Stanford IPS or Columbia SIPA

[wannabempagrad]

Hi all,

I recently received admits to IPS and SIPA (no $ from either) and am unable to decide between the two.

I realize from several posts that both programs are great, but I am concerned  if the IPS almuni network is strong.
From the linkedin profiles it seems that most people end up doing another degree after IPS. Therefore I am concerned that
the IPS degree is not being recognized as much as SIPA...I might be completely wrong about this though. Stanford is a great
place and I would love to study there.

The negatives for SIPA I feel are high cost of living in NYC, high tuition and not sure about careers there
after. 

Would appreciate your advise.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Eigen
Identifying information removed at poster's request.

[selecttext]

LinkedIn profiles are providing you with a small, and probably bias sample. I think that you should inquire directly with the department to find out what graduates are up to. You may also want to contact some past graduates. 

[wannabempagrad]

Thanks! But when I call both universities I get very positive replies from their programs- as expected. So Im still confused.Primarily because I cant find rankings for Stanfords IPS program any where. Am I missing something?

[globalsun]

IR Rankings are not valid because they do not use objective measurements since much of the admissions data is difficult to find. This is likely due to the fact that certain pure IR programs would like to maintain an illusion of elitism even though many accept nearly 50% of their applicants. Another reason why no one has seriously tried to gauge IR programs is the small applicant pool when compared to the Law/MBA schools. An pure objective way to rank programs like MBA/Law is probably selectivity, which depends on applicant work experience and GRE scores. If that were the case, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Stanford would be at the top. Acceptance rates for these programs are on the spectrum from 10% to 25%. Princeton WWS is the most selective since it offers full ride to its highly experienced applicants, followed by Harvard which receives more applications than any other IR/policy program due to the Harvard alone. Boutique IR/Policy programs in Yale and Stanford are simply selectively due to the fact that have a maximum class size of 20-30 students per year and have stringent quantitative requirements (IPS).