I do recognize that these are all rather good options - I am very fortunate to be in the position to make this choice.

Yale is an awesome school, but if your heart is set on the GSD then I would say deal with the debt.

Isnt there alot of class sharing/swapping between MIT and the GSD? I'd go for MIT. Do you want the learning experience or the letters after your name? If you can go to some classes at GSD, you get the learning, but not the letters... And also, MIT has MediaLab.

If you go to MIT you can cross register for options studios and electives at the GSD. You'll have to enter the lottery but it's possible. So I would narrow it down between MIT and the GSD since you are interested in their direction. They are both great schools. With one you'll have the debt, with the other maybe slightly less of an international rep, but still pretty damn good....

Maybe you should do some research and see if you will be able to afford working abroad if you have to pay $500 a month in loans.

If the debt were equal I'd say GSD, with a 100K difference I say MIT..... I took studios there when I was an undergrad. IT was an amazing experience. I felt so passionate and enthusiatic about studio... Sometimes the GSD can be great, but sometimes, it's something you appreciate more after graduation than when you're in the thick of it. ALthough I would never discourage anyone from going, esp if you are interested in their current agenda. THey bring in soooo many international professors...sometimes that can lead to internships etc although of course there are politics involved. You will definitely get an international perspective no matter what though. And roughly half the student population is from abroad--at least when I was there.

I spoke with a landscape architecture student when I visited the GSD a couple of years ago and he mentioned that he spent a lot of time at MIT because of his area of focus and the classes being taught there. I was left with the impression that moving between the two institutions was relatively fluid.

The debt issue is one I've been exploring. I think if I were in your shoes I would favor MIT or Yale. They are both outstanding institutions and frankly much of your education will ultimately land on your shoulders anyway.

MIT. I was once in the same position (between the GSD and MIT). I don't regret it.

Urbanist - how long ago and did you take classes at the GSD?

Sponge - I assume you would still have your studio space at MIT, and possibly that you also only get into studios if there is space in them after the GSD students have made their choices. Correct, or no? Otherwise this sounds pretty intriguing, since I found the MIT core more interesting anyway.

I've only cross registered for MIT studios as a Harvard student. I was under the impression that MIT students entered the lottery with everyone else at the GSD and were not at a disadvantage, BUT YOU SHOULD CALL TO CONFIRM THAT. Don't call admissions, try the GSD registrar, student services or the architecture department. YOu will probably not be able to cross register for core studios, but there is less of an international urbanism agenda in those classes anyway (at least when I was there).

ALso, I am shocked the aid between those schools is so different. THe GSD is an extra semester, but that doesn't justify this. If you're an international student that explains it, but if not I'd call the financial aid department and tell them that you really want to attend, but school's like Yale and MIT are outdoing them by 50 and 100K. The GSD wants to stay competitive and keep and attract the best applicants. Even if they do not change your package, I'll bet the financial aid department will be interested to know they've been totally out done. Harvard's endowment has taken a serious hit in the markets, but the other schools have suffered too.

I've only cross registered for MIT studios as a Harvard student. I was under the impression that MIT students entered the lottery with everyone else at the GSD and were not at a disadvantage, BUT YOU SHOULD CALL TO CONFIRM THAT. Don't call admissions, try the GSD registrar, student services or the architecture department. YOu will probably not be able to cross register for core studios, but there is less of an international urbanism agenda in those classes anyway (at least when I was there).

ALso, I am shocked the aid between those schools is so different. THe GSD is an extra semester, but that doesn't justify this. If you're an international student that explains it, but if not I'd call the financial aid department and tell them that you really want to attend, but school's like Yale and MIT are outdoing them by 50 and 100K. The GSD wants to stay competitive and keep and attract the best applicants. Even if they do not change your package, I'll bet the financial aid department will be interested to know they've been totally out done. Harvard's endowment has taken a serious hit in the markets, but the other schools have suffered too.