Goldman MPP or SIPA MPA?

[pubpolgal]

Hi all, I'm trying to decide between Berkeley GSPP's MPP and Columbia SIPA's MPA for the fall. I would appreciate any insight. I'm only 1 year out of undergrad but I have relevant internship and work experience, and I'm interested in social policy, inequality, and racial justice. After grad school, I might want to be a researcher/policy analyst or a writer/communications professional at a nonprofit or think tank. I'm also interested in media and policy writing. I'm from DC and would be happy to come back here after grad, but I'm open to different locations.

Berkeley pros:

- faculty is very relevant to my policy interests, smaller cohort size, students seem more public service-oriented, seems like a better sense of community, possibly a higher quality education (??)

Berkeley cons:

- rigid first year curriculum, unsure if I want to be in California after grad, fewer exciting on-campus events

Columbia pros:

- ability to take lots of electives, the tech/media/communications specialization looks cool and relevant to my interests in media, lots of interesting on campus events with relevant speakers, NYC has many places I would want to intern for, ivy league reputation that people beyond just the policy world understand

Columbia cons:

- international affairs focus, larger cohort size, rumors of a "transactional" reputation

 

I've leaned toward both schools at different times. Thoughts? I've made a post like this before in a different thread (and got some great and helpful responses!) but I'm still desperate so here we are. Feel free to reply with similar dilemmas, as your decision making process might help me with my own.

I also know that MPP and MPA are slightly different degrees, but I'm not super concerned since I believe either will take me where I want to go. But any insight on that aspect is appreciated too. 

Edited March 31, 2019 by pubpolgal

[TalkPoliticsToMe]

Have you visited either campus at all or taken into consideration what learning environment you work best in? 

Berkeley’s campus is beautiful and concentrated in its own area, vs Columbia being sprawled around the city of New York. While you may focus most of your studies within the policy building, layout and structure of the campus is something to consider should you want to explore other departments. Berkeley also has a thriving sports culture / school spirit relative to Columbia. Is that appealing to you? Is it important to you to be surrounded by open spaces and natural landscapes? Is cost of living important to you? (I’d argue Berkeley is higher cost of living than NYC given the growth in SF)

I would also say that if you’re goal is to end up returning further east then Berkeley may not be the best option. Not that you couldn’t return to the east coast but you may have to work a little harder. 

Lastly, based on your post above, it seems Columbia is much more appealing to you. If it’s the ranking of Berkeley that’s making you reconsider, I’d toss that aside. Both programs are so strong that their relative rankings (in my opinion) should not factor into your decision making. Additionally, as someone who attended a large state school for undergrad you can make your experience as worthwhile as the effort you put forth. I never felt shortchanged for opportunities, however, I always made it a point to remember why I was in school vs becoming distracted by the allures of college life. 

[policyapplicant]

I sense that Berkeley is a much better fit for your academic and career interests. If you're in social justice spaces, the Berkeley name is as good as an Ivy.

[acv123]

On 3/31/2019 at 1:53 PM, pubpolgal said:

Hi all, I'm trying to decide between Berkeley GSPP's MPP and Columbia SIPA's MPA for the fall. I would appreciate any insight. I'm only 1 year out of undergrad but I have relevant internship and work experience, and I'm interested in social policy, inequality, and racial justice. After grad school, I might want to be a researcher/policy analyst or a writer/communications professional at a nonprofit or think tank. I'm also interested in media and policy writing. I'm from DC and would be happy to come back here after grad, but I'm open to different locations.

Berkeley pros:

- faculty is very relevant to my policy interests, smaller cohort size, students seem more public service-oriented, seems like a better sense of community, possibly a higher quality education (??)

Berkeley cons:

- rigid first year curriculum, unsure if I want to be in California after grad, fewer exciting on-campus events

Columbia pros:

- ability to take lots of electives, the tech/media/communications specialization looks cool and relevant to my interests in media, lots of interesting on campus events with relevant speakers, NYC has many places I would want to intern for, ivy league reputation that people beyond just the policy world understand

Columbia cons:

- international affairs focus, larger cohort size, rumors of a "transactional" reputation

 

I've leaned toward both schools at different times. Thoughts? I've made a post like this before in a different thread (and got some great and helpful responses!) but I'm still desperate so here we are. Feel free to reply with similar dilemmas, as your decision making process might help me with my own.

I also know that MPP and MPA are slightly different degrees, but I'm not super concerned since I believe either will take me where I want to go. But any insight on that aspect is appreciated too. 

Hi, I’m still torn between the two programs (although potentially leaning towards Berkeley) and I’m interested in which way you’re leaning/ your decision factors? I attended the SIPA open house yesterday which made me more confused since the program does seem strong with impressive faculty (although larger than my liking, but that does come with increased resources and course opportunities). I’m wondering if there’s anything I’m missing that can help convince me either way. 

[pubpolgal]

On 4/10/2019 at 6:11 PM, acv123 said:

Hi, I’m still torn between the two programs (although potentially leaning towards Berkeley) and I’m interested in which way you’re leaning/ your decision factors? I attended the SIPA open house yesterday which made me more confused since the program does seem strong with impressive faculty (although larger than my liking, but that does come with increased resources and course opportunities). I’m wondering if there’s anything I’m missing that can help convince me either way. 

