MPPgal
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Posts posted by MPPgal
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Current LBJ student here, not a rolling admissions process. Sadly LBJ admissions are loaded in the UT admissions website system which is the most confusing thing in the world. I had huge issues when I submitted mine because the system even rejected one of my essays due to having a hyphenated name. Do not worry it was all fine, if it says it was forwarded LBJ has it. Good luck to you all. LBJ is an amazing place and strangely very unbureaucratic even if the application system does not seem that way!
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Welp, after searching through this forum and the Results Search submissions, I guess I'll need to retake my GRE if I want a stronger shot at funding.
158 V, 158 Q, 4.5 AW. While I was satisfied with my scores at the time, now I want to make sure I'm more competitive.
It depends on your work experience and grades, lower grades need higher GREs than that, but if you have higher than 3.7 you should be fine
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Hi all, I'd really like some feedback on my application profile - specifically, whether I should apply to more selective programs than I'm currently considering. Ideally I'd like to study overseas, but would consider a North American program with a good funding package.Schools: Hertie (MPP), Erfurt (MPP), considering York (MPIA), might reach for WWS (MPA) or LSE (MPA)Career goal: Policy analysis at the international or European level, ideally with a strong economics bent (financial regulation, economic development, macroeconomic policy, etc)Undergrad Institution: Decent/mid-tier Canadian universityUndergrad Major: Double major in Economics and Political ScienceUndergrad GPA: Converted to the 4.0 scale, either 3.95 (if the scale tops at 4.0) or 4.10 (if the scale tops at 4.3)GRE not required for the programs I'm currently considering for certain, but I will take it if I decide to reach for WWS or LSE.Work/Research Experience: 2.5 years, including 1 year with the Canadian federal government (fiscal policy), 8 months as a research assistant at an international affairs research centre at my university, and 8 months with my provincial government (financial regulation policy). Also taught English in France for ~6 months.Coursework:Poli Sci - Blend of political economy, international, and European politics courses with good grades overall (all A- or better)Econ - Micro/macro to the intermediate level, applied econometrics, some policy-focused classes like econ development, urban policy, public econ etc (all A or better)Other Quant - Descriptive and inferential statistics (A and A+ respectively), calculus for social science (A+)Languages:French - Advanced (B2, maybe low C1); German - Lower intermediate (assessed right at the border between A2/B1); Mandarin Chinese (Basic; four years in high school)Also studied Japanese independently for ~3 years, enough that I can read and communicate at a basic level, but might not include it as I have no documentationOverseas Experience: 10 months studying abroad at Sciences Po (Paris campus), had a part-time job there teaching English at the same timeStatement of Purpose: Already completed and reviewed by others. I've been told it's very good.Letters of Recommendation: One from the Director of the research centre where I worked, two from professors in the Political Science department that know me quite wellOther CV Items: One publication (dealing with the interplay between social media phenomena and economic policy in mainland China), won "Outstanding Head of State" for my negotiation performance at a national Model European Union conference in the USA (notable because the negotiations dealt with financial regulation policy), various awards and recognition for my writing skills (among them a blogging award for a post on K-12 education policy)Concerns:- Study abroad grades from my second semester in France are abysmal as I was dealing with/being treated for serious depression at the time, hence why I'm not applying to the MPA at Sciences Po (other schools might let bad study abroad grades slide, but certainly not the school those grades were earned at...). I have no idea how other schools will interpret this.- My undergrad degree has lasted 6 years. 1 of those was abroad and another ~2 years were co-op work terms (no coursework), but is that a red flag?- Funding is probably my biggest concern as I have some debt (<$25k) from undergrad and have no financial resources to draw on for grad school other than some meagre personal savings. I've applied for a DAAD stipend for Hertie or Erfurt, but am concerned my weak German skills and professional (vs. academic) program choice may disqualify me.I've always been tremendously insecure about being "good enough" for top tier schools and I'd really like to apply to more competitive programs, but I'm hesitant, especially since I'm aiming abroad and it's really going to come down to funding for me. Any feedback would be deeply appreciated!
You are for LSE all they care about is GPA. WWS is a bet, apply and who knows you might be lucky. Georgetown and Columbia would be better odds in the US. Also, for England with your GPA I think you can apply to Oxford for MPA. Do notice that the UK programs are a lot more academic and less practical.
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Hi all,
Would be a great help if someone could go through my profile and suggest if my choice of School and programs make sense.
Schools: WWS MPA, IHEID (MIA), HKS (MPP), SIAS (IR), Maxwell (Intl Relations)
Career goals: Shaping the foreign policy of India in the realm of legislative and judicial relations with other nations.
