SIPA vs Yale Jackson Institute (Global Affairs) vs Georgetown Democracy and Governance

[Bubba94]

Hi I could really use some help thinking about the following programs:

Background: I really want to work in democracy and elections and highly considering doing a PhD after my Masters so I don't want to shut the door on that, but I also want to graduate prepared to get a job at places like NDI, IRI, IFES, State, etc.

1. Georgetown Democracy and Governance: I love that is a tiny program of between 10 and 20 students because I do really well with a ton of mentorship and individual attention. I also want to work in democracy and elections in my career, and this program is kind of a feeder program for jobs NDI, IRI, and IFES. After my tiny scholarship that I got from their the cost of tuition is 60K TOTAL or 30k per year, plus cost of living in DC. I've been saving up money for years and found a part-time job I can do making $12,000 a year while studying so between this and a little help from my family I can graduate debt-free, but it's not like I come from a family of brain surgeons, I don't take it lightly to spend this money but if this is ultimately the best education then it's worth it. 

2. SIPA: SIPA is now on the table because I just got a full ride. I'm nervous about being in a bigger program only because I noticed that when I'm in large programs I tend to get lost and not do as well whereas when I have the opportunities to be in a tiny program or work environment where I have very close relationships with my mentors/professors I succeed a lot more. There's internships here in New York or in DC so both this and Georgetown are good for building my resume as well but I'm nervous about just being totally lost and not getting the kind of mentorship I would in a program that's 10 students, which isn't Columbia's fault, it's just that it's hard to compete with that small the program in terms of offering really tailored career advice, career services help, mentorship, etc.

3. Yale Jackson: I got a full ride to Yale plus living stipend so moneywise this is obviously the best but I don't want this to be the only deciding factor because even if I graduate after an extra free education but I can't get into jobs that I want, then I'll really regret not taking an opportunity to go to a different program. This Global Affairs program is so new I've noticed a lot of people haven't heard of it, I'm worried that people might not value as much as the students who graduate from the more well-known powerhouse IR schools. I know that the Yale name goes very far outside of my field, but I'm pretty diehard about working in democracy and elections so I want to go to program that's really respected within my field. The pluses are that I can take classes at the law school and other departments/schools and its program size is about 20 students, which means I get that kind of individual attention I would get at Georgetown, and the administrators and career services are really invested in making you successful because you're only one of 20 students that they have to focus on.

If anyone has any input I would really appreciate it. I think that these are 3 really different programs, because SIPA is a well known powerhouse large IR school, Yale is a new and small IR program that's still establishing itself, and Georgetown's is actually in the Dept of Government so it's not an IR school but its essentially a feeder program to my dream jobs and the curriculum feels like it was custom made for my dreams and interests

Edited March 13, 2020 by Bubba94