gwualum4mpp

My scores don't compare to the 160s I typically see here, but I have them and might as well post them: 
 
Barron's               - 153V / 155Q
ETS power prep I - 156V / 146Q
Manhattan            - 151V / 152Q
ETS power prep II - 155V / 150Q
----
 
Actual test (1st try) - 155V (66%)/ 151Q (45%)/ 4.5AWA (78%)
Actual test (2nd try) - 155V (66%)/ 154Q(57%)/ 4.0AWA (54%)
 
I work full time and studied about 2-3 months. I feel the quality of my studying was impacted by my moving cross-country to start a new job. I wish I had started earlier...I could have studied more. Oh well everyone says that right? 
 
I forgot to mention, I studied the official ETS book and Magoosh. Watched the modules, but I missed a lot of the math ones. Example of room for growth/improvement...
 
Anyhow, good luck all!! 

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!

I applied last year, but from a list of 6 I eventually narrowed it down to 5.   One of my six was a "safety" program, but then I decided that that was silly, since I 1) didn't really want to go there and 2) was employed full time so that if I didn't get in to one of my top choice schools, I would have probably stayed in my job another year and tried again rather than attend the safety.   So one fell off the list.  
 
I've heard of people applying to up to 10, but never as many as 12-14.  At that point, i think you'd have to ask yourself if you really have a specific enough idea of what you want to do in grad school if so many programs cover it equally.   Plus, ouch, wow, the expense.  
 
Besides the cost, the entire application process was MUCH more time consuming than I anticipated.  If you have a full time job, it's going to be really hard to do more than 6 applications. If you're a full time student, you might be able to manage a few more because your time is more flexible, but still, it's tough.  I worked on my applications pretty much every evening and weekend from September until November (I set myself the deadline of being mostly done by Thanksgiving), and I used ever minute of the time.  It paid off, I got in to all of my schools, but I'm glad I only had to do 5 applications. 

Since this field is relatively small, a school beyond the top ten is a big step down in prestige. There simply aren't enough people going for professional degrees in MPP or MPA to allow for a large number of excellent programs. It's true that your school won't matter much for government work, but for other areas, it could have an impact. Your cohort at University of Kentucky is likely to be of a different calibre than at Syracuse. 

Regardless of whether you could get into a good school and get funding, my advice is to wait. You are likely to get way more value out of a professional Masters program if you have a couple of years of real-world experience under your belt to give context to what you learn. There's a reason the top programs prefer people to have experience first. Presuming you'll only go back to school once (most people do), it will be a much better use of your time and money to do it in a couple of years.  And as WinterSolstice said, it's entirely possible you may change your mind about what you want to do anyway, once you've actually spent some time in the workforce.
Also, writing applications takes a lot of time and effort - you'd be better off putting that time into finding a relevant job.  
Do take the GRE this year though if you can - the scores last for five years, and I suspect it's easier to do that now while you're in the habit of studying and test-taking, rather than after you graduate.

There's nothing wrong with applying from undergrad if you're 100% sure it is what you want to do. The only thing that gives me pause is that you stated you "need a little help planning out your life". A lot can change in just a couple of years, especially fresh out of college. What you think you want to do can change very easily, and the last thing you want is to get locked in to a career and a large amount of debt and realize a couple years in that you actually wanted to do something a little bit different.  
I originally applied straight from undergrad, and realized I needed more time. I worked for two years, and then re-applied after having a better perspective on what I wanted to do. I have a much clearer picture of what I want to do, and I think having the additional experience made me a more attractive candidate. 

Also, on your original question, applications generally become available in September. If I recall correctly, the Harvard Kennedy School was the first one on my list that made its application available, and that one for Fall 2014 came out on September 12, 2013 last year (and was due December 5). The other applications came out shortly thereafter.
 
In addition to securing letters of rec in advance, you can also start working on a personal statement, or at least an outline for one. All the schools (or at least the ones to which I applied) require a general personal statement of anywhere between 400 words (Columbia, I think) and 700 words (Georgetown, if I recall correctly). I had a pretty good outline ready in June-ish, so when apps came out in September, I was ready to quickly flesh out my outline. It made things a lot less stressful on me.
 
Good luck!

So I got back my advisor's comments for my dissertation proposal...

Do what you can to minimize the temptation to reinvent the wheel.
Do your level best to learn from those who have gone before you and have asked similar questions.
Consider the utility of incorporating your questions into ongoing discussions.
When assessing the guidance you've received, consider the background, the expertise and the experience of the person who offered it.







If I sound snarky it is because this BB is going through a phase in which newer members are repeating questions that have been addressed many, many times. While this trend provides opportunities to get great guidance from experienced graduate students such as jullietmercredi, it also provides opportunities to miss equally sound guidance from experienced graduate students such as jullietmercredi.

IMO, this trend represents a "lost opportunity" for many of you to start the transition from being undergraduates to being graduate students. As graduate students, you will often encounter an implicit expectation that you are doing the leg work to find the answers to your own questions, and from there generating additional questions and answers. (In some quarters, this leg work is called "research".)

