Thelongshot

Schools Applying To: MPP/MPAs - Brown (Taubman), Chicago (Harris), Columbia (SIPA), Cornell (CIPA), Georgetown (GSFS), Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Penn (Fels), UCLA (Luskin), USC (Price) Undergraduate institution: Los Angeles Pierce College ---> transferred to University of Southern California (USC) - Fight On! - on full academic scholarship Undergraduate GPA: Cumulative - 3.5, At USC - 3.2ish (blech) Undergraduate Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL - modeled after Oxford's PPE program) Study Abroad: None GRE: Prospective average based on tests - 164 (Q), 162 (V), 5 (W) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): None - graduating senior - but I worked for 4 years after high school before deciding to go to college, and have been working full-time all throughout undergrad (see below) Years of Relevant Work Experience: 6 years of full-time work, see below for full explanation Describe Relevant Work Experience: A bit lengthy, I'll try to be brief: 1. Co-Founder and Operations Director, 2006-Present, uFish: Started a nonprofit program (uFish) my senior year of high school. Program is a 10 week curriculum aimed at the job training, employment, and life skills education of at-risk and homeless youths in Los Angeles (15-27 yrs old). In my 6 years as co-founder and Operations Director, over 250 kids have gained employment and at least 135 could be identified as no longer being impoverished or at-risk. At uFish, we have partnered with the Salvation Army, Pointe Hope Foundation, Homeboy Industries, People for Parks, and the Sheila Kar Foundation for projects and collaborations. I was homeless as a kid after my parents' divorce - goal is for it to not happen to anyone ever again. 2. President and Executive Director - Students for Obama, California: Students for Obama is the official student wing of the Obama for America re-election campaign. I was a volunteer, then bumped to Political Director, and then Executive Director since July 2011. Over 8000 members, over 70K new voter registrees in CA, raised over $192K towards the President's campaign. (Stoked about the election results of course). 3. Presidential Delegate to the Democratic National Convention 2012 from Congressional District 30 - Was voted as a delegate through normal means election last year. Went to the DNC in Charlotte and chaired the platform writing committee. One of the better experiences of my life. 4. Political Editor at Sonic Eclectic Magazine - first just a contributing writer, then political columnist, and now political editor. Languages: English (native), Farsi (Advanced), French (Intermediate), Spanish (Intermediate) Quant: Economics (Macro and Micro), probably taking Calculus next semester. Strength of SOP: My SOP should be good, I suppose. I'm a fairly good writer, however I have not committed an incredible amount of time to it, or had it edited by super-qualified people. I'm focusing more on being direct and honest about my life, my work, and my goals - all of which are fairly straightforward. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from Salvation Army Director (non-profit insight), 1 from a Philosophy Professor (academic insight), and 1 from the Executive Director of OFA-CA (Obama for America - California) (political/community organizing insight) If anyone has any comments, concerns, insight on schools I probably will not be getting into, or really anything at all - I am very open to any criticism or information from people who inevitably have a fair amount of experience with this process. Thanks and best of luck to all. All the Best, Thelongshot

I'm applying to 8 schools: Cornell (CIPA), Columbia (SIPA), Chicago (Harris), Georgetown (GSFS), Harvard (KSG), Penn (Fels) USC (Price), UCLA (Luskin)

Thanks for the advice. I highly doubt I'll even be applying to HKS - probably out of league with a 3.2 USC GPA (even with the 3.5 Cum). I'll be aiming moreso for SIPA, CIPA, Luskin, Price, Harris, GSFS, and Fels. I think my work experience can eek me into most of those. Maybe lol

That's encouraging. I put myself at a much lower (completely subjective) percentage due to the GPA. Thank you for that.

I'll be applying to Yale and Harvard for their MAR/MTS programs. I'm completing my undergrad from USC. My cumulative GPA (Pierce College + USC) is 3.5, GPA from just USC is 3.2, so nothing fantastic at all. Stronger I would suppose is my experience and reason for wanting the degree. I started a nonprofit program senior year of high school. Job training, employment and job skills 10 week curriculum for at-risk and homeless youths in Los Angeles. I've run it for 6 years, over 250 kids have gotten full employment. Through this work, I've partnered with Salvation Army, Homebody Industries, etc. My experience with these groups gave me an incredible amount of insight regarding how faith and philanthropy tie into each other. It really is a magical combination. I want to apply to the MAR and MTS for ethics/philosophy related programs as my undergrad is in Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL). My desire for this degree is more functional - to understand the intersection of faith, policy, ethics, and the real world. I want to use this knowledge to continue my non-profit work, maybe even go for civil rights law and law school. Given my GPA, I have no clue if I even have an outside shot. Though, my work experience, GRE, and letters of rec are all pretty good, I believe.

