MJA87

After going through a ton of results from the GradCafe results database and reading a lot of peoples' signatures, it seems to me that there are a few schools who are very generous with awarding funding. I'm trying to come up with my final list of six to eight programs to apply to, and the possibility of receiving funding is one of my main concerns. My goal with this thread is to start a discussion about which schools have good MPP/MPA programs and are likely to offer funding to qualified candidates. For example, I've noticed that both USC Price and CMU Heinz seem to offer a good amount of funding to a lot of the applicants represented on this board, whereas UW Evans doesn't seem to offer very much at all. Is it just a private vs. public school thing? What are some other generous programs?

I finally got a rough draft of my Statement of Purpose finished (only because a professor who is recommending me asked for it to help his letter) and was wondering if you fine people would read it and tell me what you think. Since this is a very general statement, I plan on using this as a base and tailoring it to each program I'll be applying to. What do you think of what I have so far, and what changes would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your time: I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science in May 2010, and though the job market I graduated into was competitive to say the least, I worked hard and was lucky enough to get a job with the <State> House of Representatives as a legislative aide within a month of graduating. I thoroughly enjoyed that position, which enabled me to build on my recent experience as an intern with a respected <City> consulting firm and exposed me to an incredible variety of interesting and challenging policy areas. Although I was grateful to experience those policy areas and gain perspective I might not otherwise have, I found myself wanting to specialize and immerse myself in one area of focus. While working back in <City> during legislative session, I was made aware of an opening in what was then the Governor’s Energy Office and was able to secure that position. Even from my first few days in the Energy Office, I knew I had found the policy area I was looking for. Currently, I’ve been with the Office of Energy (renamed and moved to the <State> Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by the state legislature shortly after I joined) for three and a half years and have been promoted to increasingly responsible positions twice in that time. Beginning with the 2011 iteration, I’ve assisted our office in hosting the annual <State> Energy Summit. During our 2013 event, keynote speaker Dr. Michael Levi (senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations) pointed out that the next day would be the 40th anniversary of the OPEC oil embargo. He categorized it as the event that defined the modern energy era. With the shale gas revolution providing abundant cheap, domestically produced energy, and both renewables and alternative fuel vehicles gaining mainstream momentum, I believe the paradigm is shifting again. During this important time of transition, it is my goal to influence national energy policy towards the stable domestic production of clean energy, and I believe a Masters of Public Policy (MPP) degree will help me accomplish this goal. In my current role as a policy analyst specializing in bioenergy and transportation energy, I’m required to generate policy reports such as white papers and analysis documents, as well as contribute to our office’s policy recommendations. In addition to policy analysis, many of my day-to-day duties revolve around my administration of the Natural Gas Fuel Fleet Vehicle Rebate program, a six million dollar per year program that I was chosen to write the administrative rules for and oversee. I’m also currently part of a team writing a $500,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant that will help fund an exciting electric vehicle demonstration project in Orlando. Many of the programs I’ve been involved in serve to promote the use of cleaner, domestically produced energy over traditional petroleum sources. Through my professional experience, I have acquired policy analysis tools that have allowed me to be effective in the energy policy arena of one of the nation’s largest and most diverse states. I believe an MPP would enable me to hone and supplement my existing analytical abilities, as well as equip me with the research methods and management skills required to have an effect in a national capacity. With the education and competencies I would gain with an MPP, I would seek to influence national policy through employment with the United States Department of Energy or through an energy focused NGO, such as Securing America’s Future Energy.

This is an interesting question, I'd definitely like to see what schools people mention. One that came to my mind was Duke's Sanford School. I know it's a fairly well known program and probably isn't "overlooked", but I do feel it isn't discussed as much as its peer schools. It seems to be an excellent option, I just don't see it talked about anywhere near the frequency of other similarly ranked/respected schools.

