La Voz

Is your professor new to providing recommendations? I had a similar experience with one of my three recommenders failing to provide a few of my recommendations by the deadline. He got them all in, but a few were a couple days late despite a few friendly reminders early in the process and few more reminders around the deadline. I ask you the question above because my guy was new to recommendations, so maybe that was the case with yours. It may not make you feel better, but hopefully he/she will be better for the next people they write Recs for.

A question for current Korbel students: With the cost of 2-year tuition being roughly $70k, and the best scholarship available being up to $30k for the same time period, how does the Korbel body deal with the rest of their tuition expenses? Are there other scholarships from UDenver that I'm not seeing? Outside scholarships/fellowships/aid? Good ol' loans? Work? And is working the first year discouraged or is it feasible? Is panhandling allowed on street corners in Denver? Can I make a fair amount doing that?

At least Korbel is a good month or so earlier than other schools. In my experience (i.e., last year), denials come at least a week after acceptances. Some acceptances do run late, but very few.

Schools Applied To: Denver (Korbel), American (SIS), Chicago (Harris), Georgetown (SFS), George Washington (Elliot), George Mason (SPP), Johns Hopkins (SAIS), Wisconsin (LaFollette), Texas (LBJ) Schools Admitted To: Denver ($15k/yr) Schools Rejected From: Still Waiting: All others Undergraduate institution: Texas State University Undergraduate GPA: 3.81 Last 60 hours of Undergraduate GPA (if applicable): 3.82 Undergraduate Major: Economics GRE Quantitative Score: 670 GRE Verbal Score: 780 GRE AW Score: 5.0 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0 Years of Work Experience: 10yrs full-time (in Information Technology) Describe Relevant Work Experience: Just began internship for Microfinance non-profit Strength of SOP (be honest, describe the process, etc): Hard to be objective, let's say middle-of-the-road Strength of LOR's (be honest, describe the process, etc): Good (3 letters from professors I have some kind of project experience with) Other: Study Abroad to Mexico for a 5-week semester. Only two other international trips (one to Guadalajara, MX and another to Paris, each for one week). 6 semesters of Spanish, though only a rudimentary grasp of the language at this time (if you don't use it, you lose it). An undergraduate thesis on creating an online student resource for Economics. Model OAS experience. That about sums up my application.

I'll begin the Round 2 of Grad School apps to Public Policy programs in about a month or so. Round 1 involved applying to Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, U of Texas, Tufts, and U of Chicago. I was rejected at all except Chicago, where I was wait-listed. My GPA is 3.8 from a regional school (BA in Economics, graduated this Spring '09) and my GRE scores were 670v / 780q / 5w (95% / 90% / 77%). I feel good about those. The reasons I suspect I got rejected in Round 1 are: [*:1hrpfhmq]My resume includes 10 years of private-sector experience only, and all of a technical nature, and nothing that's particularly impressive. [*:1hrpfhmq]Of my 3 recommendations, 2 were from professors I had good relationships with, and 1 was from my immediate supervisor at work (lower to middle management). Of the 2 professors, only 1 really publishes much and is active in the academic community. [*:1hrpfhmq]My personal statements and other essays were written hastily and without adequate proof-reading and revising. [*:1hrpfhmq]My applications were turned in on the deadline dates in most cases, and a couple were missing things like transcripts too that I had to turn in after the universities contacted me. I think the last two were the most hurtful to my application. My recommendations could be better too, but I don't know that there's much I'll be able to do about that between now and December. Same goes for the resume. The things I'll do differently for Round 2 are: [*:1hrpfhmq]Have my resume looked at by a few academics at my undergrad school. Perhaps there's a better way to format or highlight appealing aspects of my experience. [*:1hrpfhmq]Volunteer time with a local charity or find a government internship. Either could be good to add to the resume and to perhaps secure a better recommendation. [*:1hrpfhmq]Do better research on schools to find good opportunities for full tuition aid and programs more focused on my interests (International Trade & Economic Development) [*:1hrpfhmq]Most importantly, dedicate more time to get applications submitted ahead of the early deadlines (early and often). This includes getting essays reviewed and proof-read, of course. Suggestions, questions, and comments are welcome. Thanks to the others for posting your plans as well, it's helpful to read.