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Junebug42 - I think you hit the nail on the head. Couldn't agree more that internships are what set you apart upon graduation (not to mention help you figure out what you want to do in the first place!). All those internships you mentioned sound fantastic to me. Nothing compares to the opportunities available in DC. Here's a quick question (for anyone): If you got into both HKS and GWU (for an MPA), which would you attend???? I think it's a hard decision because of HKS's unbelievable name (and I'm sure solid program), but as we've already established, no one can compete with GWU's internship opportunities. Which school would you go to??? Personally, I'd be leaning towards GWU.

Why would you take AU? From my research, it seems like you should look at the specific policy concentrations being offered and let that be your guide. Personally, i'm interested in Social Policy and AU's curriculum is weak on that front. From that point of view I'd go Maryland.

Thanks for the response orangesplease. I totally agree that acquiring solid quant skills is important. It's just that I'm fairly confident that 1) my quant skills are pretty solid already (I was an econ undergrad and Mangement consultant for 3 yrs) 2) I don't plan to work in any professions where I'm personally creating the stats myself, aka, there's no reason to spend two years calculating Rs when I have zero intention to do it myself. make sense? On that note, looking for less quant heavy programs that provide a solid but not excessive quant education. Im looking to consume data, not produce it... On that note, I'm thinking the following are top notch schools that provide a good balance while not short changing the actual subject specialties: 1) HKS 2) GWU 3) NYU 4) Duke (not really sure...guidance?) 5) Maryland (Also not totally sure) thoughts? would love to hear from current or prior students....

Thanks for the response understatement700. Wondering if anyone else has insight on this. For all of you MPA/MPP graduates....Looking back, do you wish you had had the opportunity to gain more real world experience (i.e. more than just summer internship) prior to graduation?????????

Do you guys agree with that assertion given that the individual doesn't know exactly what he/she wants to do post graduation? Here is my assumption: 1) We are going to acquire an MPA/MPP in order to get a job we love/are passionate about. 2) The best (and really only way) to find out if you want to do a job is by actually doing it. EXAMPLE: I thought I wanted to be a Management Consultant. The traveling, solving "complex" business issues etc, made it sound very appealing. I became one post undergrad (Accenture for ~3 years) and hated every minute of it. The obvious corollary: If the above are true, then that means for those of us who don't know exactly what they want to do post graduation, the ability to have access to as many and as varied internships as possible should be extremely important. This leads me to believe that: I shouldn't even consider programs that don't permit students to hold internships during the school year (example, I called WWS and they said no one has any over the school year...only during summer). Furthermore: This makes programs like GWU or American (who upon being asked about weather many students have internships during the school year said nearly everyone has multiple internships during the school year...) extremely appealing. Not to mention GWU and American's location (aka access to the most important MPA employers in the nation/world) even more compelling. If the above is true, it makes me wonder what other programs (like WWS or HKS) have to offer for someone who is searching. What do you guys think? Do you guys think internships are the most important? Why should I consider programs that don't have abundant during school year internships (like WWS)??? Hopefully this made sense. I just don't want to make the mistake to go to the most prestigious program i get into (Even if their specialty seems a little better than the internship programs) if they don't enable me to try out different professions. THANKS EVERYONE!!!!!!

Hey Guys, I'm looking for programs that DO NOT put a ton of emphasis on quant. While I do want to gain those skill sets, I don't want to spend two years hating my life (never been a huge fan of math) and also I don't plan on working in any quant heavy professions (e.g. world bank, IMF etc.) so looking for programs that have it, but don't stress it. Based on my research, I gather the following schools are quant heavy (aka won't be applying): 1) WWS 2) GSPP 3) Chicago 4) SAIS 5) Georgetown Conversely, I plan to apply to the following because it doesn't seem like they are super quant heavy and/or let you choose how much quant you want: 1) HKS 2) GW 3) American 4) NYU 5) Duke I would love to find out from either current students or well informed prospective students how quant heavy the curriculum for the above (schools I plan to apply to) are. Thanks so much guys, all of you rock!