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Hi Guys, Long (long) time lurker first-time poster here. Any input will go a long way in helping me decide which program is best suited to my personal situation. I am an Indian applicant looking to move to the US somewhat long-term . I am a lawyer by training and since graduating from law school I have worked as a policy professional for the past 3 years in not for profit thinktanks in India. My focus areas have been access to health, cybersecurity and judicial reforms, but I am sector and subject agnostic as I enter grad school. I have received admits from the following schools 1. Michigan Ford - no aid 2. Chicago Harris - no aid 3. Georgetown McCourt - 15000 per year in aid (tuition is 55k py) 4. George Washington Trachtenberg - 20000 per year in aid (tuition is 35k py) 5. Columbia SIPA - 12000 per year in aid (60k py tuition) 6. Fletcher MALD - 20000 per year in aid (45k py tuition) I have ruled out Michigan, SIPA and Chicago since thy are not financially viable even though I am still wowed by Chicago's program. I have been advised to turn down George Washington despite the aid since the school does not have as much international recognition, in the event that I won't be able to stay on in the US. Am I being misled? Does the programs raking or eliteness make that much of a difference? My focus after graduating is definitely securing employment and staying on in the US (it will be insanely difficult to pay back this kind of money on a public service job in my domestic currency). I am now attempting to choose between Georgetowns MPP and Fletchers MALD. Is Georgetown's DC location worth pay twice as much as I would at Fletcher? Is the MPP degree more marketable in the long-term than an MALD degree? I enjoy being a generalist and am looking to gain skills that can be applied across sectors. That said will the heavier quant training at an MPP/MPA program make me more employable? I have mostly worked in academia and non-profits, and am now interested in exploring private sector (but still have good work-life balance). I am also second guessing rejecting Columbia's offer since some people have advised that being in NY will serve me well as an international student, and that I can recoup costs by taking up a consulting job. Likewise I am worried that I am making a huge mistake turning down GWUs scholarship. Any advice or insight you are able to provide will be really helpful. (Hoping @Prester John and @ExponentialDecay will comment. Thanks.

I'm in the process of selecting which school in the greater Washington, DC area to undertake a master's in public policy degree at. I've been working full-time here since 2016 and plan on continuing to work 9-5 for the next three years while I am completing my MPP. I've been accepted into all 5 schools I've applied and for now have them ranked as: 1) Georgetown 2) George Washington 3) George Mason 4) American 5) Maryland Georgetown and George Washington are extraordinarily expensive, but I think they have the best curricula and flexibility for part-time students. Any thoughts/experience/advice from the forum on these schools?

Hello, I would appreciate thoughts regarding graduate school decisions/comments from people in the same boat. Interested in environmental policy and potentially private sector consulting or NGO work. Accepted to: George Washington University - Environmental Resource Policy, Trachtenberg School ($10k/year fellowship) Still waiting on a decision from UCSB Bren MESM. Obviously this could all be for nothing depending on decision from Bren, but going into this process I regarded UCSB Bren as my #1 choice due to program respect in the environmental field, location (Santa Barbara sounds nice), etc. However, now that I have received word from GW I'm beginning to like the idea of being in DC and the plethora of internship opportunities, etc. For environmental policy I believe this is potentially more important than program rank necessarily. Also, the GW ENRP program allows for all classes to be done in the evening allowing for full-time and part-time internships during the semester. (EPA, DOE, EDF, NRDC, etc all having offices in D.C. along with pretty much every other environmental NGO). All of that being said, UCSB Bren is consistently ranked as the top or a top 3 program for environmental management. Anyone else with knowledge or experience in environmental sustainability policy have thoughts? I don't necessarily want to stay in DC long term and would actually prefer Southern California as a career location, BUT I feel like the connections I could form in DC could carry anywhere. I would appreciate any thoughts/advice

Anyone accepted to the MPP program at Trachtenberg and planning on enrolling? I got in, but it looks like I won't be getting any funding and I'm having a difficult time deciding if it will be worth the cost.