Edit GPA: Cumulative 3.5, USC GPA 3.2. Potentially may be higher if my appeal for retroactive drop (for semester in which family issues interfered greatly with school work) is approved.

Thanks Quant. Sounds like a good approach. Although the more I look, the more it seems that in comparison to work experience and GRE (both of which I've been told are in the good to excellent category), GPA holds significantly less weight for policy programs like MPP and MPA, even at super high echelon programs like Columbia, Cornell, USC, etc. Additionally, during Fall 2011 semester, my mom's disabilities came to an apex and I tanked that semester and didn't go to school the next to support my sister and I - hence the 3.1 USC GPA . I have As and Bs in every other class outside that semester. Came back strong this semester with 4 As and a B/C. All upper division Philosophy and Econ. Yes this explanation will be in all of my applications. And from what I hear, these specialized programs actually take things of that nature into account. Kind of odd, still trying to figure that one out but I won't complain if that is indeed the case. lol

I know it's a bit early but I figure we get this one started now. I've been trolling these forums for the last few weeks and it looks like everyone here ins pretty dedicated and qualified. So here's the format for posting on this thread: Program Applied To (MPA, MPP, IR, etc.): Schools Applied To: Schools Admitted To: Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: Undergraduate institution: Undergraduate GPA: Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): Undergraduate Major: GRE Quantitative Score: GRE Verbal Score: GRE AW Score: Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): Years of Work Experience: Describe Relevant Work Experience: Languages: Quant: Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Other: I'll start it off: Schools Applying To: MPP/MPAs - Brown (Taubman), Chicago (Harris), Columbia (SIPA), Cornell (CIPA), Georgetown (GSFS), Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Penn (Fels), UCLA (Luskin), USC (Price) Undergraduate institution: Los Angeles Pierce College ---> transferred to University of Southern California (USC) - Fight On! - on full academic scholarship Undergraduate GPA: Cumulative - 3.5, At USC - 3.2ish (blech) *Note: During Fall 2011 semester, my mom's disabilities came to an apex and I tanked that semester and didn't go to school the next to support my sister and I - hence the 3.1 USC GPA - I have As and Bs in every other class outside that semester. Came back strong this semester with 4 As and a B/C. All upper division Philosophy and Econ. Yes this explanation will be in all of my applications.* Undergraduate Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL - modeled after Oxford's PPE program) Study Abroad: None GRE: Prospective average based on tests - 164 (Q), 161 (V), 5 (W) (taking it in 2 weeks) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): None - graduating senior - but I worked for 4 years after high school before deciding to go to college, and have been working full-time all throughout undergrad (see below) Years of Relevant Work Experience: 6 years of full-time work, see below for full explanation Describe Relevant Work Experience: A bit lengthy, I'll try to be brief: 1. Co-Founder and Operations Director, 2006-Present, uFish: Started a nonprofit program (uFish) my senior year of high school. Program is a 10 week curriculum aimed at the job training, employment, and life skills education of at-risk and homeless youths in Los Angeles (15-27 yrs old). In my 6 years as co-founder and Operations Director, over 250 kids have gained employment and at least 135 could be identified as no longer being impoverished or at-risk. At uFish, we have partnered with the Salvation Army, Pointe Hope Foundation, Homeboy Industries, People for Parks, and the Sheila Kar Foundation for projects and collaborations. I was homeless as a kid after my parents' divorce - goal is for it to not happen to anyone ever again. 2. President and Executive Director - Students for Obama, California: Students for Obama is the official student wing of the Obama for America re-election campaign. I was a volunteer, then bumped to Political Director, and then Executive Director since July 2011. Over 8000 members, over 70K new voter registrees in CA, raised over $192K towards the President's campaign. (Stoked about the election results of course). 3. Presidential Delegate to the Democratic National Convention 2012 from Congressional District 30 - Was voted as a delegate through normal means election last year. Went to the DNC in Charlotte and chaired the platform writing committee. One of the better experiences of my life. 4. Political Editor at Sonic Eclectic Magazine - first just a contributing writer, then political columnist, and now political editor. Languages: English (native), Farsi (Advanced), French (Intermediate), Spanish (Intermediate) Quant: Economics (Macro and Micro), probably taking Calculus next semester. Strength of SOP: My SOP should be good, I suppose. I'm a fairly good writer, however I have not committed an incredible amount of time to it, or had it edited by super-qualified people. I'm focusing more on being direct and honest about my life, my work, and my goals - all of which are fairly straightforward. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from Salvation Army Director (non-profit insight), 1 from a Philosophy Professor (academic insight), and 1 from the Executive Director of OFA-CA (Obama for America - California) (political/community organizing insight) If anyone has any comments, concerns, insight on schools I probably will not be getting into, or really anything at all - I am very open to any criticism or information from people who inevitably have a fair amount of experience with this process. Thanks and best of luck to all. All the Best, Thelongshot

