Public Policy: NYU Wagner MSPP, Carnegie Mellon Heinz College MSPP, or Indiana MPA?

[stow]

Hi all,

I recently got accepted to a few programs and wanted to hear any thoughts folks might have. I got accepted to NYU's 1-year MSPP, Carnegie Mellon's 2-year MSPPM-Data Analytics track, and Indiana University's 2-year MPA program. Currently, NYU is most expensive (only got 15% funding), CM is less expensive (got 50% funding), and Indiana is the cheapest (I got 40% funding but the program is very cheap). I'd like a career in public policy analysis and want to invest in data analytics skills that I've been working on in my professional experiences since graduating college. My thought is that Carnegie Mellon makes the most sense, not being too expensive but still being very rigorous. But, the NYU program only comes out to $25k more than the Carnegie Mellon program, and the NYU program is a year shorter, so I would theoretically have an extra year to work, and if I get a job that pays above $25k/yr (with a master's, I hope I would!!), then NYU would make more sense financially.

This all feels weird and maybe I should just go to the cheapest program and not have to worry about finding the best possible job afterwords. IU seems a little less rigorous re: policy/data analysis. The NYU program is by far my favorite, but it feels risky going to the most expensive program on the off chance I can't find good employment afterwords. 

Anyone else have thoughts about balancing cost with the career outcomes of your program? Or the fact that one program might be shorter?

[gonewiththewind]

vote for IUB - since it is the no.1 program in the country for MPA. You can choose your major in policy analysis.