Institution: A top 5 law school in India
Major: B.A.LL.B.
GPA: 76.5% (no GPA)
GRE score: 335 [Q 168 V 167] (AWA expected 5-5.5)
Work experience: 3 years of independent law practice in Supreme court of India dealing primarily with Constitutional Law matters, including public policy disputes. Represent several Governments and Public authorities before the Supreme Court of India. Have advised the Government on two Public Policies (domestic). Previously worked with a Big 4 firm in international taxation and transfer pricing.
Language skills: English, Hindi, Bengali, Functional German
Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): None. Though have represented the Government in cases pertaining to illegal immigrants from neighbouring nations.
Statement of Purpose: WIP
Letters of Recommendation: One from International Law Professor at law School, One from a Public Sector Undertaking in the capacity of a Client, and one other from a NGO to whom i render pro-bono consulting (legal and policy) services.
Concerns: Awards/Prizes/ Honors section conspicuously blank.
Many thanks & regards!
You are fine but HKS and WWS is always a bet, my recommendation, especially if you want scholarships is to apply to a few extra ones, Georgetown, Korbell might be good matches.
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165 math, 160 verbal and 4.5 writing.
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Yeah, which is pretty amazing if you ask me. The only problem is you have to get in first
I don't think I'd stand a chance: I'll have ~4.5 years of okay policy experience (state level policy analyst, state legislature, ect) but my weak academics would keep me out.An advice, DO AMAZING IN YOUR GREs, it is your way of showing that your weak academics were a thing of the past when you were an immature student but now you can study and study well. I had only a 3.4 but amazing GREs gave me a comparative advantage.
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I would argue the opposite, as being here i actually can speak of classmates better than a self reporting on grad cafe, most out of staters who decided to attend got at least an in state tuition waver and many got some good money as well, aka enough to cover tuition. However most in state people did not, that is for sure, yet it is still one of the most affordable schools so for in staters they are getting an amazing education for 10k a year plus living expenses.
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LBJ in public and offered the most funding of any school I applied to.
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Have you consider the dual LBJ Energy and Earth resources program. I am currently a dual degree student, granted about 70% of those studying EER are interested in energy but there are plenty of professors focusing on water, renewables, forestry etc and seems perfect for someone with your background. Full disclosure, my main reason for chosing LBJ over SPEA was my second interest, Latin America which Ut just rules at, for pure environmental policy SPEA is the best school for sure. However you would need more of a science background to do the dual degree in environmental science but you can do the MPA and just take a lot of environmental courses. other good programs to look at are Yale and Duke's, but if you are a Texas resident LBJ is the best deal you will ever get. PM me if you want mor einfo on the dual EER program.
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I am very happy with my decision, I managed to go to an amazing school for free, can do an internship in the US and have made great contacts plus my professors are really knowledgable about Lat Am. Take the money and go to GWU!
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My advice: as risk and debt averse as I am the Harvard name is worth it, that does not apply to any other school other than WWS, get in debt it will pay for itself.
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a lot of schools in the US that do give financial aid even have exchange programs with Herzeliya, I know LBJ for one does so you can even do both and not pay at all.
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LSE is a great school, Science Po is as well but their program is very academic a close friend of mine dropped out as his public policy and economics masters resembled more the first year of an econ PhD than its American equivalent. Not sure what program you are looking into but France does have a different educational system, I did my term abroad there and although excelnt it is not for everyone (very large classes, very theoretically based, etc). I fyou are considering it talk to students there about it.
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When it comes to these two schools I would recommend assessing price and cost of living as the biggest factor. MPA degrees -- while valuable -- simply aren't worth getting into tremendous debt. Whether the least expensive one is Austin or Seattle I don't know, but it's your call to make.
Agree, do not go into debt, I also recommend visiting both if you can, it really helps into making an informed decision.
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The only 3 college towns I can find that are cheaper (according to the source I put before) are College Station, Bloomington and Baton Rouge, then again all 3 are smaller cities. The cost of living is 14% less than Ann Arbor, 50% cheaper than Boston, 14% less than Madison. But 4% more than College Station.
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Nope, it is, being more expensive than it was 10 years ago is probably true (inflation, economic crisis, etc). But, with the exception of other Texas cities Austin is one (if not the) of the cheapest cities (pop over 500k) in the US, it is even cheaper than any smaller (pop over 250k) in the Northeast, so not it is not false at all. You are comparing 2 points in time, I am comparing across cities. Austin is a lot cheaper than any city in Washington state, Northeast, California, etc. So yeah money and a smaller fellowship can go longer than a bigger one if you consider you can rent a 1 bedroom here for the price of a tiny room in DC. I will give you that Austin is becoming expensive really quickly, its rapid rizing, a housing bubble etc is sadly taking its toll.