Hey all, When assessing my chances, do I (and MPP programs) analyze my GPA as a cumulative product or only from my current school? For the record: Los Ageles Pierce College ---> transfer to USC (Fight On!) Cumulative GPA: 3.5 USC GPA: 3.2 Thanks!

Hey all, I'm applying to: Berekeley (Goldman), Brown (Taubman), Chicago (Harris), Columbia (SIPA), Cornell (CIPA), Georgetown (GSFS), Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Penn (Fels), UCLA (Luskin), USC (Price). But I have a question for some of the more seasoned folks on here. Undergraduate institution: Los Angeles Pierce College ---> transferred to University of Southern California (USC) - Fight On! - on full academic scholarship Undergraduate GPA: Cumulative - 3.5, At USC - 3.1 (Yes... ouch.) Undergraduate Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL - modeled after Oxford's PPE program) GRE: 164 (Q), 160 (V), 5 (W) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): None but I worked for 4 years after high school before deciding to go to college (see below) Years of Relevant Work Experience: 6 years of full-time work, see below for full explanation Describe Relevant Work Experience: A bit lengthy, I'll try to be brief: 1. Co-Founder and Operations Director, 2006-Present, uFish: Started a nonprofit program (uFish) my senior year of high school. Program is a 10 week curriculum aimed at the job training, employment, and life skills education of at-risk and homeless youths in Los Angeles (15-27 yrs old). In my 6 years as co-founder and Operations Director, over 250 kids have gained employment and at least 135 could be identified as no longer being impoverished or at-risk. At uFish, we have partnered with the Salvation Army, Pointe Hope Foundation, Homeboy Industries, People for Parks, and the Sheila Kar Foundation for projects and collaborations. I was homeless as a kid after my parents' divorce - goal is for it to not happen to anyone ever again. 2. President and Executive Director - Students for Obama, California: Students for Obama is the official student wing of the Obama for America re-election campaign. I was a volunteer, then bumped to Political Director, and then Executive Director since July 2011. Over 8000 members, over 70K new voter registrees in CA, raised over $192K towards the President's campaign. (Stoked about the election results of course). 3. Presidential Delegate to the Democratic National Convention 2012 from Congressional District 30 - Was voted as a delegate through normal means election last year. Went to the DNC in Charlotte and chaired the platform writing committee. One of the better experiences of my life. 4. Political Editor at Sonic Eclectic Magazine - first just a contributing writer, then political columnist, and now political editor. Given my work experience, how heavily (in all honesty) does my cumulative 3.5 or USC 3.1 preclude me from admission at some of the higher programs? Last thing: that 3.1 is due to one semester. Not to get super detailed but I basically didn't go to school that semester after week 5 and didn't even attend the next semester because of the near-loss of my mother, her subsequent unemployment and disability, and financial burden of my family falling entirely on me. That will be going in my applications FYI. Any advice or insight would be helpful. Thanks a bunch. All the Best, Thelongshot

