econpp

basically making that decision right now...in my analysis, equivalent quality to hks, but with a very different culture. best fit depends on what you want to do. that being said, if you don't get a full ride from another school, in most cases, it's a moot point (wws wins). strengths: hks: alumni breadth, entrepreneurial, professional wws: supportive, service-oriented, academic

Hi All - So I got an email today offering me a spot off the WWS waitlist. I'm interested in urban economic development policy. I've currently accepted Harvard's offer (some $$, I'd probably end up about with about 50k debt). I think that HKS would probably be a better fit for me, and I'd also like to be in Boston for other personal reasons, but I'm having a hard time turning down a fully funded offer. HKS Pros -Alumni Network (breadth) -Better overall rep -Stronger urban policy focus -More practitioner-centered -Fellowship in area of interest -More classes (though harder to get into) -More speakers -I'd like to be in Boston for other personal reasons WWS Pros -Alumni Network (depth) and better career center -Better rep in policy circles -Stronger academics Thoughts? What would you guys add to the list? Also, did anyone turn down WWS for a less than fully funded offer? And how is WWS in domestic policy? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post in this thread. Thanks!

I talked to one of the directors...about half a dozen second year students will switch to this track, and another 20 first years were offered admission. I'd say it sounds most similar to Chicago's program - quant to the exception of everything else, just a different type of quant than pure economics. It seems private sector oriented. You would basically be trained to act as the go-between hard-core data people and the clients. The value that you add is in econometrics/statistics- that's where the analysis comes in. I'd say a typical job coming out would be a "Project Manager" type role. A plus is that employment opportunities should be very good - they seem to be working with business people who will hire as many graduates as they can. I really like the concept, but I'm a little more policy focused (why I like HKS and WWS). It would be great to combine the two, but I think Harvard probably tops CMU. HKS just gives me more options given that I already have a pretty strong quant background. I can either go work with the quant people from Michigan and Chicago, or I can do more policy stuff (not saying either is better - very different career paths/goals).

I was offered admission to the new track in the email they sent. Not sure if you can switch if you weren't sent the email. Did anyone else get it? I'm curious about how big the program is.

I am in exactly the same position as you are - the goal is to do urban economic/data policy post-grad school I'm having a tough time deciding what to do. I was waitlisted at Princeton and am waiting on Harvard to tell me if they're giving me funding. If they do, I'll go, but if neither of those options pan out, this sounds pretty tempting. I'm planning on talking to the professors listed in the email. My thought is that Carnegie Mellon has a pretty good reputation for Computer Science, and that there would probably be a pretty strong incentive for them to make sure that there were employment opportunities after. Likewise, the research centers look pretty good. On the other hand, a new program is a pretty big risk - even if the job options are better just coming out of the program, I'm not sure if they would be comparable in the long run to Harvard's alumni network. Thoughts?

I'm in the same boat - planning on hks (hopefully with funding, or pslf) - but it would be awesome if wws came through

Thanks 2 year Pitt - still waiting on WWS/HKS and a few others, but I'm pretty happy about it. A quick question for people: I've recently become more interested in big data/machine learning aspects of public policy. CMU has a great reputation in this area - does anyone know how accessible some of these classes would be to Heinz students?

Admitted with full funding + 6k research assistantship v: 170, q: 170, aw: 4 3.8 gpa, 2 years WE