Stuck - SIPA V Fletcher V Georgetown

[noheelsplease]

Hello everyone!

I was wondering if the kind people on this forum can help me in making a decision. A brief intro – I have been a transaction lawyer in India for 5 years now with several volunteering stints. I want to work in socio-economic rehabilitation by way of building private-public partnerships. Following are the programs that I have gotten into along with aid figures:

1.     SIPA (MIA) – 86K

2.     Fletcher (MIB) – 80K

3.     Yale Jackson – 43K

4.     Georgetown MSFS – approx. 60K

5.     Duke Sanford – 42K

6.     SAIS – 10K for the first year, renewable for the second

7.     Harris – 10K

I am still in the process of having these bumped up. Also trying hard for multiple external scholarships. My savings are roughly around 23K. I do want to study at one of these places so that I can do the work I have been wanting to for few years. I have tried to break into the field with my undergrad degree (dual BA and law) but have been unable to do so and hence the decision to pursue masters. Having said that, I do not want to make a financially and personally bad decision.

I know SIPA has been the most generous but given that cost of living and huge class size at SIPA, I am leaning towards Fletcher (who have been extremely welcoming by personally reaching out and scheduling calls to help me make a decision), Yale (simply because of the brand name and networking opportunities), and Georgetown (because the course is fantastic).

Any thoughts or advice is welcome! 

Thanks in advance.

[rising_star]

It's hard to say. You've provided the aid figures but that doesn't help us understand what the cost to you would be. I would probably go for the lowest overall cost of attendance. 

[ZebraFinch]

The aid figures are meaningless without the cost of tuition.

Georgetown seems like a decent deal, but the cost of living in DC can increase expenses by a whole lot.

From these figures alone, I would say Duke looks like the cheapest option.

But, as was already said, go for the one with the lowest cost of attendance.