hummus

I am considering applying for a MPP degree in the near future and wanted to get some feedback from people who have already gone through the admissions process. Stats: Undergrad GPA: 3.85 from a Top-5 Liberal Arts college (B.A. in Classics); Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude Graduate GPA 3.95 (MA in Classics) GRE (several years old): Quant: 590; Verbal: 720; Writing 5.0 Work Experience (at time of intended application) 4 yrs. high school teacher--public schools. Plan to take a course on economics and statistics before applying. I am hoping to get involved in education policy/work with a education non-profit. I hope to volunteer (or possibly work for a year) at a non-profit involved in these issues. I live in Massachusetts and am looking to stay in the surrounding area. Obviously HKS is the top option. I was also looking at Brown, UMass-Boston. My soon-to-be wife is from the upper-midwest so University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota or University of Chicago would also be options. What would I need to do, other than write a compelling PS, to make me competitive?

I am also thinking about giving up on my original dreams of an PHD and am looking for some advice/insight on the process. My story: I am entering my third year in a humanities PHD program (I already have an MA), but my first year at a new institution. I transfered post-MA from my old university to where I am about to begin school to be with my girl-friend who is also in the program. In the course of the year my girlfriend has decided she wants to leave the field after she gets her MA. I also have been thinking about leaving as well. As is the case with most humanities PHD's I am looking at 5 more years (at the minimum) before I will enter the job market. While my program is well respected (although its greatest strengths lay in a sub-field I am not doing my research in), I am very concerned about leaving grad school in my early 30's and being unable to find a tenure track position, especially one that would also provide job opportunities for my girl-friend (who will still be in the picture). Although I have had the PHD as a goal for a long time now, I dont know if I am willing to sacrifice a wonderful relationship, years of lost earnings, and the inability to choose where I work or live to fulfill that goal. I have a horrible image shooting through my head of me in my mid-thirties working at a low-tier university or college (If I am lucky) where I will teach the same class (or possibly less) than I would to high school students in a strong public/independent school for probably an equal (if not less) salary. I have heard many say that although the job market is atrocious, you never know where you could land up until you have that PHD in hand and go on interviews. While that is basically true, I am not willing to delude myself into believing that my first time on the job market will result in a tenure-track position at a school I would be interested in teaching at. Additionally, people say that if academia doesnt work out I could always teaching high school. I have already taught high school and had a fairly good experience, but if I am going to end up teaching high school why would I lose five years of earnings when I can already get that job (especially now with my MA). As you can see, I am very stressed about this situation, and while I have a whole school year to think on this decision (I am not going to try to leave school until after this year), I would like to have a general idea of where I am heading sooner than later. Any advice or personal experiences would be a great help.

Hey, In my research on Classics grad programs I have noticed new rankings havent come out since 1995! I was wondering what the general consensus is on the top 10 or so overall classics program in the country.