muro0901

Well civil discourse be dammed I guess. I do think that you are on point in that schools such as Syracuse and Indiana are ranked too high. That said, I think if you look at the top 25 say (and forget about their ordering) you would essentially have the biggest players in the public affairs area. Clearly there will always be exceptions and oversights, but as a very general guide to the top schools in a field it can be a helpful resource. No one should take the number ranking very seriously, but I stand by my initial assertion that the rankings have a worse reputation than they ought to. If you can believe it, I once saw on this very same forum site someone be characterized as being "delusional" purely because they showed mild support for the US News rankings. How absurd is that? I think if anyone is making decisions based on any ranking system than they are making a mistake. Everyone should come to a decision based on their own criteria of what is important to them.

While I too agree that the rankings do have some innate inaccuracies, I do think it provides a glimpse into a schools quality. The survey is administered to deans, directors and department chairs of the 266 public affairs institutions in the US (two per school), who I would hope have some amount of expertise on the subject even if they are biased. A basic 1 to 5 quality score is given and then averaged to come up with the final ranking. The response rate is actually 39% which really isn't that bad (if you have ever administered a large survey before you will know). I think the point is well taken that public affairs is loosely defined, but US News doesn’t even create the definition they are supplied a list of schools by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. All of this information can be found in their methodology section (a section that most people do not know exists it would seem). To be clear I don’t put too much stake in these rankings, but I do think they get a worse reputation than they deserve. Honestly, it is the best source out there and while imperfect (and skewed toward academia) it does provide some useful information about a programs quality. No one should ever make a decision based solely on these ranking, but as you search for schools I don’t think keeping them in mind does any great disservice to you.

All you can do is make the decision that you think is going to ultimately lead to your happiness. Once the decision is made you just need to be able to live with the consequences. I made the decision to attend USC this fall over other less expensive institutions to get my master in public administration. I understand the debt load that I will be taking on and am comfortable with it because I believe that a degree at USC will drastically improve my marketability and career outlook, but more importantly it will make me happy. I too hope to take advantage of the loan forgiveness program, but know that if I do not qualify for some reason I will still be able to pay off my debt. It may not be easy, but again I believe this degree will get me where I want to go. Good luck in making your final decision.

Previous Schools: St. Cloud State University, MN Undergraduate GPA: 3.9 Undergraduate Major: Double major in Sociology and Planning & Community Development GRE Quantitative Score: 152 GRE Verbal Score: 158 GRE AW Score: 4.0 Previous Work Experience: Spent 3 years during my undergraduate career working closely with a non-profit organization that raised funds for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Kenya. I was president of a student organization (that I helped create) that was their main fundraising arm. After I graduated I worked at a regional foundation that serves 14 counties in north central Minnesota as a Community Development Associate for 10 months. Math/Econ Background: Tested out of two college econ classes. Seemed great at the times but it means I haven't done any economics for ages. Foreign Language Background: N/A Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Master in Public Administration; Non-profit management Long Term Professional Goals: Work at a large non-profit or a foundation Schools Applied to & Results: USC Price, University of Washington Evans, University of Oregon, Portland State (Accepted at them all) Ultimate Decision & Why: USC Price. This was my dream school going in. They have a very strong non-profit management track and are located in a city that has a very strong non-profit sector. Additionally they offered me a 1/2 tuition scholarship. The funding made this a very easy decision since none of the other schools offered me anything. Advice for Future Applicants: Nothing profound. Start early and do thorough research into the schools that you are considering. Just make sure you have all of your ducks in a row and don't push off everything until the last minute. That said, if I could do it all over again I would have held off on submitting my applications until closer to the deadline. I was a bit too antsy and submitted all of my applications a good month before the deadlines. I don't think this hurt my applications at all since I had started so much earlier that all of my statements had been through many many many many drafts, but it made the agonizing wait for acceptances even longer. Even though I wouldn't have ended up changing much during that last month it still would have helped keep my stress levels lower if I could have tinkered a bit to make it feel like I still had control in the process. Once you hit submit your lives are in the committees’ hands and that can be difficult to deal with. It was a rough couple months of constant email checking. Do what you can to take your mind off things. Running got me through.

I am an SCSU alum and would just like to say that I loved the school. That said, take your time. There is no sense accepting before you have all the required answers to make an informed decision.

I attended last week’s dean’s merit scholarship event at USC I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. This was my first time visiting USC (and California if I am being honest) and it was a wonderful experience. The day was spent between a number of presentations that outlined the program, career services, international labs, and financial aid. There were also two panels; one with current students and the other with recent alumni (most graduated within the last 5 or 6 years). I won’t go in depth on each presentation, but I will provide you with the big takeaways from the day in my opinion. The aspect that had the largest impression on me was the Trojan Network. I am sure most have heard of the strength of the alumni network for the university, but I gained better insight into how that network is cultivated by the Price school. Something I didn’t necessary realize was the fact that Price has its own career services staff. This means that they have a group of individuals whose entire job is to help students (and alumni) in the MPA, MPP, MHA, and MPL programs. From the sounds of it they work tirelessly to find leads, connect you with the right people, assist in the writing of resumes and cover letters and much more. They also host a job listing website that should prove to be extremely useful in looking for internships, fellowships and jobs. Additionally all of these services are provided for life. As an alumnus of the Price school you will always have access to their expertise and also the job searching resources that they have available. Pretty fantastic in my opinion. Everyone I met (students, faculty, staff) was extremely warm and helpful. They seemed like a great bunch of people to work with. In planning for this event I realized that I would miss the opportunity to take a campus tour. I emailed Megan Currin (who was wonderful) and she set up an alternate time with a student ambassador. I walked around with this ambassador for two hours. Besides the knowledge I gained about the school and program through this process I was struck by their willingness to assist students in any way possible. After this event I went ahead and accepted my offer and I am more confident in my decision now than ever. If anyone has any specific questions about the event let me know. I am more than happy to tell you about my experience and thoughts, I just don't want to make this initial post any longer than it is now.

