HomeGrown

Well I guess i'll start being more specific. I've already attended a summer session at Rutgers (my state school) and gotten straight A's at undergrad courses. I don't think that would be impressive enough to make up for a sub-3.0 at Columbia. I'm afraid the drop in difficulty would be taken into account as well. The problem at Columbia was not the quality of my work (my papers received A's, B's and my contributions in class were usually among the best). The problem was missed and late assignments, missed classes, etc. that would bring my grades down precipitously. I was treated, my grades improved, I graduated and I'm now a completely different person. I feel I definitely can handle the difficulty level. And if I can't? Well why would I deserve to get into GW or American? I'm going to pour my blood, sweat and tears into this and if it doesn't work, maybe that's a sign that grad school isn't for me. Also, enrolling in undergraduate or graduate courses at Rutgers involves the same process. Both are easy to enroll in and not very expensive for in-state residents. I might even be able to enroll in both if I wanted.

Thanks for all the advice. Taking grad level courses at a public affairs school would allow me to get new rec's and would provide a different GPA if I decide to reapply next cycle. I appreciate the tough love, but I think you're overly harsh. This isn't law school, business school or medical school. Admissions to these schools is not THAT selective. I'm guessing the acceptance rate is 30% and above for many of these schools excluding the obvious exceptions. Did I expect to get in? No. But I thought I had a shot, particularly at American. I've seen candidates with lesser GRE scores get in.. I've seen candidates straight out of college get in.. it isn't rocket science and an MPA is not the holy grail, even at Harvard. As for lost and destine, I feel your pain and best of luck in moving forward. Azrou, I'm already working on many of the things you suggested and figuring out what is the best way to achieve very specific goals i have (I didn't put them here because they were so specific to the point of giving more information on here than I feel comfortable with). For others that may be reading this thread, my suggestion would be to not only follow the advice given here but also look at schools other than HKS, WWS, etc. If you have the talent and the will, you'll succeed whether you attend the most prestigious schools or not.

Thanks a lot everyone. I actually just thought of a plan. Maybe some of you can give me feedback. After some reflection, a big reason I wanted to go to DC is because I want to work there eventually. Whether in non-profit, government or as an elected official. But that can happen no matter where your grad school is located right? So upon further reflection, I realized another big part is pride. I was considered one of the smartest kids in my high school, if not the smartest. I got into Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, etc. Coming from a low-income background there was a lot of pressure I put on myself. In college, I struggled mightily with depression and had to take two years off. My transcript was a disaster for several semesters before I turned it around and graduated with an Ivy degree. Now those years kind of haunt me and the biggest pain is feeling like a burn-out and a waste of potential. But if I put pride aside, I thought maybe I can attend Rutgers SPAA this summer as a non-degree student (get A's) and apply for an MPA for their spring admissions. Is it a top-ranked school? No. Is it as good as GW, American, Wagner? Of course not. But I could get an MPA, maybe build contacts in Jersey (where I want to run for State Legislature before 32 or so) and get a new start. And if I hate it, I can always apply to another school and try to transfer a few credits. Does it seem feasible? Thanks so much guys.

So it happened and I'm pretty devastated. Not one school of the 3 even wait-listed me. It's ironic because for college admissions, I got into every school I applied to including Ivy League. Would it be better to take college-level or grad-level courses this summer? I might be able to get a certificate in Nonprofit Management by Fall 2013. My GPA was 2.87 so I'm hoping taking courses now can prove that the undergrad GPA is not representative of who I am. I could really use any advice you guys could give. Trying not to give up.

It's the uncertainty that really grates at my nerves.

Congrats to everyone who got in

Ha, i think that happened to me too :-/

Anyone else feel guilty for not being happy when others get accepted? haha Congrats to everyone that has gotten in so far!! I'm hoping the rest of us get good news.

I was told the middle of March but you should give them a call to check for yourself

Is there any way to deal with this insanity? I probably have 2 more weeks of waiting and I just don't know how much longer I can deal.

Nothing on the weekend though, right?

How long did it take for you guys to hear back from American? They fumbled my application materials before the deadline. I submitted the application on Jan 24th but it didnt say the applicatino was complete until Feb 6th.

Just called GW to ask about MPA/MPP decisions and I was told they just started reviewing applications this week and that decisions wont be made until sometime in March (about 4 weeks). Does this sound right? The results for the last few years in the database here show notifications going out as early as mid-February. Anyone have any idea when GW will make decisions?

I need something to take my mind off of this. I am literally checking my email every 2 minutes!!! this can't continue. I've come to the conclusion I should hear from my first school this week. The anxiety is killing me.

Retake the GRE. That verbal is not enough for the programs you are looking at. However, if your other stats are strong there are other MPA programs that you may be competitive for if you are willing to lower your expectations.