Additionally, some of you who are in your twenties may be walking into a buzzsaw as new graduate students. Your cohort is developing a reputation for having attitudes of entitlement and self-absorption. (Consider how members of the generation of 1965 talk about the OWS and Tea Party movements) Regardless of the accuracy of this perception (Christopher Lasch had the same complaints back in 1978), perception is reality.

While it is your choice as to what questions you want to ask and how you want to ask them, do not be surprised if those who are most capable of helping you decide to tune you out. If you think this can't happen to you, ask yourself why you're asking strangers on the internet for guidance rather than going into a professor's office and getting mentored?

My $0.02.

Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier): top Polish business school
Previous Degrees and GPAs: Quantitative Economics, 3.6
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing): V155, Q168
Previous Work Experience (Years, Type): N/A
Part-time Work Experience: extensive experience in private (banking, consulting), public (diplomacy) and NGO sectors including entry-level as well as senior positions
Math/Econ Background: basically my whole BA degree was about math and econ
Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program): German, Polish
Intended Field of Study in Grad School: Public Policy
Long Term Professional Goals: Energy Policy
Schools Applied to & Results:
Accepted: Georgetown MSPP MPP, SAIS MA, SIPA MPA
Rejected: HKS MPP
Ultimate Decision & Why: SIPA, because of its excellence in energy policy as well as an opportunity to take courses from other top-notch schools (e.g. CBS)
Advice for Future Applicants:
Believe in yourself. If you have a strong feeling that it is right time for you then you can apply despite of the fact whether you are straight from undergrad or not. Naturally, it would be great to have an extensive work experience when you enter your graduate program but if your undergrduate institution allows you to do this you can work while studying and if you are smart enough you can advance earlier than your peers. 

I keep checking back on this thread and it's dangerous! Some of these bags/backpacks are adorable.   
My eyes are bigger than my wallet.

Thanks for starting this, callista! Good to hear that the semester is going well for you.
 
I've been pleasantly surprised by my first semester. I'm starting week 3, and I haven't found any reason to dislike grad school. Suddenly, I get to take classes in whatever I want, I get to do research in whatever topic I'd like, and I get to spend my time however I decide. My co-advisers are fantastic. It all seems overwhelming when I think about the long term goals (quals, papers, TAing, more papers, etc), but then I remember to take it all one day at a time.

Congrats on the job offers! What would help is if you went into more detail about the area that you will be working in, and really see whether that is aligned with why you want to go to public policy school and what jobs you hope to get after you're done with policy school. Number 2 strikes me as being most directly relevant to the work you would do at school, but the most important factor is really why you want to come to grad school -- which one of these jobs helps you tell the story of why you want to go to grad school? There's a lot of jobs out there that can be helpful for an MPP, but they are different for each person because you need to articulate your own story and how these job experiences helped direct you to an MPP in your SOP and materials. 

Accepted from the wait list today!   So so so so excited.

2014 SIPA Open House Review
 
Structure: Most of the day was held in a large auditorium, with members of the admissions team speaking at the auditorium. The Dean of SIPA had recorded a video welcome message that was shown on a large screen. This was the first of a series of encounters that reminded me of previous reviews of SIPA as being “impersonal.” This was definitely the largest of the open houses I went to. The academic overview was given on a PowerPoint, which had a pretty useful breakdown of how many people were in each concentration and specialization. Please keep in mind that this was a bar graph with intervals of 20, so the number I am writing is an estimate of what I inferred from the bar graph, but still should be fairly accurate.
 
Concentrations:
 
Int Finance and Econ Policy: 139
Econ and Pol Development: 137
Energy and Environment: 79
Int Security Policy: 79
Urban and Social Policy: 65
HR and Humanitarian Policy: 35
 
Specializations:
 
Management: 164
Applied Policy and Econ Analysis: 120
Int Conflict Resolution: 73
Regional (all): 50
Int Media and Advocacy Concentration: 50
 
Therefore, even though SIPA has around 1100 total students, you can certainly still find a small community within each concentration and specialization after the core courses, which make up 1/3 of the curriculum.
 
Overall impression: The “New York” attitude is very evident among the current students of the school, which I would characterize as being very much a “go-getter,” seeking out your own opportunities and taking the initiative to make your own connections to get you to wherever it is you want to be in your career. As for the concentration professors and directors of some of the regional programs (who sent members of their staff to talk to students at the open house), it’s similar. They have their careers and their research, and being a faculty member at an Ivy League institution is not necessarily about how they will invest and support you in your career, but how they need investment in theirs (i.e. TAships, RAships). With that being said, I was impressed with how the current students were able to balance their coursework with a TA or RAship, PLUS 2nd positions more related to advancing their careers. It did seem as if the professors used whatever connections they had to help the students they were working with closely achieve it.
 