I'll be there the day before as well. And yes I am not overly concerned to take on loans but I want to do my do diligence and make sure I am not missing any potential sources. Honestly I am also waiting for USC to give me financial aid award because hopefully I will be eligible for some federal grants. We shall see.

Will you be attending the Dean's Merit Scholarship event on the 28th of March? I am getting closer and closer to accepting my admissions offer there I am just waiting to get a final picture on what other financial assistance is available. I have a 1/2 tuition scholarship but that leaves a large portion of my educational and living expenses unaccounted for.

I am in the same boat and I don't think it bodes well for us. There are some who were admitted and immediately informed that they received some funding (although I have heard it wasn't much). I will still patiently wait and see, but I don't think much if anything is coming our way. Because of this I will most likely be attending USC since they offered me a 1/2 tuition scholarship.

Most likely I will be attending USC in the fall as well. Much like the rest of you I have to figure how to make it work financially before I sign on the dotted line, but I think it is manageable. I will be making the trek from Minnesota for the March 27th event (only one more week!). I am very excited to go and get a feel for the program as well as the school and area. As much as I think I will love the area I have never been there so I still have a number of question marks floating around my head. That said, how can I not love a place with such warm weather (especially on days like today when we are having a blizzard in MN). I too would love to hear more about the housing options around USC. I have already put in an application for some USC managed apartments but they are so expensive.

There is a separate event. It's March 27th but the schedule of events is exactly the same as the April 5th event. I have purchased my tickets and will be heading out for the earlier event (I live in Minnesota). I would love to hear who else is planning on attending.

The only thing I have received was from Price. I was sort of expecting a packet from the graduate school, but then again they provided me with all the pertinent information in the Price one. The point is I don't think there are any other packets coming (at least not for the time being).

Well congratulations! And yes I also received the accept or decline form in my packet.

auburndawg: How long after your UW acceptance email did you recieve one regarding funding? I received my acceptance email today and it says they will send out additional emails to those who will receive funding of some sort. I just want to know how long to keep my hopes up. Thanks

Tough call. I too am applying to MPA programs; the last of which I have to hear from is UW Evans actually. To avoid the temptation of staying put (I am from Minnesota) I only applied to schools that were on the west coast. That said, now that we are coming closer to decision time I find myself worrying more and more about the financial burden. I am in at USC with a half tuition scholarship and this is my number one choice by my eyes are starting to wander to other lesser known programs to which I have been admitted because they have somewhat lower costs. At the end of the day though I think I am going to choose USC (or potentially UW if they give me money). It’s the program that fits me best and in a location that I could see myself living after graduation. Go where you think you will be happiest and get the most out of your degree. I would hate to think that I would make a decision that would detrimentally effect my contentment over money. Obviously it plays a major factor but in my opinion it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.

I feel the exact same way spacezeppelin, which is funny because we are also applying to the same or similar programs (MPA or MPP). Just like you USC was the most prestigious program that I applied to. USC is a great program but it doesn't have the same ring as some of the others. I am 2/2 so far and again since USC was the most prestigious I expect to get into the rest. If I could do it again I would definitely apply to at least one other school that really seemed out there initially. Then again, funding is a beautiful thing so applying to slightly less known programs may not have been a bad way to go.

Although this is far from being an endorsement of the US News ranking methodology you should take a look at what they say about their ranking system: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/03/12/methodology-graduate-public-affairs-rankings It solely based on surveys of deans, directors and chairs from public affairs schools. They rank all the programs out there that they are familiar with and then the ranking is generated based on those results. Again, I try not to put much stock in the rankings. I too would be very interested to hear more thoughts on the USC MPA/MPP programs though.

I am also waiting to hear from UW. Hopefully it wont be long now.

According to the deans merit scholarship event FAQ sheet only 25% of admitted USC price students receive a scholarship.

Yeah I am days away from submitting my FAFSA. I am assuming that I will receive some federal aid and maybe even some USC need based aid. I just hope that I have the opportunity for some other funding options like a GA position. I received my acceptance package 4 days after I was able to log on to the system.

Does anyone know about any additional funding sources from USC like graduate assistantships? I haven't been able to find much out online. I received a 1/2 tuition scholarship but when you take into account high housing and living costs in the LA area it may lead to lots of loans. USC is where I want to be but I need to be able to make it work without accumulating too much debt.

Yes I believe it does. As you can see from your statment it has the choice to accept your admission offer, and if you click on yes an addition blurb pops up on the bottom asking you to whether the information you provided that led to your admission to USC was accurate. You're in. My online status changed Monday and I recieved my decison via mail on Thursday.

I came home from work and found a similar packet. I have been accepted into the MPA program with a 1/2 tuition scholarship. I am so excited. The packet came from USC Price. Undergrad: St. Cloud State University Double Major: Planning and Community Development & Sociology GPA: 3.9 Work Experience: Not too much. Less than a year at a regional foundation. Had almost 3 years volunteering with a small non-profit in college though. LOR: Pretty great. Two former professors and my current boss. GRE: V- 158 Q- 152

Well congratulations are definitely in order for your acceptance and the scholarship award. Way to go! From what I understand about years past generally you receive an admissions packet from the school with no funding info followed up by a packet from USC Price that includes all of the specifics. Is that how it happened with you? Also, if you don't mind sharing, what were your GRE scores?

If you actually click on the "yes" option there is a little drop down that will tell you the program and semester.