UCSD Big Money or SIPA Little(?) Money

[outofspace]

Unless Georgetown accepts me in a couple of weeks, it's looking like my decision this cycle is going to come down to UCSD ($$$$) or SIPA ($). UCSD has offered me a full-ride plus stipend and SIPA has offered me a fellowship where, in exchange for RA work one year, I'll receive what averages out to be $17.5k/year.

 

Both offers are very generous, and the thought of attending either school excites me. At the same time, however, the thought of attending either scares me--in SIPA's case because of the debt (over $100k) and, in UCSD's case, because of my uncertainty about how they are received in professional circles, even in their focus area, East Asia, which tends to be fairly prestige-conscious. I'm not very interested in academia, which is apparently a strength of UCSD's, but am interested in security studies and positions overseas and in the field--a strength of Columbia's? Then again, the freedom of being debt-free might allow me to do something I really love that I wouldn't be able to do if I had debt to pay off.

 

Anyway, I could go on all day, but what I'm really wondering is what you all would do in this situation? Should I take the money and run, or go with the name brand school and more interesting curriculum? Am I perhaps underestimating the value of the UCSD brand and curriculum? How well do graduates of the school fare, especially compared to SIPA grads?

 

Thanks to anyone who can provide some insight!

 

 

[mouraq]

Hi outofspace,

Right now I am in the exact same place you were a year ago, between SIPA and GPS. Could you share your final decision and how things are working out for you after a year?

Thanks a lot!

[coffeeandtravel]

@mouraq I didn't apply to either of those places but I'm into similar schools...something that I've done that has helped me is to look at courses offered and kind of map out your schedule for your two years. It obviously isn't going to be drastically different between the schools, but if there are a lot of courses offered at UCSD that interest you, then that's something to think about. Personally, it would be really hard for me to turn down a full ride somewhere (especially if you get to live in San Diego!), but you may also want to reach out to recent grads (via LinkedIn or by requesting the info from admissions) about their lives and jobs post-graduation. I'm in a similar position with two schools right now so I understand the conundrum  

Edited April 3, 2016 by coffeeandtravel

[outofspace]

Hi mouraq,

After making that post, I ended up being accepted, with a moderate amount of funding, to Georgetown and subsequently attending one of its alumni lunches in the hope that doing so would help me make a more informed decision. I think it did, in that it showed me that I might not be headed in the direction I thought I was by attending a graduate program in IR, at least given my options at that time. I decided to take a chance and turn down all of the offers I received so that I could try out some new things for a year and also have the chance to re-apply and receive more funding. I did not end up re-applying this year, however, and don't (yet?) regret turning down the offers. None of them felt right to me, even though objectively each represented a great opportunity, and that gave me a lot of pause.

Because much of my decision came down to my own expectations and preferences, I'm not sure the above will be very helpful to you. However, I can tell you a bit about my thoughts on the schools (I admit these are just opinions, opinions from my past no less, and should be taken with a huge grain of salt) and their offers before making my decision:

- Georgetown, if an option, is an amazing institution offering amazing opportunities--and it can take you wherever you want to go within the IR world. If I had attended an IR program, I would have gone there (but that's probably just idealism/romanticism on my part).

- UCSD, although not as prestigious, will give you the chance to learn the quantitative and technical skills you need to succeed in a typical IR job. You might have to work a little harder to network from San Diego, though, and even with what seems to be a more close-knit community, you might not be challenged by professors and students like you would at Columbia, due to the latter's more competitive atmosphere.

- Columbia is extremely expensive in comparison to UCSD and doesn't offer the strongest institutional support (I had a lot of trouble getting answers to questions from several different departments there, whereas Georgetown and, to a lesser extent, UCSD were extremely helpful in answering questions). My overall impression was that it was a place where you would be presented with many opportunities--but that you'd probably have to deal with a lot of institutional frustration to take advantage of them. With that said, the faculty there is amazing.

More generally:

- Having the financial freedom to do what you want after graduating is HUGE, especially in the IR world where "entry-level" jobs often do not pay much, or in some cases anything

- Each school has its own focus, and it's a good idea to check out alumni profiles to see if previous graduates have gone in the direction you hope to go

- As coffeeandtravel mentioned, check out the curriculum and course descriptions to see which institution is going to offer you the education you most want

If you have any more questions for me, I'll be more than happy to answer, even though I don't have the inside scoop you were probably looking for. Hope that helps!

Edited April 3, 2016 by outofspace
To improve clarity

[mouraq]

Thank you guys for the quick replies.

 

coffeeandtravel this is definitely a good idea, I am actually making a bolder comparison between curricula as of right now. May not be the most decisive factor, but certainly will help clarify some things. Although a full ride at GPS is certainly a very good deal, I also got a decent amount of funding from SIPA. With the scholarship and a couple of TA positions during my second year, I would end up with ~30k on student loans, if my math is slightly correct. Moreover, this aid came in form of a Fellowship which could also open doors both internationally and especially at home (I'm Brazilian). But then again, still not sure if SIPA is worth that much more than GPS.

 

30 minutes ago, outofspace said:

- UCSD, although not as prestigious, will give you the chance to learn the quantitative and technical skills you need to succeed in a typical IR job. You might have to work a little harder to network from San Diego, though, and you might not have a community of students and professors that are really pushing you to be your best.

- Columbia is extremely expensive in comparison to UCSD and doesn't offer the strongest institutional support (I had a lot of trouble getting answers to questions from several different departments there, whereas Georgetown and, to a lesser extent, UCSD were extremely helpful in answering questions). My overall impression was that it was a place where you would be presented with many opportunities--but that you'd probably have to deal with a lot of institutional frustration to take advantage of them. With that said, the faculty there is amazing.

 

outofspace, thanks for sharing your decisions. If that was what felt right for you at the moment, then you most definitely made the right decision! As far as your take on the schools, It seems like a decent depiction on both of them. UCSD seems pretty helpful, with an extra effort of helping alumni out and making its brand grow. Columbia is more of a stablished place, so maybe not so amicable as SoCal? Plus I have friends currently at GPS which is a plus, at least on the personal, emotional side.

I probably won't make my mind about this until last minute (April 15 is the deadline for decision on both schools) so other takes are more than welcome!

Edited April 3, 2016 by mouraq

[outofspace]

I'd say UCSD will definitely try harder for you, as Columbia is pretty impersonal. With that said, the Columbia name will, in my opinion, take you further if you're looking to work outside the U.S. after graduating and might be worth the extra $30k because of that. The USCD brand is still not very well known outside the U.S.