undersec

I don't think Cambridge, MA is the main draw for any HKS student, but it is certainly a nice place to be for a few years offering the benefit of an Ivy League campus set on the edge of a major metro area (think Georgetown, not Columbia for the relevant comparison). Although probably not a focus for most two year students, a school-year internship in Cambridge/Boston is definitely easier to come by than in Princeton. I think HKS's biggest drawback (hashed over many times in this thread) is the funding/debt issue. With that as a given, there are advantages to Harvard. For example, if you plan to study development and want a taste of (borderline) heterodox economics, having Rodrik is a big benefit. The econ faculty on the whole is incredible at Harvard (and MIT where you can take cross-listed classes), so if your interests lie in a more quantitative direction in general, HKS might be the better choice. It is not my subject area, but with the med/public health faculty at Harvard that may be another study area where Harvard excels. Overall, resources are better at WWS. For someone weighing their options between full funding at WWS and no funding at HKS the choice is easy. But if you are fortunate enough to get funded at both schools, then I don't see a big difference in the things that actually matter: faculty, coursework, job opportunities, etc.

Unless Don wants to share the specific scholarship, there is really no way of knowing. One of my good friends deferred HKS for a year and saw his scholarship (a restricted university scholarship) reduced from full tuition to only half. This has been a crazy year for the endowment and part of the new funds may be a more optimistic outlook on the part of the various fund managers at Harvard...

This is an excellent assessment of the situation IMO. According to this article, MPP applications were up 34% this year: http://www.boston.com/news/education/hi ... ?page=full If they accept fewer kids than a normal year (say 300 instead of 350), this would prevent them from overfilling the class. Their admissions rate would drop and their yield would rise a bit, but they could have more spots than usual for kids off the waitlist.

Pritinsp: from what I understand about TA/RA opportunities is that they are very different as a masters student vs. as a PhD student. When you get accepted to a PhD program, generally you get a full tuition wavier AND you get paid for the TA/RA work that you do. At HKS, my understanding is that TAs and RAs make a decent, but not great wage ($13-17 per hour) but do not receive that tuition wavier. If you are only working 15-20 hour per week, then that still leaves quite a bit of a gap! I would love to hear what you have to say after the info session. I am currently stationed outside of the country, but leaning strongly towards the HKS MPP program next year (with about a a half tuition scholarship).

Do you know what the terms of these loans might be like? I received a small award from HKS and definitely still want to attend, but they are suggesting I take out $20,000 (subsidized and unsubsidized) of Stafford loans (the max) and then another $27,000 in Supplemental loans. How are these loans arranged and what kind of interest rates are available? Decision day just got a lot tougher!

All other things equal, I think Harvard comes out on top based on your initial criteria. Hopefully they throw a few $$$ your way and make the choice that much easier

What European country are you from? I have a Spanish friend that did the first year of HKS with funding and then found new sources of funding in his home country for the second year once he was already in Cambridge. I agree that for working internationally HKS is much better known and will give you a better network than Maxwell...

I actually am hoping to enter the MPP class, but as part of a joint degree. With the other course and condensed schedule, I hope to take a number of rigorous quant courses, but without the exact restrictions of the MPA/ID. On your second question, I would guess that it depends on your stage of career. I did work with an international student (from HKS, not WWS) who was working between his 1st and 2nd year in the program, but he was somewhat less experienced and I think it therefore served more to his advantage. If you are pushing 30 (or past it!), then you have an established resume and may not want to take an entire year off at what may be a temporary position. Just my 2 cents...

I have to echo most of the points made above with regards to debt load. HKS and WWS stack up pretty evenly on a lot of levels, so if you are looking at a $20K per year stipend vs. $80K in debt (maybe less based on jmoney's post), then the decision is pretty simple. That said, as someone who has worked both in the gov't and international development sector I would say Harvard has two key strengths vs. WWS: 1. The MPA/ID program is new, but absolutely the fastest track to World Bank and regional development bank jobs of any two year program. The curriculum is far more rigorous than other masters degrees and a higher percentage of students will also go on to do Econ PhDs. If econ or the business side of international development are your focus, then I would pick Harvard. Not sure about the access to higher level classes if you are in the MPP program, but my guess is that you can write a pretty rigorous curriculum there as well via cross-registration. 2. My general sense is that Harvard is a stronger stepping stone for government jobs in the U.S. Although PMF opportunities are probably equal at both schools, it just seems like the HKS class has better networking potential, especially when you consider the HKS/HLS folks and the wider range of classes taught by practitioners. For the record, I am currently admitted to both schools, but waiting on the HKS financial aid package. Harvard is my first choice, but I do need them to step up to the plate and at least match some of what WWS is offering. If that is the case, I will be Boston-bound!