Questions regarding IDSS (through the MITx micromaster for data science path)

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I have been looking at the benefit of the MITx micromaster for data science. It costs around $1350 ( only $135 with financial aids) 


https://www.edx.org/masters/micromasters...ta-science

https://micromasters.mit.edu/ds/

here are the benefits:

• An official Infinite Connection account on the MIT Alumni Association website
  
  
• Access to an online directory of fellow MicroMasters program credential holders
  
  
• Access to some MIT Alumni Association events
  
  
• Access to the library journals available through JSTOR and EBSCO
  
  
• Eligible to receive 15% discount* off a verified track enrollment in any MITx course offered on edX.org and MITx Online. You can enroll in a course and learn at no cost, or aim to earn a verified certificate of completion for a low fee. Contact the MIT Alumni Association to learn more.
  
  
• Eligibility for 10% off all MIT Press publications (print books and e-books)
  
  
• Digital subscriptions to MIT Technology Review
  

And among the benefits, we can apply to a phd at social and engineering systems (SES) throught the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) .
I have a couple of questions here: 
 is this kind of path worth it in any way? are there any success stories of people who went through this path for this phd?
if we forget about the phd, is it worth doing that micro master given those benefits they offer? or to advance a career in data science? because I've heard that the courses are quite hard, not to mention that we can't do them at our own pace. there is a fixed schedule, and each course usually last 17 weeks.

There is potentially a possibility to get a scholarship for this phd according to the IDSS website, but I didnt get if there is just a chance to get that scholarship, or if it's garanteed for micromasters holders.