thoughtprovoking

Previous Schools: Washington University in St. Louis Previous GPA: 3.8 GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 167 V / 160 Q / 5.0 W Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 4 years -- 2 years direct ground-level work experience, 2 years policy work experience (both prestigious placements in my immediate policy interest area) Math/Econ Background: Moderate. Took several courses in both econ and stat in undergrad. Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Domestic policy Long Term Professional Goals: State/regional/local government Schools Applied to & Results: Chicago Harris (accepted), Duke Sanford (accepted), Georgetown McCourt (accepted), Harvard Kennedy (accepted), Princeton Woodrow Wilson (rejected), Syracuse Maxwell (accepted) Ultimate Decision & Why: Harvard Kennedy School. The overall strength and breadth of Kennedy and of Harvard as a whole appealed to me. Some people may prefer the intimacy of a small cohort, but for me HKS' larger size was a plus -- in looking at the course catalog, faculty listings, student groups, and events on campus, I was able to find a lot more people interested in my specific policy interest areas than I was at any other school. Financially, this was a tough decision because I received full funding offers from Duke and Syracuse, and Harvard will be substantially more expensive. Advice for Future Applicants: The Atlas of Public Policy and Management MPP/MPA Program Comparison is a useful site for comparing course offerings and requirements. For what it's worth, I'm also personally in favor of having at least two years of work experience prior to starting a public policy graduate program. This is not just because it strengthens your application, but because it may refocus what you want to do with your career and what you want to get out of grad school. With four years of experience under my belt, I'm going into grad school with a specific understanding of the skills and content I want to get out of HKS -- and at least for me personally, that would not be true if I had enrolled even a year or two ago.

While my professional resume is 1 page, after reading the blog post which acm14 linked to earlier, I extended my grad school resume to 2 pages. I used the extra space to include more details about academic honors from undergrad, quantitative aspects of my work experience, and recent activities / volunteer leadership experiences -- things which aren't always needed when applying for a job, but which MPP/MPA grad programs seemed to be interested in knowing about.

Hi everyone! I'm a long time lurker and first time poster. I am grateful to have been accepted to some fantastic programs this cycle. Like all of you, I'm considering how to evaluate funding vs. academic programs for MPP/MPA. Duke Sanford offered me full tuition, which is hard to turn down. However, I was also accepted to Harvard Kennedy, which has long been my dream school so is also hard to turn down (although no word yet on funding). Chicago Harris also offered me a partial tuition fellowship. Because I received a full ride merit scholarship for undergrad, I am lucky enough to have no existing debt. Any thoughts on what someone else would do in my shoes?