gwualum4mpp

Congratulations to those who have been accepted! I am a current first year MPP student at the Goldman school and I would be happy to answer your questions or refer you to relevant individuals. This forum was useful to me around this time last year and I am feeling nostalgic. Best of luck to the rest that are waiting to hear back!

Hello, current GSPPer here. I am not sure if it is too late to respond but I approached the PHS as answering "why" and giving more of my personal background and using the SOP as the "what" and "how" when describing my motives to receieve an MPP. I made sure to emphasize the useful skills I had to offer in the SOP and how I wanted to build on this and bridge it into my future, also identifying an area in the field where I could make a difference. I think it helped to use both as halves of a larger whole, with the PHS leading to the SOP. To be sure, the PHS prompt may have been different in the past so there is that caveat! Good luck!

Yea, for some of the reasons mentioned above we are going the full service route. Both my current and future lodging consists of stairwells to the entrance, and with furniture it is bound to be a pain. I've heard before that paying a little more is worth the cost of all that effort and the possible obstacles that can come along the way. I havent seriously contacted companies and my move is 2 weeks away, i'm getting slightly nervous. it's been one of those projects where the workload seems so big that you ironically put it off. hopefully I'll get on that asap...anyhow I'll post an update when it approaches.

That sounds awful! And probably pretty common. Good to keep in mind for the future and check with them in advance. This is all really helpful advice. In looking at the inventory lists they provide, I really haven't had a clue about how many boxes my place would take up. Some of them have been recommending an in-person review to generate a quote, which I've been wary of, but in light of this I might consider going for that after all. After submitting my information to moving.com I was inundated with emails and phone calls from different companies and it has been kind of overwhelming. I am making a spreadsheet to compare them but it is pretty cumbersome. I worked with several realtors before in my current city (for free) and they were very aggressive, placing a lot of pressure on me to find a place and credit them. This feels the same. Some of the calls have also been kind of sketchy. Luckily, I know the address where I will be moving to, but I am trying to figure out a way to get them to pick up my stuff and send it at a later date. The way it sounds, this may come at an extra cost $ . Well, thanks for the helpful reply @perpetuavix, and I'll keep readers posted on how it goes!

Although I’ve seen topics covering moves in this forum, I thought I would start a thread specifically treating the subject of moving companies. For those whom have used them before, what was your experience like? How did you go about choosing a moving company, and what did you do to cut costs? Anything you would have done differently? Currently I am preparing a move from central Texas to the bay area in California. I have some treasured furniture that was a gift, and under the circumstances I got them, I’d rather not part with them. I will probably take a full living room set and a bedroom set. I’d love to hear your experience! thanks

Hi there, I also have yet to find housing. However, I adjusted my lease availability from August 1 to July 1 and have been getting a lot more hits on my housing wanted ad. I can only guess it will be like this for August once July rolls around. I have a really promising meeting this Saturday with a prospect that got in touch so me via cal rentals. It's ~$700 in the gourmet ghetto which sounds like a great deal for a great location. I'd say $20 is worth it if it means improving chances....I guess we'll see how it goes! Have you made a housing wanted ad? I've gotten literally every apartment in the past through people who reach out to me, rather than vice versa. Just a thought! Good luck!

I now get why this thread is generating so much discussion! After going through tons and tons of sites (and even returning a purchase) I finally ordered what I was looking for: http://www.fjallraven.us/pages/kanken I wanted a laptop-sized backpack that was cute, comfortable on my back, and durable. This one is all that, and water repellant as well! Plus its swedish so that just naturally makes it cooler

Hi Gnome, my interests swing more toward domestic policy, so Americorps just aligned better with my professional trajectory. I had spent the prior 2 years researching education policies and knew I was going for an MPP, so I wanted to use that 1 extra year to work directly in schools and gain credibility. I had considered peace corps before going down that route...but based on my lessons from studying abroad in central america, I felt Peace Corps would be too destabilizing for me and I wasn't ready to make that 2 year commitment. In short, it's been about where I am mentally and professionally.

