GSPP/Sanford/SIPA/SAIS/IPS

[foodlover28]

Hello all,

I'm usually an indecisive person, and so I'd appreciate any feedback/bouncing off of ideas that you'd like to give. I know I haven't done a great job narrowing down my choices, but in return for reading through this long post, I've listed out a bunch of main pros and cons that came to my mind

I'm interested in social policies, particularly education and public health policies; I'm also interested in global social policies and poverty alleviation due to my previous studies as well as life experiences. Thus, I hope to go to a program that offer a bit of both.

The biggest issue I have is balancing out school's reputation in the IR/policy world, vs. strength of the program (as you'll see below)... So without further roundabouts...

[thank you thank you thank you!!!]

Not considering:

USC

George Washington U

Candidates for consideration:

Stanford IPS (no $)

Pro:

- - Great international policy program, unique in its curriculum

- - Very small (intimate and close contact with faculty)

- - Bay Area and the Stanford reputation (big weight). Also…my dad’s dream school, so there’s some subtle pressure in going there

Con:

- - I don’t think this is the best program and it’s small size is worrisome when it comes to alumni base.

- - Practical component? Limited course offerings?

- - Also, I get the feeling that Stanford is more private-sector oriented.

Duke Sanford (full tuition + assistantship)

Pro:

- - Cheapest program considering funding. I’d be paying for airfare + food, mostly.

- - Strong in both social policy & int’l policies; great curriculum

- - Tight knit group, caring professors

- - Good reputation

Con:

- - Location? I know duke has strong connections in DC, but the summer/spring internship selection might be limited to just - North Carolina local/state gov’t and organization

- -- - How is Duke’s reputation in comparison with the other programs?

- - I feel like it’s easier to go from West Coast school to east coast job than east coast school to Bay Area job.

Berkeley Goldman ($)

Pro:

- -- My dream school, my undergrad school (familiar with it and love it), great faculty and great location

- - Strong program in everything—policy analysis, social policies, health policies, etc, great curriculum

- - Great environment, student body

- - LOTS of practice opportunities

Con:

- - Worried that it’ll be hard to get a job outside of California

- - Not strong in int’l policies (though considering getting the MA in Int’l Area Studies concurrently)

- - Reputation outside of California? Non-Cali folks—how is Berkeley viewed in the outside world?

SAIS (20k)

Pro:

- - Name, reputation, great job afterward, network

- - Best program in China studies

Con:

- - Will be doing China studies, not IDEV, not my ideal --> therefore I think this isn't the right fit for me

- - Campus lacks facilities/other appeals

- - Practical component not as strong as Berkeley/Duke

Columbia (0$)

Pro:

- - Name, reputation, network---it’s hard to reject Columbia

- - Faculty list, events, workshops, etc

- - Large course selection, great curriculum and lots of resources

Con

- - I feel like although CU has a lot to offer, it’s not as strong as other programs like Goldman

- - EXPENSIVE and does not encourage students to work/intern

-

Kind of considering:

Georgetown (15k)

[carpecc]

Sanford's paying for you to go and offering an assistantship? That's like an extra bonus class: they're paying you to work with their awesome profs. If Sanford has enough of the courses you want then definitely go. Just go! I'd pick that or SAIS if I was in your shoes because they're throwing the money at you. Goldman is way too academic in my opinion. Congrats on the funding!

[palabared]

Yea i think that Sanford deal is awesome. That would be my choice if given all those great options!

[ca010]

I'm interested in social policies, particularly education and public health policies; I'm also interested in global social policies and poverty alleviation due to my previous studies as well as life experiences. Thus, I hope to go to a program that offer a bit of both.

With these varied interests, it sounds like Goldman and Sanford would be the best fits. Both are known (at least on these forums) for their domestic strengths--but both also have strong global policy programs. Both are also cheapest for you (assuming you are a CA resident?).

Goldman was also my dream school at the start of this process and I too am a CAL grad. I think part of it was nostalgia but it's a great program and that little brown and white building is so cool, right?