Schools: UW Evans (MPA), USC Price (MPP), UTexas LBJ (MPA or MGPS), UChicago Harris (MPP), CMU Heinz (MSPPM), Cornell CIPA(MPA), Hertie School of Governance (MPP), IHEID (Development Studies) Career goals: National or global NGOs focusing on energy/environment Institution: Okay state school Major: Political Science GPA: 3.3 cumulative (poor grades highschool dual enrollement program). 3.41 at undergrad institution and 3.58 in last 60 hours GRE score: Working on that now. Assuming somethinig like 160v/153q Work experience: ~1 year as legislative aide in State House of Representatives of a large state. 3.5+ years in State Energy Office managing energy grants at first, doing policy analysis and program admin. for last 2 years. Also, currently a Natural Resource Leadership Institute fellow (program run by respected university) Coursework: Took Micro and Macro economics this summer and received A's in both. I have a B in college stastics from years and years ago (I don't know if AdComs would still count it). Also have several IR classes from undergrad (that was my minor). Language skills: Basically just English (took French in highschool and 1 class in undergrad) Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): n/a Statement of Purpose: WIP - not too worried Letters of Recommendation: One from prof. and two from current office (both executive director and direct supervisor, both will be above average) Concerns: I know my GPA isn't stellar and I don't know how good the letter of recommendation my professor wrote will be because I haven't talked to him in 4+ years. I'm hoping my experience will carry me; just want to get into a decent program

I'd also be very interested to hear what stats folks applied with. I only had a 3.3 - 3.4 GPA (depending on how you calculate), but would be applying with 4 years of decent experience; I want to be realistic about my chances.

Could you elaborate on this? I recently finished my micro and macro classes and did well in them but didn't really know how much they would help me in terms of applying. I know schools look at the whole package, but what have you seen regarding the importance of these classes?

I just recently (last friday actually) finished up Micro and Macroeconomics at my undergrad institution. I took them as a non-degree seeking student because that was sort of my only choice to register as. This shouldn't be a problem with the grad schools I'm applying to, right? As in, these clsses will still be represented on the official transcripts they recieve?

Thanks a lot. I had thought as much but it's great to hear it from someone else

Yeah, I agree entirely. If they agree to write the recommendation and don't, that's extremely poor form. I'm having a dilemma where I emailed a professor that I really need a recommendation from two weeks ago and haven't heard anything back. It's getting to the point where I would rather hear a "no" than nothing at all, so I can at least make other arrangements. Not knowing if he hates me and won't even dignify my request with a response, or is just on vacation is killing me.

We're in pretty similar situations in that we both have strong professional recommendations, strong experience, an ok GPA, and are yet to take the GRE. The difference being it sounds like you at least have a relationship with a professor where I have none; I basically have one shot to get an academic reference (a prof I took three classes with ~4 years ago) and he hasn't responded to my email in two weeks As for your situation, I think the content of the letter you get will be much more important than your specific relationship with the professor. As long as he is able to intelligently speak to your work and abilities, I'm not sure that it matters that he teaches a different discipline than your major.

Ask them; you have absolutely nothing to lose. It's natural to fear rejection, but courage is acting in spite of that fear. I'm actually in a (somewhat) similar situation in that I haven't had any contact with my undergrad professors in 4+ years, so I can in part empathize with you. I painstakingly typed and edited (and then re-edited) my email but couldn't bring myself to hit send. It was my girlfriend that gave me the advice that I'll pass on to you: Suck it up and just do it. Being told no will be infinitely better than regretting not asking for the rest of your life.

Very helpful, thanks a lot!

Thanks, I guess I've been putting off contacting my old professor because I'm afraid of him saying no because It's been so long. Do you think it would be okay to email him my plans and request for a letter, including the option to discuss in person, or should I just go to his office hours to begin with?

I'll be applying for Fall 2015, and I'm getting very antsy to start the application process. I've been checking my online applications (probably too often) and my only options to apply for are still 2014 semesters. I've got a really good offer for a letter of recommendation that I don't really want to sit on for too long and another one of my letters has to come from a professor that I haven't spoken to in ~4 years, so I'd like to get those balls rolling sooner rather than later. My question to you is, when does the fall semester typically open up for application? Am I just too early? Thanks all.