Additionally, there was a fair amount of people admitted here out of undergrad both who were admitted and current students. They seemed attracted to the fact that the core curriculum forces you to develop practical skills for the work place that they had not yet had a chance to develop. This (in my opinion), at the expense of having the flexibility to take more courses that entail deeper intellectual exploration. The program also seems good for people not sure of what sector they want to work in
 
As for diversity, there were a lot of international students from everywhere and it seemed as if there was a community for everyone. Like with any program, there can always be more U.S. minorities, but for those that do attend SIPA, they are a warm and close-knit group that is really open and committed to improving diversity and inclusion within the program.

Update: I got a call from the FinAid people this morning! It looks like they are wanting me to accept their offer, so they are looking into whether they can provide me with a fellowship! I told them about my free ride offer from Madison, and though she was trying to highlight the negative points of living in Wisconsin, she did sell the program really well. I talked to Andrew (from this thread) who put me at ease with the GSIship concerns I had, so I think I'll be going to Berkeley! I have a phone call tomorrow with the FinAid person, so I'll see what they say.
 
If so, us new MPP students should start getting to know each other and maybe even discuss housing options (for those who don't have anything secured). 

It's going to be pretty unlikely (read: it won't happen) you'll be able to invest fellowship awards and earn anything close to a 10% interest rate, unless you play the stock market and manage to avoid getting burned. Rates are low now, and the amount you'll have won't be suitable for much, and you'll want access to it in 2 years' time at any rate once you graduate. This is just my opinion, but I would use as much liquid cash as you have (whether it be personal savings, support from family, stipends/outside awards) to first cover living expenses and then any tuition balance. Doing so reduces your future debt load and will mean that your overall debt will be lower (and accordingly monthly payments lower) and that you'll be in a better place to pay it off quicker or actually save money for the future when you have a job after your degree.
 
In general, anthropologygeek is right. Don't borrow more than you anticipate your starting annual salary to be. In a few rare cases, higher debt loads can be justifiable, but don't discount the impact it will have on your lifestyle. If you're carrying $100k+ in debt, you can pretty much forget about being able to save for retirement or a house (good luck getting approved for any substantial mortgage, even if you can swing a down payment), and it could very well mean you're chained to a job you are less than enthused about because you can't afford to leave. Do you want to still be paying off student loans 15-20 years from now?
 
On a tangential note, I would love to see the reasoning behind admissions/aids decisions. Applicants get into and get $ from School A, which is more prestigious and desirable than School B, which admits them with no $, and then School C, which is at best as well-regarded as School B, rejects them. Admissions is somewhat predictable, but I honestly believe getting merit-based funding/fellowships is more akin to a crapshoot than anything predictable. I guess the admissions and scholarship committees all weight GREs, GPAs, undergrad institutions, and work experience totally differently.

I was watching T.V. contemplating what I should do for the next year having received five rejections. One application remained, but considering it was my top choice and they were only admitting around three people this year due to funding cutbacks, I knew I didn't stand a chance. Then it happened, an email popped up from the DGS congratulating me on acceptance to their Ph.D. program. I was completely shocked, and ridiculously happy! 

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!

Hi everyone,
 
I'm moving from Boston to the Bay Area for grad school, and I'm a little intimidated by the logistics—so I was hoping to find someone here who's been through the same. I'm not moving any furniture or vehicles, just books, clothes, and electronics. Also, I'm flying home in June and moving to the Bay Area in late July, so I need some way to (1) transport lots and lots of boxes to the west coast and (2) store them for a month or two before I actually get there.
 
Does anyone know a safe and reasonably priced way to do this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Thanks!

I am a second year Americorps member. My first year was horrendous and stressful (my supervisor was the devil and I worked with children who had special needs/were in state custody for neglect and abuse, so it was heartbreaking at times. Loved the kids, though). This year has been better,but boring. I've pretty much been treated like a second-rate intern, which is whatever cus it gave me time to work on my grad applications. It has definitely been frustrating as I had hoped for a fulfilling term, but at this point I am over it and ready to move on and out of my current city come August. I've told my program director, but haven't gotten around to telling my actual placement. I'm kinda worried that leaving early (classes start two weeks before my term of service ends) will effect my eligibility concerning the ed award. Any tips?
 
**Edited for typos

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.

OP sounds like an ass and I am a Type A Harvard-bound PhD student.

Now that most people have received the majority of their decisions, I think it's time to start a wrap-up thread for those who are ready to contribute. I know in my decision-making process these past threads were enormously helpful to me (in fact, perhaps one of the most helpful resources during the application process).
 

 

 
The past threads helped me determine exactly where to aim my applications based on previous applicants' experience, and I did really well in my application cycle because of it.
 
So now for our turn. Be as specific or vague as you want, but whatever of the following information you are willing to give is immensely helpful to others. For the future students!
 
Previous Schools (Name, type, or tier):
Previous Degrees and GPAs:
GRE Scores (Verbal/Quantitative/Analytical Writing):
Previous Work Experience (Years, Type):
Math/Econ Background:
Foreign Language Background (if applicable to your program):
Intended Field of Study in Grad School:
Long Term Professional Goals:
Schools Applied to & Results:
Ultimate Decision & Why:
Advice for Future Applicants:

The Big Bang Theory. All of my hate.