pea-jay

Going to bump this thread up. I've seen some good recommendations on the urban portions where many campuses are, but don't forget the suburbs as well. All US cities have 'em and some in the Sunbelt are pretty much suburban in nature. For example, I lived in Norfolk VA, near ODU and never drove to school or basic shopping. My GF at the time and high school buddy both did their entire stint there without a car by walking, bus and catching rides with me (I had free parking at my place). That said, anything other than high-priced essential groceries required a car trip. Since Norfolk was long past its retail prime when I was there (that's changed now), ALL shopping trips other than groceries and laundry had to be made in the suburbs. Unless you had a half day to kill riding a bus you found a way to get a ride. Another place I see referenced is DC. Great place to go without a car. As long as you stay INSIDE the Beltway, particularly in the "old" areas Arlington, Alexandria, any Metro stop as well as DC proper. Beyond that it SUCKS. Big time. Used to live in the DC suburbs without a car and the trip to DC using the regular suburban buses and a metro transfer took two friggin hours, without traffic. And that was only 24 miles out. Nothing is walkable and unless you get a government or NGO job, most employment has migrated to the edge cities like Tysons. You literally have to drive next door since nothing is internally connected. Yet if you get a car, you are going to sit in traffic. A lot. Commuter rail is mostly a weekday commute thing (unlike NYC, Boston, SF or Chicago) and wont help out mid days or on weekends. As a rule, I avoid the 'burbs like the plague. Most cities that were settled before 1900 have decent to downright excellent opportunities to live and not have a car. In some places they've become run down, but many are coming back to life, if not already. Wont list them here (just read the thread). Even some sunbelt cities work ok without a car (if you are willing to make sacrifices). San Diego has become much better without a car as long as you stay south of Mission Valley. The trolley runs thru SDSU now and close by USD. The bus system is generally ok in the core (commuted with it for several years, no problem). SDSU gave good discounts for transit riders and their parking prices sucked. But want to go shopping or anywhere outside the core, get a car. Final word, especially to foreigners: transit is often treated like the unwanted child and kicked around and shortchanged in this country. In a number of places (but not all) it is seen as an "underclass service" more than anything else. Very few offer great service like what you can find in Europe and parts of Asia

Thought I would add here. I'm applying to just three schools now, all in NYC. I will looking to narrow the focus down in the next two weeks to what exactly I will be applying for but my general focus is on public administration/public policy for urban areas. I've had 13 years of work experience in the education, (energy) utility and municipal planning sectors and am looking for the masters degree that will allow me to package my experience and avoid getting stuck in a professional rut. I'm kinda putting all my eggs in the NYC basket as it offers an excellent program, decent job prospects and proximity to family. I started out considering more schools-in Chicago, Boston, Providence, DC and out here in CA but in the end the Big Apple made the most sense. Since this involves a move, my family has some sway and NYC was the most appealing for them too.

dumb question here: what exactly is being referred to as an anecdote? I kinda understand but not really.

I have a question. Some people on here and offline have mentioned having an interview being required to get into grad school, something additional beyond the app, CV, SOP and so on to winnow down the pool of applicants to those "best fitting" the program? Do only certain programs do this or is it an elite college thing? Or is it only for those seeking funding? If your school does NOT specify interviews anywhere in the application packet and process, is it safe to assume they wont be required?

I would imagine it would depend on the program's requirements and competitiveness but no it shouldnt kill your app dead. I got my BA in 96 as well and had minor amounts of grad courses there after. I am not using any academic references, just professional. Two were former bosses and a third from a politician I was the assistant campaign manager (unpaid) for. I would prioritize the LORs on the "bang" they will provide. A boss in the field you are applying to will go a long way. Finally you can address this issue indirectly in your statement of purpose

Aint that the truth. I tried PT grad school with a FT job. While I got good grades and my employer was cool with my education intentions (which would mean I would leave once I got my degree), it was relationship issues and the fact my university offered half of the pre-req courses during the day, meaning night classes I could take were off limits that led to my departure. Add to the fact there was no funding other than my AMericorps grant and my mediocre job, I couldnt continue anyway. The other thing I wasnt getting from a part time program were the connections to jobs and people in the field. I didnt know it at the time but those FT students were getting those connections needed to get a job in the field, something I wasnt. Those part time students were already IN the field and didnt care. Im NOT making that mistake again. It's FT for me.

The cat will be fine no matter how much or little attention you give her. Finding a pet friendly place...now that is a real challenge. Many university places are pet free and moving with a pet reduces the number of potential off-campus places you can consider. Plus reduced income makes food and vet bills a real challenge.

