PLANNING GUIDES · MASTER'S · YOUR OFFERS
Got your master's offers? Pick the one that teaches you the work you want to do next.
We've published ten master's stories. Here's how our students compared their offers, and what they chose. Each student's initials open their card in the Master's guide.
Written for the 2026–27 application year.
For programs starting in fall (autumn) 2027.
Your offers at a glance
How do I choose between offers?
Compare what each program teaches in its core courses, and what it will cost you after funding. Then make sure you can work in the country you want after you graduate. Working after your degree →
- What matters most, in our view
- What each program teaches you. Your offers
- Do this first
- Find each offer's deposit or acceptance deadline. The earliest one is your real deadline.
- Can wait, in our view
- Housing. Pick your program first.
Programs can change their dates and rules during the year. Check each program's own page.
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Choose: your offers
Choose by what the program teaches. Nine of our ten master's students did.
Table view
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| What the program teaches | 9 |
| Funding | 6 |
| Program length or format | 4 |
| Family | 1 |
| A particular market or region | 1 |
Six of our ten turned down a Harvard or Stanford program.
- A.O.Chose
PrincetonAlso admitted
Harvard Kennedy School - R.V.Chose
CornellAlso admitted
Stanford - S.P.Chose
MITAlso admitted
Harvard - L.W.ChoseStanfordAlso admittedHarvard
- I.B.Chose
Johns HopkinsAlso admittedStanford - N.T.Chose
ColumbiaAlso admittedHarvard
N.K. chose the longer, more expensive program on purpose, for an internship.
| Compare | Ask | One of our students |
|---|---|---|
| Your cost, after any award | What will I pay in total, after the award? | S.P.'s funding cut her cost but didn't cover all of it, so she weighed the rest against the salary she'd give up. |
| The core courses | Do they teach the methods I'm missing? | M.C. chose Oxford for its training sequence and its dissertation. |
| Practice before you graduate | Will I do the work, not only study it? | N.T. chose Columbia for its funding and its practicum, a supervised placement where you do the work, matched to the health-systems work she planned to return to. |
| Where you'll work | Does it lead back to the work, and the place, I want? | C.S. chose Cambridge as the clearest path back to European practice. |
Once you accept, decline your other offers, so the places go to someone else. Then book your student visa appointment, if you need one.
Where we come in
How Letrado can help.
Most of this advice costs nothing to follow. If you'd like help with part of it, here's where we come in.
Your offers, side by side
Each offer compared by its funding, its courses, and where it leads.
Financial Aid & Scholarships →Your funding's conditions
What each award covers, for how many years, and what it asks of you.
Financial Aid & Scholarships →A decision with your family
The trade-offs talked through with you, and your family if you'd like, before you accept.
Master's & MBA Admissions →
Start with a free 45-minute introduction.
We follow it with a personalized plan by email. Bring your offers and your funding letters, and we'll compare what each program teaches and what it will really cost you. Parents are welcome too.