MSFS / SAIS vs. American/GWU. Money vs Prestige. Help!!!

[bojiroland]

I got accepted into Georgetown's MSFS and JHU's SAIS Bologna with no funding. Total costs run to about 120K for 2 years.

I also got a full scholarship into American's SIS as well as a 16k annual stipend.

I also got a nice scholarship into GWU-Elliott (6k annual) - this combined with their lower tuition makes total costs around 70K for 2 years.

What should I do?

Further considerations: Does American have a more liberal bent to it? Or is it just a rumor? Which schools have a more conservative rep, MSFS/SAIS/Elliott?

Thanks!

[firefly85]

I believe American does have a somewhat more liberal slant, however I'm really not sure how much in comparison with the others. From what I've read here it sounds like GW is a bit more conservative and I'd venture that SAIS is somewhat conservative too (although don't quote me on that!). I'm not sure about MSFS. I guess you have to think about which schools have the best tracks for what you want to study. Also think about what you want to do after graduation. If it's private sector where you likely won't have too much trouble paying back those loans, then MSFS and SAIS might be better options, but if it's public sector or nonprofit, you might want to give that money you've gotten more consideration.