Schools Applying To: MPP/MPAs - Berekeley (Goldman), Brown (Taubman), Chicago (Harris), Columbia (SIPA), Cornell (CIPA), Georgetown (GSFS), Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Penn (Fels), UCLA (Luskin), USC (Price) Undergraduate institution: Los Angeles Pierce College ---> transferred to University of Southern California (USC) - Fight On! - on full academic scholarship Undergraduate GPA: Cumulative - 3.5, At USC - 3.1 Undergraduate Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL - modeled after Oxford's PPE program) Study Abroad: None GRE: Taking it in 2 weeks but every test I've taken at puts me at the following - 162-167 (Q), 159-164 (V), 5-6 (W) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): None but I worked for 4 years after high school before deciding to go to college (see below) Years of Relevant Work Experience: 6 years of full-time work, see below for full explanation Describe Relevant Work Experience: A bit lengthy, I'll try to be brief: 1. Co-Founder and Operations Director, 2006-Present, uFish: Started a nonprofit program (uFish) my senior year of high school. Program is a 10 week curriculum aimed at the job training, employment, and life skills education of at-risk and homeless youths in Los Angeles (15-27 yrs old). In my 6 years as co-founder and Operations Director, over 250 kids have gained employment and at least 135 could be identified as no longer being impoverished or at-risk. At uFish, we have partnered with the Salvation Army, Pointe Hope Foundation, Homeboy Industries, People for Parks, and the Sheila Kar Foundation for projects and collaborations. I was homeless as a kid after my parents' divorce - goal is for it to not happen to anyone ever again. 2. President and Executive Director - Students for Obama, California: Students for Obama is the official student wing of the Obama for America re-election campaign. I was a volunteer, then bumped to Political Director, and then Executive Director since July 2011. Over 8000 members, over 70K new voter registrees in CA, raised over $192K towards the President's campaign. (Stoked about the election results of course). 3. Presidential Delegate to the Democratic National Convention 2012 from Congressional District 30 - Was voted as a delegate through normal means election last year. Went to the DNC in Charlotte and chaired the platform writing committee. One of the better experiences of my life. 4. Political Editor at Sonic Eclectic Magazine - first just a contributing writer, then political columnist, and now political editor. Languages: English (native), Farsi (Advanced), French (Intermediate), Spanish (Intermediate) Quant: Economics (Macro and Micro), probably taking Calculus next semester. Strength of SOP: My SOP should be good, I suppose. I'm a fairly good writer, however I have not committed an incredible amount of time to it, or had it edited by super-qualified people. I'm focusing more on being direct and honest about my life, my work, and my goals - all of which are fairly straightforward. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from Salvation Army Director (non-profit insight), 1 from a Philosophy Professor (academic insight), and 1 from the Executive Director of OFA-CA (Obama for America) (political/community organizing insight) If anyone has any comments, concerns, insight on schools I probably will not be getting into, or really anything at all - I am very open to any criticism or information from people who inevitably have a fair amount of experience with this process. Thank you!

@Trave - Yes, I'll be applying to Oxford this year for the 1 year MPP. Though I have no clue as to the admission stats, retention rate, chances, etc. Any input on this?

Hey all, So I would like to apply to HKS and WWS, however, don't know if I should given that 2 weeks will not be enough to make my SOP super top notch. Yes I started this process a bit late. I actually didn't know I would be graduating next June. Stats and bio below. Thanks a bunch for the insight. Schools Applying To: MPP/MPAs - Berekeley (Goldman), Brown (Taubman), Chicago (Harris), Columbia (SIPA), Cornell (CIPA), Georgetown (GSFS), Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Penn (Fels), UCLA (Luskin), USC (Price) - Considering Harvard (KSG) and Princeton (WWS) but I doubt 3.6 GPA and 2 weeks to make this SOP awesome enough is sufficient to be completely honest - insight here would be helpful. Undergraduate institution: Los Angeles Pierce College ---> transferred to University of Southern California (USC) - Fight On! - on full academic scholarship Undergraduate GPA: ~3.6 (depending on how this semester shakes out it could bump up to around 3.74+) Undergraduate Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL - modeled after Oxford's PPE program) Study Abroad: None GRE: Taking it in 2 weeks but every test I've taken at puts me at the following - 162-167 (Q), 159-164 (V), 5-6 (W) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): None but I worked for 4 years after high school before deciding to go to college (see below) Years of Relevant Work Experience: 6 years of full-time work, see below for full explanation Describe Relevant Work Experience: A bit lengthy, I'll try to be brief: 1. Co-Founder and Operations Director, 2006-Present, uFish: Started a nonprofit program (uFish) my senior year of high school. Program is a 10 week curriculum aimed at the job training, employment, and life skills education of at-risk and homeless youths in Los Angeles (15-27 yrs old). In my 6 years as co-founder and Operations Director, over 250 kids have gained employment and at least 135 could be identified as no longer being impoverished or at-risk. At uFish, we have partnered with the Salvation Army, Pointe Hope Foundation, Homeboy Industries, People for Parks, and the Sheila Kar Foundation for projects and collaborations. I was homeless as a kid after my parents' divorce - goal is for it to not happen to anyone ever again. 2. President and Executive Director - Students for Obama, California: Students for Obama is the official student wing of the Obama for America re-election campaign. I was a volunteer, then bumped to Political Director, and then Executive Director since July 2011. Over 8000 members, over 70K new voter registrees in CA, raised over $192K towards the President's campaign. (Stoked about the election results of course). 3. Presidential Delegate to the Democratic National Convention 2012 from Congressional District 30 - Was voted as a delegate through normal means election last year. Went to the DNC in Charlotte and chaired the platform writing committee. One of the better experiences of my life. 4. Political Editor at Sonic Eclectic Magazine - first just a contributing writer, then political columnist, and now political editor. Languages: English (native), Farsi (Advanced), French (Intermediate), Spanish (Intermediate) Quant: Economics (Macro and Micro), probably taking Calculus next semester. Strength of SOP: My SOP should be good, I suppose. I'm a fairly good writer, however I have not committed an incredible amount of time to it, or had it edited by super-qualified people. I'm focusing more on being direct and honest about my life, my work, and my goals - all of which are fairly straightforward. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from Salvation Army Director (non-profit insight), 1 from a Philosophy Professor (academic insight), and 1 from the Executive Director of OFA-CA (Obama for America) (political/community organizing insight) Also if anyone has any comments, concerns, insight on schools I probably will not be getting into, or really anything at all - I am very open to any criticism or information from people who inevitably have a fair amount of experience with this process. Thank you!

