Humphrey v. La Follette v. UMD-CP- social policy

[mew248]

So it looks like my funding is going to be about the same at all of these...

Any outside/fresh opinions on the best choice for someone interested in social movement/equality issues (basically anything but children and family stuff) and non-profit management on the state/local levels? I should note that I want to come back to the Mid-Atlantic region (PA/NY/NJ). Any thoughts?

[RyeGuy5555]

I've lived in Madison, the Twin Cities, and College Park and can say that all are great places to live, with some preference for the first two. But then again, I'm from the Midwest so it may just be a regional bias. With Madison you get more of a college town feel (albiet a large college town with tons to do) while the Twin Cities are larger and have a more urban vibe. You really can't go wrong with these choices. La Follette and Humphrey are both great (somewhat underrated) schools with really dedicated faculty and lots of social policy electives, but I don't know much about UMD-CP academically.

[mew248]

I visited each of the schools in the last 3 weeks and I've decided to attend La Follette.

I really liked the small class size of the Public Affairs school within the huge UW system, their dedication to social policy (they grew out of a poverty research institute) and I definitely plan on taking advantage of courses at the top-ranked sociology dept. Plus, I fell in love with Madison.

[mew248]

Forgot to mention, that I'm currently waitlisted for funding. The recruitment person told me last weekend that there are 10 people on the waitlist. So I'm crossing my fingers that a bunch of people with funding will decide not to attend!

[RyeGuy5555]

I got offered a fellowship off the waitlist, so I can attest that it does happen. I am planning at this point to accept mine though. Sorry.

They also have a great education department too, btw, which is great for me. I am excited about taking classes there. They want me to accept the fellowship by 4/24. I asked for the weekend after that so I could visit. If they say they cannot extend it, I'll probably just take it then visit and hope it goes well. It isn't like they can force me to enroll in the Fall if I hate it.

I live in Madison now, and you're not going to hate it. It's a fantastic city (Pittsburgh can't even really compare). And it's walkable, you don't need a car if you don't want (big plus for me), it's progressive and young, the whole city is centered around the university and state government. I just can't rave about it enough. If you're interested in health policy at all, try to take a class with David Weimer (and he teaches some other stuff at La Follette too, possibly education). I took one with him in undergrad and it was one of the more memorable.

I just turned down funding from La Follette last week so hopefully that'll move you up the list, Mew.

[mew248]

Plate or platter...When were you informed of your fellowship?