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That is a really difficult choice. All good programs. Normally under such circumstances I would suggest to 'follow the money' (funding), but if you are looking at a consulting career I think it is a bit more complicated. While governments hire from everywhere, some consulting companies recruit only at specific schools. For this reason, I would recommend emailing each school to request their recent placements in the consulting industry. This should give you a better idea of the 'reach' of each program in the private sector. Congratulations on the admits, and good luck.

Harris grad here. Without additional information, it is difficult to say. If your policy interests are primarily domestic, I would recommend Harris - particularly in view of the funding. If your interests are international, SIPA has the edge. I don't know, however, whether the difference is worth $20,000 over 2 years. The international course offerings will almost certainly be more limited at Harris, which has a pretty strong domestic orientation.

Minnesota is a fine and well-respected school/program, and they have offered you a terrific financial package. For persons who are pursuing public service careers, the minimization of debt is an especially important factor. As excellent as Berkeley is, there is no way that it is worth that much more for someone on a public service track, particulary when you have such an attractive alternative (both academically and financially). I really think this is an easy call. Congratulations on the great admits/offers.

The campus visit dates are April 8-9, according to the Harris website. http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/students/new-students/onthemapp.asp The pattern of releasing decisions this year is very different from in years past. An email to Maggie DeCarlo might help clarify the timetable for decisions.

Harris grad here. I know it is very difficult, but I wouldn't read anything into this as yet. The Harris Admissions department is understaffed, and the fact that so few decisions have been posted suggests to me that there are many, many admissions yet to come. Good luck.

Thank you for your nice acknowledgement. While an admission this year is still possible, the GRE is probably the main challenge, given that your recent academic performance is strong. You can definitely raise the GRE scores through additional study. The GRE is particularly important to ad-coms when there are other issues with an application (in your case, a relatively low cumulative GPA). By the way, I know a fellow student at my program who had a similarly rough start in undergraduate, but ended up at the same excellent program as did I, and is now at a top-tier law school. The best of luck to you. Your strong recent academic performance tells me it is simply a matter of time, if you continue to apply yourself.

With the improvement in your grades over the course of your bachelor's degree , I would bet that a good program would admit you at some point. You didn't mention GRE scores, but this is one area that is still in your control. In the event that things don't pan out with your current applications, It may be worth it to retake the GRE. You are still young, and public affairs programs admit individuals of all ages. in fact, many of them prefer to have older students, to help provide a mature perspective to the class. I speak from experience here. A few years ago, I was admitted (with a full tuition scholarship) to a top-10 MPP program, and I was a lot older then than you are now. Keep up your spirits. No matter what happens this admissions cycle, you have plenty of time, and I am confident that an opportunity will arise if you keep trying. Good luck.

Hello folks. Congratulations on the admits, and my apologies for suggesting in a post yesterday that the (at the time sole) reported Harris admit might not be legitimate. They came unusually early this year, and not in accordance with past patterns of frequency (also, there are a lot of 'fake' posts on the results page). The following is a post I offered last year in response to a question about Harris vs. Michigan-Ford. It outlines some of what I consider distinctive about Harris. I seriously considered Heinz and Ford, but not SIPA (SIPA was not considered mainly because of its rather stingy funding policies). All are good programs, and I would suggest that the main considerations be fit and funding. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about Harris. Current Harris student here. I faced the same choice last year, so I will enumerate what I see as the main differences between the two programs. I am reasonably familiar with Ford since I gave it a close look before choosing Harris, but inquiries regarding Ford are best directed toward current Ford students. That said, here are my basic impressions: 1. I think the emphasis on economics (and, more generally, "rational choice" models within the broader political economy sphere) is stronger at Harris. This comes, perhaps (but not necessarily), at the expense of other characteristics. Ford struck me as a school that tries to balance economic/quantitative training with a more traditional "public administration/management" curriculum. You can obtain some of the latter at Harris through course offerings in other departments (Business school and perhaps Social Service Administration), but you can also avoid it if you prefer. What you cannot avoid, however, are healthy doses of economics and statistics (2 quarters' worth apiece) and political economy (a 3-quarter sequence), all required. 2. The political economy sequence at Chicago is distinctive (I did not see a counterpart at any of the policy programs I looked at), and I think is a major strength of the program at Harris. If any students are interested in the particulars of this sequence, feel free to PM me. This sequence, in conjunction with the economic theory requirements, lays a strong conceptual foundation for the policy field courses. 3. The quarter system at Chicago versus the semester system at Michigan. The quarter system means that you take 18 courses over 2 years, instead of 12. Once the core requirements are met (7 courses worth), this gives an enormous amount of latitude to take other courses of interest throughout the university. Apart from the 7 core courses, you take a minimum of 5 courses at the Harris School and up to 6 courses in other departments (most frequently in the Law School, Business School, and economics and political science departments). To cite one example, several of my classmates are taking Gary Becker's course on Human Capital in the upcoming term (I am thinking about it). I hope this is helpful. As noted above, please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

High probability that it is fake (same with the claimed Harris MPP admit). It is early for both programs, and when admits come they usually show up on this board in bunches, not in isolation.

