jorexer

Hi Katie. Not in the JPAL crowd (I guess I'm not cool enough), but I work in Uganda running RCTs for BRAC, an int'l NGO, and the World Bank. Also do some IE consulting for the Ugandan gov't. For all those facing the same WWS vs. HKS MPA/ID dilemma, please let me know how the admit days go (Gov2School, CityofSand, seiryu, linkth, etc). I probably won't be attending because I'll be in Africa until July.

Hi Seiryu, I also got into WWS and MPA/ID HKS. Both are dream programs, and but I'm leaning more toward HKS, if nothing else because the brand is slightly stronger (at least internationally), and the quant training might be more rigorous. Though if WWS really does give full funding, that could be very hard to turn town. I'm coming from a mindset of really wanting to tech up on econometrics and theory and prepare myself for professional economist and/or policy analyst positions in gov't / World Bank / IGO / think tank. I have a focus on certain sectors (agriculture, gender, microfinance), areas (Africa), and methods (impact evaluation, RCTs), but also want to really broaden this skill / interest set. Sorry, this is a lot of (potentially unnecessary) info, but I'm just wondering about your thought process, and how you are dealing with being really spoiled for choice.

got in for MPA ID. super excited. congrats to everyone who got in, and for those who got rejected its only the first decision. I'm sure you'll all do great anyway

Kaneisha and NPRJunkie: Update: retook the GREs yesterday and knocked them out! 170 V / 167 Q / probably a 6 on AW (not worried about this one). So, I guess I'm good. Thanks for all your support.

NPRjunkie and Kaneisha. Thanks for the amazing feedback! I guess I've been kind of freaking out without any real reason. I'm quite competitive, but it's also a crap-shoot when you're dealing with all top programs. NPRjunkie: you really think I should just get rid of SAIS? It has good job placement and a pretty strong curriculum. Also one of my recommenders really likes it and keeps plugging the IDev to me (although he's bff with Fukuyama, so perhaps he's biased). Re: LSE, I've heard the same. It's kind of just a backup, honestly. Lol @ your comments about the Bank. You're completely right, but I want to work more in sector-specific operational or evaluation stuff rather than in general country portfolio lending. I'm really into agricultural development. Anyway, any career options you think might be good for me that are a bit more interesting than multilateral/govt/think-tank? Kaneisha: retaking the GRE in 4 days. If I can break the 80th pctile with math (low 160s), I think i'll be solid. The vote of confidence from an HKSer makes me feel a lot better. Thanks! Last questions: is the MPA/ID adcom gonna look poorly on someone who copped out of taking a grade in Linear Alg/MVC? I mean, I passed, but it was a rough quarter (was also taking 2 econ classes and running a huge development conference. Also, the class at Stanford is f*cking impossible, lots of math majors and engineers in there). The thing is, I'm quite good at math, but my stats don't really show that (especially if I stay with a low Quant GRE). Also, what did you do in Accra? I worked for CDD (idk if you know them--Centre for Democratic Development). What a dope city! Any knowledge on the Yale IDE program? You guys are great, thanks for the support.

First time poster, long-time lurker. This site is awesome though. Gonna post my stats and hope someone replies to it: School: Stanford GPA: 3.9 Degree: BA IR/Political Economy Work Experience: 2-3 years (2 years full time + internships). interned at the World Bank in DC and a policy think-tank in Ghana. Currently work as a Research Associate doing impact evaluation/economic research for a major international NGO in Uganda (I am africa focused= Languages: not much, pretty decent at spanish though GRE: 158Q/166V/6AW. Planning on retaking this week, we'll see how it goes! Need to up my quant score though for sure. Math/Econ: Stats, Intro Macro/Micro, all with A/A- avg, some econ electives though nothing super high-level (development econ, agricultural econ), Linear Algebra/Multivariable Calc (though I only took it Pass/fail). Applying to: HKS (MPA-ID), SAIS, WWS, Yale IDE, potentially LSE and Oxford for either Msc Econ or MPP/MPA. Aside from this probably not much else. I'm shooting for top tier honestly. SOPs: I think they're solid, had my sister who's at Georgetown Law and an excellent writer edit them for me. I have a good amount of experience in quantitative/analytical international development work, and a lot of in-country experience, so I really drew on this. Still working on my policy memos but I dont think these will be an issue (I worked at WB, so I wrote plenty of these). I got a 6 on AW, so I'm a pretty decent writer. LORs: Two very highly regarded professors from Stanford, one of whom is currently chief of staff to our UN Ambassador. They both like me a lot, but might be a bit too busy to really devote a ton of time to it. My current supervisor also wrote me a rec. I think he kind of rushed it, to be honest, and he's already submitted it. He likes my work, but he's also kind of socially awkward so I can't really read him. Nevertheless I think it was solid, and the academic recs are stellar. My academics, recs, and work experience are probably strong enough to get me into any top school. My GRE and quant background leaves something to be desired though. Given that I want to go into primarily econ focused programs, and end up at the World Bank, Treasury, or a think-tank, is my GRE gonna sink me? Do I have any chance with the HKS MPA-ID (which is essentially my dream program) or should I just apply to the regular MPP there? What school is the best choice if I want to end up at the Bank or a similarly technical multilateral or think-tank in DC? Thanks for any advice, and keep posting!