Ford MPP for free or HKS in a year?

[kraeblossom]

Hi all! Would love perspectives on my MPP dilemma: I'm incredibly grateful to have received a full scholarship and cost of living stipend to attend the Ford School at UMichigan beginning in Fall 2019. I love the program, their research centers, and their social policy curriculum.

I've also been offered "conditional deferred admission" to the Kennedy School to begin in 2020, provided I take another round of college-level econ and stats to boost my quant skills before attending (low GRE quant probably did not inspire confidence on the part of the admissions committee...). There's no indication of funding, and their request also means that I'd need to factor in the cost of these courses over the next year.

I fully realize how fortunate I am to have this dilemma in the first place. Michigan is the obvious choice, but it's hard to turn down the opportunity to attend my dream school. Other options include Brandeis Heller (full scholarship), Syracuse Maxwell (no funding info yet) and Brown Watson (partial funding.)