UGA vs. LBJ vs. Maryland

[mgrn68]

So I've narrowed down my decision to these three programs, unless Carnegie Mellon somehow decides to offer more funding.

University of Georgia has awarded me an assistantship that covers all of tuition and on top of that pays a pretty hefty stipend, Maryland's offer covers 100% of tuition, and LBJ's pays for 2/3 of tuition.

Ideally, I would prefer a program that can cover the managerial and political aspects of public policy and also offer opportunities for me to build upon what I've learned as an economics major in undergrad. Ultimately I think that I would like to work as an analyst for the GAO,OMB, or CBO, but I am also interested in social policy.

Do any of you have insights about these programs? I think all three bring different things to the table, and I'm having trouble sorting it all out.

[mothernorth]

Hi MGRN ! I am a big proponent for Maryland's policy school and you should also check out other threads that discuss Maryland as well.

In your case, for me it comes down to this. Maryland has a better faculty, arguably better school, and better location than UGA or LBJ. They are all three great schools, but you want to work for the GAO, OMB, or CBO , what better place to be than in the D.C. metro area ?You could get an internship at any of those agencies, maybe even do some part time work! Your in the middle of the action, check out a session of congress, go see a House Committee meet, not to mention the many many events and speakers that are in D.C. year in and year out. This is in addition to the fact that faculty at Maryland, being so close in D.C., could have alot more pull and influence with the D.C. crowd. Maryland has the most recent U.S Trade Rep on the faculty (Susan Schwabb), Nobel Economist Tom Schelling, and former CIA director Stansfield Turner, to name a few.

Athens and Austin, while great cities in general, just cannot compare with the experience and opportunities that the D.C. area can offer you. Ask yourself, what do those schools have that Maryland doesn't have? Above, I just mentioned several things that UGA and LBJ just cannot compete with. In addition, you are getting nearly 100% off! It's the best deal by far, both academically, professionally, and monetarily.

If you do go to Maryland, live in D.C. and commute 20 minutes to College Park. Good Luck !

[sosh]

Hi MGRN ! I am a big proponent for Maryland's policy school and you should also check out other threads that discuss Maryland as well.

In your case, for me it comes down to this. Maryland has a better faculty, arguably better school, and better location than UGA or LBJ. ...

You appear to be quite certain of your conclusions, yet you offer zero quantitative and little qualitative proof supporting any of your claims. No stats... no appeals to authority... not even a citation of the inherently flawed U.S. News ranks. No firsthand description, no specific evidence. Just sweeping statements.

To the OP -- in my opinion the schools you list are very similar. I've never been to UGA or UMD. I will say that speaking to friends and others who went to UMD, not a lot differentiates them. I can say that LBJ has been a pleasant experience thus far. In the end, I think you should make your decision based on what feels right to you, either by speaking with faculty, current students, trusted mentors, etc., all while keeping in account the money factor. I strongly encourage you to give more weight to the school with the most money (in your case, obviously, UGA.) A full ride plus a stipend can make up for a LOT.

[dang]

Hi mgrn68,

The UMD Open House will be held tomorrow. I remember someone on this site mentioned that he/she would vist MSPP. We can wait until tomorrow and see what they have to say about the program.

[mothernorth]

You appear to be quite certain of your conclusions, yet you offer zero quantitative and little qualitative proof supporting any of your claims. No stats... no appeals to authority... not even a citation of the inherently flawed U.S. News ranks. No firsthand description, no specific evidence. Just sweeping statements.

To the OP -- in my opinion the schools you list are very similar. I've never been to UGA or UMD. I will say that speaking to friends and others who went to UMD, not a lot differentiates them. I can say that LBJ has been a pleasant experience thus far. In the end, I think you should make your decision based on what feels right to you, either by speaking with faculty, current students, trusted mentors, etc., all while keeping in account the money factor. I strongly encourage you to give more weight to the school with the most money (in your case, obviously, UGA.) A full ride plus a stipend can make up for a LOT.

Excuse me for saying this Sosh, but you are coming off quite arrogant! What quantitative and qualitative proof did you offer in your post that went beyond what I said? I did not cite US News for as you rightfully stated, it is flawed and as such I did not care to cite it. In addition, I have written about Maryland in more details in other posts on this blog and kindly directed our friend here to view the other threads.

I spoke about the faculty, which includes a CIA director, Nobel Economist, and US Trade Rep - I do not believe UGA or LBJ can match that, but again as I said in my post, MD is "arguably" a better school, meaning that you do not have to agree. Also, for someone that wants to study policy and wants to work with D.C. based agencies, how could Athens or Austin be a "better" location professionally? Again that is my opinion. If I wanted to work for Warner Brothers or Sony Pictures and study entertainment, I would likely go to either LA or NYC. That's the way I look at it in terms of the best "professional" location, but you are free to disagree. I am sure good policy students at UGA and LBJ can be equally successful at entering the D.C. market, but the Maryland connection and vicinity to D.C. can certainly give an extra push.

The only thing I did make a mistake on is saying that Maryland was the best deal monetarily for our friend MGRN, I misread that part of the post and did not see that UGA offered the full tuition + stipend.

But yes, overall, we agree that they are all great schools and none are substantially better (or worse). It's completely up to opinion.

[antipas]

LBJ's most recent Dean was tabbed tabbed as Deputy Secretary of State... each of the three schools has very reputable policymakers, not just Maryland, and each of the schools lands graduates in D.C. To the original poster, if you want to intern at the above agencies or any other DC-based organization during the school year, obviously Maryland is the only school where this is a possibility (you probably shouldn't need anyone to tell you this by now). Of course, based on the list of schools in your sig, it doesn't seem like D.C. location is one of your prime considerations, given that Georgetown/GW/American aren't even on that list. I know CBO at least has summer internships which you can apply for from any of the above. My personal take is that LBJ and Maryland are pretty on par academically, and Georgia too really. Georgia seems a tad more focused on administration than policy analysis for my preference, but that's just my personal impression based on looking through what their graduates were doing career-wise. In terms of fun areas to attend school in, Austin and Athens would both be preferable to College Park, but I don't know how much that matters. That being said, your ultimate career interests and money might be the tiebreaker, in which case I wouldn't fault you for choosing the best deal in UGA or the second best in Maryland. If you're pretty set on working for the agencies you mentioned, then maybe Maryland wins out for the networking opps.

[sosh]

Excuse me for saying this Sosh, but you are coming off quite arrogant! What quantitative and qualitative proof did you offer in your post that went beyond what I said?

Didn't mean to come off as arrogant. Here's what you said that I took issue with:

Athens and Austin, while great cities in general, just cannot compare with the experience and opportunities that the D.C. area can offer you. Ask yourself, what do those schools have that Maryland doesn't have? Above, I just mentioned several things that UGA and LBJ just cannot compete with. In addition, you are getting nearly 100% off! It's the best deal by far, both academically, professionally, and monetarily.