linden

fenderpete: Glad you enjoyed it. It does feel sometimes like I am up against hundreds of Bobbies.

Here, let's ratchet the anxiety up a little bit more. For some fun (and nerve-racking) reading material, check out the WWS student bios, if you have not yet. http://wws.princeton.edu/grad/admission/studentbios/ They're all along the lines of "Bobby speaks 17 languages, including three dead ones, fluently. He finished a translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the age of eight and then created a Broadway musical out of his experience. He spent three years in Mauritania teaching sign language to manta rays, which then became his assistants in early childhood education programs in Bolivia and in demining operations in Cambodia. Bobby funded his own initiatives by selling his left lung, spleen, and liver. Even though he is a man, he has breastfed hundreds of orphans to save them from starvation. He is the only student to ever score a 4.1 gpa in nuclear-astrophysical-geothermal engineering. He devotes his free time to fighting forest fires." Actually, no, they're not that bad. They might actually reassure you that these students are mere mortals.

If only the adcoms felt the same you do, traveler06.

Good observations, younglions! (Although you have ratcheted up the excitement level a notch. )

traveler06: Tsk, tsk. After I stuck by your side when policy_applicant accused you of being a mole...

Not meaning to whip the crowd up into a frenzy, but I am just so ready for this to be over. Last year, an HKS student posted this on autoadmit on March 12, two days before admit notices went out: "hey -- current MPP/JD student here, first-time poster. got an email about an HKS "new admit phone-a-thon" on 3/18, 3/19 and 3/20 (the last day for international students), so i assume that means they'll notify by then." If there are any HKS students still around, have you received any notice of a phone-a-thon yet? (I know, I know. I should be patient. )

Plate, I second therunaround's comments. With so many great applicants, I think admission for many (most) of us comes down to that little something in our applications, that little something that might appeal to an adcom member at HKS while being irrelevant to GSPP's adcom. At this point, I am just glad it will be all over (I hope!) on Friday. My family and friends are also ready for this to be all over. :wink: Considering the dire scenarios that were being painted a few weeks ago (record number of applicants, plunging endowments, etc...), I think many of us can now breathe a sigh of relief. And, let's hope that on Friday some (most or all) of us will be again pleasantly surprised.

younglions: Thanks for info. Indeed, I remember that discussion a few weeks ago; I just assumed the school had made a typo. But, I see that I should contact my schools. Thanks!

I just read a message on another board ("Decisions, Decisions," I think), and a poster mentioned that master's degree programs do not necessarily abide by the April 15 decision deadline. Is this information correct? I was under the impression that this rule applied to master's degree programs. I have not received official letters from GWU and GPPI, and I have no idea of what their deadlines are.

Chicago. People are going to tell you that the name of the school does not matter, that it's what you do with your degree, that after you get your first job it all loses importance, etc... BS. I can't tell you how many times I have heard my co-workers say things such as, "Yes, Suzy is a suicidal maniac who cannot complete a simple task. But, cut her some slack; she went to Brown."

Wow. I am surprised at the caliber of applicant that GSPP is rejecting. Don't let these results make you question your abilities, though. I think admissions to many of these MPP programs is a lottery. Schools want to compose heterogeneous classes, and you might have been rejected for reasons that would have normally not kept you out of the competition. For example, if there were several dozen applicants who recently worked on the presidential campaign but only one working on economic development in the Khyber Pass, all things being equal, your chances are better if you are in the latter category. I also have to say, as someone who has worked in government and non-profits in DC, GSPP is not the end-all-be-all, at least in DC. Before anyone takes offense, I am not saying it's a terrible program. Indeed, the Berkeley brand will take you far anywhere. But, most of you have been accepted into programs that I think are bigger, better-known names in DC.

policy_applicant: Sorry to hear. Don't let their stupid decision affect your self-esteem. It's their loss. Not only do you have great stats, but from your supportive, polite postings, it's clear you would have made a great addition to an MPP program. Plus, you can already get out of school debt free.

mpp_hopeful: I like your certainty. Are you basing your prediction on fact? The fact that WWS is announcing that day? Or a gut feeling? Edit: Oh, drats. I just hit 200. I have no life.

traveler06: After all that speculation about your motives and sanity, you have been vindicated. So, are we going to have another freak-out session a la GPPI scholarship announcement day? Or is it not even worth it for WWS?