Based on the timing in years past, my guess would be sometime next week (or, at the outside, early the following week).

Do you have a strong desire to work in D.C, or for an international organization? If yes to either, the additional debt MIGHT be worth it, insofar as American undoubtedly has a more extensive network in such circles. The difference in cost is not so great as to disqualify American, imo (although, as a general rule, it is a good idea to limit one's debt as much as possible).

Harris grad here. Is 3.7 your cumulative GPA, or something else? My understanding is that Harris's awards are largely numbers-based, so I'm guessing that your GRE is the impediment here. I had a similar undergraduate GPA (on a cumulative basis), managed to get an 800 Q on the GRE (690V), and received a full tuition scholarship. If you are reasonably confident that you can pull up your GRE scores (Q in particular), it may be worthwhile to defer.

Harris grad here. Harris and SIPA are similar in many respects (e.g. large programs, great faculty, strong economic focus), but for the OP I'd say two differences are important here: Harris's domestic policy strength/emphasis (vs. SIPA's strength in international), and funding. If the OP's policy interests were international and funding were equal, I would recommend SIPA. However, given the "domestic slant' of the OP's interests, I would recommend Harris without hesitation, even if the funding were equal. Harris has its pluses and minuses (like any program), but for the combination of economics and domestic policy, it is difficult to beat. Just my $0.02.

Congratulations. I'm quite confident that you will not regret your choice (no disrespect to SAIS, which is indeed excellent as well).

Harris grad here. I think it would be unwise to base your decision on a fear of math. The standard sequences in statistics and economics at Harris are not that math-heavy. As long as you are willing to work, you will be fine. I would add that social policy is a real strength at Harris. I don't know enough about CIPA to offer a comparison, but Harris is a good choice. The fact that they offered you a good scholarship tells me that you are underestimating yourself. Good luck with your decision.

Fine, just remember that there are no guarantees anywhere, and also no certainty that you will choose to stay in IR. There is something to be said for the balance and flexibility of Berkeley/GSPP. Just my $0.02. Good luck with your decision.

OP, if people are questioning your judgment for considering Berkeley over ANY alternative, I would question their judgement. These boards tend to be somewhat incestuous on matters of perceived prestige, and they are often off the mark. Certainly, SAIS is an excellent name in the IR world, but a Berkeley degree commands respect pretty much everywhere that matters. You seem to really like Berkeley and GSPP, so I cannot see why you would be questioning a decision to attend. btw, I have absolutely no connection to Berkeley.

I seriously considered admission offers from both of these schools ( 2 years ago), so I am reasonably familiar with both. My vote would go to CMU, since these schools are peers and the finances are significantly better for you at CMU. The less debt the better.

If you are not set on a career in DC (and it appears that you are not), my vote would go to GSPP. It is a terrific program, and the Berkeley name should carry you just as far as SAIS (farther in some places). The fact that GSPP is considerably less expensive is also a major plus.

I think this is a pretty easy call: go with the money. There are many, many GWU graduates working in the federal government, and in any case the institution attended doesn't make all that much difference when it comes to public sector jobs.

I agree with the recommendations on Duke and Indiana, but would also put in a strong vote for Berkeley. GSPP is quite small, but the university-wide strengths of Berkeley in the environmental sphere are very impressive. Also, GSPP offers an excellent 'core' training in policy analysis and methods. I think GSPP is probably the best all-around choice, followed closely by Duke.

Harris grad here: If you are seriously considering an academic career, I definitely recommend Harris. The other programs are good, but from what I've learned their 'comparative advantage' lies more in the realms of politics/policy process and management. Harris is a great place to find out if you truly want an academic career, and also a good stepping stone to such a career. I will grant you that it is not the 'warmest and fuzziest' place, but I genuinely enjoyed my time there, and learned a lot. Feel free to send me a PM, and good luck with your decision.

I do not think you can ignore placement, particularly in an extremely competitive discipline such as sociology. In my view, rational self-interest dictates that you narrow your choice to Chicago or Michigan (both of which are terrific programs and universities).

I'm not sure how much more I can say. I am not affiliated with any of these schools (I attended Chicago-Harris), but I do know that CMU and Heinz are highly respected. Based on the information you have provided (including financial considerations), I would recommend either CMU or Michigan. Both of these are nationally respected programs that will carry at least as much weight as NYU. There are no guarantees for employment (particularly as an international student), which is one more reason to limit your debt as much as possible. Good luck with your decision.

Sorry for not responding sooner- I lost track of this thread. On career matters, I am not the best person to ask, as I attended Harris on a professional leave of absence (which meant that I was not in the job market). My impression is that Harris has a pretty broad reach, due partly to it being part of the University of Chicago. It is certainly not a 'regional' school. As for the quantitative component, there is no reason for you to be 'bored'. If you like, you could take the advanced stats sequence, which I'm told is very challenging. That stated, I would still recommend that you attend math camp, because it is a good 'warmup' for the first quarter, and will also help ensure that you pass the (mandatory) math placement exam. Good luck with your decision. I have no regrets about attending Harris, although I am aware that there are other good choices. I found the curriculum very much to my liking, and the faculty are superb. Harris is a particularly good choice for those with an academic or research bent.