WWS vs. SIPA

[MCgarm10]

Help!! I was accepted to Columbia SIPA a few weeks ago and offered 40k annual scholarship, plus admitted to the IFP which comes with an additional $9,500 fellowship (1 year). Super stoked on this (SIPA has always been my dream program)!!  I decided to leave my future self with debt and I committed and paid the 2k deposit. Fast forward... just found out that I was admitted to Princeton WWS off the waitlist. Full ride + living stipend. Here's the dilemma: SIPA has always been my dream school. NYC is my city, all my friends and my partner are there, I love it, want to be there. But I would have to take on about 50k - 75k total debt (that accounts for living expenses). OR, I take Princeton WWS,  no debt, but have to live in Trenton for 2 years. Am I being irresponsible to pass up the free ride?

PS. I have an financial aid appeal in to SIPA, but despite my best efforts, I won't hear back about it until after my WWS decision is due.

Thoughts?

[spidy]

Even if the debt load were the same, I'd go with WWS (though that would of course depend on a lot of factors for you). However, with the different financial packages, it's really a no-brainer. 

And why would you be living in Trenton rather than Princeton?

[MCgarm10]

@spidy - thanks for your reply. What factors lead you to choose WWS > SIPA? Just curious. Also, I (might) be living in Trenton because since I got in off the waitlist, I don't get guaranteed on-campus housing. But hopefully I would be living at Princeton. 

[HBLB]

They are both great schools and considered top 10 in the world for IR and Public policy. WWS is considered to be better than SIPA at least in most of the rankings  I have seen ,foreign policy rankings ect.. I think it depends on what you want to do. I think that WWS offers a little more flexibility in terms of a PHD, public sector, and potentially consulting if that route appeals to you. SIPA might be better for specific jobs, like the UN, because it's in New York. SIPA I believe has a bigger masters program, if masters is the program you are in. This means more opportunity to network with students and obviously more to do in New York. Congrats on getting in two of the best programs in the world, you really cant go wrong with either. If it was me, I would pick WWWs, because it has greater prestige, slightly more connections, more financial aid, and the chance to study IR or Public policy at one of the most renowned and selective institutes on the world. Best of luck!!!

[ssr12013]

On 4/25/2019 at 3:59 AM, MCgarm10 said:

Help!! I was accepted to Columbia SIPA a few weeks ago and offered 40k annual scholarship, plus admitted to the IFP which comes with an additional $9,500 fellowship (1 year). Super stoked on this (SIPA has always been my dream program)!!  I decided to leave my future self with debt and I committed and paid the 2k deposit. Fast forward... just found out that I was admitted to Princeton WWS off the waitlist. Full ride + living stipend. Here's the dilemma: SIPA has always been my dream school. NYC is my city, all my friends and my partner are there, I love it, want to be there. But I would have to take on about 50k - 75k total debt (that accounts for living expenses). OR, I take Princeton WWS,  no debt, but have to live in Trenton for 2 years. Am I being irresponsible to pass up the free ride?

PS. I have an financial aid appeal in to SIPA, but despite my best efforts, I won't hear back about it until after my WWS decision is due.

Thoughts?

Congrats on getting off the WWS waitlist! I'm still on it and have my fingers crossed for good news sometime within the next two weeks. I'm in a very similar boat though in terms of the SIPA acceptance, scholarship, and it being my dream program/perfect fit. Have you decided what you're going to do? 

[MCgarm10]

Hi @ssr12013

Thanks for your reply! I pushed SIPA to respond to my financial aid appeal sooner than they intended, so that I could make a fair and fully-informed decision, and they came back to me with no additional funding. So, I ended up deciding on WWS, not just because of the financial aid, but also general the personal attention and INVESTMENT they have in their students. I felt I couldn't turn it down.  I will be really sad to not be in NYC, but hey, I shouldn't complain. Did you hear back about the waitlist?? 

[ssr12013]

19 hours ago, MCgarm10 said:

Hi @ssr12013

Thanks for your reply! I pushed SIPA to respond to my financial aid appeal sooner than they intended, so that I could make a fair and fully-informed decision, and they came back to me with no additional funding. So, I ended up deciding on WWS, not just because of the financial aid, but also general the personal attention and INVESTMENT they have in their students. I felt I couldn't turn it down.  I will be really sad to not be in NYC, but hey, I shouldn't complain. Did you hear back about the waitlist?? 

Congrats! I'm sure WWS will be a great experience. I, unfortunately, didn't get off their waitlist so I'm heading to SIPA. Saving that money would've certainly been nice but, given that SIPA is a great fit for me on numerous fronts, I'm okay with making this investment and am very excited for the next two years. Best of luck at WWS