I noticed that many of us indicated a preference for federal government work after graduation. I am included in this group. I've been reading several news stories that indicate that the federal government is one of the employers that is not slowing down hiring. Is anyone else worried that in two years--when we will be graduating--it will be difficult to get a government job? Or do you think that as MPP/MPA holders we will always find it easier to snag a government job?

mpp2011, thanks for the info. But, April 9? Holy cow! I really hope they announce next week, to find out what my travel dates should be. (Hah! Wishful thinking on my part, that I would have to schedule to attend HKS' accepted student day. )

poodles123: The largest offer I have seen was made to a student last year who received a 20K scholarship and a 5K assistantship. I remember that his/her stats were near perfect.

Boooo. It's a psychological destabilization campaign. They want to shatter our frail egos, and they will admit those of us who are not in psych wards by the end of next week. I still have my money on March 13. Other schools have reported similar increases and have still sent out decisions at around the same time frame they did last year. On a more serious note, does anyone know if HKS will have an admitted student day? It seems that if they send out notices in late March, that would not leave much time to make arrangements to attend. (Although it is unlikely that I will have to decide whether to attend accepted student day. :wink: )

poodles123 and number35: Congratulations and good luck! My essay ended up being right under 200 words, in case you're wondering if going shorter would be a problem. So, when does the committee meet for your batch of applicants? And, when is the freak-out (i.e., announcement) day? I'll be sitting here, eating popcorn, reading your anxious postings flying back and forth, and thinking to myself, "Tsk, tsk. I would have never lost my cool like that." :wink: policy_applicant: I was chuckling about your spreadsheet. I think I have created about 24 different ones already. They are built on the most ridiculous assumptions and provide no useful information. But, they soothe me. At least we know that a field that focuses on quantitative analysis is a good fit for us.

Well, I ended up getting the email, too. The amount was more or less the same that everyone else received. After I had given up all hope. Congrats to everyone. And, those who have not received the email yet, really, don't give up yet. (Plus, there was a snowstorm yesterday, and G-town didn't even open until noon.) Now, comes the hard question: Is G-town worth $40K in loans? I think I said earlier I might be willing to pay up to $50K in loans for GPPI, but now I am not so sure. Who here is willing to take on between $40K and $50K for GPPI? I know that level of loans is affordable; living frugally, you can get these puppies out of the way in five years. I just don't know if the difference is worth it. What are your thoughts?

I tried really hard not to make onto this list this month. Off the wall of shame! Yes! Policy_applicant, indeed, the torch has been passed.

I cannot confirm or deny anything until I have an official letter in hand. And, I applied to other schools besides GWU. :wink: I guess now that 24 hours have passed since yesterday's email affair, I am feeling more upbeat and positive. I was really just really in a sour mood because this was my first "rejection" of the season. And, yet, I already have a great opportunity at a wonderful program that I am actually quite excited to attend. mpp2011, you do bring up a good point. Nevertheless, I plan to call GPPI next week to confirm that they sent out the emails to everyone who was supposed to get one. I will let you know what they say. Policy-applicant, I wish you a generous GPPI offer.

mpp2011: Like you, I do think it is worth it to at least find out if they will have other rounds of funding. I also agree that it would be better if they also sent emails to students who did not receive funding and provided confirmation regardless of the outcome. The situation last night was very confusing. After all, it is entirely possible (although unlikely) that some of us are still in the running but did not receive emails.

Well, this hit me much harder than I thought it would. This is the end of the road for GPPI and me. I have a super generous funding offer from another school. (It's not official yet; hence, my inability to provide details.) I would have liked to attend GPPI. But, I just can't justify the 80K difference, even though GPPI is probably worth it.