AllOverthePlace Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Congrats to everyone that has been accepted! I got in. but no funding. yikes!
xnormajeanx Posted March 20, 2009 Author Posted March 20, 2009 Congrats to all who got in! Looks like some of you got great funding, which is amazing considering the shakiness of U of C's endowment (down more than 30 percent). Regarding the AM program: You take mostly the same classes, but you are exempt from a few. The problem with the 1-year is that you don't really take much in the way of electives, unless you have an economics background. You take mostly core classes and one maybe 2-3 others. I am honestly not sure how it is regarded in the policy world; I know it doesn't give you a chance to get an internship which is really important for us MPPs. You essentially have to start looking for work before you've really done much at Harris! And to the person who got 21K: 21K is a very very good funding offer, and I doubt you would have to take out 35K in loans each year. I only got funded 17K - I needed to cover 17K in tuition, and honestly I only need another 10-12 K to live on! In my view you'd only need another 25-30K. The Chicago area is not very expensive. 1K a month is plenty. But I guess that depends on your standard of living- and if you have a family.
pritinsp Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Dear xnormajeanx About the 1 year AM program So from what you say I would probably just take abt 9 courses - how much would tuition work out to apprx? It will be significantly lesser compared to those doing a 2year course right? I do have an econ background - BA in economics and i took 2 courses in my MBA too - so would that allow me to take more electives? If I wanted to specizlize in international development/non profit managment - how good are these tracks in chicago? Do students get into world bank/UN,etc? Who are the profs to look out for - interms of their connections in DC? About cost of living for a year - if i wanted to live in a studio close to college, how much would cost of living be? Thank you so much for your insight. it is very useful!
Stephen33 Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Another current Harris student here. I found these boards very useful last year when I was making my decision, and would be happy to answer questions from prospective students (we are between quarters right now, so I have the time).
mpppp Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 It is so nice of both of you to answer questions, xnormajeanx and Stephen33! Thanks! Stephen33, if you don't mind, can you please share a bit about your background (undergraduate major and work experience), what other schools you were considering and how you chose Harris, and what your ultimate employment goals are? Thanks again!
shanntotheon Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 I am through the roof that I got into Harris! I don't even care that I didn't get money.
younglions Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Stephen - can you please copy me on that PM? Like others have said, I appreciate your willingness to discuss the Harris School.
nyr Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 MPPP: I will send you a PM shortly. Can I also get in on that PM? Hehe. Sorry for crashing. Thanks for offering to answer our questions!
Stephen33 Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 MPPP, younglions, nyr: Did any of you receive my PMs? They are not showing up in my "sent messages" box, so I am wondering if there is a technical glitch. Thx.
AllOverthePlace Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Hi Stephen33, can i get a copy of your response also? Thanks!
younglions Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Yes, i received the message--however, it wasn't in the form of a PM. You sent it to my (our) e-mail address(es). Thanks for the insight!
pritinsp Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Dear Stephen33, can I get a copy of the response too? really appreciate you taking time off to help out! Can I also have your views on the AM program?
Stephen33 Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 I believe (hope) that I have sent messages to everyone who requested them. If any of you have not received a reply, please let me know.
mpppp Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 I got your message, Stephen33, and replied with a PM. Thanks!!
OD09 Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 And to the person who got 21K: 21K is a very very good funding offer, and I doubt you would have to take out 35K in loans each year. I only got funded 17K - I needed to cover 17K in tuition, and honestly I only need another 10-12 K to live on! In my view you'd only need another 25-30K. The Chicago area is not very expensive. 1K a month is plenty. But I guess that depends on your standard of living- and if you have a family. Thanks, xnormajeanx, that's very encouraging to hear! I'm very fond of the program overall. From your recommendations, actually, UC is now a top choice for me! I do have two concerns, though (a side from financial concerns). As a premedical science-humanities double in undergrad, I don't have a strong background in economic math or political theory within the classroom. Upon hearing that the program is quantitatively-intensive, I started to doubt my own fitness. You mentioned an alternative less quantitatively-intensive route... do many students pursue that option? Secondly, I'm mainly interested in health policy and global development theory. Do you know of any students concentrating in those areas or of the reputation of those studies at UC? Thank you addressing our concerns this admission cycle, you're an asset to Harris! I hope they know that.
