pea-jay

I've done my share of looking around and have also seen the 2-3 year experience referenced. When I met with Grad students at NYU and Baruch, the years of experience was in many cases between 4 and 8 years. I will be applying with 8 years of relavant work experience and several current and former colleagues have gotten theirs after 10 years in public service. Since the goal of MPA is to get management job (hence the term Administration) in the public service or non profit sectors, it would make sense to get atleast a few years in to get the requisite work experience. I mean who hires 25 year old managers with no work experience?

I've done my share of looking around and have also seen the 2-3 year experience referenced. When I met with Grad students at NYU and Baruch, the years of experience was in many cases between 4 and 8 years. I will be applying with 8 years of relavant work experience and several current and former colleagues have gotten theirs after 10 years in public service. Since the goal of MPA is to get management job (hence the term Administration) in the public service or non profit sectors, it would make sense to get atleast a few years in to get the requisite work experience. I mean who hires 25 year old managers with no work experience?

I found Columbia a little to elitist and definitely too expensive for my liking. in my field, they offered paltry opportunities for funding and made it a point to mention that they had a way young (relatively speaking) median age. No thanks. As a Californian, I'll echo the warning to steer clear of this state. Im trying to leave. But then again Im not originally from here.

Yes the MPA is the way to go. I'm pursuing the degree for the Public Administration part but every school I looked at had a non-profit curriculum as well. Hopefully you had some experience in the arts field as well.

Good Lord, I don't think any of mine even asked if I graduated from High School. Shouldn't the fact that you have a UG degree be proof enough you completed your K-12 experiences (or equivelent)?

Thanks, Yeah I dropped Hunter when I realized I could take a course as a Baruch Student at Hunter without actually being a student there.

I'm only applying to two schools. One school asks this question, the other doesnt. Both schools are aware that applicants apply to both. When I was visiting both locations, I was asked by both schools if I had checked out other programs. So I'm going to be honest with this question and leave it at that.

Ok today was GRE day. I felt pretty good about the Analytical sections, all organized and to the point. Then came the verbal and I bounced around, ending slightly lower than expected (got hit with time killing reading comp questions) but ok I guess. Finally came quantitative. Hoh-boy, what a mess. I struggled out of the gate, couldnt remember formulas and blew time on items that shouldnt have taken time. At one point I stared at the screen, looking at all those x's and y's and wonder WTF it all meant. SO the questions got easier (I know what that means) and got harder again, stopping me dead again. I half expected the next question to ask me 1+1 = a. 0 b. 1 c. 2. d. 3. e. 4. Ugh. Ive aced a grad level stats course. I can do math but not without formulas or a lot of time. Unfortunately I have neither on the GRE. Still in the end I got a 470 which is EXACTLY what I got on my first practice text. So much for test prep. Any other GRE disasters or meltdowns out there?

Dont forget Baruch College...I visited them and liked what they had to offer. At least half their students are part time.

I am transitioning from a BA in Geography to Public Administration MA by using 5 classes of graduate work in Urban planning and 8 years of on-the-job experience. I dont think it would have worked as well straight from UG though.

I used the Princeton prep materials and wound up with the same score: 1090. It helped boost my verbal (620), but the quantitative (470): nada.

I'd expressed interest in it before too, though I'm kinda waiting now till after my GREs one week hence.

This is what gives me doubt about that program. I have no UG loans, and my wife is 20% done with her loan ($110/month). I think I can swing a couple hundred bucks a month over the next 10 years but anything more than that may give me enough pause to reconsider the program. We'll see. I'm hoping for a mix of grants, scholarships, research assistantships, paid internships and loans will be sufficient to cover it all. Also, being out-of state means Baruch will be far more costly than compared to residents, at least for the first year.

I would imagine it depends on the program. For my first Grad school, I recycled a 2.5 year old undergrad paper and submitted it. Of the new batch of grad schools, only one has a writing requirement (beyond the SOP) and requires a new essay to be written based on their question.

Sweet deal! Congrats

This isnt Religion related, but I do recommend checking out programs in person if at all possible. Check out my post on this

I've cut mine down. Dramatically. Between visits and research I've dropped mine from about 7 to 2.

Well, I just completed a three day visit to check out three NYC grad schools and programs. In my mind, I believe this trip did more to focus my application, help word my SOP, identify professors I'd like to work with and what degree I would pursue. This trip helped me: - Eliminate a school that is incompatible with my goals (saving me $125, more if you include the other schools eliminated from my list. - Formally confirm the program I will pursue (Public Policy/Management) and rule out other options - Make positive admission staff and faculty contacts at both schools. I received invaluable information and both staffs were highly professional and welcoming to me. - understand the student body of each school - know what I will be getting into timewise and financial wise at each school. - and finally observe what campus facilities and amenities were available. I now feel comfortable applying to both schools, because I like both, albeit for differing reasons. If anyone else has a chance to preview places, I highly recommend doing that. During this trip, I met three prospective students also from the Bay Area, in NYC investigating grad school opportunities.

I'll bump this up. I visited both schools and the comments in regards to the cohesiveness of the Wagner student body are totally on the mark. I observed a class and talked to students, all of whom seemed pretty jazzed to be there. I even got invited to their friday happy hour event, was totally welcomed and had an absolutely great time. In contrast, Baruch's students were more ambivalent about their school. Not hating it or anything, but just lacking that same energy level found at Wagner.

Long distance relationships can also kill a relationship (conveniently) that is on its way out. My ex-GF who I was with for nearly 3 years graduated a year and a bit before I did and had to move for job and education purposes. We lasted only a few months before it ended. But the distance wasnt solely to blame. We had unresolved issues before hand and both of us found it easier to move on than deal with it. But then again neither of us were even 21 yet and lacked the maturity to sustain a LD relationship.

Also, don't forget, METRO has a distance-based fare structure, so the farther you travel, the more you'll pay. Dont forget to factor that into your budget

-ouch- I'd cross that school off the list esp if the prof has any say in admissions.

Part of the reason why I am focusing on NYC is that if and when my wife goes for her masters, there will be a number of institutions to choose from. But for the time being, she will be the one working.

some schools reference a december date for consideration for financial aid of any sort. All of mine need to be in by Jan for that, but have deadlines as late as june if you are willing to pay out of pocket and chance it on admissions.

I don't trust systems enough to enter electronic recommendation info until the very end. Even weirder is one of my schools has an "electronic application" but makes you submit all supplimental info via sealed mail. They already give the option for a completely paper-based submission. On top of that they charge $10 more for the online app. Guess which way I'm applying.