I'm leaving the Bay Area for Sanford because of a generous funding offer and the chance to live somewhere new for a few years as I've lived in Northern CA most of my life. I'm a little worried about studying in North Carolina and trying to get a job in the Bay Area, but I'm not 100% set on coming back, so I'm just going to see what happens

Best of luck

[greendiplomat]

Curricularly, I think Duke Sanford makes the most sense for you in that it's strong in education and health policy and does have high-quality course offerings in international development . That, when combined with the fact that it's by far the best funding package, I think Duke is the obvious choice.

Also, as for the concerns that you list, I'm pretty sure that Duke doesn't have a hard time getting its students internships outside of the immediate NC area, and while Sanford is not as well known as a department/school as some of the other programs that you list, people will generally know that it's a strong program, given that it's at Duke.

Edited March 28, 2011 by greendiplomat

[foodlover28]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I have been learning toward Duke as well. I do agree with what everyone said--Duke's reputation is comparable to the other schools and the funding makes it a huge bonus.

Carpecc-- truly truly thankful for all your comments in the IPS thread. They gave me a lot of fresh perspectives on things )) I especially liked what you said about " I think people go the IR MA route because they live to work and not work to live." YES SO TRUE. I did also hear that SIPA people won't go out of their ways to help you get your dream job, and that you have to be proactive yourself. But to balance that, the Columbia name will definitely get you far. Also, I think it may just be timing of your conversation with SIPA grads. 2009 was truly a bad time, but the economy is slowly picking up and the public sector continues to grow (if that's what you're aiming for).

Palabared--thanks for the encouragement I hope you got into the school of your choice as well!

ca010-- yes, Goldman School definitely has a special place in the hearts of Berkeley alums! I guess i refuse to admit it, but what's really holding me back from going away is the CA sunshine & abundance of food year round. I was worried about getting internships/jobs at Duke, but I know they have strong networks and if you look at the employment stats, a few have returned to the bay area to work

Greendiplomat-- I had thought that Sanford was strong in int'l policies. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to to go to the Open House, but I did hear that it seemed like its international policy concentration is not very well developed or strong, or at least it's eclipsed by the strengths of its social/health policy concentrations. :/ that was the major edge that Duke had over Berkeley for me. However, I won't make any decision before going to the GSPP open house.

[greendiplomat]

Greendiplomat-- I had thought that Sanford was strong in int'l policies. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to to go to the Open House, but I did hear that it seemed like its international policy concentration is not very well developed or strong, or at least it's eclipsed by the strengths of its social/health policy concentrations. :/ that was the major edge that Duke had over Berkeley for me. However, I won't make any decision before going to the GSPP open house.

If that's the case, then go to Berkeley, and then see whether the edge that Berkeley has over Duke is worth the price differential (though I'm guess you would have done that without my typing this!).

[naush]

Hi everyone, 

 

Please help me. I have the same dilemma. These are my options.

 

Columbia SIPA (MPA-DP) - NO SCHOLARSHIP

 

Johns Hopkins SAIS (MA-INTL DEV) $20K

 

Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy MSPP (MIDP) $20K

 

Which one should I choose?

What program provides the best career opportunities?

[whitemocha37]

If I were in your situation, I would go with SAIS. I've heard amazing things about its IDEV program, which is probably the highest ranked and most respected of the three, not to mention they gave you funding. Columbia may have the Ivy League rep but I don't think its development program is as well-known as SAIS' in the field and it would be EXTREMELY expensive to attend SIPA with no funding, especially if you take the cost of living in NY into consideration. 

 

Since Georgetown and SAIS gave you the same amount of funding, I would go for the higher-ranked one (which I believe is SAIS).

 

Of course, that's just my personal opinion, so there may be other factors you want to take into consideration besides ranking and funding. You might also want to speak with some people in the field you want to go into (I assume development) and see what they say. Regardless, you got into some amazing programs and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

 

Congratulations and good luck!