Deciding Between MPP Programs (Education Focus)

[JG123456]

I just heard back from 3 of 4 schools I applied to but am having a hard time grappling with the pros/cons of each program. I got into Georgetown McCourt, Duke Sanford, and Harvard Graduate School of Education (Education Policy Focus). McCourt is the only one that has updated their information about financial aid, which was a substantial amount, more than I would expect from the other two. 

Could someone break down the pros/cons of each program, especially as they pertain to my interest in Education Policy?

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/5/2022 at 6:57 PM, JG123456 said:

I just heard back from 3 of 4 schools I applied to but am having a hard time grappling with the pros/cons of each program. I got into Georgetown McCourt, Duke Sanford, and Harvard Graduate School of Education (Education Policy Focus). McCourt is the only one that has updated their information about financial aid, which was a substantial amount, more than I would expect from the other two. 

Could someone break down the pros/cons of each program, especially as they pertain to my interest in Education Policy?

First of all, I hope you are really committed to Ed Policy. As a former Ed Policy person myself, I will tell you should be prepared for:

a. Highly competitive environment (lots of Ed Policy people from policy and more graduate programs) in school and in the job market

b. Job market whereby you will be relatively underpaid compared to almost all other policy areas

c. By in large - not the best career culture among places that hire for Ed Policy (I mean a few exceptions exist) but pure Ed Policy orgs tend to be rather insular and not career growth oriented.

Obviously some people do it and end up loving it when they find their niche, but I have yet to found a person who didn't at least have to go through some sort of a struggle that takes multiple years of navigating around. 

Now to your schools:

Each of those schools is decently different from each other for ed.

a. Georgetown McCourt - this school is very quant and Federal government focused. If you like Data Analytics and big national data sets tied to K-12 performance, this is a good landing pad to get you there. If you like State/Local stuff, Ed Innovation, Ed Tech, and Education Equity (beyond the stuff that has been toyed around for the 20 years), this is not a good spot for you.

b. Duke Sanford - this is the best school if you want to work in State & Local or Non-Profits tied to education period. 

c. HGSE - this is a bit jack of all trades for Ed. Where it uniquely really excels is connecting policy top pedagogy and ed policy to management/organizational practices. When I needed to support on superintendent trends + best practices, pretty much all/most arrows pointed to HGSE. HGSE also has the huge connects with a large number practitioners across the country. A con of HGSE is that if you ever want to leave Education or Ed Policy, the degree doesn't help you as much, since the program + alumni are generally ed focused.

 

[JG123456]

2 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

First of all, I hope you are really committed to Ed Policy. As a former Ed Policy person myself, I will tell you should be prepared for:

a. Highly competitive environment (lots of Ed Policy people from policy and more graduate programs) in school and in the job market

b. Job market whereby you will be relatively underpaid compared to almost all other policy areas

c. By in large - not the best career culture among places that hire for Ed Policy (I mean a few exceptions exist) but pure Ed Policy orgs tend to be rather insular and not career growth oriented.

Obviously some people do it and end up loving it when they find their niche, but I have yet to found a person who didn't at least have to go through some sort of a struggle that takes multiple years of navigating around. 

Now to your schools:

Each of those schools is decently different from each other for ed.

a. Georgetown McCourt - this school is very quant and Federal government focused. If you like Data Analytics and big national data sets tied to K-12 performance, this is a good landing pad to get you there. If you like State/Local stuff, Ed Innovation, Ed Tech, and Education Equity (beyond the stuff that has been toyed around for the 20 years), this is not a good spot for you.

b. Duke Sanford - this is the best school if you want to work in State & Local or Non-Profits tied to education period. 

c. HGSE - this is a bit jack of all trades for Ed. Where it uniquely really excels is connecting policy top pedagogy and ed policy to management/organizational practices. When I needed to support on superintendent trends + best practices, pretty much all/most arrows pointed to HGSE. HGSE also has the huge connects with a large number practitioners across the country. A con of HGSE is that if you ever want to leave Education or Ed Policy, the degree doesn't help you as much, since the program + alumni are generally ed focused.

 

I cannot tell you how helpful this is. I do not want to give too much away about who I am, since some school staff may be on here, but I have definitely gone through the struggles in over half a decade in the education system. Those interior setups do not bother me as much. I was mainly wondering if HGSE is more for those looking to move up within a school or school district, or could be leveraged to work at, say, a state's Department of Education or at a Education Policy Think Tank or even a company like Google, Apple, Edulastic, etc. in a section of the company affecting K-12 education. Those are jobs that seriously interest me. 

As far as information on the two MPP programs, I really found that helpful and a good breakdown of each school's quirks. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/9/2022 at 11:55 AM, JG123456 said:

I cannot tell you how helpful this is. I do not want to give too much away about who I am, since some school staff may be on here, but I have definitely gone through the struggles in over half a decade in the education system. Those interior setups do not bother me as much. I was mainly wondering if HGSE is more for those looking to move up within a school or school district, or could be leveraged to work at, say, a state's Department of Education or at a Education Policy Think Tank or even a company like Google, Apple, Edulastic, etc. in a section of the company affecting K-12 education. Those are jobs that seriously interest me. 

As far as information on the two MPP programs, I really found that helpful and a good breakdown of each school's quirks. 

HGSE can take you to whatever floats your boat. Yes a lot of graduates do return as educators while some go the management/principal/superintendent route, and there is always a subset that goes to private sector. That being said, you might want to be more focused on what you got to graduate school for. You only get one (or maybe a small number if you seek multiple graduate degrees) chance to go to graduate school. It is really to be leveraged for three things. 1. Improving your brand/pedigree and 2. Learn the relevant things that can help you competently perform/speak in your future role of interest and 3. Network to help you get an in with the career path you want. 

That being said, your 4 options:

1. School District

2. State DOE

3. Think Tank

4. Private Sector

Are decently different career trajectories that require different grad school navigation strategies. Yes, hypotethetically, you can get your grad degree, and elevate your in-district career and then hop onto some things. However, it is rather inefficient to do it that way. I recommend that you more precisely figure out how you want to use your graduate school degree to the the pivot that you actually want to do. 

[ShowBellsandWhistles]

This is so helpful. I applied (and was accepted by) the same schools. Trying to determine ROI, especially if it would require a move to a new city. I haven't heard from HGSE about financial aid, but I'm counting on very little if at all. 

[GradSchoolGrad]

21 hours ago, ShowBellsandWhistles said:

This is so helpful. I applied (and was accepted by) the same schools. Trying to determine ROI, especially if it would require a move to a new city. I haven't heard from HGSE about financial aid, but I'm counting on very little if at all. 

Let me preface, if you are trying to go to private sector, assuming you have an education background, it makes so much more sense to get an MBA. 3 that transition to private sector ed well are HBS, Yale School of Management, and Georgetown McDonough (admittedly I might be missing on some West Coast schools here).