HappyGoLukky

I will be applying to five schools: 1.Michigan Ford MPP (Dual with MUP) 2. Washington Evans MPA (MAYBE dual with MUP, need more info) 3. Wisconsin La Follette MPA (Dual MUP) 4. USC Price MPP ( Dual w/whatever they call their city planning degree) 5. Maryland MPA* *I am interning here in College Park and the PPIA is having a grad school fair on Friday in DC. my fifth slot could change with the fair, but the top four are cemented

Yes, I have taken Economics: an introductory course and received an A, Statistics 201 and received a C, and Intro to calc my very first semester and received a B- . This Fall I am taking a Public Budgeting course, intermediate microeconomics, and also a statistics regression modeling class. I believe that if I do well enough this fall (my final undergrad semester) that I will have a legit shot

Hey guys, I am finishing up my undergrad and I have one final semester of courses. I am looking to take 12-15 hours and 6 of them are my final major (not policy/math related) requirements, so basically 6-9 hours are free. I understand that many policy programs look to see strong quantitative skills so I have a dilemma. I can take Microeconomics- I recieved an A in my introductory Micro/Macro class two years ago Public MGMT and human resources- A semester long group project where we function as a public entity Statistics:regression modeling- I received a C in my introductory staistics class sophomore year Public Budgeting- Title says it all I can only choose three of the four, which would make my application the strongest? Note that I did recieve an A- in my introduction to Public Administration/Policy class last semester Thanks for your time!

Someone help a brotha out!

Ok guys, I have some updated info for you guys, what er my chances now : Undergraduate institution: University of Tennessee-Knoxville Undergraduate GPA: 3.25 (One semester left with mostly policy classes on my final schedule) Undergraduate Majors: B.A. Recreation/ Sport Mgmt with Business Minor GRE Quantitative Score: 158 practice test (74th percentile) GRE Verbal Score: 155 (64th percentile) WILL IMPROVE GRE AW Score: Graded myself so N/A but I believe I will get a 4.5+ Taking it this summer, but I am generally a good test taker Years Out of Undergrad: Plan to go straight through (internships every summer of course) I graduate in fall so technically 8months out of school if admitted Years of Work Experience: No full-time experience but have been employed since I was sixteen Describe Relevant Work Experience: Currently interning as the Resource Development and Grants Intern for the Maryland-National Capital Park Planning Commission for 3 months this summer. So far I have research funding opportunities, and began working on grant proposals. This is the #1 Parks and Rec Agency in the country. This experience is especially unique because I am housed in-office with park planners, landscape architects, division chiefs, deputy directors etc. They have allowed to sit in on their meetings and have invited me to lunch to give me a truly holistic experience. I am literally seeing from every angle how this Quasi-public government agency is operating, from the ground on up. We serve over 2 million people between two counties and the northern DC area. This has really inspired me to pursue the dual MUP degree (even though it is park planning, the framework is generally similar). Interned for the Lansing,MI Dept of Parks and Recreation (part of mayor's office) and organized city wide track events, fourth of July festival, supervised summer camp counselors,etc. I Also wrote a grant for them that was approved for $6,000 from Jackson National Life Mortgage. This grant required me to do budget analysis and ended up saving the department's scholarship program so that low-income kids could continue participate in programming. Also garnered sponsorships for upcoming activities guide Facilities manager for the RecSports Division of Student life. Manage between four buildings and also supervise a full student staff under me. Startes as an entry-level employee and now hold the highest position an undergrad can have. I also personally evaluate my employees biannually. Served as Pre-College Mentor for past two summers for a two week college institute for students from at-risk high schools in Knoxville Languages: English (I am interested in domestic policy) Activities: Single undergraduate member of the RecSports Endowment Fund Committee Member of Dean of College Of Ed, Health, Human Sciences' Advisory Board Member of Mu Rho chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated (Chapter of the Year 4x in a row) Member of NIRSA and TIRSA Member of NRPA (Attended 2012 Congress in Anaheim on my own funds) Member of TRPA (Awarded $1,000 scholarship for leading student in field) Member of ICMA Member of Adidas Partners in Sports Member of Phi Theta Sigma National Honor Society Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Will recieve LOR's from top Chapter 13 Attorney in Detroit, Dean of my college, And Director of MNCPPC (one of the top Park/Rec Departments in nation). I am also in the process of founding an Out-of-State Student Association here at UTK. Other: I aspire to become one of the leading officials for park/recreation development and land use in a large city (municipal) and maybe move on to a federal level. Because the fields are so closely related, if I am admitted into a dual MUP/MPA(MPP) program I will look into city and community management also. Michigan is my #1 not only bc I get in-state tuition but also because I would like to be involved/closely monitor the crucial redevelopment of downtown Detroit. Part of the reason I want to get my MPA or MPP is the diversity of the degree. I need to be further educated on quantitative strategies to determine things such as cost recovery, sustainibility, etc in order to make informed choices, especially because governments use tax-supported dollars (you cannot develop faster than you can recover). I believe that my specific work and internship experience and ability to write grants will help me. Also, I do not volunteer very much because I work 20+ hours per week and fund myself. I also funded my own trip to the NRPA conference in Anaheim,CA from Knoxville (And will do the same for Houston this year). I also hope to get to Boston for the ICMA Conference. Lastly, I am a black male, if that helps. My schools I will be applying to: 1.Michigan Ford MPP/ Taubman MUP 2.U of Washington Evans MPA/dual MUP 3.University of Maryland MPP 4.USC Price MPP/MUP 5. University of Wisconsin MPA/ maybe dual MUP) Other possibilities (maybe 2 more schools): Texas A&M, Ohio State, Rutgers Do I have a realistic chance of getting in? If so, what are my chances of gaining any funding? (I will do anything from being a Teaching assistant, research assistant,etc.)I have about four months to get my application stronger so any suggestions are great! Once again THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

