DavidFeng

Hi guys, I am an international student from China. I'm applying for 2015 Fall and I'd like to know if anybody can kindly offer me some suggestions. School requirements: I would try my best for HKS MPP, Georgetown MPP, Chicago Harris MPP, Duke Sanford Mpp, Cornell CIPA MPA, and Johns Hopkins MIA. GPA: 3.91/4.0, major in English Language and Literature and minor in International relations (concentrating on energy&climate change) I'm applying straight from undergrad, and my institution is among the top in my country (with several alumni previously admitted to HKS MPP, most of them were straight from undergrad). GRE score: 166Q/162V/4.5 AWA Work experience: I've taken a gap year between my junior and senior years, during which I -worked as a full-time interpreter for a national government body on climate change and clean energy (2 months) -interned at a United Nations agency on water-energy nexus in Bangkok, Thailand (5 months) -have been full-time campaigning for Greenpeace East Asia in my home country (I signed a one-year freelance contract so it would last until I graduate in June 2015) Other experiences included -research assistant positions at two influential media (one blowed the whistle on Edward Snowden and the other was the oldest broadcast medium in China) on environment and technology news (each lasted around 3 months and got my bylines) -internship at a big European consulting firm (Chinese branch) helping a leading energy company transform its market strategy toward's China's emerging new energy vehicle market (2 months) Language skills: Chinese(mandarin): Native English: Fluent, scored 118 in Toefl iBT French: Upper intermediate, scored B2 in TCF test Latin: reading literacy (I guess they wouldn't care about this,ha) Quantitative requirements: Course work in Micro/Macro Econ, Statistics, Probability and Statistics, Liner Algebra, Calculus (grades averaged to around 90/100, which is roughly A- in the U.S. standard, I suppose) Overseas experience (work, study and teaching): Yes, 5 months in Thailand, and two short-term exchange programs to Japan and Philippines Statement of Purpose: Still doing research on the official websites and brainstorming. But I'm confident on this section with feedback and revisions. Letters of Recommendation: Confirmed with my supervisors and professors who know me very well. I would communicate with them frequently to make sure they understand the references would fit in well with the whole package of materials. My concerns: 1) working experience. I understand it's usually a disadvantage to apply without working for a couple of years, but I think I know what industry and positions I would aim for in future. Plus, at least for several employers I worked for, advanced degrees abroad indeed give candidates an advantage on entry-level positions, even if a domestic student has one or two more years of working experience. I guess this is probably why so many Chinese students are rushing abroad to graduate schools even without any work experience. So, if possible, I just want to know to what extent this lack of work experience would hamstring my application. 2) GRE scores. I suppose this score is just "Okay" for top schools. I'm currently studying for another shot in September and based on mock test results, I'm pretty confident to see at least a 5-score increase in total and keep my AWA scores between 4.5 and 5.0. Any ideas and suggestions would be useful, thanks so much:)

Hi guys. It has been really informative and inspiring to go through all the comments here. This is my first posting on the gradcafe and I would like to post my info and seek your advice. Schools I'm interested in so far: Harvard Kennedy (MPP), JHU SAIS, Chicago Harris, WWS MPA, Cornell CIPA and Columbia SIPA. Undergraduate institution: A top 10 University in China Undergraduate GPA: 3.8/4.0 Undergraduate Majors: Major in English Literature and Minored in International Relations. Relevant quant courses included intro macro/micro economics, applied statistics, probability and statistics, linear algebra and calculus. (I'm afraid it's quite "basic" compared to the advanced econometric courses people have posted here, and I'm not sure if its enough for a solid quant background, though I scored around 90/100 on these courses which might be As in U.S. letter grades) GRE Quantitative Score: 170 GRE Verbal Score: 162 GRE AW Score: 5.0 Years Out of Undergrad (if applicable): 0 (graduating in June 2015 and applying for FALL 2015) Years of Work Experience: Interning as background research assistants at a state media and a top HK-based English newspaper on environment and sustainable development topics, 2 months of internship at the National Development and Reform Commission assisting south-south cooperation on sustainable development, currently taking an UN internship in Bangkok on Asia-Pacific regional cooperation to address land-degradation, and just received an internship offer at one of the state financing agencies where I might assist to evaluate loan applications for Chinese overseas businesses abroad in the energy sector. Languages: Chinese (Native), Fluent English and Intermediate French (B2 Level under the European language framework) Activities: Field volunteer experiences in Nepal on a forest conservation project Part time experiences at a top Chinese sustainable development think tank, basically translating concept notes, policy memos and other documents on international cooperation Strength of LOR (be honest, describe the process, etc): The UN officer whom I worked with and my academic supervisor promised to write LORs for me, they knew me really well. I haven't decided on the last one. I suppose my limited quant background and lack of full-time working experiences might become big problems to land in my target schools. Any recommendations for improvements (since I still have several months before applying) would be appreciated! I sincerely wish everyone getting their best results!