princeton the town/uni and how it relates to the academic environment and potential off-campus work. When I was deciding between schools, I considered myself a big-city person. I like people, have enjoyed my time in DC, and thought it would be nice to be in the "real world" while at grad school. I almost went to Gtown (you can see my profile below for what schools I was looking at, etc.), before I came to Princeton's Welcome Weekend and was blown away by our Career Services department and how much alumni swore by their experiences here. Princeton is not the big-city "real world" grad school I described above, but I now truly appreciate the unique opportunity it gives you to truly concentrate on being in school without other distractions. Some of my friends at Gtown work two part-time jobs in addition to school in order to pay the bills. There is so much going on in DC and that is great, but as a result their classmates are more like people they see at school, where they cross paths and then go back out into the city for the rest of the day to do their own thing. Princeton, with its across-the-board financial aid/stipend for everyone and small but incredibly vibrant academic environment will be a very different experience. You don't have to work part-time to make ends meet, though you can of course intern in NYC on Fridays (we don't have class then), or do distance work with an org/client either domestically or abroad (which we all actually do in our policy workshops the second year). While there's definitely not much going on in Princeton the town, that means you will usually see almost all your friends at common events organized by the Woodrow Wilson Action Committee (our student government), or the Graduate Student Government for the whole grad school. They have organized trips to Broadway with discounted tickets, apple picking, bowling, rock climbing, various parties, etc. So the school is not just a building you pass through for a class or two during the day -- it really is a community. Just thought I would offer my $0.02 on that trade-off between bigger school in a more "happening" place with more course choices, and a smaller school that allows for more focus on your classes and a tight community. Definitely neither type is "better," so it is good to visit and see what kind of vibe works best for you.

Yale gives good funding to its most qualified candidates, plus generous teaching assistantships if you can land one. Georgetown SFS has been known to be a bit stingy, but the new MGHD program for international development gave several full scholarships this year. Fletcher generally gives up to half-tuition for its top candidates, sometimes a bit over. SAIS in my experience was very meh, but if you can land one of their few application-only scholarships (essay contests, etc.) that could make a big difference. SIPA is notoriously horrible for first-year funding (giving NONE to the vast majority of candidates, even their best ones), and second-year funding is not guaranteed so some who count on it when accepting end up disappointed (and very, very in debt).

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): Ivy Previous Degrees and GPAs: 3.6+ GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 170V/169Q/5.5AW Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 4 years in non-profit, 3 in my geographical region of expertise
 Math/Econ Background: micro/macro in college, A-. absolutely no math
 Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): fluent in two of the (difficult) UN languages, native English
 Intended Field of Study in Grad School: International development
 Long Term Professional Goals: INGOs, UN, contractors, election monitoring...haven't quite figured it out yet. 
Schools Applied to & Results: Fletcher (Board of Overseers $$), Georgetown MGHD (full tuition $$$), WWS (full tuition+stipend $$$$), Yale Jackson (full tuition+stipend $$$$), SAIS ($) 
Ultimate Decision & Why: My month+ decision time was a huge roller coaster ride. Fletcher and SAIS were crossed off early for $ reasons, though I think both are excellent programs. Princeton flew me out from abroad to go to their admitted weekend, but I also was able to attend most others'. I was completely sold on Georgetown's program, which despite being brand new offered a curriculum uniquely catered to development professionals, and amazing personal attention from the director and faculty in a cohort of only 20. Yale offered me an extra assistantship on top of full tuition+living costs and the Jackson director called to talk at length about the changes in their curriculum this year (new Core courses with hand-picked phenomenal teachers, more practically-minded). However, ultimately WWS's admit day sold me on how unbelievable the alumni network is, allowing you to basically call up anyone around the world and have them offer you a job (only slight exaggeration). That reputation and alumni base was something both other programs lacked due to their "newness." I admittedly went with the most risk-adverse choice. 
Advice for Future Applicants: Assemble a "team" of people, both those also going through this process and those that have finished it, that will help you read various SOP drafts and cheer you on when you are overwhelmed. If you apply to even 5 or so schools, you will have SO MANY statements, mini-essays, policy memos, etc. to write that you may well produce 20 relatively distinct pieces before you're finished. Your eyes will cross if you don't have fresh ones to look them over for you, and it's too much to burden one person with so you need at least 3-5 people I would say. Not ashamed to say that being on GradCafe helped me immensely because it was a built-in community of other people juggling the same multitasking and agonizing through the process, from GREs to apps to waiting to decision-making. When you eventually make the decision, be sure to talk to current students and alums as much as you can for the "real scoop." Keep in mind that the hardest thing is not just to get in, but to not go into tons of debt for your dream degree, and for getting $ I think test scores/GPA prob matter somewhat more than for admissions. To me it seems like the greatest irony to get a degree designed to help in a career in international development, pay full sticker price, and never be able to pay it off/be forced to veer off of your career track due to debt.

