gwualum4mpp

Hi LoriC, SIPA is Columbia's graduate School of International and Public affairs, they offer MPA and MIA programs. And wow sunpenguin your reply is really helpful! I hadn't thought about putting it that way. And now that you mention it, this aligns well with SIPA's approach, as described to me by a rep - looking at the interplay between global policy/affairs and domestic policy/affairs. I think this can help show why I'm a good fit. Now I definitely think I should talk about that - thanks!!

Hi all, I looked through the threads and couldn't find anyone addressing this portion of the SIPA essays. I'd be curious to see the approach that people took to this answer! Part of me sees this as a section where you can highlight parts of your background or experiences that weren't mentioned. I studied abroad in Ecuador and had a pretty unique experience working for a coalition of ethnic "minority" groups from across the country, but I don't directly address it in any of my other essays (I'm interested in domestic education policy). In truth, I know the greatest surprise for people is that I take meds for bipolar disorder (going on 4 years), it tends to throw people for a loop when they find out: "Really, but you're so...functional!" It usually leads people to rethink their notions of the disorder and what it means. That would be my HONEST answer but I doubt it'll strengthen my application - I don't like having to justify my stability to people, and especially universities. I'm unsure about the essay but will use this forum as an avenue to air my thoughts out. Any *constructive* feedback is appreciated

Hello Sarah policy hopeful! I am also applying to Berkeley's mpp program and I am running into the same issue in the personal statement. My policy interests lie in addressing equity issues and disparities in our education system, so it's almost a struggle (barrier shall I say?) to not make this statement sound like my Policy statement of purpose. I spoke to a current Goldman student about this and she observed that the personal statement can boil to "what will you bring" to goldman, whereas the policy statement of purpose could entail "what you will get" from goldman. she also initially wrote these essays as one long essay and split them, so eventually they came into relation with each other. perhaps that may help! feel free to message me if you want to swap SOPs

Hello, thank you for the response all! I had seen the sample calculator and tried the powerprep II but I wasn't sure about the actual input the day of. Finalrez is right, I couldn't find an answer to this specific aspect of it hence my post ! I took the test this morning and socioholic's response was completely accurate in my case. I could do everything except the cut and paste function, which was too bad but not a big hindrance. It may have cost me a few seconds in AWA if I had not anticipated it. So if you're normally used to these shortcuts, try not to rely on them in practice! Altogether the test was literally formatted just like the Powerprep II practice tests. I got the EXACT same score as my last practice test on powerprep too, so you can say those are the most accurate practice tests.

I was wondering if anyone call recall whether the calculator on the GRE exam is responsive to keyboard input? For instance, if i used * for multiplication and / for division it would work? I just work faster this way. An added plus would be to know if the keyboard shortcuts also apply to the analytical section. I am pretty accustomed to using shift + home, ctrl + x, crtl + v to highlight, cut and paste text quickly. Thanks all. Good luck to those whom are still taking it!

Personally, I think it's way too time consuming to go through each one because there are so many. It seems like a lot of memorizing and that would make me nervous trying to remember it all. That is just me - if you're the highly methodical type it could work for you. Maybe you can think of a topic you're well-versed in that could apply to many different responses. That would seem to save time, as compared to going through each prompt and thinking of points for each one. I've been using the prompts you mentioned as samples for practice. I think it's best way is to become familiar with how the topics are framed and to understand how you specifically would respond to them. I then save my essays on a word document and look at them later to understand where I could improve.

I'm guessing you're applying for Fall 2015? I am applying for Fall 2014. That's a good idea to take it so early, in hindsight I probably should have done that this year. Thanks for your input!

Hello all, I am in the process of scheduling my GRE date and I thought I would try my hand at these forums. Specifically, I’m interested to hear from those who took (or will take) the GRE while they were working full time. I’m personally considering taking the GRE in 8 weeks (mid-October). I want to give myself some leeway to re-take the test in November should I choose to do so. I work between 40-50 hours a week, so I plan to take a full-length test every Sunday and prepare during the week. I started 2 weeks ago and averaged about 6 hours of studying, with 2 full-length practice tests (308 on my first try, 302 on the second). I reckon I’m going to put more hours of studying into my weekdays now that I know what I need to work on. Anyhow, I started writing first because I am having doubts about whether 8 weeks is enough time given my schedule. I am almost sure I will do this date though, since I plan to enroll in a class that starts immediately afterward. Still I am curious to get feedback about whether this is a reasonable time frame. On a more general note I thought this would be a good space for those that work full time to share their experiences balancing GRE studying with their jobs. I know I want to get creative, maybe listening to princeton’s vocab minute while I go at my spreadsheets? Haha. Good luck to all