Thanks a lot for your insight. Would you mind letting us know what your stats were (GPA, GRE, work experience, ect..) and how much funding you were offered at your accepted schools? I feel like how much a degree is costing you is a huge factor in the "is it worth it"/"would I do it again" equation. I'm interested in both Harris and Goldman; why don't you think you would have liked Goldman? I'll probably think of more questions when I get home, thanks again for sharing.

I had a quick question regarding GPA and how it will be perceived by admissions: My cumulative GPA is unfortunately 3.30, largely due to some poor grades I received taking college classes while still in high school. I've seen some people mention the GPA from their final 60 credit hours in their profile and was wondering if this is an important factor to admissions offices? I did much better in my last 60 credit hours (~3.7) and would benefit from having them focus on that rather than the cumulative GPA which includes classes I shouldn't have been taking at 17 and 18 years old. Thanks for any input!

If Luskin comes through with all they're promising, I'd be leaning towards them. If not, I'd take the money from La Follete and graduate with little to no debt. Of course a lot of this choice depends on your career aspirations and long term geographical preferences.

Take my advice with a grain of salt as I've not even applied for grad school (getting everything ready for the Fall '15 cycle), but if I were in your shoes I would take USC's offer and not look back. The opportunity to get a graduate degree from a very well regarded school with no debt is amazing and I think you'll look back a couple years from now and thank yourself if you take the money and attend Price. I don't know how the different degrees apply to your field or if one is more applicable than the other, but all things being equal, I would pick USC in a heartbeat.

Does every school only take your best score from each section, or is it only some schools? I haven't been able to find this information on the school websites I've looked at so far.

Thanks for the advice, especially about not being afraid to aim high when applying. Is the portion I made red in the quote true? I've never heard of this and it would be HUGE for me. I've only seen the full test offered, how were you able to only retake only one section?

Congratulations to those getting in, Harris sounds like such an amazing school. I had a question for those admitted without funding; are you considering attending and paying full tuition + living expenses? I'm applying for the Fall '15 cycle and I can see myself getting in to some similarly priced schools without funding and I'd like to hear any insight or thouhghts on attending at full cost.

CONGRATS MPAallday! Do you mind if I ask the numbers/work experience you applied with?

Yes, please. I'm very interested in CIPA for Fall '15 and it would be helpful for me to see what stats/profiles everyone is getting in with.

As someone who has spent a lot of time in both Tallahassee and Gainesville (and who currently lives in Tallahassee), I've got to disagree with the bolded part of your statement. Tallahassee is the state capital and has a population which is roughly 1/3 more than Gainesville, why would you consider UF more "big city" than FSU? Neither are in anything close to what might be considered a big city, but I would argue that Tallahassee comes closer. UF is in the smaller town (population wise) and has a ton of open land used for agricultural and veterinary research, FSU is ~1 mile from the state capitol building, supreme court, state history museum, ect...

I just looked at my undergrad transcript for the first time in a while and had a couple questions: My cumulative GPA from my undergraduate institution was 3.41, however my GPA factoring in 24 credit hours from dual enrollment (taking college courses while in high school) classes was only 3.30. I'm wondering what GPA grad schools will consider, and if it's the lower of the two, is there any action I can take to explain the lower GPA? Additionally, some MPP programs require a B or better in a microeconomics class and/or a stats class. I got a B in a stats class in 2006 (as a part of the dual enrollment) and B- in a political science research methods class (basically a stats class) during undergrad, but I don't know if grad schools will care that I took the stats class so long ago (8 years) or that the more recent stats class is a B- rather than a B. It's frustrating looking at my transcripts for the first time in a while and realizing I'm not as strong of an applicant as I thought I was. I'm beginning to doubt my competitiveness for some of the programs I plan on applying for Any thoughts or advice are very much appreciated.