I havent taken the GRE since 1995 so I will be retaking it again later this month. That said, I got an experimental quantitative section on both my SAT attempts, the '95 GRE attempt and 2000 MCAT. What's the chance of that happening?

Most posters on this forum are single or at least kid-less. Nothing wrong with that, I was once like that too. But I want to hear from those individuals with children (with or without a S.O.) on how they are handling the pressures of raising a family and staying focused on classwork/research and so on. Also how did you cope with the loss or lowered income when you were out of the workforce. Was your spouse/SO on board with the process or apprehensive? Did you look only locally or consider all locations? I'm mid thirties with two elem-aged kids. My plan was always to get a grad degree (required for more advanced level and managerial positions in my field and recommended by my last two supervisors) but my wife gave me the shove needed to start it in 2010-she wants out of this area. The fact that I cant find work outside of this state (for professional reasons) without a degree also played a part. When I found out that the NYC-area schools and eventual job market were a good fit for me educationally and professionally, the rest of my family was far more enthused than even I was, so much so that I think they will be more let down than I will be if I dont get in anywhere. And I am the only one with family in the city and that part of the country... What gives me some pause is how financially this will work out (she's got in-demand teaching certs that school districts go out of their way to hire, but it's still one income plus loans/assistantship/savings that we will try and live off of) Like to hear how others dealt with it. Also for those full timers how much time did you get spend with your children? I looked at the class schedule at one of the schools and while it offered many open slots, homework, research and other school related work would likely consume a great deal of time or so I would imagine. Hence the term trade-off. How was (or is it) for you?

Ha Ha Ha, thats me too I feel good about my chances I feel inadequate when compared to some of those high achievers I think I have a handle on the GRE math portion I think I will bomb the math portion My practice score was good The next one sucked My experience may help me get a research assistantship so I can afford to attend college Thats if I dont get beaten out by anyone else. and so on and so forth.

Agreed!

Im following this thread and wondering if this advice is limited to the arts and humanities programs or is it more generalized. The graduate admission folks at a few of the schools I am applying for encouraged pre-app professor contacts be made. That said, while the responses were polite and welcoming they were also form-like in nature, like they have seen many of these requests.

I worked in a university office during my undergrad years and know that things can definitely go awry in the app process. I am not sending anything ahead of my main application. That said, odds are in your favor nothing will go wrong. I'm not chancing it tho.

Can I join that club? I'll be 36 when I start and will bringing my wife and two kids along for the journey (though they actually wanted to move to NYC more than I did). I do plan stopping at the master's degree and reentering the job market. If I do attempt a phd it will be when I am 45-50 and will be done part time so I can spend the last 10-20 working years as a non-tenured university instructor/professor and part time private consultant.

Im not looking at the IR specialization in the MPP/MPA degree, but am familiar enough to know that it is a pretty competitive field. Your GRE isnt as bad as you think nor is your gpa. I'd worry more about the experience than anything else. You should still apply but if you dont get into your preferred program try and get into some related job in the IR field, maybe take a class/research/write. Knock back a few years and try again.

Respectfully disagree. There comes a point where you just are too far removed from your UG to have an academic ref worth anything. I'm 13 1/2 years past my UG years where many of my profs have transferred/retired/died and not available for a LOR. Even being 10 yrs removed from a few grad classes is too long. At that point your SOP, work experience and supervisor's LORs are more important. Most of the schools I am applying to are perfectly fine with that. At 3.5 years past your UG, I would at least try to contact before giving up though.

Im pursuing the public policy and/or urban planning degree with my undergrad in Geography and limited grad coursework in Urban Planning. I must say your background is non conventional. You will definitely need a strong statement to explain why you want to do this. ALthough I can see a perfectly cool application of science/engineering background with policy training: governmental science advisers. Most countries have them. The important part for you is your communication skills (written and spoken). What separates the pure research or technical engineer/scientist is the ability to express one's self and communicate important technical matter to NON-technical people, especially decision makers. In my mind, people who can bridge the gap between this gap are very important to the future of our technology dependent civilization. Good luck

I took the next steps. I am meeting with them two weeks from now.

Excellent information Sugarplum! THanks

I left the courses taken out of mine, but then again I am 10 years removed from my last class!

THats the way I see it too

Missing question here: do you want a masters for professional purposes or for getting a phd (whether or not that is soon or not).

Well said!

My wife ordered a single class transcript for a class (remote campus location at that) related to the program, so yes it is done definitely something that has been done before.

I did one...it really can provide the details to your application without blowing precious space in the SOP