FranzFan

If you basically have no access to funding (i am applying to the US as an international student) and are almost entirely reliant on getting funding from the university, should you just leave blank the section where you are asked to state the resources available to you to fund your study? Or will this just piss the university off? I don't know whether universities expect everyone to have sources of funding available when applying, or if they are happy for some people to apply with no funding in place. Realistically, I could get some loans together in the UK, but nowhere near enough to fund my study. Btw I realise that getting a scholarship from a university is very unlikely, but I wanted to apply on that basis on the off chance. Thanks for any advice..

Hi there, I know, another 'should I re-take the test' thread, but i would welcome your thoughts.. i took the GRE today and got a 166 V and 156 quant. Obviously I am very happy with the verbal as, according to the scale, that puts me in the top 4%. The quant I am a little disappointed with. In practice tests I was averaging 158. It's not my strong point and I have worked very hard to bring the score up from a start point of around 150. If I re-take I wouldn't expect to get more than 160 at the very best, unless I totally fluked it. I have done literally hundreds of hours of practice so I have to face the facts that there is only so much I can do. So the question is, should I try and re-take? If I do, I would most likely get around 164V and 158Q. Would this be significantly better than what I already have, or does the very high verbal score offset the relatively low quant score enough to make a re-take pointless? I am applying for public policy and administration programmes, so quant is not absolutely essential, but the curriculum is generally fairly quant-heavy so I fear my quant score may hold me back. I am applying to a few ivy league schools and a few good public schools. For context, I have very good referees, around 3.5 GPA, Oxford degree, 5 years work experience. Cheers

I am applying to MPP and MPA courses, and am about to send off reference requests to my referees. I am providing them with some fairly high-level guidance of the main things I would like them to focus on in their reference, so that it aligns with my personal statement. I am slo sending them my personal statement and resume. But I'm not sure if there are any more specific points that i should be asking them to cover. E.g. should the reference discuss my qualities as a person, or should it focus on my academic and career achievements and how this prepares me for graduate study? Or should there be other things? Or should it be just open-ended? I would be grateful for your thoughts as I couldn't find much advice on this.

Thank you very much. I tried messaging you but don't seem able to do so. Are you able to PM me and send me your meal address so I can send it to you that way instead? Cheers

Hi All, I have written the first draft of my SoP for application to MPP and MPA programs (mainly MPAs). I wondered if there are any kind and willing MPA-literate people out there that would be willing to take a look at it and make suggestions? Please let me know if so and I will PM you. Thank you

Thanks both, that's very re-assuring!

Hi there, One thing I am unsure with regarding the SoP and recommendations is this: should you send each individual SoP for each of the schools to which you are applying to each of your recommenders, or do you think it's ok to just show them your one and only main draft - the one which you edit for each application? I imagine that the former is the preferable option, however I don't feel comfortable asking my recommenders to review 4-6 different SoPs before writing 4-6 different recommendations for me, since they are all busy people. i also realise that it is best to write completely different SoPs for each school based on the specifics of each program, but surely all of the SoPs will have enough common threads linking them that your recommenders could see just one version to use for all applications. Am I wrong? Your thoughts?

Thank you all for your suggestions and advice - very helpful indeed

Hi there, I am a British citizen looking to study in the USA next year. My ambition is to study an MPA but am also considering MPPs where the course content fits my interests. Because I am international, I have no access to federal aid, nor do I have much in the way of my own reserves, and therefore am looking for schools that offer some fully-funded offers (tuition+stipend). I realise these are very competitive - particularly for international students. I have scoured this forum as well as the websites of many MPP/MPA programs, but I still find it difficult to cut through to the truth at times. Therefore I would really appreciate the advice of some Americans who really understand US schools, their individual ethos and the funding process better than I ever can. A quick profile of me: Undergrad: Oxford University GPA: 3.6 on final exams (the only ones that count to grades in the UK - I did much worse in first year when I didn't really try, but they do not count towards your degree so I assume I should exclude them). In the UK the whole GPA comes down to your grades in your final exams and some coursework. Also, my father passed away 4 weeks before my final exams which really restricted the revision I could do as well as my state of mind, so I have some mitigating circumstances. Work exp: five years and counting, mainly in two roles in the non-profit sector at good organisations encompassing quite significant policy, research, strategy and evaluation projects. Extra-curriculars: I am a director of a chain of three primary schools (I think the US equivalent is charter schools); Chair of governors of a primary school (not sure of US-equivalent - could be 'chairman of directors'); Chair of trustees of a small charity . GRE: Yet to take it. Been studying for the last 2 months. Got a 158Q, 163V and 5AW on a recent practice test. Hoping to get these to low-to-mid 160s for Q and V by the time of the test. Career interests: Ultimately looking to run a non-profit organisation that promotes social mobility in some form. Motivation for doing an MPA: I want academic training to supplement the experience that I already have in public policy. I also want to strengthen my quantitative analysis skills, as well as develop organisation management skills. I am looking to apply to schools that fit the following criteria: - Offer at least some fully-funded places - Have a strong focus on public/non-profit sector. I don't want to work in the private sector long-term - Have a curriculum that combines some quantitative policy analysis skills with financial and organisation management skills So far my shortlist is: Pennsylvania - Fels, Princeton, Chicago - Harris. I want to add 1-2 more but am struggling to be sure which to go with. Does anyone have any suggestions based on my profile and the criteria I set out? Thanks for any help you can provide.