I'm actually in Cambridge right now, to attend the HKS open house tomorrow morning. That being said, I actually haven't decided where to go yet: HKS, SIPA or GPPI. Here are the pros and cons:
Harvard PROS: Name recognition (domestically and overseas, and inside and out of "public policy" circles), alumni network
Harvard CONS: $120K in debt...
SIPA PROS: International slant, "conflict resolution" track, MUCH less expensive ($20K fellowship, plus high maximum funding from Post 9-11 GI Bill)
SIPA CONS: Slightly less name recognition? High cost of living in NY
GPPI PROS: Inside track to Beltway jobs, close to husband's reserve duty (which means he will be home, not away, during his "weekend a month.")
GPPI CONS: Even less name recognition? Still about $120K in debt.
My feeling right now is that if I'm going to be in debt anyway, it should be for Harvard. But am I a fool to turn down SIPA? Is GPPI a strong enough program to be compared to HKS/SIPA?? SIPA and GPPI are both ranked #9, but my purely anecdotal sense is that "I got into SIPA" garners a lot more "Good for you!"s than mentioning GPPI. Any thoughts??