J. R., MPPA

I am a public policy student and applied to a number of schools that were pretty much on par with my GPA and other stats. Personal and family circumstances persuaded me to stay at my local state U to complete my Masters in public policy and administration. Luckily this may go in my favor... here is why 1. Bumped my GPA up substantially from a 3.6 to 3.753 (Magna Cum laude) 2. Accepted into the political science Honor society 3. Awarded a prestigious commendation from the state legislature for my public service and work to further diabetes related causes 4. Gained some awesome rec letters So even though I had to basically fall back to plan D, it might actually end up being better in the end. May get a shot at UT Austin, OSU, Duke of even berkeley for my doctoral studies. Here's hoping! Bonus - local state U is a heck of a lot cheaper!

Nope, unless the poster puts his info in the comments section

So I submitted five applications for Masters of Public Policy programs and I decided to apply for one PhD (because why not). I have received three of the six and they have all accepted me. I was hoping that this would be an easy decision and that this decision would sort itself out. You know, get one acceptance, decision made easy. On top of that, the PhD application was accepted... I feel bad that I didn't apply to other PhD programs, but I am happy with the school and the affordability of the surrounding area. Having a family of four, affordability is a big issue. Knowing now how strong my application is, I regret not applying to better schools. It doesn't help that the "better" schools had priority cut-off dates back in December. So what would you do? Go to an MPP/PhD program today or wait it out for the next cycle to apply for better programs. BTW - GPA 3.71/GRE 159V 156Q 3.0AW

I had a 3 AW score. Still got into the PhD program I wanted to get into. Verbal/Quant, GPA, LORs, Statement of Purpose, all helped minimize the AW GRE component. It can be done

I'm moving my family to Dallas so I can start a PhD program in Public Policy and Political Economy. I have an 8 year old type 1 diabetic and a 7 month old baby. My wife is a stay at home mom. It's not going to be easy, but it's good to see that other people in the same boat are achieving success in their respective programs.

I just got accepted to the PhD program in Public Policy and Political Economy. Looking forward to moving to Dallas with my family Wife and two kids! Looking to buy a house nearby for the long-haul. I'm curious how many grad students are currently there in that program..

Doesn't really matter. I got accepted to the PhD program I wanted. Don't need to worry about the GRE anymore lol!

I sent my transcripts from two of my previous four institutions electronically. I called to see if they were received (I had prior email notification that they were delivered) and they told me they were not there in my file. I told her they were sent electronically and she went ahead and checked my electronic file.. there they were. They had my hard copies and my electronically delivered transcripts, but did not put them together. Just received an email not too long ago stating that my application was not complete because they did not have all my transcripts even though I spoke with them earlier today to verify delivery. I'll check back Monday.. but Feb 1 is the funding deadline, hope this doesn't mess it up.

I am strongly against mentioning certain mental disabilities in your SOP, especially those with negative stereotypes. Learning disabled? Sure, go ahead if you can show excellent work Mood disorder? Skip it Thought disorder? Skip that one too

Applying for MPP Programs at American University, George Washington U and George Mason 36 Year old disabled veteran Transcripts span 1995 to today. Grades sucked back in the day, but since returning to complete my BA in Government my last 60 semester units have been a 3.71 (Cumulative 3.36) GRE 159 V 156 Q 3 AW (The low AW is an aberration. One admissions person from a program I'm not applying to said the Verbal and AW don't match up.. suggested submitting a writing sample to counter the score. Submitted a 20 page policy paper I wrote as a term paper in an urban policy class..) 3 strong Letters of recommendation from profs I formed relationships with over multiple semesters SOP - Focused.. I know what I want to do and what policy I want to work with. Health/Food and Drug Administration.. Drug and Durable Medical good approval processes. Explained reason was due to health problems with my daughter and that's what inspired me to return to apply for graduate studies.. make a difference for special needs children. TBH, I really don't know what to think. Did I aim too high, too low?

Applying for Masters in Public Policy programs at American University, George Washington and George Mason Upper division GPA 3.71 cumulative GPA 3.36 (This covers classes from 1995 to today) I'm old (36). I started back in college after a break between 2006-2012. Grades back then were no great shakes, but my last ~60 semester units have been all A's, two B+s and a C. Personal statement is pretty strong. Disabled veteran, lots of personal challenges. Reviewed by multiple profs and they all liked it. Multiple STRONG lor's. Also have a very specific field of policy I want to get into. Health Policy/FDA approval processes in regards to durable medical equipment. So here's the odd part. I took my GRE back in October of 2013.. 159 V 156 Q (the kicker) 3 AW. I showed this to the MPP grad advisor on my campus and she said my verbal score does not match up with my AW score. Chalked it up to a bad day and said that my writing sample coupled with my verbal score should counter the abysmal AW. I decided not to take the GRE again and I think I have a valid reason.. what if I score low on AW again? It would be harder to explain it away. Figured even though Masters programs usually don't require writing samples, I'd attach them anyways.. figured it wouldn't hurt. That's where I'm at.. just waiting on decisions

Hey folks, I'm trying to pen my SOP and am having difficulty with pretty much all of it. I'd like to focus in on the personal adversity portion though for this post. I have read a lot of advice on writing these things, and most of them talk about adversities such as working during school, having a kid, etc. Problem is that none of this really helps me in my particular situation. These are my adversities in a nutshell: 100% disabled veteran Was homeless for about a year Stay-at-home dad while wife was in hospital for cancer (6 months inpatient) ( I have a couple of F's in my transcript history and this is why it happened. I have since had them removed via Academic Renewal, but they still show even though they aren't included in my overall GPA calculation) 8 year old daughter is a Type 1 diabetic, had to drop some classes here too so I could stay at home at take care of my daughter I was morbidly obese and showing signs of type 2 diabetes. Since then I've lost 130lbs and am now no longer overweight Since all of this though, my GPA for my Jr. Sr. year is 3.75 and I've got a handful of profs providing strong letters of recommendation. I just can't figure out how to write this d*** SOP. (GRE 159V 156Q, Applying for Masters in Public Policy Analysis and PhD Public Policy (and/or Political Economy)

I know there are some PhD programs in my field which my scores, and even yours, would be acceptable. Problem is that they aren't schools I want to go to. Hence why I'm going for an MA.. homefully the lower bar for entry will allow me better odds at getting in to better schools. I didn't have a problem with the prometric center I went to, I just don't want to do it again if I don't have to. Oh, and I sucked at the AW section.. I got a 3.

I finally took the GRE and scored a 159V and 156Q. I was hoping for a little bit higher in verbal and scored higher than I thought I would in Quant. A lot of people here seem to be trying to get scores up high enough to get into various PhD programs. I'm not going for a PhD (although maybe later I will) and want to know if you guys think these scores are good enough for UCLA or Duke for an MPP or should I take it over again? I really do NOT want to take that test again. I felt like a small piece of my happiness died in that room that day.