Are you looking to take the course for credit, or just to prepare on the subject matter? I am using this free MOOC course for the latter: http://www.saylor.org/courses/ma121/. It's free and self-paced, which is nice for me since I don't want to start stressing over school and deadlines sooner than I need to. I found it by googling "mooc intro to statistics" and sorting through options. good luck!

Hello Oscar, congratulations on your acceptances! They are definitely commendable. I just wanted to comment that you may be overstating the costs of GSPP. I was under the impression that GSI/GSR positions are fairly obtainable for GSPP students and this was reinforced on admitted students day, which I just got back from. They mentioned that about 60 percent of students take on these positions. Some choose not to apply, but for others they did mention that sometimes there's a conflict in scheduling that may get in the way of it, etc (in other words, it's not 100% guaranteed). I presume you will get in-state tuition? This also makes the school more affordable, and if you don't have it, you can acquire it and pay instate tuition your second year. The admissions director was approachable and helpful on this matter. Goldman is strong in social policy and I was also impressed by the number of students that also expressed an interest in education policy (it is also my area of interest). I did read somewhere that Ford is very strong in education. For Goldman, I got the impression at students do not pass so much through a "policy area" curricular track but that they are taught a strong core set of skills that they can then apply to their issue of interests via enrollment in electives. I chose Goldman because I have experience and am knowledgeable about my area of interest, but I want to hone my quant and analytical skills to better analyze data and policy documents on the matter. I think Goldman is excellent for this! Forgive the lengthiness but I am pumped from just having visited this weekend. Good luck in your choice!

Oh shoot. Totally slipped my mind to be candid but with caution...I guess I can't turn back To be fair, I do not regret signing up for the program! As I said I find both good and bad in it. Also that is a good point concerning the hours, my program does not require volunteers to fulfill a set amount of hours so that is a difference. I hope for the best for the both of us as well!

First if there is anyone on the thread that could give BUSYBEV a +1 that would be great, I accidentally gave him/her a -1 when I meant to do a +1, And it won't let me reset Stupid Ipad! Hi there busybev, I bolded the text of yours that I felt applied to my situation, but pretty much all of it resonates with me! If I was looking at this as my actual profession and not a professional (provisionary) experiment, I would have quit months ago. I spoke to our director about the conflicting dates between class and my term of service. In essence, I have to finish my term of service by the final date, or else I will be seen as terminating early and become ineligible for the award. To get around this, there are 2 steps we will take: 1) I will use the rest of my vacation and sick leave as time to prepare for school and 2) for the rest of the time I may need, I will technically "work remotely." In my case I will probably draft a closing report prior to leaving, but then send it in pieces to my boss after I leave (paper trail). This last idea was a suggestion of my director. I think my boss would be ok with that too. You'd think VISTA and Americorps would have more supports in place for future graduate students right? at least for the fall term? It is so discouraging that my start date for school gets in the way of the scholarship, when school is precisely what it's for. Gah.

I feel there is much I can say, good and bad, about Americorps (specifically the VISTA program, which I am currently in). Lately, my thoughts have leaned toward the bad. My term of service ends three days after a Math refresher course begins for my grad program, yet I have to complete my term exactly on time in order to receive the Segal ed award. I worked it out with my office for the most part, but it was still messy: my program coordinator had different thoughts of how my vacation time is supposed to be allotted than my boss. Really, neither of them know because I'm their first vista and the organization lacks the cohesiveness to clearly define the parameters of my role. I thought I would share this here for other upcoming grad students and current Americorps/TFA volunteers to share their thoughts and vent their frustrations. I know this helped pass the time for me...!

