Out of State/Region School & Effect on Professional Prospects/Networking

[mbrapp89]

What's up people; hope everyone's wildest grad school dreams are coming true. Looking like it's now that time of year. 

 

As for me, I'm hoping someone can offer their thoughts and/or anecdotes from personal experiences on the notion of program location vs. professional location. I'm from the Northeast (United States) and have every intention of staying in the region as a professional. So, here's my situation:

 

On one hand, I have an offer to UNC's MPA program, with some funding - nice, but not a make or break amount. On the other, I have an offer to UVA's MPP program, with no funding, but the program feels like a much better fit in terms of location.

 

I am EXTREMELY torn. I love almost everything about both programs. Although, UNC has a slight edge in terms of academic focus, and if I'm being frank, I think UNC gets the nod over UVA... if the school wasn't in freakin' North Carolina. I realize this situation is what most prospective MPP/MPA students would consider to be a "good" problem, but it certainly doesn't feel that way right now, and I'm really hoping for some meaningful feedback here. 

 

Is anyone currently in a similar situation? Are there any current students out there who overcame a similar dilemma?

 

Thanks in advance and good luck out there everyone!

 

Applied (6): Maryland MPP; UNC MPA; UVA MPP; Rutgers MPP; Brown MPA; Penn MPA

Accepted (5): Maryland MPP; UNC MPA($); UVA MPP; Rutgers MPP; Brown MPA($)

Waiting (0): Penn MPA
Rejected (0):

Edited March 11, 2014 by mbrapp89

[terrapin]

I don't know anything specific about these two programs, but I can tell you that Charlottesville is less than a 3 hour drive from Chapel Hill. And culturally, there is little to  no difference between Central Virginia and North Carolina. Neither of these schools are exactly located in a policy "hotbed" if you will. Go with whatever your gut says.

[Gov2School]

Is it more cultural fit personally or concern about proximity to DC?  For proximity to DC, these schools are really about equal.  UVA is slightly closer, but it doesn't give you much advantage in terms of prospects.  In fact, the way traffic is in this area, it might be faster to take the train between DC and Raleigh than to drive from DC to Charlottesville during rush hour.  

 

UVA is too far away from DC for you to do a term time internship, which is the real great advantage of DC schools.  Though at UVA, you'd only be an hour from Richmond, so you could potentially do a part time internship at the state capitol.  

 

UVA and UNC are both really good schools and well respected programs.   In terms of networking, if you're DC focused, see if either school offers financial support to students doing summer internships, find out what kind of term time trips to DC they offer, check out their list of term time events to see what kind of conferences and speakers they attract. Do a Linkedin search to see what kinds of jobs recent grads are holding.  If you visit, check out their career services and see what each can offer. You really can't go wrong with either. 

[TimB]

IDK about UVA but I can let you know a few things about Chapel Hill:

 

It's only a bit over half an hour to Raleigh, so close enough to do a state level internship.

 

UNC, Duke, and NC State allow you to take classes at each others programs so you have a wider option of courses than you might think.

 

If you can get NC tuition your second year it is VERY highly discounted, but it's also a pain to get residency. You need to register to vote and get a new license ASAP when you get here. Actually voting also helps in the determination system (plus we're a swing state in national elections!)

 

CH is your typical college town. Durham and Raleigh are right next door, 10 and 30 minutes away, so the area provides more options than similar towns. Big music and theater tours come through the area because of the draw from Raleigh. The Raleigh metro area is 1,100,000 people and the city is over 400,000 but if feels way smaller because both Raleigh and Durham sprawl out for miles and incorporate a lot of the surrounding area that really doesn't feel like part of the city. Still, if you want to go out but don't want to be in a college town they have lots of options.

 

The beach is about 2-2 1/2 hours away in the warm months. The Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains are about 4-6 hours away. Charleston, SC, an real cool place on the coast if you've never been, is like 4ish I think. I've made it to DC from Durham in less than 4 hours, traffic flows at about 80 the whole way there.

 

If your big issue is jobs I'd contact their career services offices and get numbers. I was worried about Duke's ability to get people jobs in DC, but a look at their placement stats allayed those fears for me.

Edited March 11, 2014 by TimB