<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I’m new on this site, joined with the hopes that you can give me some advice with my decision-making process, now that letters are in. </p>
<p>I was accepted to the following MPP/MPA programs:
Harvard Kennedy School (waiting on fellowship decisions)
NYU Wagner (waiting on fellowship decisions)
UCLA School of Public Affairs (awarded $10,000 for the first year)
Columbia SIPA (no fellowships)
UC Berkeley (no fellowships)</p>
<p>And I was waitlisted at Princeton Woodrow Wilson School (which offers full fellowship aid to most admitted students).</p>
<p>Some background on me:
I have a lot of credit card debt and undergrad loans and though I am paying it all down, I am not sure I want to take out more loans. I have been working full-time for 8 years and live in New York City. I have a good job working for the City, with great mentoring and definite room to move up. My entire career has been in the nonprofit and public sector…I do think about running for local office eventually, and realize that prestige is important in opening doors (though not the only factor). I went to Georgetown SFS for undergrad.</p>
<p>So here are my questions:
- what do you think my chances are of getting into WWS off the wait list? it is my first choice, because of fellowship aid
- if I don’t get in to Princeton, and I don’t get aid from Harvard, but I get a fellowship at NYU, should I go with the NYU fellowship, or take out loans to go to Harvard?
- if I don’t get in to Princeton, and I don’t get aid from Harvard or NYU, is it worth it to take out loans to go to Harvard? or should I keep my job and go to NYU part-time?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your advice. All the waiting on fellowship/wait list decisions is killing me!</p>
<p>To answer you questions, in order:</p>
<p>So here are my questions:
- what do you think my chances are of getting into WWS off the wait list? it is my first choice, because of fellowship aid</p>
<p>-Probably not very good, honestly. Most people who get accepted to WWS end up going to WWS, so not that many people get in off the waitlist.</p>
<ol>
<li>if I don’t get in to Princeton, and I don’t get aid from Harvard, but I get a fellowship at NYU, should I go with the NYU fellowship, or take out loans to go to Harvard? </li>
</ol>
<p>Go to NYU. People will disagree, but this is an MPP, not a law or business degree. Prestige is nice, but unless you want to leverage your degree into a consulting job at McKinsey, going to Harvard KSG is a waste of money and wont open any doors in the^public sector that a NYU degree+your work experience will.</p>
<ol>
<li>if I don’t get in to Princeton, and I don’t get aid from Harvard or NYU, is it worth it to take out loans to go to Harvard? or should I keep my job and go to NYU part-time?</li>
</ol>
<p>No. KSG is very expensive and I dont know if I would recommend it for someone who plans on staying in public service where the brand name of your degree is actually pretty irrelevant. Although many top public officials did go to Ivies, remember that these are the very, very TOP officials, i.e. the Presidents and Senators, and even then it is debtable how much the name on their degree helped them.
Going into massive debt when you want to pursue a life as a public servant is one of the biggest mikstakes you can make, honestly.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>what if I want to reserve the option of consulting for McKinsey? it is definitely something I’ve thought of considering the debt I have amassed. Plus, McKinsey does great pro bono consulting work for nonprofits…</p>
<p>do you think that would make it worth it to go to KSG, or could I leverage the same opportunities with an NYU Wagner degree?</p>
<p>thanks again.</p>
<p>My heart always breaks a little when I hear someone say, “Well, I really love th public sector, but I’m thinking of maybe doing a little consulting for McKinsey…” If you want to do pro bono or public sector work, getting a job at McKinsey is basically like going to work for Imperial Tobacco. McKinsey is in the business of making money, nothing else. There is nothing wrong with that, but don’t get the impression that you will have ample opportunities to give back if you do consulting for them.</p>
<p>To answer your question, though, if you want to leverage your MPP into a consulting job, especially at elitist McKinsey, go to KSG, period.</p>
<p>Thanks again. I hear you completely, and feel the same way. But the reality is that I don’t have a financial safety net under me and I need to build one before I can do things like support a family…so I just want the option of going corporate if I need it. However, I’m really in a good place at work so if funding doesn’t come through, NYU Wagner part-time is still tempting.</p>
<p>desi,</p>
<p>I hope you didnt take my last post as being insulting, because that wasn’t my point. I just think that the public sector in the US needs talented, well educated individuals and that sadly, most of those individuals get sucked into the consulting or private sector vortex due to the much better pay and benefits. I can’t say I dont understand their situation, as I understand yours also, but it is nonetheless disappointing.
However, the contrainsts, financial and otherwise, that come with raising a family, putting kids through school, buying a home, ect. often make a life as a public servant very strenous if not impossible.</p>
<p>No worries, I think we’re on the same page here - no offense taken at all. I am just hopeful for some fellowship aid precisely because of the strains that you refer to. Fingers crossed though!</p>
<p>jmleadpipe, </p>
<p>I’d love your input on my situation: I am an international student who has been accepted to KSG (MPP–no funding), SAIS (MA IR–no news yet, but prob. no funding), SIPA (MIA–no funding), CMU (MSPPM–1/3 funding), Brown (MPP–1/2 funding), American (MPP–full funding) and UConn (MPA–full funding + generous stipend). </p>
<p>I’d like to international development work, either in the international sector, govt. sector or non-profit sector. I have been in education for the past three years out of college. </p>
<p>Based on my focus–international education policy–I think KSG would be the best place for me to be b/c of the benefit of Harvard’s Ed School + international recognition. However, it is hard to turn down American’s free ride, and it is a fine policy school! For personal reasons, I’d prefer to be in the New England area, so there’s always U Conn, but I think American is the better choice in this situation. U Conn is too domestic in focus, I think. </p>
<p>I think I have narrowed it down to KSG, SAIS, and American. I would absolutely LOVE to go to KSG. I am applying for various scholarships and will likely get a part-time job (as a residential director) in Boston, which would take care of my living expenses. Do you think it is worth it? I don’t want loans to prevent me from pursuing less lucrative careers.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me which path is better in order to land a job in a top consulting firm like McKinsey or top multinational firms in the US.</p>
<ol>
<li> Masters from Columbia SIPA then try to get entry level consulting job in top companies like Mckinsey.
or</li>
<li>Masters from LSE (in IR) then work as a Junior Program Officer in a developing country, then shift back to private sector in US (try to get entry level consulting job in Mckinsey or similar).</li>
</ol>
<p>My main concern is whether the ivy league school in NY will be more valuable than LSE degree from london then the JPO stint which is very difficult to get so I was hoping this would be of value. The problem is that I do not have work permit as I am an international student.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>sorry just wanted to clarify that the JPO is a United Nations program for young professionals.</p>