HKS, Princeton SPIA, or JHU SAIS?

[WhaleDiver8391]

Hi all, I'm lucky to have received 3 generous offers from:

Harvard Kennedy School MPP: fully tuition+ $2,000 yearly stipend

Princeton SPIA MPA: full tuition + $17,000 yearly stipend

Johns Hopkins SAIS MAIR with no stipend

Focusing in IR. I'm leaning towards SPIA because the community seems great, the academic program is strong, and the funding is best. But I like SAIS's hyper-focus on IR and the resources that come with it. And the Harvard name has a certain appeal...any thoughts would be welcome. I have a job lined up in the foreign service after graduation so job placement isn't a concern. Thanks!
 

[Excalinbai]

If you have a job lined up in the Foreign Service afterwards, then obviously the concerns would be A) personal enjoyment, and B ) maintaining as much money saved as possible :). In this case, if SAIS hasn't given you a full tuition, then i think it would be incredibly foolish to attend it (and pay out the nose) when you could go for free + subsidization elsewhere. This is especially true when you consider the opportunities if you choose to leave, at any point, the foreign service. 

If you do decide to leave, Princeton or Harvard will give substantially more 'oomph' to your resume and applications than SAIS. From my view I'd take Princeton because of the full tuition, extra stipend, and the high academics and community. Harvard's name might be good, but HKS is hardly IR focused - and Cambridge/Boston while nice is not exactly a breeding ground for either IR or future FSOs. That leaves SAIS, of course, but again, tuition is notable and are you really willing to pay what, 50KUSD per year just to live in DC, when the future of being an FSO is not living in DC anyways?

I'd say the decisions is set but just my opinion. 

[WhaleDiver8391]

Thanks for the writeup--I'm pretty much thinking the same! I should have noted in the original post that SAIS is fully funded just without an additional stipend. The fact that the entire school is oriented around IR is it's main appeal and there would be more IR class options/opportunities. But I don't think that overcomes the many benefits of Princeton that you pointed out.

[HAlumni]

Pick the one most aligned with the best job market opportunities of what you want to work on. Most people would pick Harvard just for the name, but unfortunately the MPP from HKS doesn't really have a great reputation, so there really is no advantage. Unless it was the MPA/ID program, which is very well respected. 

Princeton is better than the HKS MPP, in terms of reputation and job market. Also, they'd give you more money. That's a winner.