bordercoffee

@anthropocentaur - congratulations!! Berkeley's MPP program is fantastic! Maybe I'll see you around. Good luck re: ERG next year if you find yourself applying

Lyrehc, thank you for your reply! I appreciate your thoughts on the supplemental material. I'll shoot you a pm regarding the specifics of what I'm interested in.

Hello! I would really, really appreciate everyone's advice on two things: whether or not I ought to submit a certain supplemental material, and who I should choose for my letters of rec. I apologize if the title was misleading. First, a quick overview of myself: Applying for a social science PhD; master's thesis was written to develop my research question and set the stage for further research 3.93 graduate school GPA, thesis grade: A, 3.6 undergraduate cumulative GPA (higher major GPA.. I need to check this) GRE: 167 Verbal, 165 Quant, essay grade TBD Experience interning/working in relevant UN arms Volunteered for a year in a developing country, specifically in an area that is experiencing the phenomenon that I want to study Currently working as a policy/research analyst in the field 1 publication and 1 poster presentation in relevant fields (both of which I am the primary author) I am in my mid-20s (not sure if age matters) My first question is in regards to the "supplemental materials" section that most applications have. I am wondering if it would be beneficial to submit a letter written by the founder of the NGO I am proposing to work with for my PhD dissertation. I would not be asking for an evaluation of my character/academic capability (which is why I have not chosen her as a letter of recommendation); rather, I'd be asking her to validate my proposal (i.e. if it's a reflection a reality) and its need 'on the ground level.' My worry is that it may come off as if I have pigeon-holed myself into this project. However, many other competitive academic programs (e.g. Fulbright) ask for similar letters; additionally, this founder has an honors degree from one of the schools I am interested in applying to, and has been recognized for her work as an alumni as well. The second question I have is in regards to choosing appropriate letters of recommendations. Most of the schools I am applying to require 3 letters. I have two+ strong faculty recommendations. I am undecided on the third. Option A is to have the founder of the aforementioned volunteering organization to write me a character reference. He was formerly a dean of one of the schools I am applying to. Option B is to ask my UN supervisor for a letter. This letter would be a better balance of character/research skill evaluation. Option C is to submit both (IF it is a school that allows for a fourth letter). Option D would be to scratch both and opt for a third faculty recommendation. I apologize for this long post. Thanks for bearing with me and taking the time to read it!! I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts.