Princeton SPIA MPA vs. HKS MPP

[Gradthrowaway]

What would you pick? Full funding at both.

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, Gradthrowaway said:

What would you pick? Full funding at both.

If you need a small community, pick Princeton. I would personally pick HKS because I really like interdisciplinary opportunities, which is much more limiting at Princeton. Keep in mind,  of people complain that Harvard is so big, it is easy to get lost.

[Westpolicy]

Did you receive a stipend at HKS or just tuition funding?  
 

Princeton SPIA gives everyone full tuition funding +stipend+funded internships (MPA).  At SPIA you won’t have classmates taking out 6 figure debt that takes years (or decades) to pay back. There is plenty of information on graduate school debt if you look it up. 
 

SPIA students get jobs at the big consulting firms (look around on LinkedIn) but it isn’t advertised as much since their focus is on public service. 

Do your own research and ask admissions to be connected to an alum who has an interesting career or area of expertise.  Good luck! 

 

[sanctaphrax]

16 hours ago, Westpolicy said:

Did you receive a stipend at HKS or just tuition funding?  
 

Princeton SPIA gives everyone full tuition funding +stipend+funded internships (MPA).  At SPIA you won’t have classmates taking out 6 figure debt that takes years (or decades) to pay back. There is plenty of information on graduate school debt if you look it up. 
 

SPIA students get jobs at the big consulting firms (look around on LinkedIn) but it isn’t advertised as much since their focus is on public service. 

Do your own research and ask admissions to be connected to an alum who has an interesting career or area of expertise.  Good luck! 

 

Decades to pay off a max 180k loan? I think this might be an exaggeration.. 

[Westpolicy]

11 hours ago, sanctaphrax said:

Decades to pay off a max 180k loan? I think this might be an exaggeration.. 

with inflation and a possible recession on the horizon I do think for some large graduate school debt might take decades to pay off.  Especially for those who still have loans from undergrad.  Debt also impacts other aspects of your life such as buying a home.  I think it’s something to seriously consider.  
 

 

 

[d2ear]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:45 PM, Silva said:

well mr smarty pants, not everyone uses the same currency or live in a country with the same standards of living. 180k USD could be the equiv of 400k to others with lover currency. 180k USD does take decades to pay. A lot of US grads who graduated 20 years ago are still paying off student loans at 40yrs old. On top of that, people have mortgages and rent, children, savings, children's fees and more to pay off as well

 

Honestly, I feel people exaggerated too much about paying off student loans. Indeed, people who graduated 20 years ago are still paying off student loans at 40yrs old, but that's only a tiny portion of one's income when you have a stable job. Not even mention one's income increases over time. Paying off student loans is no big deal imho. 

Edited April 19, 2022 by d2ear

[Gradthrowaway]

17 hours ago, d2ear said:

Paying off student loans is no big deal imho. 

This is a wild take.

[GradSchoolGrad]

2 hours ago, Gradthrowaway said:

This is a wild take.

Even if you go to MBB consulting and make $175K a year plus bonus, that debt will hurt for at least half a decade or so. 

[PolicyApplier]

5 hours ago, Gradthrowaway said:

This is a wild take.

Very strong "why don't you just stop being poor?" vibes.

Edited April 20, 2022 by PolicyApplier

[d2ear]

3 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

Even if you go to MBB consulting and make $175K a year plus bonus, that debt will hurt for at least half a decade or so. 

Not exactly, with $175k a year, the person is getting roughly 8k per month post-tax, 401k, insurances...etc without bonus. Paying off student loans with that monthly income won't hurt much. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by d2ear

[d2ear]

1 hour ago, PolicyApplier said:

Very strong "why don't you just stop being poor?" vibes.

Sorry if you felt that way; that was not the intention. What I am trying to say is that paying off students might sound difficult when you look at the total amount that you have to repay, but honestly, it's not that scary once you start working. It won't be a breeze but not as scary as people imagined. And, of course, it's best if one does not have to take loans to attend grad school.

[Boolakanaka]

On 4/15/2022 at 1:50 AM, sanctaphrax said:

Decades to pay off a max 180k loan? I think this might be an exaggeration.. 

Hmmmn, add the interest, and a payoff of something close to 200k, and not all federal loans, a couple of decades to pay-off is legit.