Schools Applying To: MPP/MPAs - Berekeley (Goldman), Brown (Taubman), Chicago (Harris), Columbia (SIPA), Cornell (CIPA), Georgetown (GSFS), Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Penn (Fels), UCLA (Luskin), USC (Price) - Considering Harvard (KSG) and Princeton (WWS) but I doubt 3.6 GPA and 2 weeks to make this SOP awesome enough is sufficient to be completely honest - insight here would be helpful. Undergraduate institution: Los Angeles Pierce College ---> transferred to University of Southern California (USC) - Fight On! - on full academic scholarship Undergraduate GPA: ~3.6 (depending on how this semester shakes out it could bump up to around 3.74+) Undergraduate Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL - modeled after Oxford's PPE program) Study Abroad: None GRE: Taking it in 2 weeks but every test I've taken at puts me at the following - 162-167 (Q), 159-164 (V), 5-6 (W) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): None but I worked for 4 years after high school before deciding to go to college (see below) Years of Relevant Work Experience: 6 years of full-time work, see below for full explanation Describe Relevant Work Experience: A bit lengthy, I'll try to be brief: 1. Co-Founder and Operations Director, 2006-Present, uFish: Started a nonprofit program (uFish) my senior year of high school. Program is a 10 week curriculum aimed at the job training, employment, and life skills education of at-risk and homeless youths in Los Angeles (15-27 yrs old). In my 6 years as co-founder and Operations Director, over 250 kids have gained employment and at least 135 could be identified as no longer being impoverished or at-risk. At uFish, we have partnered with the Salvation Army, Pointe Hope Foundation, Homeboy Industries, People for Parks, and the Sheila Kar Foundation for projects and collaborations. I was homeless as a kid after my parents' divorce - goal is for it to not happen to anyone ever again. 2. President and Executive Director - Students for Obama, California: Students for Obama is the official student wing of the Obama for America re-election campaign. I was a volunteer, then bumped to Political Director, and then Executive Director since July 2011. Over 8000 members, over 70K new voter registrees in CA, raised over $192K towards the President's campaign. (Stoked about the election results of course). 3. Presidential Delegate to the Democratic National Convention 2012 from Congressional District 30 - Was voted as a delegate through normal means election last year. Went to the DNC in Charlotte and chaired the platform writing committee. One of the better experiences of my life. 4. Political Editor at Sonic Eclectic Magazine - first just a contributing writer, then political columnist, and now political editor. Languages: English (native), Farsi (Advanced), French (Intermediate), Spanish (Intermediate) Quant: Economics (Macro and Micro), probably taking Calculus next semester. Strength of SOP: My SOP should be good, I suppose. I'm a fairly good writer, however I have not committed an incredible amount of time to it, or had it edited by super-qualified people. I'm focusing more on being direct and honest about my life, my work, and my goals - all of which are fairly straightforward. Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): 1 from Salvation Army Director (non-profit insight), 1 from a Philosophy Professor (academic insight), and 1 from the Executive Director of OFA-CA (Obama for America) (political/community organizing insight) If anyone has any comments, concerns, insight on schools I probably will not be getting into, or really anything at all - I am very open to any criticism or information from people who inevitably have a fair amount of experience with this process. Thank you!

Just wondering, what is a good score for top MPP/MPA score? I'm applying to Harvard Kennedy, Georgetown, Columbia sipa, ucla luskin, USC sppd (my alma mater), and maybe U of Chicago Harris. Assume good GPA (magna cum Laude - 3.75) from USC (Fight On!) and great experience (executive director of students for Obama California, founder and operations director of successful youth homeless job training nonprofit, etc). Thanks everyone! All the Best, Thelongshot