Foreign Policy Masters - please help I am flipping my sh**

[TravelBug]

Schools and Cost of Tuition

Georgetown MSFS, no money, 45k per year + living expenses, 2 year program

University of Chicago, 1/3 of tuition covered, 30k + living expenses total, 1 year program

LSE/Sciences Po dual degree, 30k per year + living expenses

Help please what do I do?! I want to be on a track to work high up in the state department one say and put myself in line to get an ambassadorship (yes, I know that's thinking far ahead). Georgetown's program is amazing, but it is so horribly expensive. I also want to keep my options open to be a diplomat but able to go into a phd program and into academics if I so desire, Georgetown is a "professional" masters. I'm concerned that it tracks people into mid level careers in the state department honestly. I also asked about their private sector placements (I have two years banking experience) and whether their grads are placed on the same pay track as an MBA in companies and they said no. But it's a DC location and I might be able to get a 65k FLAS scholarship for studying Turkish my second year...what do I do?!

[fuzzylogician]

Not knowing anything about your interests and how these programs will serve them, it's very hard to decide. Since you only provided concrete information about funding, the only advice I can give is the obvious one - the one-year program in Chicago will get into the least amount of debt of the options you listed. So now the question is whether or not this program will help you achieve your next goal (which should be more tenable than "ambassadorship" -- more like the positions that might one day lead to that). You didn't provide that information, so I don't know. Assuming it's not as good as the Georgetown program, you have to ask yourself if it's worth all that extra debt. Again, I can't know. But assuming you didn't apply to Chicago for no reason - that is, assuming that it goes at least a part of the way towards achieving your goals - it sounds like it makes more sense than the other options.

[ZacharyObama]

Well getting an ambassadorship isn't as easy as picking the right school, you're either a political appointee or a career Foreign Service Officer for the most part. From what I can tell in the Government Affairs forum: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/11-government-affairs/, the Georgetown MSFS is trying to be that, but at the same time getting into the Foreign Service isn't so easy unless you speak a desired language and have the appropriate background. So that's not a safe bet.

 

I don't know enough about the Chicago program to comment, but generally speaking you're well served to be in proximity to the organization you wish to serve in and Chicago isn't exactly an IR hub.

 

I've read mixed reviews on the LSE programs. I think if you're interested in going overseas in a non-US government capacity long-term it's a good option but also potentially a low paying option.

 

I don't think you've got an easy option here - you could take on a substantial amount of debt going to Chicago to not get what you want, you could take on a crap load of debt at Georgetown and not get what you want, and you could take on a crap load of debt in Europe and not get what you want. It doesn't sound like you have a substantial IR type background and it also doesn't sound like you really have a plan for what you want to do with this degree and you're probably getting pretty short on time. No one here is going to be of too much help in this regard.

 

I think you would need to tell us more about yourself in terms of long-term interests and your background than you've posted here. So...

[annieca]

Knowing someone who has applied for the Foreign Service and turned down, I know how difficult it can be. She applied with a Master's in International Politics and is nearly fluent in Arabic which the State Department wants. They said, "That's all fine and great. But apply again in 3-5 more years when you have experience."

 

And, to make matters worse, if you want to be ambassador to a Western country we don't particularly care about (UK, Germany, France...basically our allies), you've got to be a top donor for the future President. vv

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/08/17658133-top-donors-traditionally-cash-in-with-plum-diplomatic-posts?lite

 

That's not to spoil your life goal. It's just to give a bit of a reality check. You can become an ambassador, but there are a whole lot of steps in between.

 

I agree with the above poster that London is only good if you want non-US options for employment. London is also hellishly expensive to live in.

[TravelBug]

^^ I should clarify a lot of things:

 

Background: 

BSB in Finance from a Big Ten

2 years working experience at a very large/prestigious bank in New York (leaving to go to grad school)

State Department internship at the US Embassy in Turkey

Working for a think tank in Turkey this summer

 

Future: 

So I said ambassador...that was part of my freak out because yes, I know it's a huuuge stretch. I learned in my time at the embassy that I do not want to be a bureaucrat and work my way up; the lifestyle is not 100% for me, and all of the Foreign Service officers seemed semi-depressed with their lives when I was there. With the Foreign Service out, that leaves either becoming an expert in the field or becoming bff with the future President. Of the two, option 1 seems the more likely . I honestly would like to develop/shape US foreign policy. I haven't decided whether I want to focus on Economic Policy (background in Finance), or focus regionally on Turkey and the EU (my family is French, so I have a pretty big connection to Europe). For that, I would need a PhD, but then again, I always second guess myself, so I would say that I'm 80% sure I want a PhD. 

 

I don't like bureaucracy, and I don't do well with really strict rules. I also love to travel, and love living abroad. What I want is a true education. I am concerned that Georgetown is more the name, and that Georgetown grads are a dime a dozen in DC. However, I can't downplay that they have an awesome alumni network (which they wouldn't stop stressing in their open house) and that they are located in DC. On the flip side, I think that Chicago is a brilliant research institution, but I am concerned that I will pigeonhole myself into an academic career, and that I won't have exposure to the political world. 

 

I also should say that I am concerned with the philosophy of a "professional" masters at Georgetown because I don't think that you can make a diplomat. You are born a diplomat or you are not. They can mold you to some extent, but there has to be a minimum to start with. Given that I have experience in the professional world (happy hours are an education in their own right), and have been told many times that I am a born networker (not to sound snobby or anything...), I feel that I would be going there for the name and the location, not necessarily the education. So the question is, is the name and location worth the extra 80k or so + the opportunity cost of U of C? 

[TravelBug]

1 more thing to add: 

 

I'm from Chicago so on one hand I already have a social network (it would not be "where fun goes to die"), and my parents are there. On the other hand, I get bored easily with cities, and I like living in new places.

[somethinbruin]

Your elaboration begs a question for me, and forgive me because I do not mean it to sound cruel, but what is your back-up plan (career-wise)? The path you've set out is extremely narrow, and you've indicated that you understand that. Only one person in the US gets to be the ambassador to Turkey or France, with relatively little turnover. So only a handful of people will ever achieve these jobs, and I think it's important to consider what else you might want to do/be able to do with the degree/school you choose. Consider what your secondary plans might be, then look at your programs and see if any of those schools situate you better to find a job in that area. By all means, consider how you can pursue the career of your dreams, but don't do so at the expense of at least a modicum of practicality. Make sure that whichever program you choose will prepare you for a more realistic/obtainable job. Again, I don't mean this to sound like I'm pooh-poohing your dream. You should go after what you want, but have a secondary track in mind as well.