Schools I'm interested in so far: Michigan ( Dual MPP and MUP if they accept me). U of W (Evans): MPA/MPP Undergraduate institution: University of Tennessee-Knoxville Undergraduate GPA: 3.18 Undergraduate Majors: B.A. Recreation/ Sport Mgmt with Business Minor GRE Quantitative Score: N/A GRE Verbal Score: N/A GRE AW Score: N/A Taking it this summer, but I am generally a good test taker (only reason I have above 3.0) Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): Plan to go straight through (internships every summer of course) I graduate in fall so technically 1 yr if admitted Years of Work Experience: No full-time experience but have been employed since I was sixteen Describe Relevant Work Experience: Interning as a Grant Writing and Sponsorship Intern for the Maryland-National Capital Park Planning Commission for 3 months this summer Interned for the Lansing,MI Dept of Parks and Recreation (part of mayor's office) and organized city wide track events, fourth of July festival, supervised summer camp counselors,etc. I Also wrote a grant for them that was approved for $6,000 from Jackson National Life Mortgage. This grant required me to do budget analysis and ended up saving the department's scholarship program so that low-income kids could continue participate in programming. Also garnered sponsorships for upcoming activities guide Facilities manager for the RecSports Division of Student life. Manage between four buildings and also supervise a full student staff under me. Startes as an entry-level employee and now hold the highest position an undergrad can have Served as Pre-College Mentor for past two summers for a two week college institute for students from at-risk high schools in Knoxville Languages: English (Do I need to buy rosetta stone this summer?) Activities: Single undergraduate member of the RecSports Endowment Fund Committee Member of Dean of College Of Ed, Health, Human Sciences' Advisory Board Member of Mu Rho chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated (Chapter of the Year 3x in a row) Member of NIRSA and TIRSA Member of NRPA (Attended 2012 Congress in Anaheim on my own funds) Member of TRPA (Awarded $1,000 scholarship for leading student in field) Member of Adidas Partners in Sports Member of Phi Theta Sigma National Honor Society Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): Will recieve LOR's from top Chapter 13 Attorney in Detroit, Dean of my college, And Director of MNPPC (one of the top Park/Rec Departments in nation). I am also in the process of founding an Out-of-State Student Association here at UTK. Other: I aspire to become one of the leading officials for park/recreation development and land use in a large city (municipal) and maybe move on to a federal level. I believe that my specific work experience and ability to write grants will help me. Also, I do not volunteer very much because I work 20+ hours per week and fund myself. Lastly, I am a black male, if that helps. What do you guys think? I am a MI native so I would get in-state tuition at UofM. I have about four months to get my application stronger so any suggestions are great! Also, any school recommendations would be great.