Previous Schools GWU Previous Degrees B.A., Philosophy and Political Science, 3.69 GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): 155 V, 153 Q, 4.5 AWA Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): 2 years as an education policy and research specialist for urban schools in DC; 1 year working for UT Austin via Americorps VISTA, expanding a pre-college program in Title I schools Math/Econ Background: Pre-Cal, Survey of Econ, and Micro courses in local community college while working Foreign Language Background: Native Spanish, Beginner French Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP focusing on program evaluation and policy analysis Long Term Professional Goals: Professionally research and address effects of school district programs and practices, ultimately assisting in improving school district infrastructure (to better tack disparities in our education system). Increasingly considering PHD Schools Applied to & Results: GWU Trachtenberg MPP (admit), UT LBJ MPAff (admit), Berkeley Goldman MPP (admit), NYU Wagner MPA-PNP (admit), Georgetown MSPP MPP (waitlist), Columbia SIPA MPA (waitlist) Ultimate Decision & Why: Berkeley MPP! Their program is the highest ranked in policy analysis and one of the most affordable schools I applied to. My strategy was to aim high and just wait to see what my options would be. Once I started getting results though, compatibilities (or lack thereof) became pretty obvious. SIPA used to be a dream for me - the prospect of joining a highly international student body (and possibly earning a second degree abroad via GPPN) was appealing. Barring that I was waitlisted, I realized that a regimented MPP program like Goldman’s, with it’s strength in social policy, better aligns with my professional interests than an MPA at SIPA. Advice for Future Applicants: With applying, I only wish I hadn’t procrastinated those SOPs. I did write early versions, but somehow on the due date I found myself sweating trying to get my “perfect” SOP on time, which was stressful. Also: Prospective Goldman-ers – Use this service! http://gspp.berkeley.edu/student-life/gspp-student-groups/students-of-color-in-public-policy-scipp I had a Q&A sesh on the phone with a Goldman student to frame my SOP, and later had another student look over my SOP and she was incredibly nice and thorough. Interestingly, I did not mention or credit SCIPP in my SOPs due to time constraints (see above) Prospective Wagner-ers – Don’t skip the video essay. It was the most painful application component, but I know it helped because the NYU SOP was my worst. Just do it. I used a free trial of final cut pro X for mine, which did the job. Undergrads - do your best to think ahead, but do not rush it either. You are capable of more than you think! Hang around people whom you admire, and who remind you of this as well. Definitely stay in touch with superiors and mentors. *Edit* I forgot to mention that the best advice I was given is to make sure your entire application fits into a neat concise package. I had each recommender represent a different aspect 1) professional 2) academic 3) volunteer and asked that they emphasize this, pointing to parts in my SOP they could address. I made sure that each part of my application added something new. I heard this in the HKS and SIPA blogs which became a great source of suggestions and advice for crafting a good application package.

Time to chime in! I've officially RSVPed our admit day on the April 7th If all goes well, I will be starting the MPP program this fall. I skyped with a current student yesterday and it was great. Her outlook was eerily on point with my current life disposition and her attitude very much jibed with mine as well. It will be hard to contain my excitement come admit day! Question - are you moving from elsewhere? Thoughts on how you are looking to go about it?

Congratulations everyone! I got in as well, although I will likely be accepting an offer from another school. Cheers

"gwualamouthful" LOL! Estrauss thank you for the input!! I am considering enrolling in calc over the summer cause why not, I've never taken it and I'd rather go in less lost on the quant end. Also that is great about the biking, I am curious as to whether you think it is a place worth bringing a car to as well? I don't mind going without one but I do have one I can bring with me...with housing, I've actually never been to the SF bay area. I have no idea what I'm looking for except probably roommates! I'm going to do my best to make the admit day. I have SIPA to hear from who may be the only contender, but I'm approaching 90% certainty that Cal will be my next destination

Oops city of sand all I wanted to say is I agree but my phone makes this confusing haha.

Hello Estrauss, I also got did not get funding for fellowships, etc. Berkeley is actually one of the least costly schools I applied to in terms of tuition, and the majority of my other schools are in NYC/DC which are also costly areas. While its tuition is one of the lowest, the program is also extremely strong in my area of interest. Berkeley also seems to offer great options for second year students. From what I understand many students are able to obtain CA residency after their first year and pay in-state tuition, which is even lower, plus they offer TA posts and assistanceships which also help offset costs. These factors make the school veerry attractive to me. Some measures I've taken to prepare for the $$$ aspects...As a current Americorps volunteer, I receive a $5,500 award, which combined with my savings are ~$11k, which isn't a bad start. I've submitted my FAFSA so I will most likely do the rest with loans, and hopefully apply to external scholarships as well. Personally I think the loans are worth it but I am invested in it! good luck to all