Financing SIPA

[rsgoldjw]

very good, it's very useful to me, thank you very much!

[rsgoldjw]

very good, it's very useful to me, thank you very much!

[rsgoldjw]

very good, it's very useful to me, thank you very much!

[rsgoldjw]

very good, it's very useful to me, thank you very much!

[sprinkled.sentiments]

So do you guys believe going to SIPA is worth the $120-140K price tag, assuming that no scholarships are secured? I am having a terribly hard time deciding between SIPA (I only found out I was accepted from the waitlist around a week ago) and USC... Apparently USC is higher ranked in its MPA program but the Columbia name will carry its own weight due to its prestige and brand. Any other factors I should consider? Such as class sizes, access to professors, etc...

[OregonGal]

I think you should definitely consider factors like class sizes and access to professors. You might also check out the professors at the respective programs to see which has academic interests which dovetail with yours the best, and think about whether you want to work in LA/West Coast or NY/East Coast after graduation--it'd be silly to go to SIPA if you were planning on working in urban policy in LA, for example. Since USC is a private school, and in a fairly expensive COL area, I'd guess that the price tag wouldn't be massively different.

[sprinkled.sentiments]

I think you should definitely consider factors like class sizes and access to professors. You might also check out the professors at the respective programs to see which has academic interests which dovetail with yours the best, and think about whether you want to work in LA/West Coast or NY/East Coast after graduation--it'd be silly to go to SIPA if you were planning on working in urban policy in LA, for example. Since USC is a private school, and in a fairly expensive COL area, I'd guess that the price tag wouldn't be massively different.

Not really.. USC's tuition is only about $30k a year versus Columbia's $60k! The price differential is quite significant...

[Eclectic4]

Not really.. USC's tuition is only about $30k a year versus Columbia's $60k! The price differential is quite significant...

Is it that big? I am going to SIPA this year but the price tag at Columbia includes cost of living, insurance, etc. It is something like 60-70,000 a year all included. The actual tuition is just under $45,000 a year.

Including cost of living, absent a scholarship USC should cost almost 50,000 a year if not more, assuming that the tuition you mentioned is accurate as far as $30,000 a year.

Second thing to think about is whether your career focus is international or domestic. USC may be better ranked as far as generalized public affairs, but Columbia is a tier 1 school for international public affairs, above USC.

I came to a a similar decision recently between SIPA, UPenn, and Berkeley's GSPP. SIPA won out in the end even though it was more expensive. As I was saying, abroad Columbia definitely has the most name recognition as compared to USC, PEnn, and Berkeley.

From my experiences in Asia, for example, the ranking and quality of the overall school matters very much for long-term career opportunities.

[sprinkled.sentiments]

Is it that big? I am going to SIPA this year but the price tag at Columbia includes cost of living, insurance, etc. It is something like 60-70,000 a year all included. The actual tuition is just under $45,000 a year.

Including cost of living, absent a scholarship USC should cost almost 50,000 a year if not more, assuming that the tuition you mentioned is accurate as far as $30,000 a year.

Second thing to think about is whether your career focus is international or domestic. USC may be better ranked as far as generalized public affairs, but Columbia is a tier 1 school for international public affairs, above USC.

I came to a a similar decision recently between SIPA, UPenn, and Berkeley's GSPP. SIPA won out in the end even though it was more expensive. As I was saying, abroad Columbia definitely has the most name recognition as compared to USC, PEnn, and Berkeley.

From my experiences in Asia, for example, the ranking and quality of the overall school matters very much for long-term career opportunities.

I am more interested in domestic policy, specifically local/state/federal racial and gender policy. Do you think USC would be a better choice given my interest?

[OregonGal]

When I think of SIPA, I think of international affairs/policy. When I think of USC, I think of domestic policy and I think its location in LA/CA would be very relevant to your interest in local/state/federal racial policy--incarceration of African Americans, treatment of Hispanic migrant populations, history of immigrant Asian communities, etc.

[Eclectic4]

I am more interested in domestic policy, specifically local/state/federal racial and gender policy. Do you think USC would be a better choice given my interest?

I agree with Oregongal, if your focus is domestic, not international, then USC may be a better choice for you as they may be stronger in that regard. Furthermore, given that L.A. is another major U.S. center, you are not truly losing out by not being in NY. Besides NY and D.C., California has to be the other best place to be for career/policy etc.

As I had said, the reason I chose Columbia was mostly because of its international focus. Although I did not apply to USC, I did get into two good domestic focused MPP/MPA programs. If that had been my focus, I would have chosen those not SIPA.