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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.