I heard from a friend at admit weekend that 1) they played a slideshow in which one slide depicted other schools at the bottom and SIPA at the top with a big trophy next to it, claiming they were the most elite institution (mathematically, it's the opposite) and 2) that someone from the finaid office when pressed admitted SIPA tuition funded other aspects of the university and actually used the word "Cash Cow." Wow. She thought the atmosphere among the admits was one of depression and anxiety on how to pay back their 6-figure loans. Anyone else have this experience?

OP: With your interests, I would recommend SAIS. It does seem more finance-oriented and plugged into those networks than Gtown (as the current student posted, which was super useful!). And SIPA is just not a great school: large, bureaucratic, not much community which also means not as strong of a connection and network with alums.

This has been discussed in various places, but I personally think Georgetown's reputation for international affairs exceeds that of SIPA's. SIPA is known for being stingy with funding and very large/impersonal (i.e. paying $50k/year and not even being able to take the classes you want), but then again you're talking about a new program that I'm not familiar with so it may very well be different. I would not count on getting second year funding since many SIPA students do that only to be disappointed, but then again if second-year funding is definitely not an option at GHD (did you ask?) then that is tough. I don't feel I can really speak well to the comparison since I know nothing about this SIPA program (I personally do not want to live in NYC and heard such lukewarm-to-bad things about SIPA from alums that I didn't even bother applying). However, I can give you more info about GHD as well since I was also at the admit day (hi bgreenster!). The faculty panel was incredibly impressive and really drove home the point that they will not only be professors, but also mentors and professional connections for the MGHD students. They are happy to have students work closely with them, do research, and co-publish. In addition, all of them are former practitioners with storied careers in the Bank, USAID, international NGOs, etc. They, in addition to the program's director, are very committed to the new program and also helped design it. They seem to be huge personal advocates who are committed to making sure each of the 20 in the cohort gets the summer projects, internships or jobs that he/she wants both during and after the program. If what you want is to work for private development contractors, have you seen the list of partners that the GHD program has signed on? It's listed on the website, and is framed sometimes as the summer project partners but really it's much more than that. At the admit day there was a "partner luncheon" where all the partners were invited from DC, and it became clear that these people have signed on to help the students in the program, whether that be term-time internships, summer internships or jobs after graduation. It seems very clear to me that if you wanted a placement with one of these partners after grad, several of whom are private consulting firms/contractors (again check the site for specific names), that would be incredibly easy with these built-in relationships within the program. I totally understand the hesitation with a brand new program and I have also heard lots of advice about it too from people who are wary. I won't lie that it is a consideration in that there is no history of the program, other employers who may not be as familiar with it might wonder, and there isn't a dedicated base of alumni of the actual program yet (though obviously GHD students will have full access to the SFS career services office and their alum database). But being there in person I can say that the admin is well aware of these potential shortcomings and therefore seems to be making a concrete effort to really devote individual attention to each admit/student and make the first cohort as strong as possible. Have you looked at the curriculums at both places? It helps sometimes to map out what classes you'd be taking with which professors for the full two years, to really get a comparative look. I thought the Gtown program was incredibly relevant and interesting, including classes on M&E, project management, and an innovation/technology lab. If you are interested in the latter, the social entrepreneurship fellows program with the business school that GHD is starting might be interesting to you. I was emailed by the professor who runs it and it seems like an awesome opportunity. Please take my comments with a grain of salt because I'm clearly biased and know nothing about the SIPA program (plus am infinitely in the DC>>>>NYC camp). But hope this helps a bit since you were not able to make the GHD admit day!

Can you take the WWS hosting weekend money and visit both schools? I think that will really help you decide. Did Harvard give you any scholarship money, because that could be a big headache factor for an international student. You are right that the Harvard name will always open more doors for you outside of the states. But I think the HKS MPP is also very quant-based and rigorous. Really, visiting is your best bet so you can really meet fellow students and professors and get a feel for both schools. I think the "culture" is very different between them. WWS is really for people geared towards public service and the money makes them unconcerned about taking high-paying jobs later on. HKS grads often go into private sector or foreign governments, as well as multi-national organizations like WB. Also if you read the WWS admit packet they just sent, you'll see that a high proportion of this year's class is focusing in American domestic policy, so that might be a factor if you want somewhere that is more international.

IMHO Fletcher is by far the better program. SIPA is huge, impersonal, and kind of has a cash cow reputation (maybe bc they give no aid!). I talked to multiple grads from both places when applying and Fletcher grads always raved, whereas SIPA grads always were lukewarm, gave caveats or were even downright out to warn me. My impression was so strong that I didn't even end up applying in the end, despite having submitted recs. Don't get sucked in, esp. when as I said before in SIPA's case, reputation in your field of study is NOT better. More people get into the program than don't, for heaven's sake. When you finish with that much less debt and a stronger campus and alum network, you will indeed think back to this moment and tell yourself you were being an idiot.