Chamchewy

Thank you very much for all your advices. I came to the same reasonings too. Cornell would be great, except I am not sure if I will be accepted to their law program. Does anyone has any advice for writing a letter telling the a program that you will not be attending?

I am an international student. So once I finish school here, I will return to my country (SE Asia). I hope to involve myself in international development, specifically looking into trade and development. So an ideal career path would be working for my country's government.

So I have been accepted to all the schools that applied. However, none of them give me money except one. I am trying to decide between three schools: NYU (Economics and MPA); UMD-CP (MBA and MPP); and Cornell (MPA with fellowship). NYU is very attractive, but I do not want to go in debt. Cornell is also good with the potential of getting a double degree of Law and MPA. Please, advice would help very much.

It is really depend on the focus or concentration of your PhD studies. If you plan to go back to Latin America, I would suggest Yale IDE program. They are quantitative oriented, so you would not be behind in building your math background. Secondly, it would be a great path if you want to pursue a development career (public policy, economic adviser, etc...). While a MA at NYU may put you on track for a PhD, it's only a one year program. So technically, you only have, at max, 1 semester to impress on potential PhD committee. IDE, on the other hand, would put you in a better position if you are considering Yale Econ PhD a potential program. All depend on where you want to pursue your PhD. NYU or Yale? Personally, I would prefer Yale.

Same here. I wish UMN would give me some money. I was planning to go, but Cornell CIPA offered me a fellowship. Since I am out-of-state, the tuition would be about the same for either school.

Man, you guys are making me nervous. I will enter grad school at the age of 20 (3 years BA). Maybe I should start making friends with undergrads instead..

Has anyone began thinking about living in Ithaca?

Anyone want to share an apartment? I found some apartments (no clue how far they are from campus) for $850 for a 2 bedrooms unit. We can split the bills. The only downside is going to classes during the winter will be interesting!!!