publicaffairsstudent

Its ok to have a rough time at a certain point in your undergraduate experience. No one holds that against you. But to gain admission to a graduate program, its not enough to give an explanation and let that be the end of it. You have to demonstrate recovery and show that you are now capable of doing academic work, even though you weren't before.
I came back from an undergrad gpa of 2.87, and similar personal challenges and setbacks. The graduate program I applied to was not overly competitive and I was able to gain admission with a few good years of work experience and gpa. But I encourage you to shoot higher than I did. I did not know about admissions when I started but I do now and I will share what I know with you, so you can do better than I did.
You can get into any program you want. Even top american programs. Your first step should be to find a job and develop compelling experience in the public or non-profit sector. If you have to start volunteering in a field that you find emotionally compelling and meet as many people as you can. Network while pursuing conventional job searches. When you have 3 years of work experience you will be ready to apply.
While you are working, seek out a community college or open enrollment public college in your town, that offers undergraduate math courses at night. Start taking one course a semester beginning with calculus 1. Over the next three years take calculus 1, 2, 3, linear algebra, introductory statistics and intermediate statistics. Take a course in intermediate macro economics and one in intermediate microeconomics over the summer. Study as hard as you can so you get an A or A- in each of these courses. With only 1 course at a time this shouldn't be too much for you. At the end of 3 years you will have demonstrated the capability to succeed in tough courses and will have distinguished yourself as a candidate with a strong quantitative background. Masters programs can't get enough of these types of students.
Finally, don't allow yourself to be a victim of your experience and don't make excuses. You are empowered to change your academic direction. Over the next three years dedicate yourself to changing your path. Put all of your effort and energy and focus into achieving this. If you make this your passion, you will succeed and you will get into any program you want to.

Hey all, let's try to get some more public policy phd's on here. I recently submitted applications to 7 schools, and am glad to see I'm not alone if having not heard anything back yet.
Here's my stats:
Undergrad: Top 40 American private research university, had a rough time, 2.87 GPA in an English Major.
Graduate: >100 ranked NASPAA Accredited MPA Program with a 4.0 GPA.
GRE: 155 Q 170 V 5.0 AW.
I also have taken the following supplementary courses with a 3.85 GPA: Calculus 1-3, Discrete Math, Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics 1, Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Econometrics. Courses in Progress: Probability and Statistics 2, Differential Equations and Real Analysis.
I also won an $800 research award to support an independent quantitative research project in education policy.
I have tutored for 3 semesters, including 1 semester as a math tutor at 10 hours per week.
3.5 years work experience in non-profit sector (urban education) including 1 year Americorps VISTA.
I applied to the following programs:
Deadline Jan 15: Cornell Policy Analysis and Management, SUNY Albany Public Administration and Policy, UMD College Park Policy Studies.
Deadline Feb 1: Syracuse Public Administration, Syracuse Social Sciences, Syracuse Economics, SUNY Buffalo Economics.
Will post back when we hear things. Remember, there are many options besides academia!