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Yes, fastest growing city in the country and it is called inflation but overall and compared to other cities in the country it is pretty cheap (inclluding Seattle for sure) http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
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Current LBJ student it all depends Ut has a better reputation internationally due to the Texas network can[t vouch for domestically although there are quite a few UW alumns here that chose it over Evans. My big question is why are you not considering USC if you want to stay in Cali and they gave you money? Evans and LBJ are both great schools but go with the money. in terms of money do consider Austin is one of the cheapest cities in the US. It also has to do with your policy interests UT is a generalist school and has great programs in social and environment but, for example, doe snot offer education policy so it depends what you care about.
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It is a problem but people do it pretty often just tell your recommenders because if schools get angry they get even with those recommenders in the future.
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In terms of living expenses it depends a lot. Near campus for a shared apartment or house or a coop you are looking at rent of about 600 plus utilities (about 50-100 depending on number of roomates etc (remember summers are hot so electricity is highish). For a one bedroom you can get a study from 750 near campus or for about 700 far away but still accesible by shuttle (I completely recommend living close by though). For a one bedroom it goes from 800 to 1000 (some include utilities). Food wise Texas food in the supermarket is pretty cheap, I was coming from Mexico and I was surprised to find out how the prices were almost the same for fruits and vegetables), I would say 150-300 depending on how you like to eat and cook should do it. Going out well, a cheap beer in a bar costs 3 bucks, a craft Austiny beer is usually about 5. Buses are free for students but public transportation is pretty bad, so you usually need to take cabs to come back when you go out at night. One from downtown to either East Campus or Hyde Park (where most graduate students live) is about 10-15 dollars, but you can usually share. You need to add about 1200 a year for health insurance. In total I would say 850-1400 per month is a good estimate.
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Sad to hear that, I guess every school does things differently, I did manage last year to increase my fellowship from SAIS and GTown, never tried at LBJ, a few other things though, financial aid and work positions are still available. Anyone who works more than 20 hrs a week in the University gets in state tuition and free health insurance as well as 15 dls an hour, I do it (not so much for the money but for work experience) and it is perfectly doable while having a full courseload. There are also 10 hr a week jobs, those do not carry benefits but still 600 dls a months is nothing to sneeze at. Furthermore, you can (and should) apply for financial aid, some people in my year who received no fellowship got that one and even though it might be a couple thousand dollars a semester they can go a long way. For any internationals you should also be aware UT has a scholarship both for Mexicans and for people from the Western Hemisphere that covers ouf of state portion of tuition. Last but not least do consider that 20 k a year plus 16k for expenses is still one of the cheapest options out there, I am doing a double degree and while being in the "other" school I get nada, and yet it is not terrible if you compare it to most other schools (aka about half of Georgetown). I second FrenchO's offer of any help you all need. I also think coming to LBJ was a great decision.
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I was in the same boat last year between one of the best public programs with a full ride and some little funding in SAIS and GTown, I decided to go with the full ride. I do not repent in any way my decision. My school has amazing professors, I have had great work opportunities both wotk wise and travel wise and at the same time I can live in an apartment close to school, have an ok social life (will not say amazing as it is grad school and one has to study a lot sometimes) and not have to worry about debt. Furthermore the thing that scared me the most of not being in DC was lack of work opportunities, i have learned that even though Austin is small and thus has like only 2 think tanks, some NGOs and a few State Government offices, they aslo have a lot less people applying and thus most internships are paid internships and you are not competing against thousands of candidates every time plus you can always just do stuff in DC over the summer..... Last year i asked a professor at GTown and he said to take LBJ's money. Michigan is a great school, well recognized abroad and within the US (in non policy circles even more recognized than SAIS probably), it has an amazing University life and one of the best programs in the US. Honestly, if it wasn't because I come from a tropical country and 4 years in Upstate NY was enough to kill any little love for snow I would have applied there and gone there. Take the money, the SAIS name might have a marginal higher effect in your income than the UMich one(then again they have about 450 people per class and thus you are competing with more for professors attention) but marginal is not worth 150k dollars.
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Sadly outside of the US few if any know what SAIS is, but for energy policy their program is better than Georgetown. Good luck with your decision!
Austin, TX
in City Guide
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Far west is nice but bad for having a social life I recommend the East side more, parking at UT is a mess and they have recently closed many parking spots due to construction so it is hard.