Hey hey! So I think I've made my decision, actually, and (unless something changes) I plan on committing to SIPA. I went to like 3 sessions from their open house, and it wasn't perfect, but it made me realize some stuff.

I spent a long time leaning toward Berkeley, but one of my dreams is to go into policy writing and communications work. At SIPA, I would be able to take classes in those fields (through the tech, media, and comms specialization) and NYC is sort of a better place to be for those kinds of opportunities. Berkeley, on the other hand, is a little more cut and dry policy analysis, which I'm not sure if I truly want to do. Some things I preferred about Berkeley were the culture and the size, but after learning about SIPA's pretty impressive connections and wide network, I realized that achieving my goals would take a lot more effort at Berkeley than at SIPA. I think SIPA's culture fit wouldn't be as good as Berkeley's, but the flexibility of the curriculum, the wide variety of courses, and the strong network made me realize it would be the better choice.

So some of my decision was personal to my career goals, but I think I also realized that both places are great and neither place is perfect. I found that it helped to contrast the things that were unique to each school (like for example, one thing that seemed unique to Berkeley was that aums go into local government in California , and maybe for SIPA it's alums going international) and weighing which meant more to me. 

I think SIPA's size does seem a little overwhelming but from what I've seen and heard, professors are still accessible (esp within your concentration or specialization) and you can find a community through student orgs. Berkeley has a leg up on academic appointments/on-campus jobs though, since I think only 2nd years at SIPA do that kind of stuff.

When it comes to cost, a 10k-ish difference probably isn't huge, but going deeper into debt for one program is probably not worth it. Idk how much I can really advise you there though.

I really hope you're able to come to a decision soon! I spent the past few weeks swinging all over the place so let me know if I can help in any other ways.

P.S. I also think NYC is kind of hectic and I would much rather live in sunny California, but oh well....

[acl]

38 minutes ago, pubpolgal said:

Hey hey! So I think I've made my decision, actually, and (unless something changes) I plan on committing to SIPA. I went to like 3 sessions from their open house, and it wasn't perfect, but it made me realize some stuff.

I spent a long time leaning toward Berkeley, but one of my dreams is to go into policy writing and communications work. At SIPA, I would be able to take classes in those fields (through the tech, media, and comms specialization) and NYC is sort of a better place to be for those kinds of opportunities. Berkeley, on the other hand, is a little more cut and dry policy analysis, which I'm not sure if I truly want to do. Some things I preferred about Berkeley were the culture and the size, but after learning about SIPA's pretty impressive connections and wide network, I realized that achieving my goals would take a lot more effort at Berkeley than at SIPA. I think SIPA's culture fit wouldn't be as good as Berkeley's, but the flexibility of the curriculum, the wide variety of courses, and the strong network made me realize it would be the better choice.

So some of my decision was personal to my career goals, but I think I also realized that both places are great and neither place is perfect. I found that it helped to contrast the things that were unique to each school (like for example, one thing that seemed unique to Berkeley was that aums go into local government in California , and maybe for SIPA it's alums going international) and weighing which meant more to me. 

I think SIPA's size does seem a little overwhelming but from what I've seen and heard, professors are still accessible (esp within your concentration or specialization) and you can find a community through student orgs. Berkeley has a leg up on academic appointments/on-campus jobs though, since I think only 2nd years at SIPA do that kind of stuff.

When it comes to cost, a 10k-ish difference probably isn't huge, but going deeper into debt for one program is probably not worth it. Idk how much I can really advise you there though.

I really hope you're able to come to a decision soon! I spent the past few weeks swinging all over the place so let me know if I can help in any other ways.

P.S. I also think NYC is kind of hectic and I would much rather live in sunny California, but oh well....

Hello! Would you be able to explain what you saw about SIPA's culture/fit during your open house that made you pause? And did they say how big classes typically get? I didn't get to go to their open house, and while I'm pretty sure I'm leaning away from SIPA,  courses & professors do look fantastic and I'm having some last-min doubts before acceptance deadlines... 

[pubpolgal]

1 hour ago, acl said:

Hello! Would you be able to explain what you saw about SIPA's culture/fit during your open house that made you pause? And did they say how big classes typically get? I didn't get to go to their open house, and while I'm pretty sure I'm leaning away from SIPA,  courses & professors do look fantastic and I'm having some last-min doubts before acceptance deadlines... 

Sure! SIPA students seem very professionally driven and really into networking, which is maybe a bit different than a community-oriented culture that I would prefer. It didn't seem shocking or concerning really, just typical of a big ivy league program with lots of students who want to be successful. But I still think that I would be able to find meaningful communities/niches there (as well as benefit from that professional culture).

Edit: Also, a couple of students on the student life panel I attended said that SIPA is not a competitive culture (but rather, a collaborative one) -- not sure how much I believe that, but it was reassuring. Also, a positive aspect of a bigger school/more students is that you might be more likely to find people with similar interests than at a smaller school.

Re: class sizes, I think core classes can be quite big (maybe some would even have 100+ students?) but concentration/specialization/elective courses are typically capped at 25 students, and some might be smaller.

Edited April 12, 2019 by pubpolgal

[acl]

Thanks a lot! That's good to hear - and good point about the upsides to bigger classes and schools. With all of these schools I think students can make of the experience what they want out of it. SIPA will be amazing, good luck!