MagiciansAlliance Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 Hey Stephen33, any chance I can get in on that PM as well? Thanks so much!
lymhelen Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 "And to the person who got 21K: 21K is a very very good funding offer, and I doubt you would have to take out 35K in loans each year. I only got funded 17K - I needed to cover 17K in tuition, and honestly I only need another 10-12 K to live on! In my view you'd only need another 25-30K. The Chicago area is not very expensive. 1K a month is plenty. But I guess that depends on your standard of living- and if you have a family. thank you for the information, really inspiring! however, I'm an International student and really worried about the job-hunting. could you pls tell me how the job market is for foreigners?
xnormajeanx Posted March 24, 2009 Author Posted March 24, 2009 Answering most people's questions in one post: AM program: I believe you do take 9 credits, and because credits cost the same your total tuition would be half of what it costs for the MPP program. Econ/Political Theory background: Helps but is NOT necessary. Many students have backgrounds such as English, Religion, Philosophy, etc. - many people with liberal arts backgrounds who have never had any of this training. I think about 2/3 of the 2010 class is in the less math-intensive statistics/econometrics track. If you DO have an econ or political theory background you can waive out of core courses - up to 2 econ core courses and up to 2 political theory core courses. This leaves you the chance to take many more electives! If you are in the one-year program you can't waive out of as many core courses - they want you to have a certain number, but I am not sure how many that is. Cost of Living: Again, it depends on your lifestyle. I live on just over $1K a month. Others live on much more - even double that. My rent is $550 but I have a roommate. Studios in Hyde Park are obtainable from about $600 to 900; 1-beds are obtainable from $900. If you are willing to room with other grad students you can rent for $500-600. Check out http://marketplace.uchicago.edu/categor ... apartments International Student Jobs: It's always hard to be an international student - but especially studying public policy where so many people work in the government sector. On the other hand Chicago's advantage is that it has good relationships with private sector firms as well - such as in consulting, investing (usually investing in the public sector), ratings, and banking (focus on economic development). (Deloitte Consulting, Navigant Consulting, State Farm (investment arm), Fitch, Standard & Poor's, and ShoreBank are a few companies that frequently hire Harris students). I really do believe that it does a better job focusing on these jobs than many other schools that focus much more on government and nonprofit, which will often not hire international students or sponsor visas. I hope this helps!
xnormajeanx Posted March 24, 2009 Author Posted March 24, 2009 Regarding specific tracks: Harris does not require you to declare a concentration or policy focus, which means designing your degree is all up to you. You choose the electives you want to take. With health policy, Harris does offer a certificate program in health policy and management, which I know students have found very advantageous. Harris IS strongest, in my opinion, in social policy, and if you take a look at the faculty, a large part of the faculty focus on welfare, labor economics, education policy, poverty, etc. International development is also a strong suit, with a large number of students focusing on that. However, I do not think that Harris's relationships with development organizations are as strong as you would find at WWS or Kennedy -- but this is simply my own perception, and you might want to find out more from someone with that concentration.
SHani Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 Hell all, Stephen I tried PM-ing U, but there was no response..... Nyways, to all the folks from Chicago, I pose a question , A great dilemma for Me!! I am utterly confused between SIPA n Harris. :?: I have a full scholarship to both the places, so no funding issues. Some say HArris is more sound academically but SIPA carries greater brand name. Would U agree?? I am an international student and be coming back to the home country so NY location factor for employment gets discounted. Need some serious ADVICE??
Stephen33 Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 Shani I did not receive your PM; in response to your question, I would say that the international reputations of Chicago/Harris and Columbia/SIPA are pretty similar overall. I too am an international student, and personally consider it a "wash". SIPA has been around longer (the Harris School is only 20 years old) and that might confer some advantage, but on the other hand I would say that the University of Chicago name carries at least as much weight as Columbia - perhaps more. It would depend in part on where you are from, but Chicago is a pretty famous brand in most parts of the world (some would say a bit "infamous" too, due to Friedman et al., but that is another story). For what it is worth, I looked at SIPA last year, and ended up not even applying. My policy interests tend to domestic policy, and here I think Chicago has the upper hand; for international policy, I'm not sure what the situation is.
xnormajeanx Posted March 29, 2009 Author Posted March 29, 2009 Hey Shani, Just to give you my two cents: If you are interested in international policy and you have a full scholarship to SIPA, I would say absolutely go there. I don't believe Harris is as strong as some of the other schools when it comes to international policy. CIR is good (another school within u of chicago) for international relations, but Harris itself has very few professors focusing on international in comparison to those who focus on domestic, and several of the good ones are leaving next year. In addition, international relations is very academic at Chicago (more of a prep for a PhD) in comparison to some other schools which are more practical and have strong terminal master's programs. I think SIPA would be a very good choice for you.
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