MPP Program - USC Sol Price vs University of Chicago Harris

[SoCalGrad91]

Hello everyone, 

 

I have just recently been accepted into USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. I am having an issue deciding which to attend because of several factors:

 

1) Harris has the 4th ranked program while Price is 12th.

2) Price offered me a half-tuition scholarship while Harris offered no aid.

3) I live in Southern California so USC would be an easier transition and cheaper.

4) I feel that because Harris has better name recognition, I would be able to receive a better job afterwords/make better connections when I am attending school.

 

If anyone has any suggestions or could help me out in any way, that would be a huge help.

 

Thanks everyone.

[dyavrom]

what sort of concentration do you want to study?

Edited March 10, 2013 by dyavrom

[MPPgal]

I have a similar dilemma, Harris offered me no aid, and Austin even gave me a stipend, I am leaning towards Austin due to location, weather and money! Just my two thoughts!

[SoCalGrad91]

My focus is going to be education policy and possibly also welfare policy

 

what sort of concentration do you want to study?

[dyavrom]

i dont know much on Harris either than it has a heavy quant focus, so I cant comment on that.  My impressions on USC though are very good, especially with job placement.  They have a very positive career services dept and are really well regarding in the LA area, so if you are happy with the socal community, itll be a great bet.  I only know this because I too got in with 1/2 scholarship and am contemplating whether or not to go.  

 

also the whole USC alum network is supposed to be really good.  ive asked a few friends who went to USC and they all say that they got their jobs cause they went to USC as did their employer.  USC alum like to hire USC grads and it really shows.  i think that is a tremendous advantage since you will likely be interning anyway.  

[Paul Chung]

To SolGrad91,

 

I hope this helps.

 

I am a first year MPP student focusing on education policy at USC. First of all congratulations on getting the Dean's Merit Scholarship. It definitely helps in making your graduate education more affordable. I had the situation last year where I got into some "bigger" names in the East coast, but I too was from southern California and received the scholarship. Besides the scholarship, there are some advantages that the Price School can offer you. Since USC has a large and diverse group of graduate programs, you can take classes in other great programs. I will be taking some classes at the Rossier School of Education to get some education governance classes. In addition, if costs are a factor, the Rossier School likes to hire MPP research assistants since we have a stronger quantitative background than M.ED students. There are also numerous other policy related opportunities in which renowned education experts have participated in round table discussions and in policy forums. If you plan to work in California, you will indeed get access to the "Trojan Network" that will be beneficial in finding jobs in the West  coast. 

 

I know you have some tough decisions to make. University of Chicago is an outstanding school, and if you want an extremely quant heavy program, that's a great option to have. I advise to come out to the Dean Merit's Event and meet your potential cohort. It's what sold me on coming here.

 

Good luck!!

 

Paul

[lost_0101]

Hey Paul - Mind if I ask you, where are a lot of the Price grads going after graduation? Staying in the s. cal area or ?

 

thanks!

 

 

[Paul Chung]

It seems like Price grads go all over the place. I think a lot depends on where you want to go. I don't think the degree restricts you to working in California, it's just that more than half of the students are from California and prefer to stay here. Students outside of California stay here and find good jobs in LA or the Bay because they fall in love with LA or CA weather. 

 

I have met other grads through networking and current second year students who wanted to go into consulting and got jobs with BCG, Bain and others. There are some too who get federal jobs so they either go to DC or some field office. 

 

I think it depends on what you want to do and on how you network and market yourself.