buckHD

Many of the most successful MPPs I've come across are older, more experienced individuals who I've been lucky to have been able to learn from in class. Don't let anyone make you feel out of place; know that your knowledge makes you an asset, and schools would be lucky to have you. I look forward to meeting you! And as an undergrad at UChicago who also applied to Harris, I have no trouble believing they were able to turn you off. Also, Durham is so much warmer!

Hi MarieG! I'm a current second year MPP at Sanford. First, congratulations. You've got a tremendous spate of acceptances from the top policy schools in the country! Your decision boils down to which school will best enable you to achieve your professional goals, or at least propel you along the path you'd like to follow. Duke is a very strong education policy school, and I have many friends currently in the program with me who plan to use the knowledge and skills acquired here to become leaders in education policy in May and beyond. That said, we're not the end-all, be-all. BUT. In combination with the financial aid offer, our expertise in your preferred area of study makes Duke your best option, in my biased opinion. Objectively though, among the schools you have to choose from, none has such disproportionate prestige that it makes sense to take on tens of thousands of extra dollars in debt. Each school should be viewed in terms of its ability to get you a job in your desired profession, and make sure to consider geography in this equation. If you're looking to do federal policy, it's hard to beat Duke among your options. UVa is closer, but also newer, with a smaller alumni network. Duke alumni in DC are everywhere you look, and in prominent positions. I wrote this to another accepted student, but it really applies to everyone in your position: In the end, what drove my choice two years ago was the people: which people did I see myself learning from? Which peers did I want to spend time with and build my future professional network from? Which thought leaders/academics/practitioners would best prepare me to succeed? I obviously chose Duke, and that choice was solidified by visiting campus and meeting those people. I strongly urge you and everyone else reading this to do everything in your power to visit the schools you're seriously considering and soak in as much information as possible. I hope to see you at Sanford's admitted students open house at the end of the month (widely regarded as the best and most comprehensive/competent open house among peer schools). If you have any specific follow-up questions, I'd be happy to answer them (hdb4@duke.edu). Best of luck with your decision!

Hi 3dender! I'm a current second year MPP at Sanford, and I remember lurking around these forums two years ago and found them helpful. If you have any specific follow-up questions, I'd be happy to answer them (hdb4@duke.edu), but to briefly respond to your question: First, congratulations. You've been accepted with funding to a handful of the top policy schools in the country; no matter what you end up choosing, you're in a good spot. That said, I will go to bat for Duke/Sanford over the others any day. Everything the representative from another school stressed about the program above rings true to me as well, and I've really appreciated the wealth of knowledge and resources available to me here, whether it's career services, administration, faculty, or fellow students. I honestly don't think the overall experience at Berkeley vs. Duke would be all that different, and for that reason, I don't believe Berkeley is worth an extra $70k in debt. In addition, if your goal is to land a job on the east coast, in North Carolina or especially in DC where Duke has an extensive network of alumni who are more than happy to hire you let alone meet you for an interview, then it's no question: Duke has an advantage. If you want to stay in California after graduating (and you think the advantage Berkeley provides over Duke in landing you a job there is worth an extra $70k), then choose Berkeley. In the end, what drove my choice two years ago was the people: which people did I see myself learning from? Which peers did I want to spend time with and build my future professional network from? Which thought leaders/academics/practitioners would best prepare me to succeed? I obviously chose Duke, and that choice was solidified by visiting campus and meeting those people. I strongly urge you and everyone else reading this to do everything in your power to visit the schools you're seriously considering and soak in as much information as possible. I hope to see you at Sanford's admitted students open house at the end of the month (widely regarded as the best and most comprehensive/competent open house among peer schools). Again, feel free to contact me with more questions, and best of luck with your decision!

I also sent in my deposit to Duke yesterday. The final push I needed came when, after asking both schools to review my scholarship offer, CMU emailed and tried to convince me I didn't need any more money, and Duke gave me more no questions asked!

What school did you decide on naso?

That's regrettable.

When is the experience day?

I was just notified that I was admitted to the DC Track with a $10k fellowship to be applied to the DC semesters. Even with out-of-state tuition, LBJ is a significant amount cheaper than the other schools I'm looking at. I've always wanted to live in Austin, too... I'm wishing everyone good luck this month with their tough decisions. I know I'll need some!

DAE here apply to the DC Track? I still haven't heard back, but I'm thinking decisions for the separate track are coming separately?

@ rachel_z: I get the sense that Georgetown McCourt's notification process is semi-rolling given that the January 15th cutoff was only a priority deadline and applications are still being accepted until April. In my opinion, you shouldn't be discouraged about your chances just because you haven't heard yet. Decisions started coming out February 2nd, and I didn't get my letter until March 4th. Hang in there, I know the waiting is excruciating.

@jayshin0220 It looks like Turab applied to MSCAPP and *wants* MSCAPP, but was admitted to MPP instead, perhaps because the Adcomm thought he/she was well-qualified but didn't have space in the MSCAPP program. @Turab I got into MSCAPP, but without funding, and I plan to turn down the offer. I hope that frees up space for you!

I also received a rejection letter at 6:42 pm yesterday evening. I hope for your sakes that they're not keeping you waiting just to reject you, like the rest of us. Really disappointed in their lack of professionalism.

Thanks TROD43, I am on the same page with you re: reasoning around WWS. Where else did you apply?

Also rejected. If it makes anyone feel better, I visited Princeton and did not feel the concepts being taught were only within the reach of those admitted--I held my own. A WWS rejection is primarily a consequence of such a large volume of qualified applicants who all want a prestigious degree for free. Looks like I'll be changing the world from elsewhere!

This whole forum has made me regret an empty inbox more than I've ever felt. Dear GradCafe,

I'm also in! @Mumble: Cool, I was just curious.

@Mumble Did you post on the results page about the Full Tuition + Insurance + $19k stipend? Or was that someone else? If it was you, congrats!

Perhaps, but with such a small sample size, it's possible given the other factors I mentioned that it's just a coincidence.

I think it's wrong to assume that the results individuals choose to disclose on this thread are representative of the entire group of applicants. Only a portion of applicants have likely even visited this website, let alone posted their outcomes. I'd wager the people more likely to be interested to this extent in the grad school admissions process are more competitive and likely to gain acceptance, and therefore results are skewed towards "admitted." In addition, people are much more likely to post that they've been accepted to a school than rejected. I doubt that there's a wave of rejections looming for everyone who hasn't heard back yet, I sincerely do.

Expecting to hear important news *at any minute* for five days straight is unnecessarily stressful. My nerves are frayed.

I was admitted to the MSCAPP program, but without aid. Reminds me of my undergrad package from Chicago.

I have a hunch Harris decisions are imminent. I am a UChicago alum of the College, and just received an email from UChicago IT Services stating that I will "remain a part of the UChicago community," that they have cancelled the closure process (which I thought happened 3 years ago), and "restoration of your normal access to services...should be complete within one day." Perhaps I've been admitted and they sent that information to IT before sending out my email? I guess we'll see. Could just be overly optimistic.

Seconding what naso said, make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of your status page. There will either be nothing there or a link that says: DECISION STATUS: AVAILABLE BEGINNING 3/4/2015 Your application decision is now available online

I just logged into ApplyYourself seeing that another person posted on the results page that their admissions decision was uploaded there. So was mine! Anyone still waiting to hear back from McCourt should go log in and see if there's news waiting for them! I have not received any email, FYI. No mention of merit funding either.